https://edmundwhitmore.com/home daily 0.75 2022-03-09 https://edmundwhitmore.com/srmr1 daily 1.0 2022-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/99378c2a-6f58-4866-92cf-a565cba7dabf/20210810_141230.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/0606b7e3-ac10-4b2a-93cf-31e02a27d7b5/USD20210814_USD4365.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Photo taken by Danil Usmanov (photodanil95@gmail.com) @usmanovdanil https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/e066c771-2bfe-4883-9508-466c10df5be7/20210814_184809.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 After a few minutes of pointless self-recriminations, I decided that I would try to get to the first town and see if there was any chance of getting some help to get it fixed in some way. I set off down the pass again. After riding over another rocky section, inevitably and belatedly rather more carefully this time, I came across three riders stopped at the side of the road repairing ripped side walls. At least I wasn’t the only one with mechanical troubles. Standing on the pedals, desperate to see if I could get help at the first town, I descended rapidly, catching up with a few riders. At the first river crossing of the race, I took the time to take my shoes and socks off only to find that we re-crossed the river again 100 meters further down: this time I tried to ride through but put my foot in half-way across, and this would be a recurring theme for the next 2 weeks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/0939be6e-9592-4957-b491-e7cf018ffdc6/20210814_080020.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/24ffd955-948f-4398-8c04-6003fdaff399/DSCF4265-2.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 After we had all saddled up, we were finally on the road, having a police escort to the centre of the town of Talas where the race proper would commence. We finally set off at 4:20am, the pre-dawn pitch darkness broken by the hundred or so bike lights. The excitement was very high as we quickly left town, with the road transitioning from tarmac to gravel. I was careful not to get too carried away on the first day and settled in to quite a reasonable pace somewhere in the middle of the pack. With very little warm-up time, we soon began climbing up Terek Pass, a climb of 3376 meters, and the first of the many passes we would need to ride in the coming days, all being well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/3447cd2c-b344-4b42-ba86-34f7043f05e5/saddle.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 Unfortunately, my Brooks was not compatible with the seat post, so I was stuck with the battered saddle that came with the seat post, a huge sponge one with springs. One of these springs later turned out to be slightly but distinctly poking through the sponge covering, but I did not notice this at first, and I was very happy and grateful to Sergey to be able to resume the race. After fitting the seatpost and packing away my brooks saddle in my framebag, I finally set off at around 11am. Checking the race tacker, the precious hours I had spent sourcing the equipment meant that I was now at the very back of the race, but, motivated to make up for lost time, and having had an enforced rest period the night before, I set off with vigour and optimism. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/390ee2de-4b33-4011-b18e-a612081576ac/20210816_073834.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/c037d573-ca35-4d6e-83dd-49c3975cdb15/20210815_173601.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out I met some lovely local villagers who gave me some Coca-Cola which was greatly appreciated! Sadly my cameras Auto focus failed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/79b708be-ddc7-4fcf-8884-8452e67f6267/CRMX2673.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - I neglected to set an alarm and woke a little late at 7:30 am, Tim and Phil having left just as I was getting up. After a meal of overnight oats and cold instant coffee (I decided not to bring a stove to save weight) I set off into the cold morning. Having climbed 2600 meters and covered 107 km the previous day, my legs were a little sore and it took a while warm up. The next town was Kyzyl-Oi, but first I had to climb another pass of more than 3000 meters. As I settled in for a long climb up, I met the control car coming the other way down, where @chrismcclean snapped this picture. I had put on a brave face, I was already suffering again with the altitude. Further up, I saw another rider up ahead, I found the motivation to get back on my bike and try and catch him/her up, and a few breathless minutes later I caught up with another racer, Cat Jaffee. Cat was a cool individual who ran a podcast and was clearly a very experienced endurance mountain biker. We had a chat on the way up distracting each other from the suffering. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/1abaab16-ef3d-4671-a721-a6e01721f04e/20210816_155444.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Pic from the top. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/f0a67570-1f00-4b0b-a989-b991770e59d8/20210817_142302.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Half way down the mountain I arrived at a plateau, where I came across the extraordinary sight (to me) of a group of men on horseback clearly enjoying some kind of team game that involved hitting around what appeared the carcass of some creature. Later on I discovered that the game is called kokboru and is a traditional game played by two teams on horseback, where players try to manoeuvre a goat’s carcass (“ulak”) and score by putting it into the opponents’ goal. I stopped to eat some M&Ms and enjoy the extraordinary horse-riding skills on display. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/3bb8a467-3377-4734-8bb5-31ae02d86be1/20210817_062033.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out As it is for most of the passes on the Silk Road, the last 500 plus meters are by far the toughest, the gradient increasing to a point where pushing was the only option. I hate pushing my bike, all the efficiencies of riding are taken away and you`re left in an awkward position man-handling a heavily-laden bike at a horribly slow pace: step, push, step, push, step push…. …..stop, look up at how much further you have to go… think f**k that’s a long way then, step, push step push, look at your GPS see your average speed for the day is dropping from 14km/h to 10km/h to 8…..5… Step, push, step, push step push. Arriving at the top was always a huge relief, and gave a few precious moments to enjoy the always spectacular views before settling in to the nervous delight of the exhilarating descent to come. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/1bc06710-3014-4a50-b14a-9569cc52f1b8/20210817-1430_copy.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/e2da0f99-3614-4759-a711-57109bb48b8e/20210817_161409.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Checking the map, I was still a long way from CP1, so I pushed on, the vibrations from the rough gravel roads causing my hands to go numb. A feeling of utter fatigue was setting in: I’d been riding for 13 hours and still had at least another 2 hours riding ahead of me. The road finally turned to smooth tarmac and I was able to use my aero-bars for the first time, helping me to power through the remaining miles to the checkpoint. Arriving at dusk I got my card stamped 26 hours before the cut-off point, and for the first time since setting off I felt happy with the effort I had managed to put in that day. My most pressing need was for food, and I contentedly sat in the checkpoint café ploughing my way through 3 full meals. My backside was not in great shape after 3 days on the Soviet saddle, so I went to bed vowing to attempt to fit my Brooks saddle the following morning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/4c11e8c3-7d3c-4389-99be-bc17380a534d/20210818_082243.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/b90391a6-0263-4ed0-ace1-8761ae295db3/20210818-1492_copy.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - I woke at 6am and started working on my seat post. The seat clamp for the saddle was very different from any I had seen previously, but I disassembled it completely and started trying to put my Brooks into the clamp. The carbon rails of my saddle were much larger than the seat clamp was designed for, so this proved to be very difficult. After an hour of fiddling I finally got the seatpost into the clamp only to discover due to the size of the rails the whole thing was offset about one cm to the right. One cm doesn’t sound like much, but I still had over 1000km to cycle and I knew it would cause me some major problems in the medium term. Massively frustrated I gave up for the moment and went to get some breakfast, I was staying in a hostel and thankfully they had a big table laid out with loads of food for the riders, so I was able to distract myself with getting some much needed calories tucked away. Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/e1da1761-d1df-49ef-a9d5-8d798d51e84b/20210818-1497_copy.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/ca44a47f-735f-4b99-bb7a-b75e77ca8b00/20210818-1502_copy.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - I rebuilt the Korean bike with the old saddle, and as a token of my thanks gave it to the daughter of one of the women at the Co-operative, happy it was going to a good home. I’m indebted to Lilya and her brother for their crucial assistance. Just before I left the younger girl I had given the bike to ran up and gave me a little pink bag embroidered in the Kyrgyz art style, a lovely gift that is much-treasured. I’d also brought a spanner from Sergey needed to adjust the old seatpost, an heirloom from the USSR, very cool! I still needed to buy food, so picked up some bread and cheese at the local shop. By the time I set off it was past 11:30am, and in total all I’d lost about a day’s riding due to my seat post issues so I was well to the back of the race now https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/68ac8abe-bc67-4a6e-ac42-bed97a62e24d/20210818_194759.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Arabel pass was up next, and the rest of the day was spent climbing back to above 3000 meters. I caught up with Tim and Phil, the pair I had camped with the previous night, and we had a good chat about our various trials and tribulations, and what had brought us to this race. They seemed to be suffering as much as me which lifted my spirits slightly. Cycling into the night we once again ended up camping in the same spot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/11e9e56a-6ffe-476c-9421-4dd3783388b1/20210819_075041.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Obligatory picture of my bike https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/d024ecae-c8cc-4cb9-be53-6b25e710cc41/20210819_082544.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/22dabdbf-95c1-488b-b6b0-8772998aebb2/20210819_071852.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 I awoke around 5:30am, to a bitterly cold morning; I spent a long time removing my lovely warm down layers and changing into my shorts. The water I’d left on my bike had frozen in the night, but luckily, I’d remembered to bring a bottle into my tent. I ate my cold porridge, enviously eyeing Phil and Tim’s stove: my smart idea of not bring a stove to save weight wasn’t feeling so smart anymore. A common problem of starting the day feeling so cold and weary, is that it is difficult to make proper decisions about the seemingly simple process of packing. This morning I was particularly all-over-the-place, and as a result I didn’t get on my icy bike until 8am, setting off feeling irritated at my tardiness. It was at least a beautiful morning and I quickly warmed up once I started cycling. There was much climbing ahead of me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/62c8afb7-69c3-4742-814f-29ef97896fa8/20210820_072701.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/2df562a0-54ef-4882-9937-11040c8fa152/20210820_171151.jpg Silk Road Mountain bike race 2021 - Make it stand out Things are looking frosty https://edmundwhitmore.com/srmr2 daily 0.75 2022-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/6c4eb571-98c3-45a5-9642-0a628187f9a9/20210827_184238.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Crossing a damaged wooden bridge, because of a lapse in concentration, my rear wheel slipped into a gap smashing into the side of the wheel. I bounced up and recovered, but heard the distinctive hiss of a puncture coming from my rear tyre. I used the last of my plugs in a hole on top of my tyre, but pumping it back up I heard hissing again, this time from the side wall. Impatient and exasperated I tried in vain to patch it again, and realised that I was going to have to put a tube in. As it began to rain, I removed my back wheel to put the tube in, but as is sometimes the case, getting the tyre on and off was frustratingly difficult, especially as my cold hands were weak and numb from two weeks of non-stop vibration from the washboard roads. After a deeply irritating hour of fettling, I finally had my bike back in working order. I was in a foul mood as I cycled on, dreading the thought of the final pass. By 8:30 pm I could ride no more, and found a place to stay and set my alarm for 4 am. Tomorrow I would tackle the last pass and hopefully make it in time for the race finishing party at 6pm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/300c1d7c-4591-4f08-9f22-3db67c6cbfcf/20210822_090936.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Setting off I found myself very quickly climbing on a lovely smooth tarmac road. An hour or so later a truck pulled off in front of me and this man jumped out. (picture) He offered a lift to the top of the mountain some 1000 meters up. Using Google translate I attempted to explain that I was taking part in a race, and that although I couldn’t accept, the offer it was great appreciated! He was incredibly friendly and this interaction cheered me up considerably. One of the features of riding in this kind of race is what a powerful positive effect these kinds of encounters have on you: the kindness of strangers is the most potent medicine for any kind of suffering. I still wasn’t feeling great and had to stop a few times at the side of the road but was making reasonable progress none the less. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/d5cb322a-2a79-4a85-9280-b27f7f448751/20210828_111110.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/48537108-9e93-41ea-affe-dc3020cb1c26/20210824_114139.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out it was steeper then it looks, I promise https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/fb3fe463-e5f9-41b1-8133-2204442a82be/20210823_073803.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out The day comprised a series of battles, beginning with the unrelenting climb up the Old Soviet Road. Having reached the top, there was a rewarding fast descent down, but at around 30 minutes the exciting part of the day was soon over, and the next set of challenges began, starting with the weather, first rain then hail stones; then my ongoing stomach problems; and finally dealing with a brutal headwind slowing my pace to 5km/h. I found refuge in a storm drain running under the road, taking 10 minutes to eat some food to get some much needed energy, physical and mental. The reasonably level trail was still following the border with China, and the area had a distinctly eerie feel, with abandoned outposts and the occasional watch tower in the distance giving the feeling of being watched. The utter desolation of the landscape matched my mood: I was feeling ill and exhausted, and quitting the race was still very much on my mind. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/68cf2b07-156e-4997-a067-3afad3b253ea/20210827_134302.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/880a5de9-1b58-482f-a3af-013fd939bff4/20210824_191922.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/9bffd94d-e6b9-4b2c-b8b9-20b35043e8a5/bread.png SRMR Week 2 - In the morning after a delicious breakfast of fresh warm bread, I went in search of an open supermarket. It was 7:30am, still much too early, so everything was shut. Back at the hostel I asked the host where she got the bread from. She pointed next door, so I went around and managed to buy two traditional Kyrgyz loaves of bread. I still had some honey and peanut butter left, enough calories to keep the fire going. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/d168b6dc-9b3e-4b7d-a33f-545b62017427/20210829-4387_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/ef954ec5-fd7b-4b31-b333-8d224f113147/20210829-4398_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/463edf80-2689-4978-a7ed-ede30f06c274/20210827-3692_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/0745e5ea-792e-4d56-974d-0a49db5029e3/20210827-3745_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/35099190-ac84-4086-990e-b90302ea6ef2/dinner.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out A reunion with old friends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/32660097-bd63-41b6-b79e-f7a8865a2bba/20210821_145159.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out At least the views were good. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/f056264b-6d41-4999-a62a-d82aacde4096/20210822_185630.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out I knew I was close to CP2 and was hoping to see the yurt camp around each bend. The bends kept coming, the sun had set, but still there were no yurts in sight. Had I missed the turn? Surely not…….. I stopped to turn on my lights and double check the route again. Finally, I could see faint lights in the distance. With a spurt of energy, I stomped on the pedals thinking of hot soup and tea. Arriving at CP2 just before 8pm. I was warmly welcomed into the yurt, and after getting my race card stamped, was offered a brimming bowl of soup, utterly delicious. Brian arrived around the same time, looking as exhausted as I felt. I went to sleep in the smoky yurt on the mat close to the fire. Day 10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/f85b98f2-2cad-40cb-9b6c-4328f0998711/USD20210828_USD5611.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photo taken by Danil Usmanov (photodanil95@gmail.com) @usmanovdanil https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/ee1e9b27-84f1-48ce-a741-5fa6365a882b/20210824_160524.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out It was dark by the time I made it to Baetov: passing what looked to be the best-provisioned shop I’d seen on the race, I made a note of its location, deciding to find a place to stay first. I found a hostel and was back no more than 20 mins later, excited to replace my now exhausted supplies of food. To my horror and dismay the shop was closed, I cursed myself for not stopping earlier. I searched for another shop with increasing anxiety, but nothing was open. It was getting later and later, and I was now desperately hungry, so started cycling around the town looking for somewhere, anywhere, to eat. I eventfully found a restaurant that was still. The menu was in Russian, but with guess work I ordered a Greek salad, some mystery meat, what turned out to be dumplings, and two portions of chips. My stomach was still recovering: I had been following the protocol in the kit religiously, and although the pills I’d been taking had kept things under control, the situation was still far from ideal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/6a5f7544-1fc8-4299-bc2b-781efedd7435/20210826-3349_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/522936ee-a4e1-438f-a0cd-921ee0d66fed/20210822_071302.jpg SRMR Week 2 - I awoke after a restless night feeling tired and weak, but finding that I at least still had my appetite. Downing the next set of pills stipulated in my magic first aid kit, I went down to get breakfast. The hotel had a buffet and a famously decent coffee machine: wonderful! I had 3 cappuccinos and a ridiculous number of pancakes. Hendra joined me and we discussed the possibility of making it to checkpoint two (CP2) today. At 142 km (88.2 miles), CP2 marked the southernmost part of the route, right next to the border with China. In the Video below I give a thorough update, whilst cycling up a hill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/8c61b457-c13e-4166-a453-6c6c40bd4fd4/20210823_054606.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out My alarm went off at 5:30, and, dazed and confused I struggled to orientate myself in the pitch-black yurt, eventually emerging outside just before sunrise. Ahead of me was an infamous section of the route called the Old Soviet Road. It was virtually all hike-a-bike, a punishing way to start. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/759ae3e7-793b-4e43-8a90-7a253e90c21f/20210829-4403_copy.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Photography by G-Jun Yam (yamgjun@g-jun.com) @yamgjun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/736fc617-9f72-4f8f-ab3c-1ab1412dccd0/20210821_131807.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Cheeky river crossing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/18c3bad1-7846-4271-9641-8552c47a5c84/20210825_182301.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Just before 8pm as I stopped to look for an appropriate place to camp, a man on horseback approached me and after a brief chat offered for me to sleep in a spare yurt he had. I gratefully accepted, and when Brian arrived a few minutes later, he was welcomed to join as well. As with all the locals we met, he was incredibly friendly, and he insisted that I should have a ride on his horse. No did not seem to be an option, and having never ridden a horse before I mounted it with some trepidation: Brian captured the moment, and I was relieved to get off without mishap. After this unexpected adventure, I happily had one of my best night’s sleep in the comfortable yurt. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/b28e474f-2ebd-46d0-8ba7-3d320430ad43/20210826_062413.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/61471e67-b590-4dc8-a71d-01bcb5bd245f/20210822_132744.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/07062113-cc76-4214-b22f-6330281cdf1f/20210824_130446.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out An hour later the rain had stopped, and my belly was full. I said goodbye to Bernarda and headed out: the town of Baetov was about 80km (50 Miles) away, and I hoped to make it there before nightfall. I met one of the control cars on the way down, and stopped for a quick chat. My fatigue was eased by my enjoyment of the stunning landscape as I descended for kilometre after kilometre down relatively smooth gravel roads. For the first time in what seemed like a long time I was having fun. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6222256ef1d12a7ef908084f/85780c67-9e12-477d-a817-e2ce871ff3c4/20210825_144742.jpg SRMR Week 2 - Make it stand out if you look very closely you can see Brian