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Kyrgyzstan Bike Race is 15 Days Over 1,700 Kilometres

The Silk Road Mountain Race will take place from Aug. 18 and will last for 15 days over 1,700 kilometres of terrain.

It will begin in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, and will follow dirt roads through the Tien Shan Mountains.

The 95 riders will climb 26,000 metres up and down passes over 4,000 metres high. They will carry their tent, food and drink water they find in streams.

The rugged race has no rewards for the winners who will ride along big alpine lakes like Issyk-Kul.

There are podcasts being produced throughout the race which you can listen to here.

In a press release, the race organization said the following: The race director, Nelson Trees, has spent over 6 weeks during the summer of 2017 on location scouting the roads. The entire route has been checked in person to ensure a continuous and safe race. Having cycled from Shanghai to Paris, Nelson travelled through Kyrgyzstan during his journey.

After participating in three editions of the Transcontinental, Nelson felt inspired to create another race in a different part of the world. Having ridden in Kyrgyzstan, Nelson knew this part of Central Asia had all the qualities he was looking for.

Taking inspiration from other ultra-endurance races such as the Tour Divide and Transcontinental, the rules are simple and largely self-policed. The rules attempt to embody the spirit of self-support and fairness for all riders.

A large portion of the route was ridden between June and July with a follow up scouting trip in September of 2017. The team has been extremely diligent in checking 100 per cent of the route to be certain no problems arise.

The race will be an adventure on a grand scale that will take you through some of the wildest areas of one the most stunning, untouched and desolate parts of the world. The setting is awe-inspiring but also extremely hard on those that dare to venture into it.

How tough it will be cannot be understated, but as Mike Hall once said, “Nothing that’s worth anything is ever easy.” This race will be a true demonstration of this sentiment.

Because of the extreme isolation, remoteness and difficulty of getting help if you get into trouble, riders will be required to use a SPOT tracker with an SOS function. These are provided as part of your entry. If you wish to bring your own tracker, you may do so and will pay a reduced entry fee. Emergency services are very limited in Kyrgyzstan and the most that we can do is help coordinate an emergency response.

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