
Category: medium
It was quite some time since we've run our Skills for Thrills mountain biking camps, but this unusual times provided unexpected opportunities. An covid-imposed four weeks vacation meant that plenty of parents were facing a long stretch of not knowing what to do with their kids at home. Getting them on their bikes, learning proper basic skills, enjoying fresh mountain air and great home-made food - sounded like a sound option. And that's exactly what they got during our five days camp in the village of Șimon. A limited number…
With our classic, week-long tours put on hold by the global COVID pandemic, the summer of 2021 was mainly about short, custom made tours. We had a bunch of mountain bikers eager to have a taste of what mtb in the mountains looks like. And a taste they had, realising that mountain biking is (much) more than biking. Physically, technically, mentally. But also a lot of fun, especially for those who accept that enjoyment comes also with plenty of perspiration. We are looking forward to see them up the mountains…
Autumn offers the most dramatic landscapes, and the October 2019 three days tour with Ofir was no different. If you add the white of the winter's first snow to the myriad of shades of falling trees you get the ingredients of a beautiful, majestic, but also quite eerie world. No better time to relive those days but during the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic - and lock-down. Here's a gallery of images that, in the present-day context, seem terrifyingly close to an end-of-the-world scenario. One thing's for sure: if the end of…
Monika, Pliska and Renee travelled to Romania in the beginning of June 2019, geared up for some various outdoors activities and adventures, and with a comprehensive list of places to visit. Their old VW transporter had enough room for three bikes and we used them comprehensively in a four days mountain biking tour. From the Viscri bike trails to the Bucegi high plateau hiking trails, we enjoyed the fresh green of the early summer, the great variety of mountain flowers, a quite diverse lineup of weather situations (mostly wet, though),…
A quite rainy and muddy Skills for Thrills session we had in Piatra Craiului and Bucegi, the kind of weather you loath having for your mountain bike adventure. Until you get on the trail, that is. Because mountain biking is, more often than not, about mud. And once you get wet and dirty, everything gets back to normal. The single tracks are as enjoyable as ever. The learning experience is also very good, as your technique is really put to the test. You have to be so much careful when rolling…
Apart from the usual multi-days tours, the 2016 season brought us an unexpected increase of the single or couple of days mtb trips. People coming to Brasov area from overseas on business trips and adding a day or two of outdoor activities to the mix, a bunch of expats working in Romania and wanting to see and bike more of the Romanian trails, a few outdoor activities organizers coming in Brasov to test local opportunities, and many more. An ever growing list of more of less improbable scenarios brings bikers…
After sampling the mountain biking tours experience with us in 2015, Eva and Christian were eager to taste the unique Transylvanian experience together with a bigger group of friends, offering them a combined trekking and mountain biking program: some people would go mountain biking, some would enjoy hiking, and everybody would regroup over the dinner table. Sharing loughs and stories from the day spent on the early summer flowery trails, eating great local food and recharging batteries for the following day of outdoor adventures. Coming up with a program matching both…
In late late spring 2016 we organised our first mtb technical training weekends and the outcome was more than promising. Mihai Constantenec brought his specific knowledge gained in mtb technical training programs he followed in Austria, I added to the big pot of mountain biking wisdom my own experiences and practical examples and the photo camera. As the following galleries testifies. The first weekend was for families, parents and kids performing exercises in a playground Mihai set up with his cones and his other nicely coloured plastic toys. There was also…
Eva and Christian are travelling to Transylvania quite often, tracing back family roots in and around Sibiu (Hermannstadt) area. This summer they wanted to try something different so they opted for a guided mtb tour, exploring trails in the Fortified Churches area, near Viscri, and then on the foothills of Piatra Craiului and Bucegi mountains. It was a thrilling experience: the already familiar Transylvanian landscape gained new dimensions while biking every day around 30 km of forest, pasture and alpine single tracks, covering vasts areas of unspoiled teritory. [singlepic id=1446 w=728] The mountain…
Pat, Ryan and Martin came to Romania late May for a medium mtb-tour in the Bran County. The rainiest spring we had in many years didn't provide the best of premisses - there was water and there was mud everywhere. The kind of weather that isn't really inviting you to get out, on your bike and ride. But once you've got over that hateful first minute, you realize that some wet dirt cannot and should not stop you from having a great time. With plenty experience of riding in the…