Silk Road Mountain Race with no experience?

[Carpediday]

Hey ya'll. I want to try and do the Silkroad Mountain Race this august, it's a 1800 mile race in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan.. What's my previous experience you ask? None.

I'm a 25 year old guy, got into biking this summer after leaving the Pacific Crest Trail, buying a bike and crossing the US by bike (most of it). That was my first time riding in years, but I averaged 70 Miles a day on a 90's Cannondale with pretty shitty touring gear, including some off road sections. Since I finished I've been keeping myself busy with road biking and some mountain biking (singletracks).

My touring bike isn't fitted with disc brakes and since this is a serious (and probably muddy) endeavor I want to buy a bike for this.

I have plenty of questions, so here they are. Money is an issue, so is it worth looking for secondhand bikes? Rigid or hardtail? What should I look for in the bike (Specifically for this race, I'll be buying the bike mostly for this). How to train for it? I'm in pretty good shape, but anything I should focus on? Are panniers an option? I own racks and panniers and wouldn't necessarily want to spend the money on frame and saddle bags.

Any other tips/discouragements are welcome . Keep in mind that I'm pretty dead set on giving this a try, so I would much rather tips

Thank you!

[Ben Salthouse]

Hey Carpediday,

You certainly could tackle the SRMR with no previous racing experience but I wouldn't recommend it. The SRMR is arguably one of the more difficult bike packing races out there and the investment of time and money it takes to train and compete in it shouldn't be underestimated. I'd recommend you try your hand at backpacking racing somewhere closer to home first. You'll learn a ton and when you finally do line up at the start of the SRMR you'll have good experience to draw from.

I don't want to dissuade you because the SRMR is a really fucking cool event but it's also seriously difficult. Over the course of the race I cried tears of joy and pain, shit my pants more than once and saw the most beautiful sunset of my life. Good luck and enjoy the journey to the start line weather it be 2020 or 2025!