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”

The essence of bike touring II

Remember what I was saying about how getting there might hold the key to what makes bike touring so special and addictive? Well here’s the story of a day that should shine a light on what I’m trying to say. It is one of these instances where reaching my destination after much turmoil and uncertainty,Continue reading “The essence of bike touring II”