My view from our apartment in Lupeni, Romania, June 2019

In June of 2019, I was invited by Dave Nonnemacher (of Duluth, MN) and Dana Bates (of Lupeni, Romania) to visit Dana and Brandi Bates’ home in the town of Lupeni, (pronounced “Lu-pen”) Jiu Valley, Romania. This invitation was made by Dave almost a year before, sometime after he finished his 2018 Heck Epic.

Dave, Dana and Brandi do work for an organization called New Horizons Foundation. Dana is the co-founder with his wife, Brandi, and Executive Director of NHF. Brandi is the Administrative Director and Human Resources/Fundraising coordinator for the foundation, as well as childhood reading advocate and mother of two (see bio’s at bottom of page.) Dave has worked with Dana for decades, both in Romania and in the US with various aspects of New Horizons. We met as he tackled the North Shore by bike on a few different Heck events.

The New Horizons Foundation mission statement: “which was founded in 2000 in Romania’s Jiu Valley, is to inspire youth to lead and to produce social change. We do this by innovating and sustaining models of experiential education which empower youth to develop themselves, their communities, and the world in which they live!”

Dave had an idea that maybe my work with creating gravel cycling events could possibly assist with Dana’s latest efforts to introduce cycling to the Jiu Valley as a viable source of economic stimulation and healthy activity for the youth of New Horizons and the valley, in general. Dave started sending me teaser photos of his recent travels in the Jiu Valley by bike. Roman roads. Lush mountain scapes mixed with rock-cairn alpine trails. Emails peppered with comments, like, “I think you might really be interested in this area. It receives almost no cycling pressure, either.” After a couple of modest nudges to make the trip, Avesa and I booked tickets in the snowy days of 2019. I had never been to Europe and the idea of the Transylvanian region, among the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, being my first travel destination across the pond took me a bit by surprise. There were more than a few nights I lay in bed wondering what I had just gotten myself into.

I am going to cut to the chase and show a few of my photos from the trip. Dana and Brandi are incredible hosts doing truly groundbreaking, inspiring work. Dave was an amazing travel companion helping me to negotiate the nuances of Romanian culture. Avesa and I experienced a world that was beautiful, spirited, awe-inspiring, ragged at times, and in the midst of shaking off decades of rather interesting governing policies (put mildly.)

I will say this. I plan to go back someday soon. I plan to discover more by bikepacking. I plan on consulting to help build a Heck-like event with very Romanian aspects. And I think you should pay attention to the work being done by some truly amazing people in this special valley. Please feel free to contact me (jeremybkershaw@gmail.com) with questions, comments or ideas of visiting. Peace!

Dana, Teo and a small group of us heading out of Lupeni into the mountains

Mountain biking, downhill and enduro are getting very popular in Romania

Everywhere we traveled, locals would welcome us with food and spirits. And hold onto your hat with the homemade stuff.

Dave and I helped do some local beehive relocation work…

…were offered fresh milk, delivered in a recycled, 2 liter Fanta soda bottle…

cycled over Roman/Dacian made roads (80 AD?)

strolled the Saints Tunnel on the ski slopes of Straja, just above the town of Lupeni

And we road the wild roads of the Carpathian’s, home to Europe’s last populations of brown bear, linx and wolves.

Ves and I traveled a lot by train. I have very strong feelings now about humanity, gun violence and the civility that comes from sharing a train with the young, old, rich and poor.

Our post communist-era housing in Lupeni was completely perfect

Ves and I did some side traveling through the ancient cities of Sibiu (this fella was anxiously awaiting his person to come inside…)

the Eyes of Sibiu are a common window construction in this city’s roof-scape

and Sighisoara (do not come here to visit Vlad the Impalers birth place)

If the stars align, I will return to do what I can to assist the good people of this valley.

A sincere thank you to Dave, Dana, Brandi and our family and friends (especially Farrow, Susan Perala-Dewey and the Soderberg family) for helping us complete this journey.

A brief bio on Dana Bates: Dr. Dana Bates is the executive director and co-founder of New Horizons Foundation that pioneered both adventure education and service learning in Romania. The unique youth development programs now span the globe. Dana is also the director of Northwestern College’s Romania Semester. He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. After earning his bachelor’s degree he went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Middlesex University in London. In 2017, he began to dedicate much of his tiime towards the transformation of his coal mining region in Romania through mountain biking and adventure tourism.

A brief bio on Brandi Bates: Brandi Bates graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Brandi co-founded New Horizons Foundation with her husband, Dana Bates. Brandi Bates serves as the Administrative Director for New Horizons Foundation, and she is the Director of the summer Viata Program. She also coordinates Human Resources and fundraising for the Foundation.