My calendar still has the BHard in June as a training race, but in parallel I’m steadily preparing for the season’s highlight: the Silk Road Mountain Race (SRMR). This preparation is less about piling up training miles and more about the logistics and organization required for a race in remote high‑mountain terrain.
Organizational to‑dos (status)
- Passport: already renewed and taken care of.
- Flights: booked — via Istanbul to Bishkek (round trip).
- Accommodation: first lodging already reserved in Talas, the race start town.
- Vaccinations and any required visas: to be checked.
Gear: bike & rider
- Bike checklist: full set of spare parts (derailleur, chain, cables/housings), spare spokes, tubeless repair kit, multi‑tool, robust tires for gravel/rock.
- Rider kit: high‑altitude compatible sleeping bag/mat, bivy tent or lightweight tent, weatherproof clothing(layering), gloves, sun and cold protection, headlamp with spare batteries.
- Electronics: power bank(s), spare cables, GPS device + maps, paper map as backup.
- Nutrition: energy bars, electrolyte tablets, emergency rations for several days.
Logistics & information sources
- Direct contact with former participants is invaluable — firsthand accounts are often more practical than social‑media threads.
- Paul Thelen (www.paul-thelen.de) was a great help for me; his experience as an extreme athlete and mountaineer (including the Himalaya) provided important advice on acclimatization and altitude preparation.
- Research local conditions, route surface and possible cut‑offs early and include them in daily planning.
Acclimatisation & physical preparation
- Acclimatisation: ascend gradually where possible. An extra day at moderate altitude before the race helps. My plan are three days “ride high, sleep low”.
- Training: build long‑distance endurance with technically challenging sessions (gravel, climbs) — quality overquantity.
- Nutrition & sleep: prioritise restorative sleep and a balanced, carbohydrate‑rich diet in the weeks before therace.
Mental preparation & goals
- Set realistic expectations. My goal is to get through healthy and steady — finishing within a time limit or placing are secondary.
- SRMR is no coffee‑ride; it demands planning, resilience and self‑management. The more I organise, themore confident I become.
- Plan B: there are several cut‑off points on the route that allow finishing outside the official ranking, useful for risk management.
- Personal deadline: I have a fixed return flight because I must give a wedding speech one week after myplanned return — that deadline is more stressful than the SRMR, I’ll tell you that 😉
Conclusion
SRMR requires more than fitness: passport, flights (for me via Istanbul to Bishkek), accommodation in Talas, appropriate gear, contacts to experienced riders and smart acclimatization are at least as important as training miles. With solid planning, realistic goals and reliable information the chances of finishing this demanding race healthy increase — and, ideally, returning with a great story.
Let me know which topics you are in particular interested in!
More soon.
