If you came looking for mountains, this Piatra will surprise you. The village sits down on the edge of the Romanian Plain, in Olt county, a long way south of the Bucegi, next to the small town of Piatra Olt and just a short run from Slatina. The landscape around it is wide and flat to gently rolling: fields of maize, wheat and sunflowers that stretch to the horizon, lines of acacia and poplar along the roads, and the broad Olt river flowing south toward the Danube. It is the Romania of farming villages and long horizons rather than castles and hairpins.
Piatra Olt itself is a railway junction town, where the lines from Craiova and from Slatina meet, and it grew up around that role. The region has deep roots, though. South of here, near Reșca, are the remains of Romula, one of the most important Roman towns in Dacia, which served as a regional capital after the conquest under Trajan. The Olt valley was the main route north from the Danube into the Carpathians for the Romans and for later armies, and it is still a key corridor today. In summer the villages smell of dust, hay and grilled meat, and roadside stalls sell watermelons from the sandy soils along the river.
The riding here is straightforward. Roads are mostly straight, with sweeping bends where they follow the river or climb gently between terraces of the valley. Surfaces vary from smooth new asphalt to patched and potholed country lanes, and you will share the road with horse-drawn carts, tractors and dogs that take an interest in motorcycles. Summers are very hot, often well above thirty degrees, and there is little shade, so the best times to ride are morning and evening, or in spring and early autumn. Watch for slow traffic in villages and for lorries on the main road along the Olt.
Practical needs are well covered: Piatra Olt has fuel and shops, and Slatina, the county seat, is close by to the north with everything a rider might need. If your route continues toward the mountains, the Olt valley road north through Râmnicu Vâlcea leads up into the Carpathians, and the real climbing starts there. Treat this as a stop for water, fuel and a cold drink in the shade before the long run north.