Kyrgyzstan is a favourite destination for many outdoor fans, bikepackers and globetrotters. Covered 94 per cent by the Tian Shan mountains, it is the starting point for horse riding, climbing and cycling tours, including the Pamir Highway. The predominantly peaceful country declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 31 August 1991. The traces of this era and of co-operation with the former GDR cannot be overlooked in the form of old Fortschritt agricultural machinery. The few good roads connect the large towns. Away from them, the visitor encounters yurts, horsemen and livestock farming.
The route
The race route is 1854 kilometres long and has an altitude difference of almost 35,000 metres. Lots of climbing, hardly any asphalt, often no road, path or track at all - that makes the whole thing even tougher. 16 passes over 3000 metres above sea level and a 15-day time limit - these are the bare facts of the Silk Road Mountain Race 2021. The start was in the small town of Talas, 300 kilometres west of Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. After a long loop to the Chinese border, the finish was at Lake Yssykköl (Issyk-Kul) in the town of Balychky. BIKE, with Markus Weinberg and his team-mate Philipp Markgraf, was right in the thick of it, instead of just being there.
The rules of the Silk Road Mountain Race
External help is not permitted, and even participants are not allowed to help each other (although this often happens in practice). The organiser, Nelson Trees, has a puritanically strict interpretation of the rules of the unsupported bikepacking scene. An external camera team can therefore be seen as moral support.
Here's the photo gallery of the race as a little foretaste, you can read the detailed report in BIKE 11/2021 - in stores from 5 October
