Tag: romania

Training for Iron Bike Oradea 2011

[ngg_images image_ids="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…

Sighişoara, easy does it

Finally, summer is here! After a rainy and very cold June, the sun eventually came out, and the weather warmed up. And so, during the first true summer weekend of this year, we went to Sighisoara for a family reunion. As always, the bikes came along for the fun. [ngg_images image_ids="515 w=500 h=333 float=right]Which meant that while the rest of our family was suffering from the heat, we took in the breeze on our bikes, around the Saxon villages and citadels of Sighisoara. On Saturday, we went on a 30…

From Braşov to Buşteni

Since I had a free day during the week, I decided to use it by going on a recky I had been planning for a long time, but hoped I would not have to do by myself – you never know when something on the bike breaks, and you are in the middle of nowhere with no one to help you. And so, I convinced Mihai of Medias to join me in this ride from Brasov to Busteni (the initial track was to Sinaia, but we were cut short by…

Give It Gas

[ngg_images image_ids="509 w=333 h=500 float=left]“We’ve got a car, you don’t need to keep cycling all the way to the finish line”. This is what one of the organizers told me when I reached Bazna, the final checkpoint of the Medias Medieval Marathon 2011, while he was preparing to remove the competition chip from by bike. I was 25 minutes over the allowed time and therefore disqualified. He was probably thinking this was the only comfort he could give me, as he was preparing to take me out of the competition.…

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…

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. [ngg_images image_ids="506 w=200 h=137 float=right] The Piatra Craiului tour is a classic. The first ride…

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…

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 –…