I was looking for a nice alternative action during my stay in Sofia (early June), and MTB is a passion of mine. I found the company Bike Ventures and checked their proposed rides for the greater area of Sofia/Bulgaria. After some e-mail traffic with Orlin wherein he asked me all the necessary things like what I prefer to ride (Enduro, CC, AM), how many days I will spend and of course my technical skills, he offered me a 2 day Enduro ride in Blagoevgrad & Bansko and a 1 day ride in Vitosha mountain (local mountain range of Sofia, up to 2290m).
In Blagoevgrad & Bansko I was guided by Dobri, a very experienced guide with enviable skills in riding (Enduro Racer). For the overnight stay in Bansko they booked the Hotel “White Lavina” – thanks to the manager Alex and his family.
The Vitosha mountain trip was guided by Panajot. He shows me the incredible area of this old volcano. We had an unbelievable downhill ride of approx. 1700m difference in altitude, down from Black Peak to a suburbia of Sofia. 18.6 km total fun.
During all our tours we have been shuttled by car or van. The number of uphill meters (except the last on the Vihosha trail, there we had to climb approx. 500m difference in altitude) were therefore very low. The weather condition were perfect. In Bansko we had some rain but this was not a big issue, the grip at the selected tails were good.
I rented also a bike (Pulse QRS, Pulse is a Bulgarian bike manufacturer), the helmet and knee protectors. The material was generally in good condition, especially the performance of the bikes was surprising. But for the next tour I will bring my own helmet, is a question of comfort.
Finally, I really enjoyed the trips as offered by Orlin (thanks for the perfect organisation) and guided by Dobri and Panajot (two other owners of the company).
For all people looking for a good guided tour in Bulgaria (a perfect alternative to the Alps for landscape, food and hospitality) I can highly recommend the team of Bike Ventures. I definitely will come back as soon as I can to ride more trails in Bulgaria.
regards
Olaf