Cindrel bike packing adventure reloaded. I think this is the third year we
do this track and not only the trails keep us coming back, I think the refuge
is. The way it looks and where its located has something to it. And doing the
trip this late in the Autumn, when the probability of finding someone at the
refuge is low, makes this more desirable.
This time we did it in the same manner as third years ago, Cindrel
mountains bikepacking trip, but the weather was top. A bit
windy but only to make thing more adventurous. Not to many peoples on the
mountain this time of the year and that suits us well. We saw a guy with a 4×4
going down from Cindrel peak, only to find him turn over on the trail to the
refuge. What a crazy dude to try this track whit a 4×4 car 😲…
didn’t thought he was gone make it down but with a little help from us, he
managed… we pushed him to the refuge and a bit beyond but from there, via con
Dios my friend… 😆
The night at the refuge was top, all alone we started a fire under the 1k
stars hotel. We had lots of food and some Romanian quality beverage 🥃🤩
just enough to get us worm and quite cheerful… In the refuge was quite cozy
and we had a good sleep but wake up early in the morning.
Next day, breakfast with leftovers and then pushbike back to the ridge of
Cindrel mountains, if we could call it a ridge. We did a descent to Canaia
refuge on the other side and then straight back to Paltinis. On our way back we
climb Batrana peak and then made the fun and gnarly descent to Paltinis. This
trail is long very Enduro like and gets easier at the bottom.
All ended up with a beautiful descent to Curmatura, from Oncesti peak, after
meeting up with Alex, a good friend of ours from Sibiu. Check out his YT
channel right here: La vale!
This is the receipt for a terrific weekend ;). Also check out our electric
adventure from last year in this beautiful mountains: Cindrel
electric bikepacking trip, thanks to NevAcademy. Enjoy and
ride safe!
Suru challenge VRR edition!
It has been a while science we got to ride the trails around Suru mountain hut. First time here was I think 4 years back. We did part of the ridge from Scara peak to Budislavu and Suru and then down to the hut. It was a hardcore experience and I bet that we are one in the few groups that did this part of Fagaras mountains by bike….😅💪🍻 look up the old article here: Fagaras enduro and freeride tracks.
You have 2 trails that worth your time, the descent from Suru hut down to Sebes village that is a bit technical at the start but after is full of flow and flat out speed sections and, for the next day you can do the rocky ridge (Chica Pietrelor) that starts right from the ridge of the mountain. For this second descent you have to pushbike 2h from the hut. It is not an easy job but it’s rewording because you will always have a stunning view over the horizon, with Avrig and Sibiu cities and Olt river sneaking at the bottom of the mountain.
The Suru hut itself is nice and cozy, with good beds and great food for which I thank Andrei and I wish him the best.
This came as a pleasant surprise. I knew that Cindrel mountains hold a bunch of great trails but this one was fantastic. Is the type of trail that you could ride a whole week around and not get bored.
And is not the only trail. For those of you loving the all mountain sections and wanting to explore a bit, the ride to Cindrel peak it’s a must. The trail runs right on the ridge of the mountain offering a pleasant view over the surroundings. From Cindrel peak you can take a ride down to Canaia refuge and then head back to Paltinis and link the return with the descent from Batrana col. Last year we did a cool ride with electric bikes around Cindrel mountains that you can check out here: Cindrel electric bikepacking trip, thanks to NevAcademy.
You also get a nice small bike park at Arena Platos where you can practice a bit and get dilled with your bike and skills. The bike park has 3 lines with perfectly built elements.
Fagaras from peak to creek, a weekend to remember @barcaciu mountain hut. The plan was on for this year, we wanted so bad to visit Barcaciu hut and ride some fresh trails in Fagaras mountains. The trigger was some post on NUFO BIKE TRIP YouTube channel and we were certain we wanted to ride those trails as soon as possible.
We made a quick plan and booked some places @Barcaciu even though the weather was not looking friendly. But as I say (ain’t always true) gods favor the strong ones and this weekend was so true. We had some small showers on Saturday, just enough to keep us cool, and on Sunday we had the perfect weather, chill, a bit cloudy for good pictures and no rain.
And the trails, let me tell you about the trails, they were in perfect conditions. You recognize a good mountain hut by the trail that accesses it, and this one was clean as a bike park trail.
On Saturday we send it down from the hut on the same trail we push-biked on and it was amazing. It’s a 4km trail in perfect conditions with some technical bits in the first half, roots and stones and lots of lines, and at the end some nice flow with some tight switchbacks just to keep you on your toes ;). Then pushbike back at the hut for some drinks and a good meal. We had a nice evening, even built up a ramp and jumped it in the sunset light for some cool pictures, thanks Mihai for the good idea, and keeping us in shape for them trails.
Next day we woke up in the morning for a beautiful breakfast in front of the hut. Mrs Mariana cooks up some great food and we left the hut with our energy levels restored. The target was Scara peak and some epic descent on an unmarked trail. We had 3h of pushbike up to the peak and after that over 90% descent, and a long one, around 12km of descent on an epic trail with an unique view over the west part of the country with Olt river sneaking in the horizon. Once we entered the forest, we passed the trail that links Barcaciu to Negoiu hut and stayed on an unmarked trail that was in rather good conditions.
The trail is incredibly beautiful on a loamy terrain. It’s good to have a GPS track with you. We put it on trail forks so check it out if you’re in search of new trails to shred.
Overall it was one of those epic rides that will remain pinned in our memories for a long time. Check out the pictures and the clips bellow for a clear verdict ;). Enjoy and ride safe!
This ride has become a season opener for us. It seems we always take on this ride at the beginning of the seasons when the snow melts and the trails become accessible.
It is an epic and beautiful ride that goes around Bucegi massif. We usually take the cabin from Sinaia, up to 2000 m and from there we begin our ride with a descent to Padina, then a climb to Strunga refuge where we stop for a quick lunch break. From there a beautiful trail awaits us and takes us down to Simon village. After Simon, we start a 3 h climb to Diham mountain hut. From this point we can take several trails down to Busteni, like Izvoare descent, Muchia Lunga or the fire road that takes you to Gura Diham. All of them are easy to ride and fun.
It is one of the rides we will take each year because of the easy access and the beautiful views along the way. You can find the track of our ride at this link on garmin connect. The trails are also on trail forks. Enjoy and ride safe!
This year was supposed to be the first edition of Bacau Enduro, a stage in CNE (Romanian enduro cup) but, due to Covid problems the whole cup was canceled after first stage, Semenic Enduor.
This does not mean that we cannot shred the CNE stops so we headed to Bacau to check out the trails. Cristian Totu, the main shaper here was kind enough to greet us and show us the trails. The community is a small one but very friendly and the trails are fun and kind of tricky, just like Ciocanu Enduro trails. They seem easy but they bite you when you least expect it. From a competitive point of view, the fit racers will have an advantage here because of the pedaling sections but you also have some technical sections that surprise you after some full speed ones. It was very dry and hot so is better to ride the trails in spring or autumn conditions, but we managed them in the August heat too. The access for the peak of the trails is quite easy, you can pedal it all the way up. They have 3 trails ready, all similar but with different features. You will find berm, rock gardens and jumps, all in a progressive way and all fun. Overall they are quite fun trails and if you ride with the locals you will have a 100% authentic experience ;).
Thanks Cristi, Andrei, Ana and Danut for the great time and the beers we had. Can’t wait to ride with you guys again! Cheers mates and we owe you one for setting up these places.
You can look up the trails on trail forks!Enjoy and ride safe!
Sorry to say this, but it was a veritable mudfest this year. We made jokes about the forecast but the weather was way worse than the forecast so we ended up riding 3 days on soaking wet trails.
Too bad for this beautiful place that got to experience such weather in a contest weekend and the trails got to suffer quite a lot ….
This is a shame because here are some of the greatest trails in Ro and I wanted to ride them so bad, just as I remember them.
It was a bit harsh on the organizers too. They found the courage to hold the event, even though the times are not the nicest (Covid and all) and the weather kicked their moral as well.
It was fun the first day in training but being in contest on this kind of a weather, man, it’s too harsh I tell you.
I had to do it just to learn that next time when the forecast comes true and looks like this, I’ll turn myself in an action sports photographer for the time of the contest 😆, it’s safer for me and for my bike, and I still do something more useful than racing 😅🤷♂
Otherwise, the place is great for riding trails, just beautiful. Some nice trails with good dirt, all on a beautiful Mountain with a beautiful lake at the bottom just in the perfect place for you to cool down after a gnarly descent 🌬💪.
Hope next year we get rid of all the troubles and have a perfect enduro season, fingers crossed.
Until next time, cheers to the guys from Bike Attack Resita for holding the contest and check out the trails on trail forks. And don’t forget that the trails are there the whole year, so go visit them, you’ll have a blast riding there 🤗😉. Congratulations to the winners for pulling hard and hope their bikes are ok! Ride safe and enjoy!
P.S. For accommodation in the area, if you don’t look for something fancy, you can check out Haus Hubertusplace, it’s a very nice hut with a great garden where you can even camp 😉 Great food also!
Don’t stay home, it’s a trap. After this pandemic period, the weather went crazy, lots of rain, If we were to listen to the forecast, we should have stayed in home for the last couple of weekends. But as I say, if you snooze, you lose so to avoid this, we headed to Straja for 3 days ride in the area. We heard some rumors that the trails are in perfect conditions and that we would have shuttle there so we seized the opportunity.
We were quite right and the guys from Straja Extrem Park hooked us up with a shuttle for 2 days. It’s a blast to ride the 2 long trails from Straja. Baloo trail is nice and flowy and Wolves trail it’s a bit more technical but with loads of natural flow. Both are very long and you can feel your whole body worked up by the end of the trail. You don’t need more than 5-6 descents to declare yourself pleased for the day.
But this ain’t all, there is more in the area for you to ride. Don’t miss Valcan trail, this one is without a doubt the funniest of them. Again a berm jem and longer than the other 2. You really feel you’re alive. We hit it like 8 times and didn’t get bored :D.
What we want to tell you is that the combinations of the 3 long trails are for sure the recipe for a terrific weekend ;).
For accommodation we went to Allma mountain hutas usual. Nice cosy place where you feel directly @ home. You can cook yourself anything in the kitchen and hang out in the living or on the great view balcony. We always stay here once in Straja, you can see the place in the picture bellow.
Ok, so this article is just a hint for how and where to spend a nice weekend riding with your buddies. All trails are on trailforks. More ideas are to follow so just stay tuned 😉 Enjoy and ride safe!
I had some unfinished businesses in the south, one free weekend and decided to go back again. The weather was very unpredictable, lot of rain all over the country, but as I always say, any weekend away from Bucharest riding my bike is a great weekend.
With this in mind, I loaded my stuff and my battle horse in the car again and headed south. First day I rode the usual trails of Mehedinti Enduroand meet Pufi on the trails. He was on a shovel day as his bike was in service. After a couple of rides, Eugen Kable came and we took another two rides and then call it a day.
In the evening and the next day in the morning I got to explore more the city center of Drobeta Turnu Severin. Man, this city has some good to great concrete, just perfect for some street sessions. I had my roller blades with me but I was just too tired. I have to come back another time to explore more the streets of Turnu Severin.
Second day I headed of with Eugen to Bahna trails, you can look them up on trail forks. What a pleasant surprise! The trails here are so different, so diverse and these ones are just a MTB gem. Technical stuff with some insane view over Bahna village. You have to look up the trails on trail forks, you have a description there, but let me ensure you they are freaking awesome. There are 4 trails, 3 with some black sections and one more of a blue one but don’t underestimate her because she has some nice curves that will make you howl like a wolf 😆😍. You can combine the trails in the area for a couple of days ride and you will have a great vacation. Have in mind that the access is by pushbike or pedal so don’t except any shortcuts… earn your turns!
This county is just awesome, has so much to offer in terms of enduro mountain biking, all mountain and trail riding. You just have to move your ass from the couch and explore. Any part of this beautiful country has its charms for sure, but I always come back and find joy, peace and thrill in this place in a strange mixture… And yes, people still wear opinci here (traditional sandals) and not for touristic purposes… They are made from recycled rubber but they look the same… a few years back, I was at Isverna and saw an old lady wearing some authentic ones made from pig skin… it’s a free entrance museum of any kind, you just have to pay attention.
This time we got to ride some fresh dirt, or rocks right in the heart of Cernei Mountains. We did one of the gnarliest descents right from the top of peak Vlascu and all the way down to Cernei Valley. In the middle we ran into the trail we did a few years back, you can find it in this article Mehedinti FTW.
The trail is still in pretty good shape because people from the villages use it for commute. You can find some cow shit along the path but it’s ok, makes the ride all more natural :))).
When we reached our tents we were exhausted after 40km with over 1800m elevation and quite some pushbike.
Totally worth it and having the tents at the bottom of the descent was such a joy. We jumped right into the river to revive our bodies and we shared the cold beers to everyone.
This trip is one to be repeated, but next time we have to end it up in a hot spring in Băile Herculane, that’s a wish yet not fulfilled for me :))) so stay tuned because it’s gonna happen one of these days X).
Next day the forecast kicked in and we had some fresh rain right in the morning. We gathered our tents and stuff, made a fire and cooked some eggs and potatoes but not after checking out a fresh trail, an easier alternative to the Tesnei descent. Worth the pushbike and it was a great way to end up a beautiful post pandemic trip
Yes, we really deserved this ride. Please don’t be scared of the number of people in the picture, yes, we did know that we will meet but we were separated groups of 3 persons or less that met there and happened to take the same ride in Leaota mountains, so don’t judge.
It was a well deserved ride, hard, but we enjoyed it very much. Leaota mountains are quite underestimated. They hold a bunch of awesome trails, hard to access because you have to pedal your way up but, let me confirm that you will not regret the climb of a few hours.
The terrain is wild, natural, technical and offers a great view over the horizon and the other mountains in proximity like Bucegi, Iezer or Piatra Craiului.
Only the view is enough for rewording the climb, but if you consider the trails, clearly you are the winner.
Not long after the start we kind of forgot the harsh past 2 months and we gave ourselves to the ride, enjoyed it and made laughs of our rusty bodies …. this is truly a medicine for the heart, mountains are beautiful and bikes are awesome
Until next time, enjoy and ride safe, we sure will!
What do you take on for the ride?! essential stuff or waste of weight?!
Last year I helped writing an article about adventure bike packing and the things we should carry on a bike ride, depending on the type, place and length of the ride you are about to take.
The thing is that you have to be dynamic in everything you do, in how you ride, what decisions you make, and change your track if necessary and also in what you take with you on the ride. Yes, is good to have everything with you and don’t miss a thing when you camp but maybe you will not enjoy the trail that much with a 10kg backpack on you or with lots of stuff hanging from the bike. I for one don’t want to sacrifice the descent as much as possible, I like to enjoy every bit of it and ride it in almost normal conditions not being forced to take it to slowly because of the stuff I carry. That’s why I try not to take unnecessary things with me and I am very pleased when everything in my backpack (except first aid kit) is used and I did not carry anything useless with me :).
To help organize your backpack, you can use this website I find very simple and practical: lighterpack.com
With this in mind, I would split the bike luggage in 3 groups: super light, light and bike packing.
“Super light” luggage – for half-day or maximum 1-day ride
These are fun rides, for training in the bike park or on enduro trails. These are rides on routes that you already know and where no significant surprises can occur. These are rides in which you can leave later in the day and which you can finish without worries over a beer in the evening. In such rides the luggage is super minimal and many of the objects, such as tools, it is recommended not to be taken in duplicates. For example, a pump is enough for everyone or a single multi tool. The recommendation is also valid for the other two types of luggage.
In a “Super light” ride it is enough to have the things below. Luggage should not exceed 1-1.5 kg.
Helmet
Snacks (2-3 energy bars / chocolate, a sandwich, possibly 1 energy gel)
Spare tire tube, self-adhesive patches, levers, pump, multi tool (except for the tube, the others are enough to be in one for the entire group, spread to other friends in the brat pack :)))
Water bottle – with water 😉
Hip bag (optional), in which you carry tools and snacks
Knee pads (elbow pads are optional or depending on your experience)
2. “Light” luggage – for tours of 1 day or maximum 2.
The 1-2 days tours can be characterized as “short adventures”, in search of beautiful alpine trails. These are rides in which we do some exploration with an average level of “surprises”. It is not excluded to reach unknown areas from which we must get out safely. However, it is important to mention that having this luggage with you, rides should not exceed two days.
For safety we will have several items with us, such as a headlamp, first aid kit or change / sleeping clothes. If the ride involves sleeping in a shelter or a mountain refuge, we must also have a “light” sleeping bag. If we stay at a cottage, there is no need.
For such a ride, a backpack of 20-25 L is needed, and the weight should not exceed 3 kg (excluding the weight of the backpack). It is also important to say that the weight of the luggage is directly proportional to the accommodation comfort. The larger the luggage, the greater the comfort. I always sacrifice a little of the comfort side of the ride to have a lighter and more balanced luggage, to feel freer on the bike.
Helmet
Snacks – double the quantity from the “super light” luggage or keep the same number of energy bars if you can refuel on the route
The same tools (it is recommended to be fixed on the bike and not carried in the backpack)
Rain jacket
First aid kit
Sun lotion
Photo / video camera (or phone only)
Headlamp
1 liter of water (possibly with hydration powder if you know it helps)
3. “Bike packing” luggage – for rides that take more than 2 days
This baggage can be more complicated and certainly heavier, but it should not be discouraging. It depends a lot on how you evaluate yourself – whether you feel colder or not, whether you eat a lot or not, etc. And that’s because you don’t want to take with you things you won’t use, excluding tools, or first aid kits. During the multi-day tours, surprises can appear on the route, from bad weather to dead ends on the route and you have to make a U-turn or get stuck there. These are reasons why luggage gets bigger, with more food, spare clothes and extra equipment. The luggage must contain food for two meals (evening and morning) as well as snacks during the day, if you know that the route does not go near “civilization”. If you go down to the cottage or a mountain hut in the evening, you can lose food because you will eat there. But if the route is only on top, on ridges, then the self-assessment we were talking about matters a lot. As for the food, in the evening you can be satisfied with “gas station” type sandwiches that withstand a day of heat or you can add comfort if you have small burner and some quick cooking food. But keep in mind that luggage can be shared between members of the ride. The burner can be stored in someone’s backpack, the gas container can be carried by someone else, and the dishes can be carried by the third riding buddy.
Also, if there is an epic trip and you are going to wild camp, you should have more specific equipment like bivouac bag (in addition to sleeping bag), air mattress or tarp under which 3 people can sleep. The survival foil is very effective, put under the mattress, and does not weigh much. In addition, it is very useful in case of an accident. For a warm sleep don’t forget that the surviving foil must be put with the silver part towards your body.
Helmet
Knee pads (optional)
Food for two days – it is preferable for the route to pass through areas with villages, cottages from where you can resupply. Otherwise the luggage is a bit bigger
Tea or coffee – for relaxation in the evening and in the morning when you look at the mountain tops 😉
Tools (to be shared between members, taking care that the spare space remains in everyone’s backpack)
First aid kit
Sun lotion
Photo / video camera (or phone only)
External battery – for phone, video camera, GPS
GPS or cycling computer (preferably with navigation included)
Headlamp
Small burner (primus – 110-200g) and gas supply (capacity 100 g or more, 230 g if there are several riders in the lap)
Drinking cup for each rider
Spork (spoon, fork and knife integrated into a single object)
Lighter / flint (if you want a campfire or for the burner)
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Wet wipes for intimate care
Sleeping bag, bivouac bag, mattress
Change clothes, for wet or cold weather – it’s up to you how you can stand the cold
1-2 L of water – depends on whether you still find on the route for resupply (springs, cottages, villages)
Tent or tarp. The components of the tent (tent, tarp, sticks, nails) can be divided between ride members. There are also self-supporting tents. They no longer need the inner tent or nails because the upper tent is supporting itself using only the sticks.
Backpack 25-30 L.
You can check the representation of the bike packing luggage on lighterpack here.
This one is from far back, I think 2 years back. An awesome trip near Sopot and Botev peak, in central Balkans, all thanks to our friends from Old Mountain Epic. It was the most hard core ride I have taken so far, an all day out trip! Our neighbors’ country is beautiful and we have to explore it more. A beautiful ride with a beautiful crew. You can find out more content about this trip in this article we wrote in the past: Old Mountain Epic trip in Veliko Tarnovo and Sopot, or more about Veliko Tarnovo and Old Mountain Epic in the article about our Halloween ride 🙂 VELIKO TARNOVO HALLOWEEN BIKERIDE PARTY
Probably the last ski day of this season, but we shell see. Not much options left, no lift access, not allowed to ride in larger groups, this kind of post apocaliptic atmosphere its nice but I don’t want to get used to it…
We put a nice patch to a rather bad season, with this last ski touring day. Looking bad, yes, we had bad snow, yes, we had less ski days and almost no powder but it was nice, I for one have good memories and got to ski some new places this year so i m pretty much satisfied. Now ill wait for the next one and hope that bike season will not be to much affected by these uncertain times… Thanks and ride safe y’all!
An experience of some weekends ago, probably the only powdered days of the year.
Balea Lac and Fagaras mountains remain one of the coolest back country and freeride areas in RO and probably the only mountains with serious lines. Easy to admire but dangerous to approach 😆😅💪… I m glad we chose to go there. In the first day we skin our way up from Capra cottage to Balea Lac, then ski down to Doamnei valley, skin up again and made a final descent on Balea Valley, just under the cable car. We had fresh snow and was nice to remember how that feels. Then we took the cable car up and parked out skis at Balea Lac.
We sincerely liked to stay at Balea Lac or Balea Lac 2 cottage, clean rooms, clean bathrooms, hot water and good food, we clearly recommend it.
The second day spent at Balea we skin our way up vaiuga , near Vanatoarea lui Buteanu peak, made a descent to Capra lake, skin up again and then chose to go down the south part, in the sun and at a later hour, following a group of austrian skiers that had a guide. I would honestly recomand to avoid this area on clearer days and with temperatures over 5-6C degrees, especially when there is fresh snow accumulations. I found the snow quite heavy…
Ofcourse, we had to go down anyway because we had our car at Capra and we would either go down now or later…The transfer to the south part during the heating periods is very debatable.
Until next time, ride safe!
Cindrel bike packing adventure reloaded. I think this is the third year we
do this track and not only the trails keep us coming back, I think the refuge
is. The way it looks and where its located has something to it. And doing the
trip this late in the Autumn, when the probability of finding someone at the
refuge is low, makes this more desirable.
This time we did it in the same manner as third years ago, Cindrel
mountains bikepacking trip, but the weather was top. A bit
windy but only to make thing more adventurous. Not to many peoples on the
mountain this time of the year and that suits us well. We saw a guy with a 4×4
going down from Cindrel peak, only to find him turn over on the trail to the
refuge. What a crazy dude to try this track whit a 4×4 car 😲…
didn’t thought he was gone make it down but with a little help from us, he
managed… we pushed him to the refuge and a bit beyond but from there, via con
Dios my friend… 😆
The night at the refuge was top, all alone we started a fire under the 1k
stars hotel. We had lots of food and some Romanian quality beverage 🥃🤩
just enough to get us worm and quite cheerful… In the refuge was quite cozy
and we had a good sleep but wake up early in the morning.
Next day, breakfast with leftovers and then pushbike back to the ridge of
Cindrel mountains, if we could call it a ridge. We did a descent to Canaia
refuge on the other side and then straight back to Paltinis. On our way back we
climb Batrana peak and then made the fun and gnarly descent to Paltinis. This
trail is long very Enduro like and gets easier at the bottom.
All ended up with a beautiful descent to Curmatura, from Oncesti peak, after
meeting up with Alex, a good friend of ours from Sibiu. Check out his YT
channel right here: La vale!
This is the receipt for a terrific weekend ;). Also check out our electric
adventure from last year in this beautiful mountains: Cindrel
electric bikepacking trip, thanks to NevAcademy. Enjoy and
ride safe!
Vertical Riding Romania 