Oct 15, 2019
Ward Budweg
Recap of the 2019 Silk Road Mountain Race

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

The Silk Road Mountain Race is an extremely challenging, 1,100 mile, self-supported bike-packing race through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous and politically tumultuous, post-Soviet independent country in west-central Asia. It is considered by many to be the world's toughest off-road bike race. The route is so difficult that the inaugural event last year saw only one-third of the competitors who started the race actually finish. Riding, hiking, and scrambling across gravel, desert, bog and old Soviet roads that have long fallen into disrepair, the participants endure overr 89,000 cumulative feet of vertical climbing along the route. The overall distance is roughly the same as riding from New York to Florida with only three official checkpoints separated by long distances. Most competitors are overcome by malfunctioning equipment, illness, injury, fatigue, or the extreme psychological challenge.

Our very own ultra-adventurer, DRC member Ward Budweg, has just recently returned from his participation in this year's Silk Road Mountain Race. He will be sharing his first-hand experiences with our club, which are certain to be fascinating, incredible, and entertaining.