Tag: Transylvania
In a very busy summer schedule we are now and then able to squeeze in a short tour that is part exploration, and part photo and video shooting opportunity. This July we went for a loop in the West side of the Bucegi Mountains for a true joy ride up and down the Strunga Pass. The Strunga Pass descent is one of the highlights of what Romania has to offer in terms of pure, natural trails that can be ridden on a mountain bike. What makes it special is a…
You don't see very often people from New Zealand travelling half the world to visit Romania. Sam had a special reason: his daughter was competing in the NZ team at the Junior World Kayak Championships near the city of Pitești. As a keen mountain biker, he thought he might squeeze in a few days of riding on our local trails before watching the competition. So he wrote us an email. The rest was, as they say, history: we got for Sam a good rental bike, designed a four days route…
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),…
Here we are in 2019, our third year of organising open tours, and the most popular so far is the Transylvanian Alps program. The idea of traversing on mountain bike five different mountains in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains near Brasov, Central Romania, seems to appeal to a good number of mountain bikers. This time around the participants were all German. Among them a family of three: Mum, Dad, and their 14 years old daughter. Initially, only the parents were to come, but after a few email exchanges we decided that…
On his home back to Switzerland from a ten-days mtb trip in Georgia, Manuel thought he me might be able to squeeze in a few more days of mountain biking. The Romanian Carpathian Mountains were among the options, so he wrote us an email. We were quick to answer, he was equally quick in confirming, so August found us riding together the trails of Postavaru, Piatra Craiului and Bucegi Mountains. Here is a video edit of the last two days, sampling the great variety of natural trails our mountains are…
April is usually one of the best months for riding our local trails. It might sound surprising, so let me explain. The trails are really quiet: not many hikers, not many bikers, as people are still kept indoors by the not-really-gone winter. The temperatures are close to ideal for biking: not too cold, not too warm. The trails are pretty dry, as the trees and the plants are sucking all the moisture from the ground to fuel to soon-to-come explosion of green. Visibility is quite good inside the forest, without…
Let's face it, "I am going to Romania for my mtb holidays" is the kind of statement that will raise an eyebrow or two among one's fellow work colleagues, friends or family. People come to our neck of the woods for anything but our notoriety. It's rather the other way around. Precisely because of its lack of appeal Romania gets to be chosen by people who want to stay away from the hordes of tourists that invade the Alps. Or by people searching the adventure of discovering "uncharted" territories. Or by…
"Well, I just doubled the number of sunny days for this summer", Martin said after the first day of glorious weather during our Transylvanian Alps Open tour, September 2017. And five similar days followed, with incredible blue sky, and some fluffy clouds for better contrast. As the other three Swedes in the group, when travelling abroad for the summer holidays Martin is looking for something generally warmer and sunnier than what's usually on the menu at home. Or at least less muddy as the trails Charles and Garry (another two…
This season we tested extensively the papanași* as a genuine Romanian sports nutrition supplement. They worked wonders before, during and after intense mountain biking riding :). (Hey, some may argue the papanași are a very good substitute for sports itself, but we definitely wouldn't go as far). And what better endurance test than the Transylvanian Alps tour? Intensive climbs, technical descents, single trails riding up and down from 800 to 2500 m altitudes, through forests, pastures, deep into the mountain gorges or on the mountain crests. Plenty of carbohydrates, sugars,…
Most of the times mountain biking is a man's world. Any stats I stumble upon, be it magazine readers, equipment purchase, website's audience (yes, including this one), they all show that men are an overwhelming majority in anything related to mountain biking. It's true even with topics leg waxing, or what gloves colour would do justice to the newly bought lime-green frame-set (and also accommodate those awesome purple baggy pants). So, a seven persons group of mountain bikers from Germany counting no less than four women was something really out…
