Tag: mtb

High up the Bucegi Mountains

Bucegi Plateau, Omu Peak, Drumul Granicerilor, Padina, Strunga Ridge and then a descent to Simon. For a long time I have been planning this trip and I had lost all hope of doing it this year, since we had a mostly cold and rainy summer. But the weather was on our side this time, and a good thing that was too. The first ever story we published more then a year ago on this blog was also about a ride through Bucegi. That time we started the ride in Sinaia,…

Photos from Cetatea Braşovului Duathlon

[singlepic id=582 w=500 h=333 float=left]Today I was a photo-witness at the Cetatea Braşovului Duathlon. All the photos where taken on a descent section, just after Poiana Stechil - therefore only the participants to the pro race are featuring. The mountainbiking part of the duathlon is really tough, some say it is the most difficult racing trail in Romania. It is quite short (12,5 km) but it is steep (more than 700m total altitude gain). The weather was very dry in the last weeks in Braşov, so the trails where hard…

Training for Iron Bike Oradea 2011

[singlepic id=528 w=500 h=333 float=left]“Must have been tough on that bike, wouldn’t it have been better had I given you a scythe to help me?” The man was sharpening his scythe in a field on the outskirts of the Magura village, near the cart road that goes up from Moeciu de Jos. The afternoon was hot, the man was surrounded by long lanes of freshly cut luscious grass, while I was already leaving behind 90 km of bike trails and a 3.000 m elevation. The time was right for some…

Our mtb tours in Romania

We organize guided mtb tours in Transylvania, Romania. We have five programs you can choose from: one week, medium to expert level, all inclusive kind of tours. We are also running guiding only programs, if you are keen on solving accommodation and logistics on your own. We have a few fixed dates tours that you can join but we also run them on demand, for specific groups and dates. There's a comprehensive form on the contact page, use it if you want us to help you plan a custom mountain…

Mtb explorations in Mărginimea Sibiului

The old cart road from Sibiel to Crinţ used to be invaded by sand or tall grass - that's how we discovered it four-five years ago, when we started cycling in the Mărginimea Sibiului area. Things look different this year, though. The old road was upgraded to a wider, more accesible dirt road. Most proably because of the forestry works being done in the area, as Crinţ looks as deserted as ever. The military station looks abandondend ages ago, the big farm/pension flanking the road for a few good hundreds…

The First Escape: Adrenaline and Mud

[singlepic id=498 w=500 h=333 float=right]Mihai Constantenec takes his old battered bike to all the Romanian mountain bike competitions out there. The perennial technical troubles – a record number of flat tires, the used up chain or tired rear derailleur - never seem to slow him down. He’s so fast, that you can’t even take a proper photo of him. His quest for adrenaline and speed took him all the way to Bucharest (from the town of Medias, in Sibiu county), to participate at the First Escape. And here he is…

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…

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…