First five days of my Silk road mountain bike race 2021

[@xavierleparisien929]

Magnifique un rêve une folie un désir une folie bravo 😊

[@jadamski]

Absolutely stunning! Made me seriously consider participating...

[@stevenmoatt4736]

you wouldn't regret it Jan. Just be prepared for a bit of hike a bike at times! I relive it every day. So lucky to have these memories. Steve

[@mathiaskeller3036]

Man, so beautiful!!

[@stevenmoatt4736]

one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. It's humbling being in such huge landscapes.

[@JRmntain]

Enjoying this ☕️

[@bombastic81]

Thanks for the video! what a joy!

[@janicsuhran]

i watched it with so much joy

[@nicolaslariviere5772]

Excellent video. Thk you

[@leebarrett4709]

Thanks for making the effort to share it with us Steve, really appreciated.

[@jonathanclements9313]

Really enjoyed watching it, well done for the effort it took to make it and thanks for sharing!

[@yutthanaphankamolsil5797]

WOW.. It's a beautiful. I want to go cycling there once.

[@kevlow2295]

Nice one. Thanks for sharing.

[@ellerybice3787]

Words to not express the joy of the ride, one’s story must be the compelling narrative.

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Thank you Ellery

[@ivanrogic2046]

This is it! I just love this first hand experience that you are sharing! Thanks for that.. Although I like also highly edited professional video by organiser, I can relate with this somehow better. I am considering to apply for 2023.. Cheers Steven!

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Go for it Ivan. you'll love it.

[@FergusMeiklejohn]

yeah that's what I thought too! The organiser video is very cool but this gives a better feel of what the ride and the places are like. It looks so beautiful. A LOT of climbing though that looked like very hard work 🫠

[@bornfreefreedom4900]

🌟🚴 ☀️ Your the most beautiful kind strong human on this planet 🌎 forever best wishes ☀️🙏🌟🐶😊

[@nikoulph]

It's a beautiful country Kyrgyzstan. I went there 3 years ago, wanted to see so much, and I ended to see only half of it. But I really enjoyed all of it, my camps in the mountains, by the lake Yzik-Kull, the wonderful Kyrgyz people I've met along the road. Hopefully when all this madness ends, I will be able to go back. Thank you for sharing :)

[@RobertSirre]

Thanks for sharing! I participated too, but way, way behind you. A tough race, your great footage helper relive the stunning landscapes!

[@Kevin-do5rz]

That looked like an great ride an an awesome adventure!

[@stevenmoatt4736]

I relive it every day Kevin. privileged to have done it. Recommend Kyrgyzstan for adventures. Put it in the bucket list:)

[@terrymccann7658]

Stunning scenery and a job well done Steve

[@Steven-gf1ns]

A joy to watch, magnificent effort Sir.

[@Bikepacking]

Brillant

[@theplodder5053]

Hi - what did you use for camping fuel and did you buy it there? Also, if you are not at the front do the resupply points have enough food? Beautiful video!

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Hi. Thank you. I used a propane gas canister which I got in the country. Resupply is variable and yes there is a little less at the back but nothing to worry about. Good to keep an emergency stash just in case. Noodles are common place. Gas station food isn't great but you get what you can. Only have street food if it is piping hot . Steve

[@theplodder5053]

@@stevenmoatt4736 many thanks

[@stephenhammond3656]

Wonderful Steve!! Looks like and amazing country to ride / race through - would you mind letting us know more about your sleep system and your cooking set up please??

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Hi Stephen I had a criterion three season sleeping bag with a liner and snug pack bivi bag that packs down very small. The bivi bag is ok with a clear sky but if its wet i have a home made single skin tent made from cuben fibre. The snug pack os used in the tent to stop the sleeping bag getting wet from the tent sides. This combination offers me alot of flexibility. If the temperature drops then I wear puffer trousers and top as well. I have a titanium pot with a small gas canister and burner.

[@stephenhammond3656]

@@stevenmoatt4736 Thanks for the reply Stephen, much appreciated. I'm trying to get to TD 2023 and I'd like to go minimal with a sleep system and wondering if I should bother with a cook system? Great to get some insight from your videos and contact - thanks again :)

[@stevenmoatt4736]

@@stephenhammond3656 I would love to do the TD again and when I do I won't take a cooker as there are plenty of resupply especially if wanting to keep weight down. All the best with your ride. It is a life affirming experience you'll love it.

[@stephenhammond3656]

@@stevenmoatt4736 Thanks Steve - I definitely want to keep weight down, but I love a coffee in the morning and porridge for breakfast....I'm thinking of trying caffeine pills to substitute coffee and granola mix that I can eat without cooking to replace the porridge. I've just found your clips from your TD ride....:) working my way though those, the scenery looks incredible!! Any other hints tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!

[@1337aznpro]

awesome video mate. a couple questions- can you drink the water available on the ride? also how good/often were the resupplies?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

There were some stretches where water was hard to find but generally there were plenty of places to get water either from towns and villages or from rivers. At high altitudes the water is good but i always filtered mine to play safe. two litres of water is all you need to carry as on the route there were plenty of rivers. the longest stretch without resupply would have been about 180 miles from memory. Are you heading over to Kyrgyzstan sometime?

[@1337aznpro]

@@stevenmoatt4736 I want to race the silk road next yr. Im going overseas for climbing right now so I cant do it this yr. Are you going to go back for the race? At the checkpoints is it possible to have food stored there with the organisers?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

@@1337aznpro I don't think you can store food at the checkpoints but there is normally great soup or stew to have. they do cater for vegetarians. I will definitely go back and next year os a possibility. Have a great time climbing. the silkroad video comes out on KZbin at 6pm central Europe time today!

[@nicholaslegan1339]

Thanks for sharing Steven! Love your spirit! Watched this on the trainer as I prep for an upcoming adventure of my own.

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Hi Nicholas. Thanks. Where is your adventure? Hope it comes together for you. Happy cycling. Steve

[@arcoulant87]

Chapeau.

[@johncampbell9136]

fantastic ! loved it watching. I've wanted to do this race for a few years now. great effort.

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Highly recommend it John. Go for it.

[@johncampbell9136]

@@stevenmoatt4736 several of my bag customers have done the race! how would you compare the road surface vs the TDR? i've done the TDR twice but the washboard has been hell on my hands.

[@stevenmoatt4736]

@@johncampbell9136 I had Ridgid front forks for the TD and was glad I opted for front suspension for the silk Rd. The TD trails are generally faster. New Mexico is closer to the silk road. The kyrgy landscape is more aggressive. It still suits drops as well as flat bars. More people seem to be using full sus bikes and there were a few times I thought that would have been nice 🙂.

[@johncampbell9136]

@@stevenmoatt4736 interesting. thanks for that. i used a rigid steel bike, same bike, both TDR's with a 29x2.3 maxxis ikon front tire. i switched from Ti bars to Sytance Carbon Vector bars in 2017 and almost no hand issues. I wish Curve made the wide Walmer bar in carbon. I could see riding in the drops advantages for all the long descents and wind, with aero bars.

[@007pikes]

are those wild horses?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

Yes it was wonderful to see so many.

[@mjgaffey]

Fabulous! Thank you, Steven. What's the camera you were using?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

A GoPro 7 and pixel phone. Wasn't hard to take a good photo in Kyrgyzstan.

[@leebarrett4709]

I keep on thinking of things I want to ask: It looks like you have a very reasonable gear ratio -- 30/31 -- 11/34, is it really as little as 34?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

32 front ring and 11/42 cassette

[@orsations]

Super enjoyable watch, thanks for sharing, Steven! What an adventure. First time?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

First silk road experience and won't be the last! Highly recommend it 😊

[@PeterGold99]

Love the way you've split the race into a series of videos, great coffee time watching ;-) Out of interest, what altitude sickness medication did you use?

[@stevenmoatt4736]

I used Acetazolamide. Worked a treat for me. It makes you pee a bit to start off with but I hardly noticed it after the first day and it kept me moving!

[@PeterGold99]

@@stevenmoatt4736 Thanks, I've never used it before as I was only at 3500m but for about 2 months cycling so acclimatised slowly or lower but for short trips i.e. up then down.

[@PaTVenture34]

😍