Rocky - Remi Gaillard

At 1:56 he is riding a bike :))

A happy biker

Always wear your seat belt

How to get to a very high speed on two wheels?

There are three thing you need (I presume you have good skills, you can handle a bike at a very high speed):

1. a good bike, it's better if you have a road bike because the tires count if you want a really high speed

2. a hill, on a good hill you can get up to about 60 km/h (I got up to 67,2 two days ago)

3. a truck, or a van, a big vehicle, this helps to reduce drag, you just have to get behind it and basically you can go with the same speed - be very careful, this is very dangerous, if the vehicle brakes hard there is a chance that you hit it, or if you get out of the vehicle's protection the wind will hit you very hard 

I have done this a couple of times and I got up to about 70 km/h but this is very dangerous, don't try this unless you have a good bike, good skills and you know the road :)

Presentation, Presentation, Presentation

The most important thing when you cook is that the food has to have a good taste, but there is always a but :)  What is the first thing about you notice about your food? Before tasting the food you see it, so it is very important that the food looks good. You can make the food look good with minimal effort or you can even work a few hours decorating the table.

In my favorite restaurant the food looks very good, and the smell is great to so until I get to taste it my eyes and nose get very happy :)

Never forget to arrange the food so it looks appetizing, even a simple dinner from canned fish and some onions can look good:

One year!

It's been a year since I started racing. Now I'm preparing for the second edition of the race which infected me with the racing bug. Last year I didn't have much training (I just bought my mtb), I didn't have a lot of skills, I didn't have spd pedals, I didn't have a lot of things... But I did well, at first I was a little afraid to pass the other riders (I still have to work on that) but then I got my rhythm and I finished 14th in my category, only 10 minutes behind the leader (the course was 12 kilometers long).

This year I have more skills, more training, better bike (new fork and handlebars) and I want to finish higher. This year there are two courses, a 10 kilometer and a 20 kilometer course. I'm preparing for the longer course but if it's raining I may change my mind :)

Some pictures from last year:

All the pics here.

A new pot in my kitchen

In the new pot I've planted chili seeds :D

As you can see, in the big pot there is something green, I think it is the basil but I'm not a 100% sure, but I will know in few days:

Since I took this picture there are more small plants in the pot and there is one more pot were I will grow some salads for sandwiches and decoration.

The recipe of the week

If I'm home in the weekend I have to cook up something :D

Sunday I've made grilled salmon on top of baby carrots. It's another simple dish (and it was delicious), all you need is some salmon file (about 150 grams per serving), some baby carrots (mine was frozen), a lemon, butter, olive oil and spices. 

I've seasoned the fish with salt and pepper and some lemon juice and then I've cooked it in olive oil and butter (I couldn't decide which is better so I mixed them) for about 10 minute - it depends on how thick is the fish.

I've cooked the frozen baby carrots in water and I added butter, oregano, parsley and salt (I think I added some lemon juice to).

Serve with lemon slices:

Bon Appétit!

Pics from the Critical Mass

Some pics from yesterday, from the Critical Mass:

At the end we had some bread and dripping and onions, yummy :D

After that I went with Rares (in the picture above) in the forest an I got my heart rate up 190!

All the pics here.

Spring is in the forest

Saturday I went for a ride in the forest and it is beautiful, everything is green again :)

A nice inn hidden in the forest

I saw this inn about two years ago and for some time I was planning a bike ride to eat some cordon bleu there. So I hopped on the bike on Saturday...

On the way I saw my friends, the deers:

The weather was great, Spring is beautiful and I was going fast, I was climbing the hills at about 18-20 km/h :)

I headed to Sighisoara, but right before it I turned right towards Medias, I had traveled  52 kilometers at that point. After 4 more kilometers I took a left turn onto some dirt road

I had just a few kilometers to go on that road and then I got to the inn. I wasn't lucky because it is closed until next month :(

Stats:
    - time: 2:22:53
    - distance: 59,30 km 
    - average speed: 24,9 km/h
    - max speed 63,7 km/h

I started to get tired and hungry so I started searching for a restaurant. I've found a very nice restaurant on the side of the road. It had also a hotel and a gas station. 

I had some bean soup (I didn't really liked it) and cordon bleu with fries and some salad. The cordon bleu was pretty good and the waiter was nice and fast so I definitely recommend this place for a quick bite.

After some rest I was back on the road again. Sadly I blew out my legs, I was kind of curious what distance can I ride on high speed, I can ride about 65 kilometers. The wind wasn't helping either it was so powerful that I slowed down very much, I was struggling to keep a decent speed.

Stats:
    - time: 5:03:44
    - distance: 117,03 km 
    - average speed: 23,1 km/h
    - max speed 63,7 km/h

More pics here.

I'll be back! Maybe next month I will eat cordon bleu in the forest :)

A romantic comedy - Leap year

Enjoy!

Car vs Bike

I live in Romania, a country where the bike is considered by a few drivers a thing that doesn't belong on the road. I was surprised when I was in the Netherlands and I was in a car and we were driving after a bike until the road got very wide and it was very safe to pass the bike.

The following story happened yesterday (in Romania) on my training route Targu Mures - Acatari - Targu Mures. In Corunca (it is almost like a suburb) they are laying some pipes on the side of the road so there are some signs on the side of the road. Everybody is in a hurry these days and some drivers don't like the bikers so they sound their horn and the biker should get out of their way. It happened this to me twice, I cursed both drivers but the second car stopped. I wasn't looking for trouble so I just passed the car. But he wasn't giving up so easy so when he passed me he was yelling. I was yelling back and right when he almost accelerated I called him a mutt (a stupid person) and that made him very angry so he stopped again. He got out of the car shouting and came to me and he hit me. I'm not used to fighting (I haven't had a fight for a long-long time) and I always wandered what would I do (too many action movies) and now I found out. I had a pretty good reflex, I raised my arm and he barely touched me because I blocked the blow.

After he left I felt bad that I didn't take at least one picture of the guy or the car. I was hoping that he will stop somewhere and I can take a picture. As I begun the descent to Acatari I saw a police car in the first parking place and after that I saw the car. So I stopped and and took a picture:

When I climbed the hill the cars were still there, I wanted to climb the hill twice but I stopped because I was afraid that on the second descent the guy will hit or scare me. I started talking with the police man and I told him what happened. He talked with the driver but the guy didn't want to admit anything. I found out (from the police) that he got a big ticket (about 100 €) because he didn't pay the road tax :)

Everybody gets from his life what he deserves. :)

This is the reason women need catalogs

Via brandis.

New project in my kitchen

I was thinking of doing this for a long time, so I went to the supermarket and bought a pot, some soil and seeds. I bough parsley and basil seeds, I think I will use these herbs the most (maybe later I will extend my herb collection). Now I'm waiting for some green thing to appear in the pot :D

Angry noodles recipe :)

This is the simplest pasta sauce recipe, and it is very delicious to. All you need is some peeled tomatoes (canned - if you have time you can make it yourself), garlic, basil, chili, chopped fresh parsley and basil. This is how i prepared it:
 - I've heated some olive oil in a pan
 - added the chopped garlic
 - added the peeled tomatoes (break them up)
 - seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and chili
 - boil it for a few minutes
 - cook some pasta
 - put the sauce over the pasta, sprinkle the chopped parsley on top

I didn't have parsley at home so I used fresh garlic:

Bon Appétit! 

New gear

Sunday I bought a heart rate measuring watch:

I tried it out on Sunday and my max heart rate was 182, and the average heart rate was 150. I tried it out yesterday at home on the trainer but there is so much interference in the room that the watch is useless, it stops after about a half a minute :))

Critical Mass in Targu Mures

Sunday (25th April) there is a Critical Mass in Targu Mures. We are meting at the "Sala Polivalenta" at 4 o'clock (pm)  and we bike through the city.

Here are the pics from this event.

Trikes

Cool trikes in this video:

Other benefits of a cold shower

Other benefits of a cold shower (I forgot to add these to my other post):
- short - you are not waisting a lot of time under the shower (no time for singing)
- cheap - cold water is cheaper then hot water, and because it is short you consume less water
- lower carbon footprint - because you are using cold water there are no carbon emissions for heating the water

I started to get used to the cold showers :D

Bike furniture

A lot more bike furniture on this site :)

Cool chair

I would like to have this chair in my apartment:

More interesting chairs here. Via ciclism.ro.

Movie trailer

This is an old movie, but if you have the chance watch it :)

Cold shower!

Take a cold shower for your health!

Yes, it is very healthy to take a cold shower. Here are a few health benefits of a cold shower:

- Brings blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body
- Cleans the circulatory system
- Reduces blood pressure on internal organs
- Provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood
- Strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems
- Contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes
- Strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs

- A brief cold water shower will decrease your body’s “reaction time” to cold. The cold shower “teaches” the blood vessels in your skin to clamp down faster, so you are losing less warmth in draft or cold exposure. Especially, during the winter months while it’s cold outside, you’ll stay warmer, longer.
- Gamma interferon and interleukin-4 are two important virus-fighting cytokines (immune system proteins) A new German study has shown that cold water exposure helps these two disease-fighters work better together, resulting in fewer viral colds.
- A cold shower increases lymphocytes in the blood. Lymphocytes produce antibodies, which help fight germs.
- A cold shower makes you breathe deeply. (A big gasp when the cold water hits the skin!) A deep breath opens closed or clogged alveoli (small air sacs in the lungs) which are then less prone to bronchitis and pneumonia. And deeper breathing means more oxygen for the whole body.
- A cold shower lifts your mood. Depressed people get more colds – probably because depression lowers immunity. A brisk cold shower has been proven to lift the mood and lower stress, both of which jumpstart the immune response – which kills flu and cold germs!

- Better looking skin - when you shower with warm water, it opens up your pores. Then you wash and this cleans up your pores. That’s all good. When you end, it would be best to close your pores and cold water does just that. It’s good to close your pores after you are all cleaned up because it will prevent the pores from being easily clogged by dirt and oil, which causes skin imperfections such as acne for example. Another benefit is that cold water makes your blood vessels constrict which reduces swelling and the appearance of dark circles under your eyes (where skin is at its thinnest). This provides you with a young, healthy glow.
- Healthier hair - cold water makes your hair look healthier and shinier. As a matter of fact, cool air makes your hair shinier too (that’s why there is a cool air button on your hair dryer). What the cold water does is that it closes the cuticle which makes the hair stronger and prevents dirt from easily accumulating within your scalp. Basically, the same principle with how it closes the pores of your skin as mentioned above. Stronger hair, of course, prevents hair from being easily pulled out when you are combing, and it helps in slowing down overall hair loss.
- Mental benefits -here are plenty of mental benefits to ending your shower with cold water. The ancient samurai warriors used to pour buckets of cold river water on their heads every morning in a Shinto practice called Misogi. This was a purification ritual on a spiritual level. They believe that it cleansed their spirit and helped start a new day & new adventure fresh. Cold water obviously helps waking you up, which is what you want in the morning. Also, it energizes you and invigorates your entire being with the essence of life. Give it a try, you will definitely feel more alive! It can also lift you up if you are feeling a little down or unmotivated.

- and for men: cold water helps to increase sperm count and sperm motility

I knew some of these but I found some more on Google :)
Good thing that there is no hot water in the city because the gas bill wasn't payed, so I will be taking cold showers for a few days, after that I will try to get under some cold water after a regular shower :)

I was inspired by earthclinic.com, ownyourhealth.wordpress.com and ineedmotivation.com

Would you stay here?

The new mountain bike hotel is a proposal by philip modest schambelan and anton fromm.
located on the edge of pregasina in italy offers sports enthusiasts a place to stay,
an unforgettable view and a fast connection to an impressive variety of routes, trails
and single tracks.


You can read more here. Via ciclism.ro.

First ride

Saturday the weather was nice for a few hours so I decided go for a ride with my road bike, the first ride with this bike this year. I went on my usual training route (to Acatari) but I wasn't feeling good on the bike, I didn't like the position of the pedals (I tweaked it yesterday), the seat was in the wrong position and the handlebars were in the wrong place. Although I didn't feel good on the bike and the wind got stronger (the storm was coming) I managed to get my average speed up to 26 km/h and my top speed to 56 km/h. But it was worth it to climb the hill to Acatari, the spring is definitely here, everything is green and there are flowers everywhere.

Stats:
    - time: 50:45
    - distance: 22,04 km 
    - average speed: 26 km/h
    - max speed 56 km/h

More pics here.

When I got home I noticed something interesting, I have traveled 3000 km with my road bike :D :

One more picture...

with my new fork and my bikes :)

Another simple recipe - Layered potatoes

There is an old tradition in Transylvania, at Easter the men and boys go and water the women and girls. Int he past they used water but now we use perfume. The boys are rewarded with painted eggs (usually red). When I was younger I used to collect a lot of eggs so after each easter my mom cooked layered potatoes.

All you need is some cooked potatoes, boiled eggs, sour cream and condiments (salt and pepper). I like to add some spicy salami (Szegediner Paprika Salami - it's like pepperoni) which gives some extra flavor to this dish. For an extra kick I added some grounded chili paste to.  Basically you just have to layer these ingredients in a pot, one layer of sliced potatoes, then one layer of sliced eggs and one layer of salami and on top the sour cream. After this you put the  pot into  the oven for about 30 minutes. This is how it looked like:

The last time (about a year ago) I cooked this this I was in Boston. Here are some pics:

You can put cheese on top

More food pics here.

The storm

This is how a thunder storm looks like from my windows:

the clouds were gathering

the rain