Welcome Spring!
The Transition & Changes
I know a lot of you are tired of winter and can’t wait for the summer, but I can’t really say I feel the same. I like winter only when it snows because I can go skiing and explore mountains while touring. It is a very special and wonderful feeling. But enough with winter, even though there is still snow in the mountains and I can ski. Time for spring spins! Last article I talked about how I prepare my RedChilli bike for riding after a long cold winter. Today I want to talk about my first rides in spring.
At this period of transition, I always try to reintroduce the bike slowly into my program to adapt gradually to the type of effort. It is different than on trainer. For starters I am doing multiple short rides. Meantime I also do trainings in gym to improve my strength. After some short 20-30kms rides I will gradually increase the distance. During week time I plan to do 2 gym trainings and 2 rides; now, I’m doing just one ride per week until the weather warms up.
Happy Memories
I have already ridden the RedChilli for a year now. I can remember the day I received it like it was yesterday. I was so excited I could barely sleep. Seeing the bike made me so thrilled and excited like a child. In this period of riding, I also became attached with my Redchilli.
My Beautiful Transylvania
I love long all-day rides, but the weather isn’t great for these yet. I have been able to get in shorter rides though, in beautiful areas. I always like the ride from Poplaca to Gura Raului. It’s an accessible ride that’s flat, with a few easy climbs to get back into outdoor cycling again. What I like about it is not much traffic and it makes feel safer and more concentrate on the ride. The ride passes through a beautiful open country road, and you can see the white Fagaras Mountains which still are covered in snow.
March has been lovely. It gave us good weather and I had the chance to sneak a ride in Paltinis Mountains. I was an awesome ride, the sun was warm, and the atmosphere was calm, the violet flowers bloomed – It was a perfect day. Up the top the snow was melting on the sides of the road but still settled on the top of the hills, looking beautiful.
Looking Ahead
This year I have some cycling competitions planned, including Transfagarasan Challenge and Paltinis Challenge, which I will be riding with the Pedalnorth Team (you can check them in my last articles). I am thinking about joining some of the running competitions too, but short distances to get into it.
Why not come ride here in Transylvania and visit the beautiful city of Sibiu. It’s a Wolrd Heritage Site and was European Coty of Culture in 2007. We have city bikes for tourists, the centre is closed to traffic and the architecture is amazing. Best of all, there’s often events in the main square, Piata Mare, like concerts that are free. There’s an international airport on the edge of our city and lots of great hotels. If you read our cylcing routes section on our website here, you can see lots of ideas where to ride, including the ride from Poplica, which you’ll really like too – just remember to bring a RedChilli bike!
Did you know that Red Chilli build custom bikes just for you. Yes, you can talk over the bike design with them, choose the best Red Chilli frame, and select everything, including the wheels.
If you’ve enjoyed reading about my new Red Chilli over the last few months, then visit their website and take a look at their range of frames, and build your own beautiful Red Chilli too!
