Tag: 5D mkII

Piatra Craiului revisited

It was in August 2010 when Robbie, Steve and I went biking in Bucegi, up to Poiana Gutanu and down to Simon village. The following day we were supposed to hit the trails in Piatra Craiului, but the weather had other plans for us. One delay after another, and it was May 2011 when we were finally able to finish our tour. This time in a bigger group, with Andreea, Lenuta and Mihai joining us. [singlepic id=506 w=200 h=137 float=right] The Piatra Craiului tour is a classic. The first ride…

Bulgaristan by bike

This year, our mountain biking season started in Bulgaria! My parents took us to the Golden Sands for Easter break. And since Horia and I are not very passionate about the all inclusive deal, we decided to break ranks and take the bikes along. So Horia consulted with his buddy, Google Maps is his name, and drew two tracks through the Golden Sands reservation and the hills surrounding it. We planned to nice little rides, to kick start the season: some 35 km during the first day (with 1,000 m…

Ski touring in Cindrel

Snow was scarce this winter. Some did fall, but not enough. We only got a few days of good skiing in Poiana Brasov in March. That was it. Then, spring came, and with it the snow. Lots of it, but not the lasting kind... Before it melted all away, we got to enjoy a nice ski touring weekend in Cindrel, which is a massive situated above the winter resort of Paltinis, in Sibiu County. Many people say that ski touring is the winter equivalent of mountain biking - some believe…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I hope 2010 was good on you and 2011 will be even better. Until the snow comes, if it ever does, we invite you to look over a summary of our 2010 rides, edited together in a 3 min video. Music by Moonlit Saylor. Have a good one!

Autumn light

This autumn, the weather we were expecting in October came in November. It’s been weeks now since it hasn’t rained in Brasov, the sky is almost always clear and we are enjoying mild temperatures, even early in the morning. Just the perfect excuse the give the bikes one more try, before the weather eventually turns sour and we start thinking about winter sports. We opted for a tour around Poiana Marului, a place we just recently visited, and another tour under the western wall of the Bucegi Mountains, around Poiana…

Over the hills, in Poiana Mărului

We’ve been planning to go on a ride around Poiana Marului for a long. We kept postponing it, on account of the weather, or the “competition” – from Brasov you can easily get to much more popular areas such as Postavaru, Piatra Craiului, Bucegi. The Persani Mountains (to which the hills of Poiana Marului belong to) are constantly left out because people find them less then glamorous, being too small and unimportant in their class. No imposing peaks, no rocky ridges; however, their mellow crests, easy slopes, and old beech…

Mountainbiking in the hills near Bran

During a weekend when everyone was focusing on the Sibiu marathon, I went mountain biking on the Simon hills, near Bran. My touring partners: Steve and Robbie - who, after fours years of living and cycling in Romania, decided to take things one step further in the difficulty department. So, from taking the cable car up the mountain in Sinaia, they were now dealing with the ups and downs of Poiana Gutanu, underneath the Bucegi Mountains, and the ridge situated on the south east of Simon. During our trip we…

Camera, action!

Nice weather for biking around Piatra Craiului. Sunny enough, without it being too warm. In the shade it was a bit nippy though. I took the opportunity to test my new 5D mark II camera, which I’ve been coveting for a while, but could not afford. Some unfortunate incidents forced me to afford it and here are the results: As you might have already guessed, it’s hand held filming. There are no color corrections or uplifting music. Everything is how the camera captured it, with the original sound – including…