Silk Road Mountain Race

[NickGM]

My word, that Teliaveli is one pretty bike. Hadn't heard of them/it. 

[Shebeen]

Message from the field. Looks like it might only kick off later 

 

Jirrre. Kyrgy time is like africa time - an immovable object. We’re on the side of the road stretching legs as we’re still an hour away from the start line town, and who knows how many hours behind schedule as our bikes are still getting over the two 3000m passes we just went over. I mean, what’s a 1am mass start even between friends?

[mrcg]

Good luck to the participants. Sound like an awesome journey. A 1am start time sounds perfect...ride a couple hours into the sunrise. Can imagine how tough the race must be ????

[justinafrika]

Being entirely unqualified to offer any informed opinion wrt weeks-long (or ANY ) adventure or ARWS race, Samuli Makinen’s light and tight bike and kit setup would be this virgin’s approach. I’ve always favoured travelling light, whether I’m roughing it or not. Too light on fluids though?  Look forward to all y’all's insights.

[justinafrika]

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

Jirrre. Kyrgy time is like africa time

’s like the old timer on a course I was facilitating at the-then SA Breweries. Noticing that I was a bit frustrated at peeps returning late from tea for the second time, he leaned forward with a smile and pointed at his wrist with a “You may have the watches, but we have the time...” 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by justinafrika

[Prince Albert Cycles]

5 hours ago, Shebeen said:

https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2021-silk-road-mountain-race-rigs/

 

seems like as good as any place to post this. some hubbers on the line

Drooling…. Thanks for the link

[justinafrika]

Livetracking:

https://srmr2021.maprogress.com/

[DonatelloOnPinarello]

This is a definitely bucket list race for me. Both this and the trans Mongolia one too (Mongolia bike challenge is however a supported stage race). Promised myself I will tick those off before I turn 40.

 

what I love about the list of competitor bikes is just how unpretentious it is. Yes, sure there are some very unique and properly pricy rigs in the mix there but even those are just beautifully functional machines, being used like they were meant to be. Unlike most local, fully supported stage races, where every second bike is the highest specced carbon machine launched this past season.

 

I also find it interesting, but not surprising, that the majority are using Mountain Bikes (albeit most with rigid forks and a bunch with drop bars). Even a fair share of the bikes in the list which are sold as “gravel bikes” are the type that lean much closer to the MTB side of things (1x drivetrains, 1.95 or wider tires etc). Just adds to my opinion that gravel bikes are a pointless compromise. If they were really that good at handling mild MTB stuff, and then so much better on gravel and tar, then they should dominate events like these. 

 

[Jewbacca]

10 minutes ago, DonatelloOnPinarello said:

This is a definitely bucket list race for me. Both this and the trans Mongolia one too (Mongolia bike challenge is however a supported stage race). Promised myself I will tick those off before I turn 40.

 

what I love about the list of competitor bikes is just how unpretentious it is. Yes, sure there are some very unique and properly pricy rigs in the mix there but even those are just beautifully functional machines, being used like they were meant to be. Unlike most local, fully supported stage races, where every second bike is the highest specced carbon machine launched this past season.

 

I also find it interesting, but not surprising, that the majority are using Mountain Bikes (albeit most with rigid forks and a bunch with drop bars). Even a fair share of the bikes in the list which are sold as “gravel bikes” are the type that lean much closer to the MTB side of things (1x drivetrains, 1.95 or wider tires etc). Just adds to my opinion that gravel bikes are a pointless compromise. If they were really that good at handling mild MTB stuff, and then so much better on gravel and tar, then they should dominate events like these. 

 

I disagree.... This is not a gravel bike race. This is a mountain race.

A gravel bike at a gravel/tar road race is brilliant and better than a MTB. But definitely not suited to this race. Slow loaded touring really isn't good for gravel bikes. Bigger tires and easier gears are the answer as well as hand positions. 

I wouldn't want to ride dirty kanza on too many of these bikes

[Eddy Gordo]

Damn, I need to become focused on getting fit. I want to do these kinds of multi day rides. I have loads of work ahead of me to become remotely close to the fitness I had once upon a time. Crap part is trying to achieve this alone. 

I would like to do this and up there is the Andes Pacifico.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Eddy Gordo

[DonatelloOnPinarello]

2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I disagree.... This is not a gravel bike race. This is a mountain race.

A gravel bike at a gravel/tar road race is brilliant and better than a MTB. But definitely not suited to this race. Slow loaded touring really isn't good for gravel bikes. Bigger tires and easier gears are the answer as well as hand positions. 

I wouldn't want to ride dirty kanza on too many of these bikes

I agree with you, this really is a Mountainbike race. I was trying to wind up the gravel bikers a bit. (I still don’t really understand why Gravel-bikes are such a big thing though, or what actually differentiates them from from my first MTB back when I was a kid - other than handlebars, but this is not the thread for that discussion)

I must quote the opening post though: 

 

“The Silk Road Mountain Race is a fixed route, unsupported, single-stage cycling race through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The clock does not stop and there are no prizes. It follows gravel, single and double track and old soviet roads that have long been forgotten and fallen into disrepair. There is very little tarmac. There is some walking, and at times there is great distances between resupply points.“ 
 

I mean that does sound like the conditions gravel riders always use to justify gravel bikes. Gravel, jeep tracks, roads and a bit of single track????.

 

2 hours ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Damn, I need to become focused on getting fit. I want to do these kinds of multi day rides. I have loads of work ahead of me to become remotely close to the fitness I had once upon a time. Crap part is trying to achieve this alone. 

I would like to do this and up there is the Andes Pacifico.

I bet your the guys that always says how unfit he is, and then half way through day 2 your mates are begging you to slow down. Every group has one of them….????

On a serious not though, my advice is just so do it, get an entry as soon as you can, and then just go for it. Don’t set too many parameters to first achieve, your going to keep delaying, because there’s always going to be another box to tick off before your ready…. So as long as your not leaving your family to starve or whatever, just do it. 
 

This is admittedly a pretty extreme event, and if you take the full 2 weeks, you need to cover 120km min per day. Which is a lot. But also, with this kind of thing, mental strength trumps everything else. Obviously a good amount of physical prep is important. But if the base training is in place, and your head is right, you will get stronger as the days go on. I have seen this on a few big unsupported rides I have done, as well as Epic and when I hiked the Grand Traverse solo. You will never be “fit enough”, you just have to figure out a way for that not to matter. 

[Eddy Gordo]

2 hours ago, DonatelloOnPinarello said:

I agree with you, this really is a Mountainbike race. I was trying to wind up the gravel bikers a bit. (I still don’t really understand why Gravel-bikes are such a big thing though, or what actually differentiates them from from my first MTB back when I was a kid - other than handlebars, but this is not the thread for that discussion)

I must quote the opening post though: 

 

 

“The Silk Road Mountain Race is a fixed route, unsupported, single-stage cycling race through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The clock does not stop and there are no prizes. It follows gravel, single and double track and old soviet roads that have long been forgotten and fallen into disrepair. There is very little tarmac. There is some walking, and at times there is great distances between resupply points.“ 
 

I mean that does sound like the conditions gravel riders always use to justify gravel bikes. Gravel, jeep tracks, roads and a bit of single track????.

 

I bet your the guys that always says how unfit he is, and then half way through day 2 your mates are begging you to slow down. Every group has one of them….????

On a serious not though, my advice is just so do it, get an entry as soon as you can, and then just go for it. Don’t set too many parameters to first achieve, your going to keep delaying, because there’s always going to be another box to tick off before your ready…. So as long as your not leaving your family to starve or whatever, just do it. 
 

This is admittedly a pretty extreme event, and if you take the full 2 weeks, you need to cover 120km min per day. Which is a lot. But also, with this kind of thing, mental strength trumps everything else. Obviously a good amount of physical prep is important. But if the base training is in place, and your head is right, you will get stronger as the days go on. I have seen this on a few big unsupported rides I have done, as well as Epic and when I hiked the Grand Traverse solo. You will never be “fit enough”, you just have to figure out a way for that not to matter. 

Most probably. The stamina is there for sure. I am lacking on climbing ability to be honest and then of course the 200 to 500km in a seat whole day. Thats the training I need.

[dave303e]

Silk Road kicks off in a few hours.

 

The usual bike p...rn - https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2022-silk-road-mountain-race-rigs/?fbclid=IwAR0TKC9AK-vKkBXIqG_xe48N7JM2fupQ24ZJQaHEEueAEMRo9zXPr_v8XpY

 

tracking - https://srmr2022.maprogress.com/

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Nice article !

[Kixx]

2 hours ago, dave303e said:

Silk Road kicks off in a few hours.

 

The usual bike p...rn - https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2022-silk-road-mountain-race-rigs/?fbclid=IwAR0TKC9AK-vKkBXIqG_xe48N7JM2fupQ24ZJQaHEEueAEMRo9zXPr_v8XpY

 

tracking - https://srmr2022.maprogress.com/

This is a bucket list item for sure

[Dusty]

https://www.silkroadmountainrace.com/

 

The 2024 version applications are open😉