Nelson Trees and the Silk Road Mountain Race

The Silk Road Mountain Race invites riders from around the world to discover the rugged beauty of Kyrgyzstan while testing individual limits in one of the toughest adventure races on the planet. Following its most recent edition in August, we chatted with SRMR founder Nelson Trees to learn more about the event.

How did the idea for the Silk Road Mountain Race come to be?

Nelson: The Silk Road Mountain Race was born out of two different experiences. The first was when I rode from Shanghai to Paris with a friend on a tandem back in 2013. Our route took us through Kyrgyzstan, and although we were only there for a little over a week, it left a lasting impression. I knew I wanted to come back, but I didn’t have a particular idea in mind.

It was after this trip that I learned about the Transcontinental Race and ended up taking part three times. I discovered unsupported racing and was immediately hooked. Following my second TCR, I mentioned the idea of a race in Kyrgyzstan to PEdALED. They supported the project from day one, helping me give shape to the concept and putting together a teaser from images I took when I was out there on the first scouting trip.

What about Kyrgyzstan stood out as a great race destination?

Nelson: It’s harder for me to answer this now that I call Kyrgyzstan home, but I think that the biggest draw for me back then was that it’s one of those few places in the world where there are still blank spaces on the map, where information is still hard to come by. Where people have been, but where there is still ample room for discovery. It still has that magic of potential for adventure.

What have you learned since the first Silk Road Race?

Nelson: I think that when I put on the first edition, I didn’t really know what I had created. It’s a special event because in many ways, it’s not really a bike race at all. It’s an adventure where you bring a bike. I see bikes more as a great tool to take you somewhere new—to go and see what is around that next corner, what’s beyond the next pass. It may also be why I’m OK with putting things in the race that go beyond your average bikepacking event. Don’t get me wrong, I love to ride; I love flowy singletrack and smashing descents, but I also kind of want to see what’s around that next corner. That’s what I really want to share with participants of the race.

What do race preparations look like behind the scenes?

Nelson: Throughout the year, there’s a constant low level of activity as we gradually build up toward the next edition. As we get closer, that activity rises to a frenetic level, until we’re pretty much non-stop and don’t even have time to sleep.

Because of how simple unsupported racing is at its core, I think people don’t quite realize what is involved in putting something like this on in a place like Kyrgyzstan—looking after everyone and keeping everyone safe, enabling them to have the adventure of a lifetime. A race can be a GPX track, tracking and a start time, or it can be something like SRMR, and that requires a whole lot more effort. There is a whole team of volunteers, dotwatchers, drivers, photographers, medics, local businesses, and local government involved to make it happen.

What advice would you share with future racers?

Nelson: That anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Don’t be put off by how big the challenge seems before you have embarked on it. Don’t look too much at the front end of these races and the big performances by those that win them. They took a long time to get as good as they are at what they do. They too will have started out not knowing what they’re doing. There are so many riders out there without superhuman physical abilities. What this race requires is serious resolve and the guts to see it through. If you want it enough, then you are capable.

Why does cycling need competitions like the Silk Road Mountain Race?

Nelson: I think that in some ways, the SRMR challenges what cycling is. It's still clearly a bike race, but cycling is not as central to the Silk Road as it is to most bike races. You could be the best cyclist in the world, and you may well not win if you don’t have a whole load of other skills and abilities. I think it puts the adventure back into cycling that has been squeezed out of it in some of the high-level professional competitions.

It brings it back to earth and makes it more approachable to real people. We have all kinds of different riders who come and join us in Kyrgyzstan. They have one thing in common: they ride bikes and they’re looking for one hell of an adventure.

You can follow SRMR on Instagram @silkroadmountainrace where updates about registration for the 2023 event will be shared later this year.