This is a bike ride I took with a buddy of mine this summer (2018), in the month of August, a few few weeks after
we hiked a similar trail - part of which overlayed the piece from Omu Peak to Șaua Strunga.
We got the idea to do so, because during our hike we saw a lot of people biking downhill, and I said to myself why not do this, it must be awesome.
Depending on your physical condition, this ride can take between 10 - 14 hours. It took me about 14 hours, but I was not necessarily in peak physical condition (had a lot of breaks, pushed my bike a lot).
It is not the easiest ride, but it is doable by anybody with a mountain bike (preferably one with disk brakes and at least 9 gears).
There are three stages to this bike trip:
- Piatra Arsa to the Babele Cabin
- Babele Cabin to the Cerdacul Obârșiei viewpoint
- Cerdacul Obârșiei viewpoint to the Omu Peak
- the ride downhill from Omu Peal to Râșnov via Șaua Strunga
- Tthere is also the ride from Râșnov to Bușteni, but it might be too much if you have not biked in a while or simply not biked such distances at all. We hitche hiked to Bușteni (where we left our car in the morning).
Getting to Piatra Arsă
We originally wanted to go up to the Babele Cabin,
via the aerial tramway from Bușteni to Babele, but we got there at 7am, which for an August Saturday is very late. By the time we got there there were already a few hundred people in the line to go up. Keep in mind that you have to buy 3 (three !!) tickets to the aerial tramway, if you plan to take your bycicle (one ticket per person and two tickets for the bycicle, as space is limited in the cabin).
Not wanting to wait and also considering the price, which we only found out when we got there, we got a ride to Piatra Arsă from one of the many local companies offering such services - it cost 80 RON, and we took Transbabele to get there in a about an hour.
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| The End of the Transbabele Road, with the beginning of the trail to the Babele Cabin |
The Ride from Piatra Arsă to the Babele Cabin
If you have not done this in a while, or not at all (as was the case with myself), it is a good intro to moutain biking.
This portion of the trail is very level, but it can be become very crowded. It trail begins with a low incline and then the trail becomes steeper, as the trail goes up very close to the top of the Cocora Peak (2.191 meters).
After passing by the Cocora Peak, the incline becomes more bearable, up to the aerial tramway from Bușteni. There is a difficult portion from here to the Babele Cabin and Sphinx (I pushed my bike as pedaling was waaaay too difficult).
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| Mountain Biking in Bucegi - Caraiman Massif and the Caraiman Heroes' Cross as seen from the trail between Piatra Arsă and the Babele Cabin |
The Ride from the Babele Cabin to Cerdacul Obărșiei
This portion of the ride is easy for the most part, a few small downhill and uphill portions, and then a easy slope towards the Cerdacul Obârșiei.
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Colții Obârșiei Peak in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Colții Obârșiei Peak in the background |
One of the most difficult portions of this segment is the one around the Colții Obârșiei Peak, which is a very tight trail on the edge of the ravine (pictured below). On this portion it might be necessary for the more unexperienced mountain bikers to push their bikes. This only takes about 15 minutes, it is not much of a hassle.
The views are amazing, with the Valea Cerbului (Stag's Valley) to the right and the Omu Peak in front.
Once at the Cerdacul Obârșiei (the Verandha of the Spring as it translates into English), it is high time to take a break, catch one's breath and enjoy the view, before continuing to the next step which is the toughest one of the day (by bike or pushing the bike).
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Omu Peak and Cabin in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - the trail to the Cerdacul Obârșiei (in the middle) and Găvanele Peak in the backgroud to the right |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Colții Moraruui |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Cerdacul Obârșiei (in the middle), Găvanele Peak above and Bucura Peak in the backgroud to the right |
The Ride from the Cerdacul Obărșiei to the Omu Cabin/Peak
It is tough - that is all I can say. The altitude difference is about 150 meters to be covered in less than a kilometer (half mile).
The trail is free of any major obstacles, but it was tough because of the steep slope - I had to push my bike for the most part of this segment. Might be possible to cycle, if you have a moutain bike with 9, 10 or 11 read gears. Mine only has 7 so it was not really possible to cycle uphill.
Once at the Omu Peak and Cabin, time for the lunch break.
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Taking a break at the Omu Cabin/Peak |
The Downhill Ride from the Omu Peak/Cabin to Râșnov
Once at Omu Peak, as they say, it is all downhill from here, with a few portions of climbing. The altitude difference is 900 meters, but fortunately downhill for the most part.
It is not necessarily a leisurely bike ride, but is very enjoyable. For this portion, one needs to make sure that the brakes and in tip top shape (if you have organic brake pads on your mountain bike you will probably need to replace them after this 😃).
There are three main parts this:
- the descent from Omu to the Strunga Refuge, on the Western ridge of the Bucegi Mountains
- the descent from the Strunga Refuge to Bran, also on the Western ridge of the Bucegi Mountains
- the asphalt ride from Bran to Râșnov
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking past the Bucura Peak with Gaura Glacial Valley to the right |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking past the Găvanele Peak with Cerdacul Obârșiei and Colții Obârșiei below in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking past the Găvanele Peak with Cerdacul Obârșiei and Colții Obârșiei below in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking past the Găvanele Peak with Doamnele Peak in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Doamenele Peak with Mecetu Turcesc rock formation in the foreground and Colții Obârșiei Peak in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - the trail continues all the way to the last peaks to be seen here. This is the Western less traveled and less touristy part of the Bucegi Mountains (Bătrâna Peak and Refuge in the middle, then further behind Strungile Mari Peak and even further Tătaru Peak where the trail begins to descend from the mountain) |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - Bătrâna Peak in the far background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - looking back towards the Doamnele Peak |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - the dwarf pines segment right before the Bătrâna Peak |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - Bătrâna Peak and refuge |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Biking towards the Strunga Refuge - Strungile Mari Peak |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - Tătaru Peak with the Strunga Refuge below |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran - Strungile Mari Peak to the right |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran - Colții Țapului Peak to the right |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran - entering the forest |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran - Western ridge of the Bucegi Moutains (from left to right Doamnele Peak in the far background, Batrâna Peak in the middle and Colții Țapului Peak to the right) |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - downhill to Bran - view of the Gaura Valley with the Omu Peak in the high in the background |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - finally in Bran |
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| Moutain Biking in Bucegi - back to civilazation - enjoying a cup of coffee in Râșnov |
