Tag: trip

Martin’s unexpected days of summer

"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…

Transylvanian Alps – Papanași Power

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,…

October mountain biking bliss

October is an ideal time for short rides. Yes, the times of week-long tours are gone, but blitzkrieg type of tours are there for the taking. Like the two days mountain bike tour we enjoyed with Robin, from Iceland. Piatra Craiului and Bucegi Mountains were still a little bit shell-shocked after a short but intensive snow session up on the high pastures, but on the lower slopes the trails were just brilliant. There are still a couple of weeks till we switch for the winter hours, so get your bike…

Transylvanian Alps, Girl Power

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…

Age is just a number

In a day and age where the electric mountain bikes are stealing the front pages, a six days trip around and up the Bucegi Mountains with Mark, Rob, Rod and Paul was as refreshing as a gulp of fresh water from a mountain spring. With just one guy below 60 to balance a little bit the average of the group, the four Brits proved time and again that age is just a number. Long climbs on dirt roads, like going from the old city of Brașov up to the local…

Taming the Transylvanian Alps

Our Transylvanian Alps tour is quite a tough nut to crack. Six days of intensive single trail mountain biking, with demanding uphills and descents. The majority of our guests tend to underestimate the level of difficulty, judging the mountains on pure altitude terms. Not the Swedes. Maybe they have a special thing for endurance, with their long and cold winters. Or maybe we were just lucky, being visited only by Swedish bikers able and willing to tame the most demanding mountain trails. Viktor, Martin, Rickard and Elias chose Romania for…

Bucegi two-days mtb ride

Bucegi Mountains are by far the most bikeable high altitude mountains in Romania. With a high plateau with altitudes around 2000 metres, with the highest point (Omu Peak, 2507 m) reachable by bike, with some cable car options, a high altitude asphalt road and a good variety of huts and hotels, the Bucegi Natural Park can easily accommodate cross country riders and enduro/freeride enthusiasts. The diversity of trails (up the high plateau, but also on the East or West foothills) offers enough options for a full week program (like the…

Bucegi Circuit 2017 – first instalment

Our first Bucegi Circuit tour for the 2017 season had special guests from Israel. The four brave mountain bikers came to Romania for a nice biking holiday and ended up with much more than that: they've sampled what "mountain" stands for in "mountain-biking", they've improved their skills on bike both for the climbs and the descents, they enjoyed premium landscapes in the magnificent Romanian mountains, and they enjoyed some mouth watering home-made meals at selected accommodation places. After a warming-up day in Postăvaru Mountain, we circled, traversed, climbed and descended…

Carpat MTB Enduro

The Carpat MTB Enduro comes with a carefully selected list of trails to please the most demanding singletrack aficionados. Natural, trekking and hiking trails with whatever mother nature decided to throw into the mix: roots, logs, stones and rock gardens, sharp turns, exposed ridges. Plus some man-made, bike-park kind of runs. You name it, we got it covered. About three times more altitude drop than climbing on bike, meaning we'll use cable cars or motorised vehicles to cover some of the uphill. Still enough climbing on the menu, with some…

Short mtb trips around Brasov

Apart from the usual multi-days tours, the 2016 season brought us an unexpected increase of the single or couple of days mtb trips. People coming to Brasov area from overseas on business trips and adding a day or two of outdoor activities to the mix, a bunch of expats working in Romania and wanting to see and bike more of the Romanian trails, a few outdoor activities organizers coming in Brasov to test local opportunities, and many more. An ever growing list of more of less improbable scenarios brings bikers…