psycoactive mushrooms
- Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sopot, moutain bike freeride paradise by Georgi Georgiev
Can't you feel it, the spring has come and it is the beginning of the new Mountain bike season. Many of the mountain bikers in Sofia, including me, have pieced together their new bikes during the winter and it is high time that they tested them at some other place different from Vitosha. So, on Saturday evening, after we had done about 10 downhills in Vitosha, the guys from one of the best MTB teams in Bulgaria invited me to come with them to Sopot on the next day. They chose Sopot not only because the next MTB competition, in May, will take place there, but also because the most experienced of them knew that this was a magnificent place for downhill and freeride. Oh God, if only I knew what was waiting for me there on the next day, I would have written my testament right at the moment we were discussing the trip.
So it was sunny Sunday morning, we loaded the bikes and the equipment in the two cars and we made our way to Sopot. The town is situated about 200 km away east from Sofia at the foot of Stara Planina Mountain range. The party started right after we had set out. You know: young men; hard, wild music; a lot of ribald speech and dirty jokes, and of course the most discussing topics - bikes, cars and women. What else the mountain biker needs!? And while we were passing through the small towns and villages the people were staring at us and our bikes and were probably thinking "crazy boys".
In 2 hours we reached Sopot and we parked the cars in front of the lift station. We took out the bikes from the cars and we putted on our equipment. We were resembling the real Robo Cop, when we we took the lift up hill. And when we reached the top I realized what was waiting for us. A steep relief, sharp rocks and God knows what else. We exchanged glances, wished good luck to each other and went down. We wanted to take the track, which the organizers from Bulgaria and Russia were still preparing for the forthcoming competition. At first it was ok and almost easy. But after several light curves, the speed became faster, the turns sharper and there was no path, but only rocks settled down. Two of the guys had a flat tire immediately. We fixed them quickly and went on. Oh God, the extra-time was brutal. A small drop, a bigger drop, next followed by good jumping platform, about tree meters in the air, a sharp turn to the right, sharp turn to the left, "Oh, I love that tree". Other guys waited for me while I was squeezing out of the bushes. We had just continued our way, when one of the boys ahead lost control over the bike. The consequences are well known. The bike rushed off in one direction and the biker in the other and they get together somewhere down after a great rolling. Fortunately the boy wasn't injured. I can't describe what happened from that moment on, but I can say that this is one the most difficult tracks I have ever tried. The terrain was very steep with many rolling sharp rocks, drops and sharp turns. I felt in love with this track while I remembered the first lines of the Pixies song: "With your feet in the air and your head on the groundTry this trick and spin it, yeahYour head will collapseBut there's nothing in it And you'll ask yourselfWhere is my mind".
In the middle of the downhill we met a mountain biker from Russia. He was one of the competition organizers and terrain workers. He led us forward and he was our leader till the end. Every one of us was astonished by his skills. When we were at the lift station again we had a chat with the Russian guy. It turned out that he is engaged with this sport from 16 years and he is 38 years old now. I knew there will be many mountain bike racers from Russia at the competition and I can just imagine how they would ride their bikes here. It is a world famous fact that the Russian bikers are crazy. We did second downhill and then our new friend showed us other path that was very extreme too.
At last we were at the lift station and were taking off our body armors. We were much obliged to all gods in the heaven, that we were alive and there was nothing wrong with us. We were dirty, sweaty, thirsty, hungry and of course extremely happy. We went in some tavern and we had a well deserved respite. Two beers, delicious tripe soup and unique chicken gizzard with vegetables and mushrooms, this was one of the best meals I had ever had. Meanwhile we were discussing the tracks, the forthcoming competition, the necessity of medical teams and of course bikes, cars and women.
Late in the evening we were in Sofia. We said good bye to each other and I'm sure that everyone of us is looking forward for the next weekend and the next adventure. And we are all looking forward the beginning of May, when the competition in Sopot will take place. I'm sure it will be great fun. There will be many participants from Bulgaria, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Great Britain and etc. I will take part too and I hope to reach the finish line. It will be my victory.
Source:
Georgi Georgiev is a traveling foto-reporter for WWW.VisitBulgaria.NET - the most detailed guide for tourism in Bulgaria.