Dusty Lizard Romania 2026

Last year’s Dusty Lizard campout in Romania was the first one we attended. As soon as the event was over, we knew we’d be back. Fast-forward to early August 2026, and we’re in Păltiniș once again.

Basecamp was set up at the same spot as the previous year, and we felt at home right away. Waking up early and watching the sunrise from above never gets old. The vibe at the camp is super relaxed and something you have to experience. The chill, the people, the food, live music, and big, big campfires...

Nikola and I made a more appropriate choice of bikes this time around. Nikola was on a Yamaha Tenere 700 Rally, and I was on a KTM 390 Adventure R. Proper off-road riding opportunities have been sparse for us this year, so we wanted to make the most of our time in Romania. Opting for five days gave us a chance to ride almost all of the available tracks. For us, this is an extremely fun way to test our products and to get inspired for the new ones.

Day one dawned clear and sunny and we decided to go for the longest track. Why? It's the only one that goes over Strategica road. The most scenic and attractive nature in the area. You definitely want to go there on a nice day.

One bonus feature of this trail, if you ride it clockwise, is that Strategica connects to the pavement near the top of Transalpina pass and you get to ride the north part. Turn after turn on extremely grippy pavement. No photos to share, too busy riding.

On day two, we chose to ride one of the more challenging tracks passing near Sibiu. For those who don't know, Sibiu is the central point of the legendary hard enduro race, the Romaniacs. Mosko team gave us all the opportunity to ride some of the Romaniacs trails which are otherwise off-limits to motorcycle traffic.

Shoutout to Rudi, an awesome guy we met at the camp. He joined us for all the riding days on his KTM 1090. That bike is a beast! So is Rudi.

Meandering single tracks with many elevation changes is not something we have readily available back home and we had a stellar day of riding!

The tracks had just the right amount of difficulty to be challenging without taking away from the endless riding fun. That balance would shift dramatically with some rain. Luckily, the lizard was dusty that day.

The track was relatively short and we didn't take any breaks. Returning to the campsite early gave us a chance to chill and relax. And to test the obstacle course which was freshly set up.

For day three opted to ride the other more difficult route. Having so much fun on the previous day, the expectations were high. And for a long time fun was had. Mix of nice roads and short rocky sections was just right.

Around 65km into the ride came a steep uphill with large loose rocks. Probably less than hundred meters long... It took us more than one hour to get all three bikes up there. By the end of it we were exhausted and very low on water.

Then it took us two more hours to cover the next six kilometers and none of it was fun at the time. It's easy to make wrong riding decisions when you're tired. And it's difficult to pick the bike up, or push it uphill when you're tired. Unfortunately, the first tends to lead to the second.

By the end of it, I have resorted to drinking water straight from the stream (worked out well, fortunately).

After picking the bikes up for millionth time we would take a ten minute break to catch our breath before attempting any riding. 

And no, the trail really wasn't that demanding. Collective exhaustion was a deciding factor. Backtracking was always an option and wouldn't have been a problem, which was comforting. Still, we decided to push on because, well, turning back is never an option.

Once we reached the pavement, the decision to head back to camp was unanimous. After some warm soup, a shot of cold palinka, and plenty of water, it was easy to laugh about the whole experience.

For day four, we knew we wanted to keep things easy. Luckily, the only tracks we hadn't ridden yet were just the right kind. Massive bonus points for some of them being scenic.

Camera stayed in the bag for most of this day. We were simply enjoying the ride. After the previous day's adventure, an easy day with no particular agenda was exactly what we needed.

This was Saturday. We were back at the campsite early and used the opportunity to relax. Vibe at the camp is great for this.

For many of the riders, us included, this was the last night of Dusty Lizard. Massive bone fire, incredible live band and great company helped to turn it into a memorable one. Many stories were told.

Another great Dusty Lizard behind us. It's always great to meet new people, catch up with familiar faces and spend a few days riding together. Big thanks to everyone involved in making the event happen. We'll definitely be back next year.