A journey along the WW1 front lines between Austria and Italy It’s late morning and I’m coasting down a slight incline on a paved road. Despite the smooth surface and gravity in my favor, I can’t go faster than 20kph. Because I can’t pedal. I’m exhausted. No, it’s not that. I am very familiar withContinue reading “Memory Bike Adventure”
Author Archives: Sofiane Sehili
Balkan holiday, or why rush when you could explore
It’s midday somewhere in the mountains of southern Bosnia. I’m in a foul mood as I just got stung by a bee right under my right eye. My whole face hurts and the steep climb seems like it’s never going to end. It’s the sixth day of our trip in the Balkans and all ofContinue reading “Balkan holiday, or why rush when you could explore”
The Bikepacking diaries: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
Roughly fifteen years ago, my life took a turn for the better. I went to Laos and bought a second-hand mountain bike in a rental shop. Equipped with this old clunker, I set out to explore the mountains of Indochina. It was here that I discovered bike touring and fell in love with this hybridContinue reading “The Bikepacking diaries: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam”
The Rhino Run
It’s around 2 am, somewhere in South Africa. I am cold and trying to muster whatever energy I have left to climb a gnarly hill. The Rhino Run, a 2,740 km long bikepacking race, started at 6am, which is now a day in the past. At this point, I’ve covered around 350 km on a wideContinue reading “The Rhino Run”
Looking back at the 2022 SRMR
A few days before the start of this year’s Silk Road mountain race, I found myself bed ridden with a bad case of tonsillitis. For two days, I couldn’t do much but sleep, cough and drink tea. As the start got closer, I got a little bit better, but on race day I was stillContinue reading “Looking back at the 2022 SRMR”
Malteni Bootleggers 2022
In just a few years, the Malteni Bootleggers has emerged as one of the premier gravel events in France. With a challenging distance of nearly 250km, uncertain weather conditions, technical gravel on spoil tips and some of the most infamous paved sections of the flemish spring classics, it’s no wonder it took little time forContinue reading “Malteni Bootleggers 2022”
Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Final day
As my final effort in this race begins, I can’t say I have a lot of energy. My last resupply was roughly 18 hours ago and I have very little food left. Thankfully I don’t have far to go. 90km is all there is left. However, it looks like there’s around 2000m to climb andContinue reading “Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Final day”
Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 8
One of the things I struggle with the most in ultra-cycling races is getting out of my sleeping bag after grabbing a few hours of sleep outside. Paradoxically I have absolutely no problem with the discipline required to get out of bed after 4 hours of sleep in a hotel. I never press snooze. AlarmContinue reading “Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 8”
Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 7
It’s 5:20AM when I set off from Baetov where I slept for 4 hours and I’m 460km away from the finish. When racing I’m constantly making calculations to try and figure out where I’ll be at a certain time or how long I have before reaching the finish. When I started making these calculations atContinue reading “Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 7 “
Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 6
As the sun slowly rises, I’m still slowly making my way towards Tash Rabat pass. The skies are clear and the temperature rises steadily. In my misfortune, I’ve been lucky enough that it didn’t drop too much during the night. At this altitude, it can easily go down to -10°C. I made it through theContinue reading “Silk Road Mountain Race 2021 / Day 6”
Sofiane Sehili 