Six days into a two-month ride across Central Asia, Rob MacLennan found himself driving a minibus over the mountains in Mongolia. His broken bike was strapped to the roof, there were twelve local women in the back, and the driver was having a nap in the passenger seat. It turned out to be a fair warning of what was coming.
Rob first joined me on the show after riding from London to Cape Town. This time he’s back after bikepacking the ancient Silk Road through Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, using the whole trip as training for the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan.
He was sitting inside the top 15 when his cranks snapped deep in the mountains. Most riders would have scratched, and as Rob says himself, there’s no shame in that. He went the other way. He rode 50 kilometres with one pedal, found a rental bike that was far too small for him, went hunting through a scrapyard for a taller saddle, and spent around €800 on taxis bringing parts out from a bike shop in Bishkek. All the while he was racing the snail to make each checkpoint cutoff.
We also talk about the numbness he felt after the race, which left his memories of the trip feeling like he was watching them in the third person.
You can keep up with Rob's future adventures via his instagram @robbo_on_the_road
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