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SRMR day 5 ~ Tosor pass and the road to Naryn
After 4 days of racing I start to wonder if there’s any way of knowing in advance what will make the day ahead of you a good day : is it sleep?, is it what you eat?, is it how you pace yourself? or is it a simple matter of perception? For example the way…
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SRMR day 4 ~ a race to the Arabel pass
The phone alarm sounds at 4:30 but when I check the weather outside I see that overnight it started snowing and a low cloud cover doesn’t promise anything good for this morning. In the end I decide to go back to the sleeping bag, snatch one more hour of sleep, wait for the daylight and…
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SRMR Day 3, cold, snow, sun and 270 kilometres in the saddle
When the alarm rings at 3:30 in the morning the first thing I do is to get out of the sleeping bag and check the conditions outside. The air is cold and crisp, the menacing rain clouds from last night have all but disappeared and a clear black sky full of stars stretches above. You…
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SRMR Day 2, tough climbs, headwind, rain and kymyz
When the phone rings at 4 am it’s hard to say if I had a good nights sleep or not, what I’m sure of is that it didn’t compensate all the sleep deficit from the last two nights. During such a race the question is not whether you can fully recover from one day to…
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SRMR Day 1 ~ fresh legs and tyre destroying descents
The police Lada which escorted us out of Talas stops, waves that we should go past and the race actually begins. It’s still dark, but the first signs of the new day are already visible in the eastern sky, the air is brisk and cold and a long string of cyclists stretches out in the…
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Silk Road Mountain Race 2021, lead-up.
The lead-up to the race started for me on a bleak February day, bombarded with grim COVID news, under a nation-wide night quarantine and suffering from job burnout. It started by sending a mail to see if there are any free spots in the race. When Nelson responded that there still are some spots left…
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Fagaras: Urlea, Mosu si Trasnita.
Din experienta anilor anteriori am invatat ca luna noiembrie este o luna buna pentru Fagaras. Muntele cel mare pare ca isi tine respiratia inaintea iernii. Si asta inseamna ca uneori te rasplateste cu zile perfecte. Cu soare generos, fara niciun pic de vant, cu inversiune termica si totusi cu zari curate ce ii permit privirii…
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Drumul spre Chamonix, TMB ziua 3
Dimineata cand scoatem nasul din cladirea parasita si usor lugubra care ne-a servit drept adapost ne dam seama ca vantul din seara anterioara s-a oprit. Trebuie sa recunosc ca ignorand soriceii si paianjenii pe care doar eu i-am bagat de seama am dormit bine, dar in acelasi timp m-as porni cat mai repede la drum…
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TMB ziua 2, la poalele uriasilor
E ora 8 cand incepe sa se lumineze de ziua in camera de iarna a Refugiului Elisabeta. Afara o ceata laptoasa invalui refugiul, o ceata care se bate cap in cap cu prognoza de soare glorios pentru ziua de azi. Ne apucam sa strangem sacii de dormit si sa indesam lucrurile in bagajele de bicicleta…
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TMB, de la Champex-Lac la Grand Col Ferret
Drumetii care se mai incumeta inca pe potecile din Tour du Mont Blanc au coborat aproape toti spre cazarile din vale. Doar noi pedalam in continuare la deal, pe un drum cu peste 10% panta, insa perfect ciclabil chiar si cu bicicletele noastre incarcate. La umarul drept se ridica Mont Dolent si gandurile imi zboara…
Life, Adventures and Bikes.
Outside is the best side. If you're on a bike it's even better.