October had some busy weekends. And that’s thanks to two rides hosted by Ion Trandafir: 60/3000+ and Leaota Casual.

60/3000+ has a self-explanatory title. The track is roughly 60 km long with a total climb of around 3100-3200 meters. So from the start you see it has a lot of climbing and, given the relatively short length, it’s steep. Crazy steep. It’s not a course for most people. It’s a small and intimate contest, with no publicity, no sponsors, no tax, no race kit, few markings on the course and nobody waiting at the finish line. You are responsible with navigating (even if you’ve done the course already, I still consider having a GPS a must) and recording your finish time.

Stayed at Ion’s guesthouse, Pensiunea Cehov, in Bran. The race start was in front, at 9 am. The weather was very good for the middle of October – partly sunny with highs towards 15 degrees Celsius. About 25 people showed up.

The first 15-20 km or so were on unpaved village streets and on a new road project cutting through the forests in the area (short rant: I’m no longer surprised by such projects; roadwork looks like the best way to spend public money towards “friendly” companies; Romanians are slow to notice and fast to forget the corruption going on in a big part of the public administration today and keep voting for the same faces; I guess we get what we deserve). I stayed in the back of the pack, with 2 or 3 other guys. I was closing the group, but actually I couldn’t have gone any faster than that. Still, one third of the course was done and it felt pretty easy. Deceivingly easy.

But, as the race progressed, the climbs started getting steeper and the descends more difficult. Still, it was fun, especially since a lot of the descents were on grassy hillside, which is safer than rocks, so you can try to improve your technique.

Somewhere in Sirnea we stopped for a soup. We were already about 5 or 6 hours into the race and a soup was exactly what we needed at the moment. No reason why we shouldn’t enjoy the race, it’s not like we were chasing the podium.

We continued towards Magura and then Moeciu de Jos. Ascent, descent, ascent, descent and so on, it was demoralizing, never ending. Still, we pushed on (pushed the bike uphill, that is). It was becoming clear we would be finishing the race in the dark.

We met 2 more guys after sunset. They got lost (their GPS died), so they waited for us. We had a fun descend by headlamp (with only 3 headlamps for 5 people). The finish was placed in the middle of nowhere, on top of a hill. Finishing with a climb was the best way to end such a hard core contest.

We finished in about 10 and a half hours (the winner needed about 5 and a half). Only 11 people reached the finish, less than half of the ones who started.

Two weeks later, I returned to Bran to properly close the 2015 mountain biking season. Ion prepared a route that was comparable to 60/3000+. After a warm-up around the hills of Moeciu and Fundata, the route went alpine, towards the heights of Leaota, descending from Saua Strunga.

Started at 9 am with the climb towards Cheile Gradistei Fundata. The road was covered with frost, so we looked partly amused, partly nervous at the cars barely staying on the road. It was still October and not everybody switched to winter tires yet.

We did a loop on the hills in the area, with a few sections following the route from EcoMarathon. By the end of it, the group split in two, some taking a shorter version, while the rest going on to conquer Saua Strunga.

The climb was mostly push bike. It was pretty late and it was becoming obvious we would be doing the descend by headlamp (again). I’m not complaining, I think mountain biking at night is awesome!

We reached the alpine area and we started feeling the wind and the cold. As the sun was setting, the temperatures were dropping below zero. We were moving at a brisk pace, any less would have us freezing.  My water bottle was covered on the inside by a layer of ice, still there was some water left to satisfy my thirst. I was past hunger and past exhaustion. I felt like I could go like this indefinitely.

We passed Saua Strungulita and started the descent from Saua Strunga. That is an epic descent, rocky, technical and with some great views. Doing it by headlamp cannot but leave you grateful for such an experience.

 

All in all, we totaled 66 km with 3100 m of climbing in 10 hours. Not too bad, not bad at all.