RoDuathlon

Sunday I participated in the national duathlon championship as a photographer. The race was well organized but it is very sad what is happening here. In a country with more than 20 million inhabitants only 20 athletes were battling for the national champion title :(

I uploaded some picture to FB and Picasa.

Critical Mass

Last Saturday I participated in the local Critical Mass. It was probably the biggest so far. There were a lot of people so I couldn't get a green t-shirt this time. I was standing in line like the organizers asked, and they told us that they have enough for everybody but they didn't :(

After the ride there was enough water and bread with grease for everybody. There was a dirt show also. Here are some pictures:

We rode together again

Tuesday we went for a ride to Budiu Mic. The group was smaller than last week but it was fun to ride together. It is getting colder in the evening and the sun is disappearing faster so this was the last group ride for this year. If it will be warm are there are people who want to ride there will be another group ride next Tuesday. Until then we can meet at the Critical Mass on Saturday.

A few pics from Tuesday:

Critical Mass

Nest Saturday, on the 24th of September, a Critical Mass will be organized in Targu Mures at 3PM. This is organized every year in the European Mobility Week. The route is almost unchanged, the start is at the Sala Polivalenta and we pass trough all the major parts of the city. The finish is on the side of the Mures river at the Beer Pharmacy. The organizers are expecting one thousand participants. The event has a Facebook page, more information in romanian here.

A few pictures from the last editions:

We rode together

Yesterday I have organized with outinmures a bike ride. About ten riders gathered at the start and even a boy came with his father to meet us. On the road a few other riders joined us, one of them told me that he heard about our group on the radio.

Our small group rode together with about 20 kph so we reached the destination very fast. A lot of riders climbed the hill until others were resting. We got back in the city before it got dark.

A few pictures from the road:

Next week if it doesn't rain we will meet again on Tuesday at 6 at the bike park on Pandurilor street an we will ride to Budiu Mic. The map for next weeks ride is here. At the finish we can climb a hill :)

This post in romanian here.

Let's ride together

If you are living in Targu Mures and you have a bike and you would like to go out for a ride or meet some new people I'm organizing a short ride with the help of outinmures. The start will be at the park on the Cutezantei street Tuesday (13th September) at 6. You can see the proposed route on the map here. If somebody wants we will climb into the forest until the others are resting.

There will be a competition too where you can win a bottle:

PS: It's recommended to have with you a helmet, lights, water, money, a spare tube, a pomp and reflective clothes.

You can read this post in romania here.

Tour of Romania

The Tour of Romania arrived to Targu Mures yesterday. As every biker from town I was at the finish line:

The peloton was very fast so I only took a picture from the distance and until I pushed the button again they were already passing me

All the pictures here.

My first duathlon

There are more and more competitions in town and that is a good thing. Next Wednesday I will try a new kind of race, the duathlon:

It will be only an 8 kilometer bike ride and 3 kilometers of running so it should be a lot of fun :)

Gepida MTB MArathon

Sunday I was racing again. I was on home grounds so I was feeling very confident. I knew the course a bit and I was feeling strong so I was hoping for a podium finish.

I didn't start so fast, I don't like fast start but as I started to wam up I started to get in front. I passed a lot of people on the first smaller climb then on the second climb I passed more people.  I had 3 guys in front of me before the first hard dh section. My front break isn't working right so I pushed hard and passed everybody so I could go full speed down the hill without using the front brake.

It was a lot of fun riding without using the front brake so much, it involved a few jumps and drifts and a lot of speed.

On the second hard climb I had my first energy gel. A few guys passed me before I got back in my rythm after going off the course a bit. The next 10 km were sometimes hard, I started to get tired but I was very motivated so I pushed hard.

After 20 km, before the last climb I reached to grab my second gel but I approached a ditch and fell down hard. I had a few bruises but I got back on the bike fast and I started to push very hard. The last kilometers went by very fast I was going full speed. I was very happy when I finished because I had a very good time, only one and a half hours. Some people even told me that I finished on the podium.

I was very dissapointed when I saw the the rankings... I lost by only two and a half minutes. I was very dissapointed that I've finished only in fourth place :(

Knowing the course a bit helped a lot, but I still managed to get off the course, I think I need to explore those hills in the future.

Stats:
    - time: 01:30:26
    - distance: 27,64 km
    - average speed: 18 km/h
    - max speed 57,7,7 km/h

I hope there will be more pictures because I saw a few photographers on the course

Critical Mass in Targu Mures

Saturday there were a lot of people in green shirts on bikes in the city. The time for the spring critical mass was here so I went to take some pictures and to ride with a lot of people. The ride was slow and it had about 10 kilometers. We cycled threw some of the major parts of the city. At the finish, on the side of the Mures river water and bread with grease was waiting for us :)

Here are some pictures:

More pics here.

Dreaming of spring...

It is cold and wet outside and I am dreaming of riding in the forest...

I have some old pics that I took on one of the last rides, before moving to Berlin and after upgrading the bike. The upgrade wasn't just an upgrade, I had to change the chain and the cassette because the chain had started to jump after about 6000 kilometers. I bought an XT cassette and an XTR chain. The middle chainring and the brake pads were changed also. Here are the pictures that I took near the castle in Targu Mures:

Smoking tires

Last weekend I was home again. I wanted to film the smoking tires of the aircraft when it hits the ground and I was lucky to sit in the back of the plain so I could make a short movie:

Neuzer Bike Party 2010

Yes! This weekend I'm racing again, the Neuzer Bike Party is back in town. This is a great race in the forest near Targu Mures with the start and finish near the Zoo. I enjoyed the race last year very much:

Last year I've raced on the long (50km) course and I finished in 14th place in 3:12:18. Last year I got tired at about the half of the course so this year I will race on the short track (about 22km). I chose the short course because I'm tired and I was on the course last night and I liked it very much. Considering that I will ride just over an hour (if it doesn't rain - fingers crossed) I want to finish in the top ten :)

The course is great, with some hard climbs, some technical parts and some fast down hills so I'm looking forward to the race day.

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.