manifest

Texts explaining my view on mountain biking, and mountains in general. Check them out if you want to better understand what a guided tour with me is about.

Earn your turns

For the modern-day standards, skiing in my childhood was quite a horrendous affair. The skis were literally just planks of wood. The factory-fitted bolt-on metal edges turned toothless in no time. Heel-free, clamp-style bindings with no release functionality. Leather boots. At least higher up the leg the situation got stiffer thanks to the frozen cotton "ski" pants. Our first slopes were short, the length and altitude gain we were able to step up sideways. Human-powered, state-of-the-art slope grooming technology. And arguably this is when we were having the greatest of…

Mtb tours for real people

If you are a mountain biker, it's hard to scroll through the social media feeds nowadays without getting demotivated, or even depressed. It's either sends or fails. Incredible jumps, gaps, never-ending manuals, endos on steep, rocky terrain, etc or face plants, dead sailors, smashed frames, broken bones, cracked helmets. It's either a Guinnes record, or a visit to the hospital. Or both. To be honest, it's not just about mountain biking. Bouncing from one extreme to another seems to happen in pretty much every walk of life, and it is…

Biking in the mountains

I remember vividly being extremely excited when heading for my first proper mountain bike ride. Following the pattern of a typical trekking day, I purposely pushed a bike up a mountain trail for a fair number of hours, with little to non-existent pedaling time. The fast descent back home on an asphalt mountain road was exhilarating. It definitely seems borderline stupind now, but back then it made a lot of sense. The notion of mountain biking found its way into my little universe back in the nineties, and it was…

MTB on the Andros trails

I spend most of my time in or around the mountains. Even when going on a summer family holiday, usually driving South to the Greek coast, we end up in a very mountainous looking Aegean landscape. I routinely bring my mountain bike with me, but usually I don't get enough time and energy to do serious pedaling or trail riding, too busy baking in the hot sun or chilling in the turquoise waters. This time around I was able to do some proper recky in the island of Andros, home…

Mountain biking with a view

Why do people mountain bike? What are they after? Flow. A sublime state of being that combines levitation with swinging. The closest thing you can get to flying. (Or skiing. Or swimming). Adrenaline. From the physical effort and technical precision required to do a steep, rowdy climb. Or from the 100% concentration needed to solve the continuous stream of problems a natural trail throws at you. Gnarl. That tingling sensation you get in front of a sketchy section of a trail, when you see the line, you kind of know…

Staying unplugged

Looking back to the piece I wrote about electric mountain biking back in 2021, Less is more. Does it still stand? Do I see things differently? Four years ago e-mountainbiking was just erupting in our neck of the woods. Today it pretty much took over. Judging by the people I meet while out riding, sporting a classic bike on our trails is more and more of an exception. While these four years did not make me any younger, I am happy to report that I still don't need the help…

COTIC RocketMax 2024, a buyer’s review

This is a true buyer's review: the COTIC RocketMax frame and all the components used for this built were purchased by me, at true market value. My first proper big rig is in the house. 170mm front travel, 160 rear travel, coil shock. Enduro style frame, wide rims with sturdy tires. How does it fit my riding style? Is it suitable for the UP. DOWN. REPEAT approach to mountain biking that I aim for here, at mtbtours.ro? The short answer, coming after a month of intensive riding on our amazing…

Do you need a guide?

There is a good chance you don’t. You don't need a guide when you ride at home, on familiar trails (you might benefit from a mtb instructor, though). You don't necessarily need a guide when you hit the trails in a bikepark. Standardized signing, comprehensive maps, and hordes of fellow riders will lend you a helping hand in finding your way through the unfamiliar terrain. (Keep in mind the mtb instructor idea, though). You don’t need a guide when you are keen on exploring new places on your own, getting…

Only true-to-life photos

All the photos you see on this website were shot during our own rides. Be it with clients (the vast majority), with friends or by ourselves. The image above, for instance, is taken on the way up to Scara Peak, Făgăraș Mountains, featured in our Carpathian Peaks program. Apart from a very small list of reports about tours abroad, the images were taken on the very trails we bike during our tours. It happens more often than not: lacking good quality photos, one would revert to image banks in order…

Less is more

E-MTB: the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine It seems pretty much decided. The future of mountain biking is electric. From shifters to derailleurs, from seat posts to suspension controls, and last but not least, the assisted pedalling. The ebikes. There is a long list of technical improvements that made mountain biking easier, safer, and more fun. (And also more expensive...) From cantilever brakes we moved to V brakes, which turned obsolete when disk brakes entered our world. We added 3 inches to the…