I met Austin Vince!
Austin Vince
I didn't just saw him on a stage, I have talked to him, we laughed at stupid jokes, we made plans for offroading in Romania and we drank in the honor of traveling around the world and for the people you meet.
If you don't know how is Austin, I will give you some time to discover Mondo Enduro, Terra Circa and Mondo Sahara here: www.mondoenduro.com
Bucharest Adventure Travel Sessions (BATS) made this possible. To be more specific Alex and Cătălina did all the hard work. I believe that this event is a big step in the start of a traveler’s community in Romania.
C2WG presention
BATS
The event took place Friday, 7th of April, in Quantic Club. We managed to hide our stage fright and we were first to talk about what Carpathian 2 Wheels Guide means. Alecu (Alex Murariu) told us some of they adventures and how they manage to combine work with their passions. When if I know most of the stories I was very excited to find out more about the last trip in South America. Kulturide closed the first part with the stories and videos about the trip they are planning in Mongolia.
After a short break the heavy pieces started. Luis Pryce told us about her travels throw Iran, where women are not allowed to use bicycles. The idea I liked most is that behind the harsh image of this country a lot of the people just want to enjoy every bit of life.
The last presentation didn't focus on a country or a trip. Austin spoke about traveling in general and even if this subject could be philosophical, we laughed a lot. His presentation style is very catchy. He was jumping from jokes with the people in the front to "advertising" for a bike accessory company, from pictures and memories from the Mondo Enduro trip to opinions on the modern adventure riders. I was impressed when he asked the audience how many did NOT see Turkey. 15 people ride they hand, from almost 120. The final idea: no matter how or where, travel as much as you can!
We continued the subjects at the bar, surrounded by the bikes of the Kulturide team, the Ural of Mihai Barbu and the rhino from Heavy Duties. Yes, their company symbol is a rhino, and it is welded from 2 cm pipes, with suspensions for legs and heart made out of a Africa Twin RD03 engine. We staid long after midnight.
The rhino of Heavy Duties
The second evening from Que Pasa
Happy end
Everything seem like a nice adventure story so it could not end that easily. So we meet again the next evening. The Que Passa bar hosted us and Austin and Louis honored us with their presence again. The stories were even better and longer and the guests left for the train directly from the bar.
In the last part I will tell you a secret: Bucharest Adventure Travel Sessions will be an annual event. Maybe the next edition will be in Cluj-Napoca (Cluj-Napoca Adventure Travel Sessions - CATS) or somewhere in the countryside (Open-Air Adventure Travel Sessions). No matter the location, the Carpathian 2 Wheels Guide team will try and make this happen.