Recently we got to visit Macin mountains and their beautiful trails. Never expect less from this place. If you have a camera with you, even a phone camera, this place will turn you into an awesome photographer. Not a good rider, just an awesome photographer :))). But if you ride these trails a lot, you eventually will become a good rider to 😛
The trails are nit, beautiful and unique in their own way. You have some trails with loose over hard pack where you need to control your speed and brakes very good, you have rocky trails where you don’t want to get a flat or fall, and you have Tasmanian forest like trails … the scenery is very diverse for such a small region, but totally worth the effort. Its quite close to Bucharest (3h drive) and very close to the sea side so you can actually go for a swim after a day of riding ;). Check out Măcin hype, its true! enjoy and ride safe!
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
Yep, another superb one in Mehedinți county 😜, this time 3 new trails and some fun riding on the old ones.
We can’t get enough of this place, it has something different to it, something like a… wonderland 😀 and our buddies here are just cool to ride and hang out with, so no wonder we always come back here with great pleasure. And I have a feeling that it is not the last stop here for this year 😅🤙.
So, this time we did Domogled descent with Feregari descent, and afterwards we went to Tasnei valley and did some hardcore riding, and when I say hardcore, I really mean it. That trail made you look very hard for the word flow in it … But it worked out ok 💪🤭.
After this totally hardcore Saturday, we did the Mehedinți Enduro trails on Sunday, but with a surprising one, the old but new Priest trail which is pretty awesome let me say :D, just check out the video bellow.
Here you can find the videos and some pics from that great weekend. Aaaa, and don’t let me forget, Thanks Jan and Alex for the great pictures and for the great riding, it was a pleasure riding with you and follow you on the trail 👊🍻.
This year is the first edition of Mehedinti enduro, courtesy of Alexandru Pufan aka The Pufalot who has worked his ass off for us to have an awesome contest on the 12th of May here in Topolniței Valley, Mehedinți county.
Yep, this guy has shaped some awesome trails here and took the time to show us around. It is the second time coming here and we had the same feeling, being amazed of what this place has to offer.
The contest itself has around 27.5 km with and elevation of 1350m and 5 downhill stages varying between 1 and 2 km long. Here’s a description of them made by The Pufalot, on which we agree 👊.
The 5 specials from Enduro’s first Mehedinți edition are located on the Topolnița Valley, a diverse area geographically, making the trails quite different from each other.
The first trail, La Muerte Peluda, is the rockiest and the longest (and the most difficult to reach, with a transfer of nearly 7km), with several exposed and inadequate areas. Completely natural, this is in fact an old touristic trail brought back to life with the occasion of the contest.
On the other hand, the second special PS2, Imagination land, will be the shortest but most interesting. It will pass through the ruins of a fortress and will descend along a natural carousel, so that in the end it will pass through a rocky and open area.
The following two, PS3 and PS4 have the same starting point, being constructed from scratch over the past 3 years. Much easier from a technical point of view, they will probably please those who prefer more of a bike park type of trail with lots of berms and jumps.
PS3, Stevie Nicks will actually be a berm skill test for the riders, having a dozen of berms, while the next one, PS4, Blame Canada, will show us who is best in the air, building the biggest gap in the competition. And yes, this guy’s a South Park die hard fan 🤣🤟.
The last trail, Taming Strange, completed this month, is actually a combination of everything we’ve ever met. Technical areas alternate with flow paths, including very tight switchbacks, straight-forward portions, drops and gaps, on unforeseeable terrain 😳.
Hope these words made you an image of what to expect, and if not check up this edit that we made from our first day of riding here.
Second day we took a short trip to Herculane baths to check up some sick exposed trails that we will be uploading soon on youtube. Besides this we will upload all 5 contest trails in the next days so stay tuned on VRR youtube channel 🤙.
Yes, it was a sick weekend and all we have to say is that we can hardly wait for the contest and to come back here to check out more trails. For sure in autumn we plan another trip here, there are so much more trails to be ridden.
This guy is actually shaping the south of this country! Cheers mate! 🍻
P.S.: Remember 12 mai 2019 – Valea Topolnitei. Photo credits: Alexandru Pufan.
You can also check out this article about Mehedinti county: MEHEDINTI FTW
Pe 26.04.2014 am facut o tura usoara pe care o recomand in lipsa de altceva si daca va doriti sa va pastrati jumatate de zi si pentru alte activitati.
Tura se desfasoara intre localitatea Mihai Bravu unde se ajunge foarte usor si Dunare, sub forma unui circuit. Recomandarea personala ar fi sa lasati daca se poate masina in localitatea Uzunu adica in drumul principal deoarece drumul pana in Mihai Bravu pare a fi bombardat recent de un raid aerian.
Odata lasata masina traseul incepe lejer spre centrul localitatii si coboara spre Dunare si spre localitatea Baneasa (alta Baneasa decat cea cunoscuta). Puteti intreba localnicii pentru directii dar va sugerez sa aveti un spartphone cu harti preinstalate sau aplicatia bikemap.
Mai jos regasiti si o harta. Traseul este foarte frumos deoarece va duce prin campuri de grau, rapita si alte plantatii si intr-un final va scoate la dunare unde va puteti odihni. Apoi, inapoi trebuie sa o luati pe alt traseu a.i. sa fie un circuit iar la final trebuie sa serviti o bere la una din bodegile din Mihai Bravu sau Vlad Tepes.
Tot mai jos ar fi cateva poze de pe traseu.
Inca o idee personala, traseul ar fi foarte ok pentru un concurs. Distanta optima, plat, accesibil si daca ploua nu vor fi multe portiuni cu noroi. Ba chiar se pot structura 2-3 nivele/lungimi de traseu. Poate pe viitor o sa vedem “Maratonul Dunarii” :).
Vertical Riding Romania 