Larisa Chinces is a cyclist, writer and former multiple national speed skating champion from Romania. Larisa is a well know social media influencer too
There are places in the world that are not only still relatively undiscovered, but that also have road cycling climbs that rank alongside any cycling climbs in the world – welcome to Romania cycling, or to be precise – it’s time to be transfixed by Transylvania!
Stuck for trainer options due to space? This well engineered trainer from Feedback combines the best aspects of rollers & fixed trainer
Good quality cycling gear is important to me, both for performance and for style. Transylvania requires hard cycling, especially in winter and I like to challenge myself. I also like my bib tights to fit well and yes, to show off my athleticism
Base layers have become more popular. It’s not simply about keeping you warm, as the latest garments also manage moisture and have lots of other technical features.
Ssh…don’t tell anyone about this place. It’s a real gem and a secret cycling centre of excellence – Nidderdale. With the long and winding ascent – or descent – of Greenhow Hill, coupled with Lofthouse Bank, it has climbs to match anywhere
My love for sport began since I was a child; I was a very energetic and my parents guided me to practice speed skating, which is not really a popular sport here in my country. I started to be really good at it and had remarkable results.
We ladies want to look good no matter the circumstances and that means that when we are at work, at school, at a date, or even doing sport or other kind of activities we want to look pretty and feel good – and we love shoes 😉
Style and apparel is important to us because if we look good, we feel good. I choose to believe that some of us who are passionate about style and fashion, are a little artist ourselves which use their body as a canvas
I tested 2 sets of tyres from the Pirelli Scorpion™ MTB range which were born from Pirelli’s experience and know how in the world of off-road competitions.
For me, Whinlatter was like a playground. I had so much fun on the muddy and rocky trails and riding straight into puddles. The Orange Four bike made it easier for me to enjoy the trails.
As we develop and grow, it’s time that we had an editorial section on the website, and so here it is. Outlining a cycling journey, Larisa writes about her cycling life, reviews, articles, routes and thoughts. Settle back and chill out then, as Larisa shares her cycling with you.
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Pedalnorth Website2020-04-29 15:32:182020-06-10 19:20:44Brasov to Rasnov Cycle RouteThere are places in the world that are not only still relatively undiscovered, but that also have road cycling climbs that rank alongside any cycling climbs in the world – welcome to Romania cycling, or to be precise – it’s time to be transfixed by Transylvania!
Stuck for trainer options due to space? This well engineered trainer from Feedback combines the best aspects of rollers & fixed trainer
A Cycling Journey
As we develop and grow, it’s time that we had an editorial section on the website, and so here it is. Outlining a cycling journey, Larisa writes about her cycling life, reviews, articles, routes and thoughts. Settle back and chill out then, as Larisa shares her cycling with you.
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Pedalnorth Website
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Pedalnorth Website2020-06-07 12:09:102020-06-27 16:36:38Romania 5 Top Cycling Climbs
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Pedalnorth Website2020-05-01 21:12:062020-06-10 19:33:17Rucar Bran Pass Cycling Route
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Pedalnorth Website2020-05-01 16:21:252020-06-10 19:26:46Trans Bucegi Highway Cycling Route
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Pedalnorth Website2020-04-29 15:32:182020-06-10 19:20:44Brasov to Rasnov Cycle Route
Italy has a passion for road cycling and tough mountain based cycling routes such as the Italian passes. It’s also a world class venue for mountain biking routes, with awesome trails to test the best.
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Into the Fagaras Mountains
This short mountain bike route into the forest close to the historic medieval city of Sibiu in Transylvania, has some testing technical sections and steep climbing. It’s a perfect technical trail ride for a spring or summer spin.
Route Information
Sitting nestled close to the Fagaras Mountains, historic Sibiu is a great base for both road and mountain bike trips. This nearby route from the village of Avrig, takes you along steep and technical trails in the forests, exploring the lower Fagaras mountain biking opportunities.
Stats: 40.7 km and 988 metres of ascent
Refreshments & Where to Stay
Nearby Sibiu has all that you need for your stay, and you can fly in to Sibiu international airport too. There are lots of accommodation choices at all prices. There’s also a wealth of great coffee shops and restaurants to eat at, and lots to explore on foot. The historic centre is one of the most complete medieval cities in Europe and has superb hotels and AirBNB choices to suit all budgets.
Character
This is a short but testing forestry mountain bike trail near Sibiu, with some great technical sections and lots of descending, after the steep inital climbing 😉 It’s a useful spring and summer mtb route for a morning or afternoon ride, before relaxing in this unique area of a Europe – transfixing Transylvania.
Route
1. Unless riding with a local guide, you will need to follow the gps for this route into the hills. Head out of Avrig on the trail marked ‘105F’, passing Cabana Valea Avrigului Ovidiu after a short distance. Continue on,passing the happily named ‘Cabana Smiley’ and several other accommodation opportunities.
2. At the timber structure of ‘Gura Jibrii’ follow the gravelled trail into the trees (10.6 km). The trail climbs and follows the ridgeline in the forest, passing the cabin ‘Anna Charisma’ at 14.6 km.
3. At the 18km point, turn upwards and right, heading away from the river and climbing through trees to the high point, then descending and passing the track junction in the trees and continuing down in the direction of Marsa.
4. At 20.4 km stay on the right hand track and continue down as the trail becomes technical and skirts theforested hillside to Marsa. At 26.5 km the trail levels out for a short distance, descending again after 29 km, as it drops to Marsa.
5. Now take the open trail as it winds its way back to Avrig and the finish. Pack the bike away and drive back to Sibiu for some refreshments and evening exploring.
Click below to download GPX file
Avrig & Lower Fagaras Mountains
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Twisting trails in the trees
Paltinis is a superb mountain resort, close to Sibiu in Transylvania. There are hotel and mountain lodge accommodation options, and the forests here have endless cross country mountain biking trails to explore.
Route Information
Stats: 37km and 1400 metres climbing (Medium Route)
Refreshments & Where to Stay: Paltinis is a small mountain resort with good but limited facilities. Nearby Sibiu is a superb base for the mountains, and has all options for accommodation and places to eat and relax.
Character
This area is wild and beautiful, with natural rugged single and double track trails in the forests. The route is a short journey onto the forest, mixing technical rocky and rooty trails with the wide forest tracks, providing you with some great trail riding.
Route
1. This is a route into mountain forests, so you really do need to follow the gps file to stay safe. There are some technical sections and you need stay on course.
2. Set off into the forest on the trail heading eastwards, riding along the easy to follow trail for 3.2km, where a track on the right should be taken into the trees.
3. The track descends to the 5.6km point, passing and ignoring a track junction on the left at 6.1km, as the trails swings right. It eventually meets old buildings in a clearing at a high point – 9.4km, near Varful Oncesti (on maps).
4. A sharp swing around left (hairpin style) at 10km, leads to a T-junction of tracks at 11.4km – turn left onto the wide track marked Trancindrel, staying on this track until 13.6km, then taking the right forking trail, until 16.6km where a track descends and swings around the hillside back towards the Trans Cindrel at 19.6 (go left).
5. At 21.9km take the rising track that swings left, staying on the Trans Cindrel, which passes by our earlier tracks from the ride out and start to descend after 24km.
6. At 33.7km a track off to the right in the trees, climbs back up to Paltinis and the finish.
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Route Information
Stats: 28.6km and 995 metres climbing (Medium Route)
Refreshments & Where to Stay: Brasov is excellent for all of your needs, and you can book a great place to stay and enjoy the superb trails nearby. It’s a great short mountain bike route, taking in local hills, and you’re never far from villages.
Character
This area is wild and beautiful, with natural rugged single and double track trails in the forests. The route is a short journey onto the hills around Brasov, with some good twisting fun trail riding.
Route
1. This is a route into mountain forests, so you really do need to follow the gps file to stay safe. There are some technical sections and you need stay on course.
2. Climb out of Brasov, taking trails to the right of the DN1E road, towards the equestrian (riding) centre at Spiritul Calor. Then take the trail beneath Braniste as it skirts the edge of the trees.
3. You reach a small group of houses/ lodges at 13km, where the trail then thens left and flows towards the gravel road Strada Vanatorului and continues to the DN1E again.
4. Turn right and after only 300metres take the track on the left into the forests – Drumul Vechi Poienii. This twists and turns as it descends to the 19.4km point, eases off for a short distance, then climbing again steeply to the 22km point just below Stechil summit.
5. Turn down left here and descend all the back to Brasov for 5.5km. Time now for cake and coffee.
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Route Information
Stats: 30km and 1519 metres climbing (Medium Route)
Refreshments & Where to Stay: Brasov is excellent for all of your needs, and you can book a great place to stay and enjoy the superb trails nearby. It’s a great short mountain bike route, taking in local hills, and you’re never far from villages.
Character
This area is wild and beautiful, with natural rugged forest single track trails in the forests. The route takes in tracks that roll and climb with some technical sections, but lots of speed, close to historic Brasov.
Route
1. This is a route into mountain forests, so you really do need to follow the gps file to stay safe. There are some technical sections and you need stay on course.
2. Head out of Brasov on the road, before joining a track on the right after 3.6km. This climbs through trees to the village of Poiana Brasov, where you drop left onto Strada Poiana lui Stechil, taking the track at the end and on the right.
3. Stay on this track until the high point at 11.9km, before descending into the trees in the direction back towards Brasov, passing by some exceptional viewpoints along the way.
4. At the 16km point, the track swings left and continues to descent through tress along the ridgeline, twisting its way downwards.
5. At 18km, just below the summit of Stechil, the tracks twists and descends more steeply for just over 3km, taking you to the edge of the city. You can now either ride into Brasov, or take a few extra kilimetres , riding to the high point of the wooded park just south of the city edges, before dropping down back into Brasov for cake and coffee.
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Route Information
Stats: 26km and 1038 metres climbing (Hard Route)
Refreshments & Where to Stay: Busteni is a good mountain resort for facilities, and nearby Brasov is excellent for all of your needs, and you can book a great place to stay and enjoy the superb trails nearby. It’s a tough mountain route, so please take sufficient drink and snacks with you, although mountain cabins will have options, they are limited.
Character
This area is wild and beautiful, with natural rugged forest single track trails in the forests. The route is suggested with a gondola start to make the most of the rolling trails and to really enjoy the steepand technical descending.
Route
1. This is a route into mountain forests, so you really do need to follow the gps file to stay safe. There are some technical sections and you need stay on course.
2. Take the Gondola from Busteni to the Bucegi mountain tops and then pick up the trail signed to Omu Peak. After a short distance you will see the best known rock formations on the Bucegi Plateau: the Babele and the Sphinx. These megaliths are modeled mainly by wind erosion. The Sphinx, named after its shape that resembles a man’s head, is 8 meters high and 12 meters wide.
3. The rough but wide track road continues about 2 km and at the mid-distance, it goes by the Salvamont Centre Busteni. You leave this road that goes to the Costila Relay and continue on the large path, marked with yellow line, road that goes on a level curve.
4. In a short time you will arrive at the Cerdac, the place where the path splits in two. On the left, the winter trail goes up and the summer trail continues straight ahead. The summer path is exposed and narrow, under the path there is the Valea Cerbului Steep. The track is rocky and tough and care should taken, but at the 5.8km point, you will reach the Omu Hut.
5. From the Omu Chalet you follow the red line marking, on the old road of the frontier guards, the former frontier path between the Transylvania and the Vechiul Regat. The next few km, towards the Strunga Saddle, the trail is rough and less frequented by tourists, but has excellent sections of technical mountain singletrack as it drops down to a track junction at 11.8km.
6. Climb back towards the gondola station above Busteni, but this time, then take the track right, along the edge, to the 17.6km point, turning down towards the Piatra Arsa Cabin, passing this and continuing down passing the Cantonul Jepi cabin too.
7. At the 20km point, the track steepens and becomes technical at times as you enter the forests again and weave your way down the mountain back to Busteni on techinal forest tracks. There are track junctions that can take you towards the water cascade, but avoiding this track will help to avoid the tourists on foot.
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Route Information
Stats: 36km and 1795 metres climbing (Hard Route)
Refreshments & Where to Stay: Magura is a good mountain resort for facilities, and nearby Brasov is excellent for all of your needs, and you can book a great place to stay and enjoy the superb trails nearby. It’s a tough mountain route, so please take sufficient drink and snacks with you, although villages on the edges will have options, they are limited.
The adventurous can also book at stay in the mountains at Cabana Curmătura, which is along the start of this route.
Character
This area is wild and beautiful, with natural rugged forest single track trails in the forests. The initial climb is extremely steep and there may be some bike hiking on the tough climbs. However, the awesome descents are truly rewarding.
Route
1. This is a route into mountain forests, so you really do need to follow the gps file to stay safe. There are some technical sections and you need stay on course.
2. Setting off from Magura, a narrow trail between houses sweeps down to the gravel road and on for 1.9km, to where cars park at the trail head area. This is also a useful place to park and start from if not staying in Magura. However, starting the ride from Magura allows you to warm up before the steep climbing begins.
3. From the car parking area, follow the signs into the trees and uphill. The trail crosses a meadow at 3.8km and heads into tree cover once more, before reaching the high point at the Curmatura hut at the 6.3km point. You can get food and refreshments at the hut and even book accommodation if you’re adventurous.
4. Continue past the hut and descend for 3km to Valea Cheli where climbing begins again. At the 11km point a junction of tracks is met – ride along the right hand track, Valea Prapasiilor, crossing open mounatin meadows after 1.5km.
5. The trail rolls and climbs to a high point at 19.6km shown as Saua Joaca in open meadows, where a right right hand track sweeps around and continues to descend across meadows to the forest, eventually taking you above farm meadows and climbing back into the trees at the 22km point.
6. Climb for 1km and then descend at speed for 3km, passing the initial track junction from the ride out, as you now simply follow the trail back towards the Curmatura hut once more, where you’ll have earned cake and coffee. It’s your choice whether or not you stay in the hut or descend back to Magura.
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Crank it Up!
Robert Thorpe
