After a very successful climb to Paltinis on Friday afternoon, on Saturday morning we had a slow start – planning the trip ahead followed by coffee and a delicious late brunch at Jules terrace. Our second day in Sibiu was looking promising!

During last year’s cycling trip to Sibiu we also did a recovery ride to Cisnadioara of approx. 30 km and 300 m elevation gain – you might want to check out that experience. This time we went in the same direction, but aimed for a longer ride.

As a side note, parts of this ride are part of the UCI-ranked “Sibiu Cycling Tour” that will take place this year on July 23-26 in Romania – more details here.

Route in a nutshell

Distance: 60 km | Elevation gain: 600 m (max elevation 580 m)

Route: Sibiu – Cisnadioara – Cisnadie – Sadu – Sadu II and back

The ride from Sibiu to Sadu II gets through accessible hills and rural villages. The surprise element compared to other routes is that you follow a river with multiple hydropower plants on it. So if you’re into energy, that’s for sure an interesting add-on to the beauty of the ride.

Sibiu – Cisnadioara

From Sibiu you can follow the bike lane toward the Astra Museum, and then continue on quiet state roads to Cisnadioara. I detailed about this section on my previous post – check it out for details.

Cisnadioara – Cisnadie

From Cisnadioara you get to the bigger town of Cisnadie. It is a nice descent, and the ride through Cisnadie is very enjoyable. Look at my face in the picture below – smiling despite the muscle soreness 🙂

Cisnadie – Sadu

The ride from Cisnadie to Sadu is through plain fields that unveil the Fagaras mountains in the background. They go up to 2,500 m, with Moldoveanu peak being the highest in Romania (2,544 m).

Sadu – Sadu II dam

As you ride from the Sadu village to the Sadu II dam you will at least 4 or 5 hydropower plants. The road is smooth and relaxing, false-flat at times, exactly what I needed as recovery ride.

The hydropower plant you see below is a functioning unit that was turned into museum. So you can actually take an interesting break from the ride and learn how the force of water turns into electricity!

During almost every ride we take we meet some (wild) animals – this time it was buffaloes! It might have been the first time I saw them in a natural habitat – pretty impressive!

To conclude, this is a relaxing and easily accessible ride you can take from Sibiu. With low gradients and beautiful scenery, the ride to Sadu dam is appropriate for beginners or intermediate road cyclists – it’s up to you to make the most of it!

The bike

I used my own bike – Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc.

If you would like to rent a bike for this ride from Sibiu, my go-to rental place is Light Cycling.

‘Till next time … happy riding!

Georgiana