Gallery
Some highlights from the road.
Fri 24 July – Sat 8 August 2026
16 Days · ~5,000 km · 5 Countries
Our goal was the Romanian Carpathians — the dirt roads of the Apuseni and the Făgăraș, the two famous mountain passes, and a day spectating the Red Bull Romaniacs. Getting there meant riding across five countries from Stockholm and back again.
The trip concluded on 8 August 2026. About 5,000 km, no mechanical issues, and sunny weather for roughly 99% of it — the rain suit never came out of the bag.
Over 16 days in July and August 2026 we rode the same two Yamaha T7s that took us to the Nordkapp, ferrying from Nynäshamn to Gdańsk and then pointing south-east.
No tents this year. Instead we based ourselves twice — four nights at a pension in Albac in the Apuseni, then five nights at Casa Popas at the foot of the Transfăgărășan — and rode out from each. Fewer pack-up mornings, more time riding.
Some highlights from the road.
Roughly where we went. The plan changed on the way — we cut east into Romania sooner than intended to buy ourselves more time in the mountains.
Outbound in red, return in blue, ferry dashed. Open the interactive map →
Nynäshamn → Gdańsk → Kraków → the Tatras → the Bükk hills → Miskolc
Oradea → Albac → the Transalpina → Cârțișoara → the Transfăgărășan
Košice → Warsaw → Malbork → Gdańsk → Nynäshamn
Yes. We saw about six of them in one day on the Transfăgărășan. Last year we looked for bears across Scandinavia and never found one.
They were smaller than we expected and not aggressive. Feeding them is illegal, and we complied with the many requests not to feed the bears pizza.
No. Last year was tents and vindskydd almost every night. This year we booked two bases and rode out from them — four nights at a mountain pension in Albac, then five nights at Casa Popas in Cârțișoara, at the bottom of the Transfăgărășan with a cold river running past outside.
We did. The Transalpina — Romania's highest road — came first, on the day we moved between the two bases. We rode it south from Sebeș and then turned east for Cârțișoara, coming across a Romaniacs pit point on the way.
The Transfăgărășan came a few days later: up from the south past Lake Vidraru and Poenari, over the top, and down the northern hairpins. Neither pass was the main reason for the trip — the dirt roads were — but we were not going to be that close and skip them.
We gave it a full day. An early start got us into the forest to watch the Gold riders come through, then the stage start, and finally the hill climb at the finish. All three were good fun to watch.
No. Roughly 5,000 km, a good deal of it on rocks and gravel, and neither T7 gave any trouble.
The only time we touched a spanner was the day before we left — see the Web Log below.
It survived. Romania ran on ROM bars, Ursus and whatever the pension put in front of us, but the trip was not finished until we came off the ferry in Sweden and stopped at the OKQ8 garage for a korv.
Mostly. The low point was the long transit north out of Romania — a 500 km day in a heat wave, both of us getting over a stomach bug. Jaco spent one of the Făgăraș days in bed while Rowan walked up to 2,333 m on his own.
Other than that: sunny for about 99% of the trip, no crashes, no punctures, no trouble at any border.
Browse our Telegram channel for the short videos and updates we posted along the way — you can read it without a Telegram account. A recap film of this trip will follow, as it did for Nordkapp.
By Jaco.
After we wrapped up the 2025 trip, I stayed on in Sweden for a few extra days. By then I'd more or less made my peace with the idea that Rowan probably wouldn't be able to do another trip for the foreseeable future — his and his wife's first child was due early in the new year.
It was around then that I watched this video, and the idea of Romania quietly lodged itself in the back of my mind.
So when Rowan's wife asked me whether we were planning another trip, I was genuinely shocked at the suggestion. She explained that her mother was coming to visit in a year's time, that they'd like some time together, and that it would be good for Rowan to get away on another ride.
That same evening I put the Romania trip to Rowan. He immediately agreed.
And so KappNord lives on.
The video that planted the seed.
By Jaco on 2026-07-23.
The only spanner work of the whole trip happened twenty-four hours before it started.
I was fitting a new rear tyre. Rowan had forgotten to leave me the electric pump, which I found out once the wheel was already off the bike and the tyre was on the rim — so I carried the wheel to the nearest petrol station to put air in it.
Five thousand kilometres later, that was still the hardest mechanical problem we had.
Join our Telegram channel for short videos and other content from the road.