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Gala Balandina

@i_am_gala

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Cycle lover. Event maker. Hedonist
@hedonismcycling
@reverse_race
@paradox.beer

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20 days until the Turkish season

And “paradise in Fethiye” — it’s our real keychain. So now you know how we feel about this place and what we want to share with you

Meet our camp team and grab the last spots. Excited for this time here! taken in Fethiye, Turkey by @i_am_gala

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19 days ago

While driving across France to catch the TDF finale, thought about how it all started as a joke when we decided to go to the third stage in the Pyrenees Les Angles. And yeah, nobody promised good music on the way to the mountains taken in Les Angles, Midi-Pyrenees, France by @i_am_gala

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3 months ago

Hope next time you’ll be here 🦋
Little drafts from Korea trip. Obsessed with this country by @i_am_gala

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5 months ago

Barceloning 💌 taken in Barcelona, Spain by @i_am_gala

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6 months ago

Week in Nice

I barely took any photos that week, not because there was nothing to shoot, but because I kept choosing to just be there. Luckily people around me were taking a lot, so most of these photos are borrowed from our shared album 💌

I finally got back on bike and climbed my first hills again. After almost a year off it feels hard. I feel weak, but I also know how this works, you just keep going and it comes back. So you just go, girl

We were very lucky with Kris @_kris_daily on this trip. She showed us places we would have never found on our own and hosted us like we had known each other for years

We stayed a bit outside the city, up in the hills, in that same village where Hitchcock filmed “To Catch a Thief” back in the 50s. We actually watched it one evening, and then next day found ourselves walking through the same streets
And another night we watched Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), which is also set here. It’s a very different South of France, a bit more ironic, but somehow just as real. Seeing these places first on screen and then in real life gives everything a strange sense of continuity

One of the unexpected highlights was Villa Rothschild and its gardens. I didn’t think I cared about gardens at all, and now I keep catching myself thinking about them. Kind of want my own garden

And then all the small things. The way olive oil gets wrapped when you buy it, how everything in their everyday life feels thoughtful and intentional. Not in a “luxury” way, but in simple objects: things from hardware stores, small tools, details you don’t really notice at first. Like that metal beetle at the entrance that helps you take off your shoes.
There’s a lot of taste in these little things, and you start to see how much they shape the feeling of a place

We rode a lot, ate long dinners together, watched films in the evenings, sat around talking about nothing in particular, laughed at small things that only make sense when you’re inside the same week, and slowly all of it blended into one continuous memory

I left with a very simple thought, I’d like to come back here not for a trip, but just to live for a while, to have time for all these small things again taken in Nice, France by @i_am_gala

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6 months ago

I was almost gone from cycling for a year.
A back injury changed the rhythm of everything.

Now my doctor finally allows me to slowly ride again. and the happiness I feel is very real. Not only because of the wind on my face or familiar movement of my body.
But because I know how much work stands behind this moment.

For a long time I was just looking for answers. Did seven MRIs, hoping each time to finally see something different. The last six months were active treatment, then rehab.
Exercises every other day that felt almost silly at first. Moving my leg with the lightest band felt like serious effort haha

Different countries, different rooms, different time zones. Most of sessions I didn’t even film.
But the pattern was always the same — I kept showing up. Without knowing when it would pay off. Without any guarantees.

And slowly something shifted. now I feel strength in my back again. In my legs. Even my MRI looks better, hehe.

This year didn’t just bring me back to the bike. It changed the way I move through things. Daily work doesn’t always make sense in the moment. You don’t always see progress. But if you stay with the process — things change.

ps And I’m grateful for the people who stayed close through all of it. Thank you xx

Damn, we did a good job 🤍 by @i_am_gala

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8 months ago

Hey! I’m Gala, founder of @hedonismcycling, and I spend most of my time between cycling camps around the world. But I always come back to my home in Barcelona with real joy.

And when I’m back, I keep adding things from different countries — coffee cups from my travels, books, little details that make it mine.

To me, hosting — whether in my own home or in our Hedonism houses — is about creating that feeling for others. A space that’s welcoming, personal, lived-in. Where you feel comfortable the second you walk in. A place with character and stories in every corner. Not perfect, but real. That’s what home should be. by @i_am_gala

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9 months ago

Chiang Mai Camp on film

These photos hold memories of riding through some of the most beautiful routes of Lanna region, unforgettable road to Pai, stops in the most remote and breathtaking places, far from civilisation. Hot days, recovery days, cultural details, and ordinary scenes of daily life that mattered just as much as rides themselves. They carry that rare feeling of being exactly where you’re supposed to be — together, moving, resting, and living inside the rhythm of those days

We look back on every day spent in the north of Thailand with warmth. And we set an intention to return here in the near future, to preserve this feeling of love — for the place, people, nature, and for the way life itself is woven together in this sacred land

And now, we’re heading to Vietnam — let’s meet at our camp in Da Nang from February 8–18 taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand by @i_am_gala

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9 months ago

Ощутить контраст и многогранность Японии проще всего на велосипеде. Сегодня ты первый и единственный посетитель придорожной раменной in the middle of nowhere, а завтра с десятками туристов стоишь в очереди за хайповыми моти с матчей.

Если есть в планах провернуть такую поездку, сохраняйте опыт Hedonism Cycling 🇯🇵

А если останутся вопросы про планирование маршрута, особенности дорог, местное велокомьюнити или любимые локации Японии — спрашивайте в комментариях, постараемся с ребятами ответить развёрнуто 🙌🏻 by @i_am_gala

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a year ago

OPENING HEDONISM HOUSE IN FETHIYE

For several years, I’ve been thinking about how amazing it would be to create homes around the world for people as passionate about sports as we are

Imagine, wherever you go, you would find the same high level of service in these homes. Each place would be fully equipped, making it easy and comfortable to train, ride, and explore without hassle. Planning these trips becomes as stress-free as possible. So you feel at home even when you’re far away

Now, this dream is finally coming to life. We’re about to open the first Hedonism House — a place where you can live, work, ride, relax, reconnect with friends, and make new ones all year round

Can’t wait to welcome you. Link in bio taken in Fethiye, Turkey by @i_am_gala

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a year ago

Last month in Turkey was like my kind of recap. Back on the bike, back with my people, back to everything I love.
Here’s what it looked like. Pt.1

1 — finally put on my cycling shoes after a long break. Felt like stepping into favorite slippers. So happy to be back

2 — took photos of mountains, the sea and sunsets almost every day. Hundreds of them — and still not enough.

3 — this year I made a rule for myself: just one day a month for alcohol. Full bans feel too strict, so I turned it into something fun. In March, I brought wild cider from Girona and shared it with Egor, sitting by the sea.
In April — cava and a special moment

4 — taped random stuff to bikes, played hide and seek, laughed at silly jokes, froze on the descents, screamed from joy. And welcomed amazing new people into our Hedonism family

5 — we’re growing. Launched an open call, got so many great applications. Still looking for a designer (hi, Readymag fans) and a project manager to help Egor and keep us rolling

6 — at the last camp, Olesya and Sasha gifted us a handmade Hedonism rug. Yes, a real one!
I love this circle of gifts we create together — cakes, clothes, gear, little surprises. Gifting is real magic, it always carries love, care, and attention. So if your heart is soft — don’t forget to give, not just take

Will try to finish pt.2 tomorrow before I get lost in work and new travels again by @i_am_gala

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a year ago

In this high-speed world, I want to learn to enjoy the simple actions of everyday life. Sometimes they’re repetitive, sometimes not that exciting — but still, there’s something about being in the process, in the moment. Like that day when I washed my bike in the backyard after a ride. That’s the beauty of doing almost nothing by @i_am_gala

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2 years ago