Category: recky
It's that time of year when we check the weather forecast for the upcoming snowfalls, waiting for the next powder skiing sessions. Plenty of time also to review some of the summer rides on mountain bikes and the hours of video footage recorded at that time. Here is a half an hour edit of clips shot during a six days ride across the Carpathians, from Cicuaş to Bran, cycling on the crests of Grohotişului mountains, Baiului mountains, Bucegi mountains. A photo gallery with images taken during the same tour available…
Some ski touring up in Bucegi in spring 2012, an area where we've been cycling quite a lot this summer, where we plan to ski some more this winter and where, of course, we'll be pedalling once more next summer. It was far from ideal skiing conditions back on March 2012, with some really wet snow, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going! [ngg src="galleries" ids="28" display="basic_thumbnail"]
The third day of all-mountain riding with Sigge and Micke was spent on the trails and tracks of Piatra Craiului National Park. The majestic Zărneşti Gorges, some mild and scenic pastures at Vlăduşca and La Table. The highlight of the day, the downhill from Cabana Curmătura to Fântâna lui Botorog. That's a trail in desperate need for more extensive filming, one good prospect for the coming year. Photos with the to swedes riding in Romania here. The Strunga Pass descent video here, with the same bikers.
They live in Denmark for more than twenty years, but still speak Romanian with a genuine accent. They left Constanţa on the Black Sea shore when they were kids to live with their families close to the wet and chilly North Sea. How were George and Răzvan able to get into mountain biking in Denmark, a country with the highest point barely reaching 171 metres, that's beyond me. Still, they contacted me to help them cycle up in Bucegi Mountains, all the way to Omu Peak - 2504m. They did…
A 11 min video edit from a Bucegi all-mountain session this summer, with Sigge and Micke. We climbed from Padina to Strunga Pass, then all the way down to Bran village. The camera (Go Pro Hero2) was mounted on Sigge's bike during the tough descents (no, there is no fast forward effect) and on mine on softer terrain. Natural sound, as usual, if you want a soundtrack just choose something appropriate from your playlist. Sigge and Micke they both use full-suspension bikes, 150mm travel (rear and front). Pretty heavy bikes…
Four mighty mountain bikers from The Netherlands came to Romania this September to do the "Transylvanian Alps", our advanced six days tour. Karin, Yvonne, Angelique and Henk packed their bikes, jumped the plane in a rainy Eindhoven and arrived in a perfect autumn evening on Otopeni airport, eager to test the Romanian trails. We biked around Ciucas, across the mountains to Azuga, we explored Bucegi mountains from all angles (East and West side foothills and the Bucegi main plateau). We enjoyed thrilling views up the mountains, great runs on forestry…
Three days of all-mountain and freeride biking in Bucegi and Piatra Craiului with Sigge and Mike - a feast for the soul, for the eye, and also for the lens. I didn't mind carrying an extra of almost two kilos of photo and video equipment, as my two riding buddies had plenty to show (off). It was for the first time that my reliable old hard tail bike really felt kind of obsolete, seeing Sigge and Mike flying down the trails: as they liked to say, "You go first and…
We rode this weekend the trails of Postăvaru and Piatra Craiului, and it was great fun. We were also able to dodge some of the terrible heat of this Mediterranean summer by staying under the trees for as much as possible. And as an extra-bonus, an unexpected but quite thrilling photo shooting with a Swedish model: Sigge was kind enough to show us some of his skills. Was it all-mountain? Freeride? Cross-country? Downhill? A little bit of everything. Or, simply, mountainbiking. Thanks, Arnon and Sigge, for a nice weekend. Keep…
I recently spoke with a German mountain biker who told me that it is very difficult for them to find empty trails on their hills, forests, mountains. All the tracks are filled with trekkers, hikers, and, of course, mountain bikers. He also complained about their single trails being "over prepared", meaning that every single little obstacle on the track was removed long ago, in order to provide a smoother, easier, nicer ride (not talking about downhill trails, of course, or specialized bike trails in thematic parks). That's not the case…
If the Romanian mountains are filled with sheep, rural Greece is the land of the goats. Both are generously equipped with equally noisy dogs, always angered by cyclists roaming around their premises. Their barking needs no Romanian (nor Greek) translation. However, this shouldn't prevent people from cycling into the wilderness, enjoying the nature, the sun, the sea, the air, the view. We keep doing that in Greece, one week every late summer, for quite a while now. Be it in Thassos, in Kithera, in Lefkada or in Sithonia, the effort…
