Romania 2017 - Mad 5 Dirt Ride movie

Buckel up for The Mad 5 Dirt Ride Video!

Thank you Romania & XPower

Here I am sitting on a plane 22 hours into a 38 hour trip back to Melbourne, the body is healing (my blisters now have blisters inside the other blisters) and time to think back over the trip is kicking in. We keep pinching ourselves on how lucky we are to have had another trip halfway around the world, riding dirt bikes with 
a group of great mates.

The trip was an absolute stunner and definitely one of the best we have ever done. From day 1 in the remote villages to day 5 when we were handed a GPS and navigated our way 150kms back to Sibiu through forest, hills, paddocks and bush bashing. I will never forget the first 5 days, it pushed me and the lads to new limits thanks to our lead rider Varger Zolt (Romanian Endure champion). We honestly thought dirt bikes could not do what we have done this trip!

From the very technical riding to the amazing accommodation we received, it was next to perfection thanks to the team at X Power. I can’t fault Romania or it’s people, Romania is not like the bullshit you have seen across Europe with the Gypsies hassling you, it seems to be the polar opposite in Romania, we didn’t get hassled or annoyed by any locals or beggars. Romania is a bloody gem and a place people should put on their hit list, the southern part of Romania is actually all Hungarian towns and Romanian is not spoken. 


The Romanian trip has opened another window to riding and possibilities we didn’t think existed. It’s a very big world we live in and tasting Europe on a bike for us has taken the Mad 5 Dirt ride to the next stage of adventuring. It is mind blowing still seeing shepherds mending to their flok across the countryside as we ride through deep hills, or the horse and cart being used as the main form of transport.

In the last 11 days of the riding there was an enduro side of the adventure, it started on day 1 and ended on day 5, this was called the Dracula trial and the highlight for us all. The Dracula trial allowed us to start in one town and end in another town 150ks away through beautiful countryside were the scenery was always changing. The best part of this Dracula trail was the people you meet and the friendships made along the way, lucky for the team we meet 2 ripper lads Mike and Corndog a.k.a Richard. These lads totally made the trip awesome with cracking laughs and funny antics, Mike & Corndog are working in Dubai and have been coming to Romania for the last 4 years. Lucky for us both blokes could not only ride well but more importantly they could do it hungover!! The lads were not shy for a big night and keen to party, Travis and Jake had a crack with the boys one night but paid for it the next day.

For the last 3 days, we were based in Sibiu and doing day rides in to the hills of Sibiu, this was the hardest part of the tour and a challenge for some of us in the group. I’m not going to mention the rider’s names but leave you with a hint, one bloke looks like Jesus and the other could be out of midnight oil!! The hills through Sibiu is the place where the famous endure ride called the Romaniacs takes place, unfortunately it was a little out of the skill set for Jesus and midnight oil. We had a ripper crack but the slippery tracks and fatigue kicked in.

A huge thanks to the lads, Alby, Jake and Travis for working together to make this trip one of the best we have ever had. A special mention should go out to the newest member of the team Jake, a young lad that came solo and joined the group from a post Travis had put on Facebook (we required another rider to make the trip happen), Jake was an absolute star that fitted in with the lads straight away. Not only did Jake fit in with everyone but became good mates as well with the boys, so I end this last blog for 2017, it has been another quality year of fun on the bikes.

I hope to see all the Mad 5 Dirt Riders in Vietnam come 2018 – stay tuned for details!

Video time

Here are a couple short videos of some fun on the bikes. Open the videos to full screener best effect.

• This was one snotty hill, had me thinking twice about trying. 

(please excuse my language on the first video, i was a little shitting myself)

• We found a little single tracks in the woods, it was picture perfect for traction & fun. 

• A fun hill in Sibiu, Travis didn't make it up this one.

• Crashing video of Travis and Darcy, Darcy crying for help!

• Hill flipping with Darcy, how not to get up a hill!

• Hill climb with Darcy, beating Jake to the top. It took jake 3 goes to get up and it only took this hack one go :).

Big trouble in Little Romania

We left our quiet ski lodge with some aches and pains from the previous days riding, but there was no easing into it, straight up a rocky climb to a cemetary on a hill… a somewhat high 1800m elevation hill with a breathtaking panoramic view.

Off we set in our “easy” short morning, that part of the description of the day was maybe less than accurate. One hill that we went down just before lunch was a ski lift slope and when our lead rider set off down the hill I was starting mouth agape at an impossible decent. turns out it was actually possible, our lead rider (who came 16th in Romaniacs btw… no big deal) did it with ease. A few invulantary dismounts later we were at lunch.

A classic Romanian peasants platter (meat, cheese, tomato, onion and some delicious sour dough) was lunch today, and fairly typical of the food we've been eating the whole time.

The afternoon ride started off with some great flowing single tracks, however our flow was interrupted by a flat tyre at a Romanian logging camp, we sorted that out and off we went on some nice fast logging roads, then disaster struck.

A rider down! A proper crash with a bike missing its water pump and leaking all is vital fluid into a muddy puddle. Surely this was the end.

As it turns out, the service here and the luck of the gods combined to have Jake back to us in under half an hour on another bike, happy as Larry.

The day concluded with some raucous laughter with one of the Germans on the tour as well as a fleet of fully repaired and perfectly functioning bikes.

I think we're onto a good thing here.

Holy moly Romania is the ducks guts

I’ve learnt very fast that my creative side does not shine when I’m this tired from a big day of bike riding, even the thought of lifting my fingers to type this blog has me looking for excuses. This is the sign of a good trip, holy moly i don’t think we want to come home. 

Everyone is absolutely shagged, the long days and challenging riding has definitely tested each of us to our limits. Yesterday took us through a variety of scenery from dark deep woods, tight single tracks, VERY steep down hills, rocky steep hills and open paddocks. In the blink of an eye we are dancing between terrains. Here we have Alby with a war injury from the day, lucky for Albs it stopped at his shorts. 

We are taking it in turns falling off the bike but keep getting back on, there is not much support when you fall off the bike so you better suck it up and point back up the hill and have another go. Each day keeps on getting harder as we go. Here we have a photo of us changing the tyre in the the woods beside a Romania caravan, it felt like a scene from a movie. 

At day 2 we end our day staying on top of a ski resort in Romania (Petho Panzio), who knew it they have ski hills in Romania. Wow this place just keeps getting better every day. We have the ski resort completely to our self’s with 180 views across the country side, I should mention we are at 1600 meters above sea level so it is cold and the jumpers and jeans are out. 

Here we go again, this time Romania

It's been a long time coming but here is the next adventure from the team at the Mad 5 Dirt Ride. In the last 2 years a lot has changed for the team, children have been born and the majority of the mad 5 dirt riders are over 30ty, it seems old age has kicked In. Bugger I didn't see that coming.

Here we stand in a country we know little about, we are in Europe in a country called Romania over 14000 ks from home. Romania is a large country in eastern Europe, it seems like time has stood still for the past 100 years. The horse and cart is the mean of transport and the old fashion Romania kit is still being worn through the old towns.

We picked this location based on the hardest endruo bike competition called the romaniacs!! The most gruelling bike ride I know, I ask myself why are we here as I sit shagged after a massive day of technical riding through some of the best country I’ve ever seen.

Unlike the previous rides we went the extra mile and headed to Europe, It was one hell of a slog to get our asses here. Nothing like 3 planes and 11 hours in transit across 2 airports, 35 hours of travelling in total to arrive here. We had a quick stop in Munich on the way over to taste the beer :) 

So here we are in a small town I can’t pronounce (Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita, Romania), our first day was a ripper and a good start to test the team and their ability, I’m happy to say we still have it. It being no skill but a desire to be better then what we are. The riding so far has been challenging and a lot of fun, the bikes are near new and in great shape. At this point the lads are smiling ear to ear with the quality of this trip. This trip is going to be a bloody winner!

Philippine off road adventures review

Ring Ring Ring. That is my shitty phone in my office going off, someone needs IT support!

Grey walls, blue carpets and bright lights sting my eyes as I daydream about our adventure in the Philippines.  I write the last blog entry for the Mad 5 Dirt Ride for 2014, it is all over for another year. All the lads have headed home to Cairns, Perth and country Victoria.

What an adventure this time round, we had long days riding and ate sweet F.A. The adventures never ended, from boat rides to talking shit & drinking warm beer, we loved every moment.

As an adventure the Philippines wins hands down, we had scenic views across remote villages.  We give the Philippines as a country the 5 out of 5 rating for remote adventures on a bike.

When we embark on these trips, we know there is an element of danger and a lot of unknowns.  From Cambodia to Thailand to Burma, we've done quite a few of these rides now.  Unfortunately, while the riding and terrain in the Philippines was amazing, we had a less than amazing time with our tour operator Philippine Off Road Adventures.

It was the lack of communication that brought this tour unstuck.  Because of poor planning and no communication, we would arrive most nights to a town in the middle of nowhere with NO FOOD.  We just didn’t eat some nights because the tour operator would say there is no food.  We'd ride for 8-10 hours each day and barely got one square meal and very little water.   Not good enough!  No matter where we have ridden, there has always been a good meal and decent bed/or floor in clean places waiting for us at the end of each day.

Accom (that was part of the tour price) was also a worry.  One night we were expected to sleep in an abandoned hotel.  It was Brad's birthday and we said "F that" to that idea.  We lived like kings and decided to stay down the road in much nicer digs - with food - for a whole $30 each.

Fred and Travis' trip got cut short because two of the bikes weren't serviced properly and were missing parts. Freddie took one for the team and gave the tour operator Jim his bolt, if it weren't for him we all would have had to cancel our trip.  So the rest of us continued the ride and Fred and Trav made the long trip back to Cebu with the bikes.

We love our riding and will ride every year wherever the tour takes us.  Lucky for us we had a good time, but no thanks to our tour operator.  Win some lose some...