7 July 2018

Two years ago I biked from Bucharest to Constanta along Radu and George. It seemed like a good idea but it turned sour in record time (this being the only record we broke).

This was our longest bike ride.

Over 270km of biking non-stop was a great challenge for us who, at the time, were taking more cycling classes than most people take the easy way out of a strict diet. Radu was (and still is) a cycling instructor and George with me were going somewhere in between 2-4 times / week to his classes. We had some indoor miles on board and we felt confident.

We left Bucharest at around 3am and started pedaling. The weather was nice, the road was flat and the booze gels were cold. The heat started to become a real issue at around 10 as the sun was in full blast. Nevertheless, we were determined to make it to Constanta.

We kept going.

Kilometre after kilometre we kept pushing as we started realizing this wasn’t our greatest idea. Not even close.

The sheer amount of flat was exhausting on its own: the first sunflower field was nice. The second was pretty. The 320923th was too much.

We kept going.

We finally got there after more than 15hrs, exhausted but happy we finally made it. We set on it being one of the dumbest ideas, ever! and we moved on with our lives swearing that we’ll never do it again.

14 August 2020

I will cycle from Balea Lake (2034m) to Constanta – over 510km.

Radu is hooked on a project he is doing (look into it here if you feel like running) and unable to join me.

George will be driving this time due to an injury he sustained a couple of months ago. He will be my technical team so I don’t get to carry everything required and he will be there around if I need anything.

If you’d like to join me, drop me an email at base@logbook.ro or DM me on Instagram. House rules:

• average target speed: 30km/h
• road bike mandatory
• helmet mandatory
• lights mandatory (both working, front and back, min 200 lumens front light). Don’t know if you got the right gear? Click here!
• I will pace myself and I will not wait nor push to keep up with anyone
• failure to follow one of the above will end up in you fucking off

I am not responsible for your safety nor am I liable for any accidents that may occur if you decide to tag along. This is a slightly supported, self-funded, un-sponsored long, long bike ride.

Strava route here.

There’s a bucket list item going around by doing it from Moldoveanu Peak (2544m) to the seaside as I found out from Andrei, point being that you go from the highest point in Romania to the seaside. You can’t ride your bike (I guess?) but you can run power hike from the peak to Balea Lake and then pedal to the metal. It sounds too stupid. Maybe next year.

Why am I doing this? Because I believe each and every year day we all should do something beyond what we thought was the limit for us (either sports, work, personal development etc.) That’s the only way towards true growth.

Thanks Alex Moise for listening to my dumb ass idea and willing to ease the process in getting some Garmin gear to make my ride safer.

Photos by George and Radu. I have no clue why I don’t have any shots taken, I suspect there’s an issue with my Google Photos account or I haven’t scanned those photos yet (I was shooting film at the time).