Some sock-smoking going on

59 minutes

Rider of the Day

Curiosity killed the Cat

Like throwing flour in hot water - it clumps

It's like reading tea leaves

Day 6 - women, pairs, rider of the day and Fab Fede

Watching Paint Dry

Day 5 - insomniac snail, women and pairs

Day 4 update - women, pairs, tandems, broomwagon and Riders of the Day. Phew!

You may recall yesterday I reported that the podium filled up within 3.5 hours. Turns out I was smoking my socks and __Steve Halligan__ was, indeed, still out on the course taking a 9 hour break. He finished today in 8D | 6H | 35M. The 9 hour break was a longer sleep than usual, as with Sofiane at this stage in the race, he needed to recharge batteries and devices. It’s hard to keep all the electronics on the go when there are few services along the way and depending on your choice for keeping things charged, it can impact race strategy. At the slower speeds over the rougher terrain, a dynamo hub doesn’t generate enough power to recharge batteries. Night riding means you’re consuming power for lights and need to keep the navigation device lit up for directions, so things drain fast. 

There is a cavernous gap between the top 3 and those following. __Levante Bagoly__, aka King of Zipties, made it to CP3 ahead of a diminished pack plagued with scratches after __Giona Ucceli__ and __Jamie Pintado__ were involved in a crash, resulting in a fractured collarbone for Giona. He is still smiling and happy with the race despite the crash. __Rustam Sherifzyanov__ also scratched, he rode to CP3 and then turned back down the route and his Dot has stopped and scratched, but I can’t find any info as to why.

# Women’s category
There are still 6 racers out on the road, with trailing racers __Eleanor Moseman__ and __Daniella Coffman__ chasing after the Snail. Eleanor is right on the snail, while Daniella is around 57km behind the snail. Up front __Daniela Kirchner__ is still smiling and took a very cold bivy up on Arabel Pass before making it to CP2. She’s pressing onto CP3 and still looking strong. __Daniela K__ and __Samantha__ are set to meet along the out and back section from Naryn to CP2, a chance to eye each other out, or more realistically to get some mutual encouragement in this tough terrain. 

## Women’s ranking (as at 21 Aug, 2:30pm K-time)
1. Daniela Kirchner 		1,382km
2. Bernarda Jurič 		  1,171km
3. Samantha McMahon	  1,061km
4. Eleanor Moseman		  991.5km
5. Danielle Coffman		848.3km

Snail: 				      1,000km

# Pairs category
The status quo remains in the pairs race, with the only change being the Finish Pair of __Heikki and Joonas__ dropping of the pace and losing 45km to the Costa Rica pair of __Rodrigo and Iago__. Up front, __Matti and Michele__ are closing in on CP3, with __Federico__ holding pace with the leading pair. The Dutch Pair of __Sam and Wouter__ closed the gap to 86km. Could we see them challenge the leading pair for the top step of the podium?

![Giona](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4vjSrC8DC5arClPVtYeC4u/b826a890899498e3aac1c207f85ec3c2/IMG_7020.jpg)

## Pairs ranking (as at 21 Aug, 2:30pm K-time)
1. Michele Miani and Matti Köster 		      1,542km
2. Sam de Haas and Wouter Beeks 		        1,453km
3. Jeanie and Martin Dreyer 			          1,381km
4. Jakub Kubinski and Marek Barczewski	    1,322km
5. Iago Cuesta Aguirre and Rodrigo Carazo   1,222km

# I know that Rock
Seeking shelter out in the open means looking for the biggest thing to shelter you from the wind. On the way to Tossor Pass that means picking the largest bolder available. There is only one. Same bolder, different angle, 4 years later.

### 2022 Rock
![2022 Rock](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Imy7VSUXScQHjZEwDvUtH/ae26453e6288ce88c85243c3dfe02801/IMG_7022.jpg)

### 2018 Rock
![2018 Rock](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6DOPkadDzEL6opMZ1xxh0T/5a755cb8d05f0c6035ec9b24367a5ebd/IMG_0966.jpg)

# Rider of the Day

- __Seth Du Bois__
- Portland, Oregan, USA
- 25th place solo

My spies on the ground informed me Seth started the race with some stomach issues. It seems he’s overcome them to get into 25th place on the GC. Seth runs a media company and it looks like there are some bikepacking films he’s done. Go check them out. He looks like he’s been around biking and bikepacking for quite some time, but that’s what we’d expect from Portland, right?

[Seth du Bois Insta](https://www.instagram.com/sethdubois/)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - long time bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Key photo: SilkRoadMountainRace - Jeannie and Martin Dreyer

It's not the first time we've seen Sofiane and James go head to head and boy do we hope it's not the last. Coming within a kilometre of Sofiane in the last 60km, James had our hearts racing, it could have been anyone's game. At one point James seemed to be pedalling at a faster pace, and it was at this moment I was unable to stay awake any longer.

But the question on all our lips - is Sofiane unbeatable? Coming off the back of a hard Tour Divide with 5 weeks recovery, the man must have some pretty incredible recovery skills. Our congrats to Sofiane for winning the 2022 Silk Road Mountain Race, or as the organisers have designated - first to finish. 

But if the number of messages I've received are anything to go by, there are a huge number of supporters of James who are delighted to see him chasing at the front of the race and giving Sofiane a less than easy win. Fractures near the joints are never easy to recover from and with the pounding they received over this terrain, to come back to full strength not long after a fracture, we can equally add that James must have some pretty good recovery skills too. He set a target to have fun and finish as his main goal and to race if he felt strong. He did all three and with a massive smile on his face.

These guys are next level and they keep the Dotwatching community glued to their screens, but without the brilliant coverage by the organisers, this would be a less than rounded experience. This year the coverage when up a notch. The one thing I always wanted to know was who the rider was in all the photos in these races - so I was delighted to see the organisers pin the social media handle of the riders to their photos. It gave the chance to follow the riders and to experience their race outside of what the organisers are able to cover. Great videos, great photos as always.

# GC podium
1. Sofiane Sehili
2. James Hayden (59 minutes behind Sofiane)
3. Steve Halligan (2h30 behind James)

There are still a tonne of folk out on the race course, so don’t go away, there’ll be more posts coming from the race.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - long time bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

While the Cat’s being killed by curiosity, I’ve completely forgotten about our rider of the day. So without further ado, I present - “drum roll please”:

__Barry Hughes__
aka armchair_explorer
Joint Lantern Rouge

Barry is currently doing battle with the Insomniac Snail. The Menacing Mollusc is taking its chances at night and overhauling any gains Barry makes. To add insult to injury Barry is sporting a cracked rib and broken Garmin mount after a dehydrated lapse in concentration saw him over the handlebars. Unfortunately for the Mollusc, Barry is looking fresh, taking the opportunity to make use of local hospitality, while using his MacGyver skills to keep broken equipment lashed down to the bike. He looks like he’s still enjoying it out there, but even so let’s get behind him so he can crush that snail. Not literally people, not literally. 

[Barry Hughes Insta](https://www.instagram.com/armchair_explorer/)![Barry Hughes]

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - long time bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Curiosity killed the cat. Hopefully it doesn’t kill me off in the Bikepacking world. Fascinated by my observation of the control cars, I went off and did a little analysis. Firstly, the logistics of getting these cars around the race route, over uneven road surfaces is not an easy job. Trust me, it’s far nicer to be on these roads on a bike than in a car. 

Before I reveal my findings, it’s worth mentioning a few things. More contact is not necessarily a good thing. Imagine riding along in your own world, well, suffering more like it. You’re out of food and water because you’ve just come out of a remote area, it took longer than you expected and all you want to do is get to the shops or control point to resupply and sleep. All your focus in on just turning the pedals to get there. Suddenly your concentration is interrupted by a fresh, friendly face, in a car stocked full of everything you need. And you can’t ask them for anything. But there is also that little boost you get too and it was only experiencing this personally to realise how much of a relief it was to see other humans and a familiar face you’ve seen before, who knows what you’ve been through and gives a little extra lift. I’ve not been ahead in a race before, so maybe those guys would prefer to just ride their bikes without needing to smile when everything hurts and you're tired.

My little analysis involved selecting some riders and counting the number of times the control car went past them outside of the control points or while riders were asleep. Also I took into account that the leaders have covered more distance, so have put in this data in too.

- __Sofiane Sehili__ (1st) at 1400km:    13 times
- __Nicolas Cull__ (59th) at 960km:       5 times
- __Damir Sharafiev__ (8th) at 1250km:    2 times

It seems the worst place (or best if you don’t want any interruptions) is just behind the leaders. I didn’t track the time the cars spent with the riders, but certainly for the leaders they were with them for longer, as opposed to just passing them on the road, as they did with Nicolas and Damir. This makes sense if they are filming from the moving vehicle. No one loves a Bikepacking film more than me, so I’m not judging. Bring on the films I say. Feel free to hit me up with your thoughts as a racer or just a dotwatcher. I'm curious.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - long time bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

By this point in the race, riders are starting to clump together. Settling into a daily routine and with the heart muscle going into ‘conserve mode’ after Day 3 and no longer able to push hard, riders will leap frog each other along the way, stopping at the same scant services, water refill points (a small stream usually) or a good spot to camp for the night. Being out in the remote wilderness without seeing another human is tough. Riding in solitude for 12-15 hours without seeing anyone else and needing to push your bike through 8 hours of fresh snow can take many to breaking point. You only need to look at this year’s Tour Divide, where 15 or so riders pushed their SOS buttons on their tracker thourugh the snow passes, to understand the strength and preparation needed to tackle these races. I know, that 12-15 hours was me (no I didn't press SOS). When you’ve been alone for so long and come around the corner to find a pair of riders helping each other out with a bike mechanical, you don’t care about the rules, you just grab them for a hug. Knowing you’re not alone out there is a strong mental advantage. It got me thinking about the control cars out on the race. They’re generally tracking the leading riders, meeting them out on course, far more than the mid-pack riders, but in order to record a visual account for the race, we want the media coverage. My job with be harder and less interesting without them. But it’s still food for thought as I know how much of a boost from the media car can give when out racing in these remote areas. On SRMR in 2018 I saw two control cars in 6 days (only one outside of a town), the boost was massive outside of town - the lead riders would be seeing them at least once a day, if not more. Don’t shout at me, it’s just my observation of the race.

The gap between 3rd and 4th place won’t be closed, unless misfortune strikes. But 5th place is looking interesting. With three riders, __Giona Uccelli__, __Jamie Pintado__ and __Maxim Cherkasov__ arriving at CP2 within a few hours of each other. (See below for their splits). I’ve not done any sleep analysis for them, but it I get time, I’ll crunch some numbers. 

## GC positions (as at Friday 19 Aug 13:35 K-time)
1. Sofiane Sehili:       1,618km
2. James Hayden:         1,641km
3. Steve Halligan:       1,501km
4. Rustam Sherifzyanov:  1,311km
5. Joint 5th currently…
- Giona Uccelli:		     1,274km (arrived CP2  10:20)
- Jamie Pintado:	       1,274km (arrived CP2  11:55)
- Maxim Cherkasov	       1,274km (arrived CP2  13:11)

# Women’s category
Five racers remain in the women’s category. Some riders are continuing despite being scratched from the race and will take short cuts along the route to make the most of the remaining time until the finishers party. The landscape here is exceptional and touring the route is good for the soul once the goal of completing the course no longer remains.

__Daniela Kirchner__ advised me she holds another secret to racing through this terrain. SOUP! Fluid and fuel in one. And you don’t even need to chew much. Looks like it’s working a treat as she’s not only 100km ahead of nearest rival __Bernarda__, but sits in 26th spot in the GC. Bernarda suffered in the high altitude last year, so we hope This is an exceptional year for women in the race. By this point in previous races, only one women remained in the solo category, to have five - that is just heart-warming. 

## Women’s category (as at 18 Aug, 7pm K-time)
1. Daniela Kirchner   1,105km
2. Bernarda Jurič 	  902km
3. Samantha McMahon	  791km
4. Eleanor Moseman		700km
5. Danielle Coffman		662km

# Pair’s category

No change in the ranking of the pairs, but as predicted, __Heikki and Joonas__ closed the gap to __Iago and Rodrigo__. I don’t have any daily distance data at the moment to understand where the difference comes in. 

## Pairs ranking (as at Friday 19 Aug 13:35 K-time)
Michele Miani and Matti Köster 		     1,172km
Sam de Haas and Wouter Beeks 		       1,049km
Jeanie and Martin Dreyer 			         1,094km
Jakub Kubinski and Marek Barczewski	   1,059km
Iago Cuesta Aguirre and Rodrigo Carazo 975km
Heikki Taulu and Joonas Miettinen	     974km

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - long time bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)


It’s tough out there and thankfully the racers this year have been spared the worst of the weather, bar the wind, which in itself can be demoralising. But the road is unkind to bike and body, pounding the butt, wearing out the skin. Hands and feet are not spared either, with nerve damage resulting in numbing which can last a few months after the event. Keeping a strong mind is key and sticking to your ‘race’ strategy helps keep the mind in check. Then there is the pressure that comes with attaching a tracker to your bike, knowing people are judging your every move, analysing what you do. Yes that’s you, our faithful Dotwatchers. For some races that pressure creates a different dimension in the race. So you can tell yourself you're out there 'you're just surviving', but trust me when that dot you’ve been chasing all the way around, stops to take a sleep and you’re feeling a little strong, you’ll ride through the night in the hope of catching them. You may not know they’ve stopped, so you rely on racing knowledge, thinking they’re riding through the night, when in fact they’re tucked up napping along the shores of an Alpine Lake. 

And that’s what happened last night. Well, maybe not exactly how I described it, but that’s what the dots tell us and afterall, we’re DOTWATCHERS and we get to make the rules for the sport of Dotwatching. So here’s what the Dots tell us - or reading of the tea leaves. 

At CP2 James slept, but Sofiane didn’t. Arriving two hours after Sofiane, James then left 6 hours after Sofiane. Just before CP3 Sofiance slept 4 hours, giving James the chance to make up the time he slept at CP2, leaving James trailing Sofiane by 2 hours again at CP3. The gap between Sofiane and James is 10km (12:00 K-time). This is down from yesterday evening when I checked - where it was around 23km. The section between James and Sofiane is not easy, it took Sofiane 2 hours to cover just 10km. While we look at the dots and think James is closing in fast, the terrain will dictate otherwise. We will only truely know the gap once they are both on the relative flat leading to Bishkek. It’s an undulating slow uphill to Bishkek, it will be a relief for the racers, but still sapping on tired legs.

Steve holds a large gap over 4th place Rustam. Steve took a much longer sleep than previous nights, knowing it will be hard to catch the two up head with the remaining distance to the finish. 

![day 6 sleep](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7cvjynC9WdFEDsjGHWxcbX/1eea9ba256e0c71be4b8412015275045/Day_6_sleep.png)

Currently James is stopping less than Sofiane, I don't have enough historical knowledge of Jame's racing style to know how this will play out. These racers have the ability to push through, where others crack, so it's anyones guess as to whether this will impact performance or not.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)


# Womens' category
The trail claims another of our racers, with a tumble yesterday forcing __Victoria Makarova__ to seek medical attention in Bishkek, thus removing her out of the race. This brings in a new racer onto our podium potentials - __Daniella Coffman__. __Daniela Kirchner__ holds a substantial lead and looks fresh on the social media posts - her trick seems to be dipping her head in water at any opportunity she can, while ensuring she only stops in the shade. 

## Women’s category (as at 18 Aug, 7pm K-time)
1. Daniela Kirchner 		982km
2. Bernarda Jurič 		  800km
3. Samantha McMahon	    684km
4. Eleanor Moseman		  605km
5. Danielle Coffman		  563km

# Pairs category

We love __Fede__ - he parked his disappointment at leaving his partner behind and the dream of a podium finish and hit the trails with a huge smile. Keep pedalling Federico.

![Fede](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2hN5krbz5KVnY39hKokuic/41ab918721adc5832a8859a58dffc589/IMG_6906.jpg)

While my back was turned, __Heikki Taulu and Joonas Miettinen__ were bumped off the podium list by the Costa Rica pair of __Iago Cuesta Aguirre and Rodrigo Carazo__ - who has some pretty spectacular photos on [Insta](https://www.instagram.com/rcarazo/) - they’ve been lurking in the background and took the 5th spot with a bigger day in the saddle than Jakub and Marek. This tussle for 5th spot could continue to the finish-line as both pairs appear to have a big mileage day followed by a lower mileage day but they’re on different days so 4th and 5th place look to change places as they go.

## Pairs ranking (as at 18 Aug, 7pm K-time)
1. Michele Miani and Matti Köster 		    1,085km
2. Sam de Haas and Wouter Beeks 		      1,074km
3. Jeanie and Martin Dreyer 			        1,009km
4. Jakub Kubinski and Marek Barczewski	    934km
5. Iago Cuesta Aguirre and Rodrigo Carazo   848km

Knocked off 5th spot, I’ll keep them here as I think they’ll be back on the ‘podium’ tomorrow:
Heikki Taulu and Joonas Miettinen	817km

# Rider of the day

__Adin Baird__
USA
54th in GC

![Adin Baird](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/nTfyCAGrfB4MZo9xXju4U/6899034d9b31d34192e3ee562740808c/IMG_6931.jpg)

Who doesn’t love a cheerful racer on day 6 of a brutally hard race. Bringing good videos and a broad smile, it looks like Adin is having a ball out there. This mid-pack fun shouldn’t be allowed in a race laced with hardships not seen in regular bikepacking races. But it’s what we wish for all racers on the trail - to meet those who make Kyrgyzstan their home, to experience their hospitality and to be infected with their genuine happiness.

[Adin Baird Insta](https://www.instagram.com/adinbaird/)

![Happy locals](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6ib3NHUseGGyJEV1APFQPu/ef341fb8dd67cc670345e4e8a68d4805/IMG_6932.jpg)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

### Breakfast of DotReporters...
Before 7:30am
![Breakfast of DotReporters](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6TNcRP5nwDcwo9cffAcjNO/14c132173c7c3242bf91841dc9813dd5/IMG_6907_2.jpg)

By day 3 of a race, things are feeling weary and you’re waiting for the body to kick into another gear. A bit like 4-wheel drive, where you push the gear shift sideways and all 4 wheels kick in, all be at a slower speed. Few riders think of quitting at this point. It’s still early, the hope of making the Check Point before cut-off remains and the bike is still going ok. A bit of lube and off you go.

By day 5 the road is battering both body and bike. Fatigue can lead to small lapses in concentration and the unforgiving terrain can easily slash a tyre, buckle a wheel or tip a rider over the bars. Mild cases of diarrhoea start to show no signs of abating and in the heat dehydration starts to compound. Thoughts of scratching start to come to the fore and racers speak of it when gathered at Check Points or food stops. One needs a strong head at this point in the race and talk like this can weaken the resolve to get back out there for another pasting by nature and the trail. 

But one canny racer packed a secret weapon for just such an occasion. The Anti-Scratch Helmet. __Eleanor Moseman__, pulled on her Anti-Scratch Helmet at CP2, when others were talking about scratching, and quietly snuck back out to the trail to press on to the next Check Point.

![Anti-scratches helmet](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2xTKL5q4hmqrHrptjXoC2a/d1eca70c05af951fb3d77ff4dc41cac8/FullSizeRender.jpg)

12 racers have scratched so far, but Naryn lays ahead and presents a tantalising arary of luxuries making racers question whether they want to continue back into the remote back-roads of Kyrgyzstan.  

__Michael Gaffy’s__ ongoing issues with his hanger-derailleur-chain hit the next level, with the conversion to single speed going south, leaving him with a chain in several pieces and hanger broken in half and the need for a new derailleur. He’s aiming for some repairs in Bishkek before returning to complete the remaining 600km in the 5-6 days left before the finishers party. 

![Bishkek Dash](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2lpyDwNyFJCYBU4ys3LsB5/dde5eb9d03e3a0fbd985edc87c5a15cc/IMG_6902.jpg)
__Jongha Pak__ is wrangling with inner tubes and patches and appears to be running out of options. But he's stocked up on food and water and is pushing on.

![Punctures](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/gM6f7zBUovDeEeY4hbErg/cc7a2b961be9195c8272ec2571fbc09f/IMG_6901.jpg)

# General Classification
After watching paint dry all day yesterday, finally some excitement in the General Classification race. The snow I thought would happen over Arabel Pass didn’t materialise but temperatures plummeted to around -9°C. __Sofiane__ made it down Juuku pass - a technical, rocky descent in late afternoon, while __James__ followed as dusk was setting in. __Steve__ got caught in the dark down this descent and suffered a slow speed crash, but thankfully nothing major. Things got exciting when James, Steve and Rustam were all sat at CP2 at the same time. Sofiane stopped briefly before pressing on over Tosor Pass, while James took a few hours to get in some food and rest, pressing on in the early hours of the morning, perhaps to summit Tosor Pass at dawn. Sofiane has drawn a comfortable lead and barring incidence is looking safe up front. The battle for the remaining podium places is hotting up and it’s who can suffer the lack of sleep the longest to get onto the remaining steps.

## GC positions (as at Thursday 18 Aug 11:45 K-time)
1. Sofiane Sehili:       1,412km
2. James Hayden:         1,358km
3. Steve Halligan:       1,325km
4. Rodney Soncco:        1,316km
5. Rustam Sherifzyanov:  1,139km

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

# Insomniac Snail
Just when you think ‘she’s about to do it’, night falls and __Anna Petters__ needs to sleep. But she’s competing against an Insomniac Snail, who never sleeps. The snail is at the 477km, running an around-the-clock pace of 4.36kph. Doesn’t seem like much when you read it on paper. If she rides 12 hours a day then her average pace needs to be 8.72kph and in that terrain, it’s easier said than done. Come on Anna, get that snail.

# Women
After sitting out at CP1 for the better part of a day, __Scotti Lechuga__ scratched. Never something we want to report on and it looks like husband __Ernie__, who is 200km up the road scratched too. It’s hard to continue on route under these circumstances. We wish Scotti a fast recovery. __Daniela__ continues to press forward in the lead, maintaining a higher daily average than those following in her tracks.
![Victoria crash](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6PJ3QCrdEIlM3g8PujdkjC/e87eca39fe6def7d99765b3d3588b6c2/27F865CF-A397-45C6-9FAF-B714E66D1856.JPG)
__Victoria__’s taken a side detour to Jalalabat, she reports a fall damaging her bike and elbow - she needs to see a doctor. Hopefully she'll be back on track soon. __Eleanor Moseman__ made CP1 and also made it into the top 5, her videos and posts on Insta-Stories are very funny. 

## Women’s category (as at 17 Aug, 3pm K-time)
1. Daniela Kirchner 	743km
2. Bernarda Jurič 		622km
3. Victoria Makarova 	607km
4. Samantha McMahon	  533km
5. Eleanor Moseman		523km

Scotti Lechuga 		Scratched due to stomach issues

![day 5 women stats](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5vsgbWfAuL7zPEMj5GKitw/552c2f7870d95b0808dc33ad281e36f4/d5_women_stats.png)

# Pairs

__Mattia De Marchi__ scratched due to reported fatigue so __Federico Damiani__ is continuing on his own. It brings with it a shake up in the pairs’ category. Dropping out the top 5 and with a route short cut, __Benjamin Ramirez and Aldean Lim__ are sitting at 607km. This brings the Polish pairing of __Jakub Kubinski and Marek Barczewski__ into 4th and Finish pair __Heikki Taulu and Joonas Miettinen__ into 5th. 

## Pairs category (as at 17 Aug, 3pm K-time)
1. Michele Miani and Matti Köster 		  843km
2. Sam de Haas and Wouter Beeks 		    803km
3. Jeanie and Martin Dreyer 			      768km
4. Jakub Kubinski and Marek Barczewski	696km
5. Heikki Taulu and Joonas Miettinen	  664km

# Category limbo
What happens when your ride partner scratches in the pairs category? You’re out of the pairs race and no longer qualify for this category. You’ve ridden with aid until now, drafting in the headwinds, sharing kit possibly and aiding or being aided with mechanicals, thus excluding you from the Solo category. The goals switches to just finishing. Rearranging kit, possibly adding things to the bike you’d not planned on carrying, like the other half of the tent. Do you have place for this on the bike. Then mentally accepting you’re own your own. If you’ve ridden in a well-oiled pairing, switching gear into solo mode might take a few hours to readjust. Or if your in the middle of a 'pairs’ divorce', you may venture into the wilderness in Solo-bliss. We know Mattia and Federico were the former type, so Federico will be leaving behind a great partner, but his experience in the mountains means it won’t take long to click into Solo mode.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

# Women's category

It was going well, until it wasn’t. Something we know all too well on SRMR. Stomach ailments are awful but in hot weather they’re even worse, with dehydration a higher risk. __Scotti Lechuga__ made it to CP1, but not in good form. She’s been recovering there and unfortunately watched her massive lead get eaten into and then swallowed up as racers passed her. Handing the batton to Daniela, Scotti is still holed up at CP1 and we hope she will be underway soon. But these bugs generally have a week long hold on the guts, unless you’re carrying antibiotics. 

__Daniela Kirchner__ is at 641km, holding off __Victoria Makarov__ a by 100km, but we can easily see how quickly things can change around. Bernarda is snapping at Victoria’s heels, with only 9km separating them. By this stage of the race, if the wind is in the right direction, I bet she could smell her she is so close.

A special shout out to __Anna Petters__. If last year is a blur for you, let me pop in a quick recap. Anna chased hard to stay ahead of the broomwagon last year, but missed the cut-off at CP2 forcing her out of the race. She vowed to come back and beat the broomwagon. She is 16km behind the virtual broomwagon at the moment. Let’s get some support over to her to get her ahead of the broomwagon and into CP2.

## Women’s category (as at Tues 16 Aug 7:15pm K-time)
1. Daniela Kirchner 		643km
2. Victoria Makarova 		542km
3. Bernarda Jurič 		  533km
4. Scotti Lechuga 		  524km
5. Samantha McMahon	    524km 

![d4 women stats](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1pXB77oeqMkpjBfVkyN557/b1747f3401b58d8090aa2812046e82c2/d4_women_stats.png)

# The Tandemers
In a category of their own, __Shona Oldfiled__ and __Richard Naylor__ only need to finish to win this category. I hope there’s a hat for them at the end, because if you’ve ever ridden a tandem you'll know just how hard it is to cycle these things uphill. Let alone do it to the rhythm of another’s cadence. Oh and the trust needed in the person upfront steering and braking on your behalf. On the plus side the person behind gets sheltered from the wind, only good in a headwind, in the heat it’s an oven back there. But the views from behind are wonderful because you can look sideways the whole way, never needing to pay attention to the road ahead. Obviously the crick in the neck is a small price to pay for that luxury.

# Pairs

After taking up such a large lead, __Mattia and Federico__ show no miles ridden today, but they still hold a massive 140km lead over their nearest rivals. I saw reports they were suffering in the heat, but I’ve not found any other updates. Message me if you have some intel. 3rd and 4th places is a contest between the South African’s and the Dutch. They share a common thread in their Dutch languages, so race strategy should be discussed out of earshoot of the each other. It looks like __Martin__ suffered a delay yesterday, leaving __Jeanie__ to continue on route. She’s waiting for him today and they’re now pressing on. __Benjamin Ramirez and Aldean Lim__ deviated off course, not sure if this was just a case of missing a turn and if they are aware they were not on track. It’s a definite shortcut, so expect some input from the organisers. Further updates will be posted.

## Pairs ranking (as at Tues 16 Aug 7:15pm K-time)
1. Mattia De Marchi and Federico Damiani 	742km
2. Michele Miani and Matti Köster 		    684km
3. Sam de Haas and Wouter Beeks 		      676km
4. Jeanie and Martin Dreyer 			        664km
5. Benjamin Ramirez and Aldean Lim*	      558km

![day4 paris stats](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3JXafx5DXbxJo3ulmJOYoF/bfb755557747c5aa67ca61fa935723e1/day4_paris_stats.png)

# Virtual Broomwagon
Nothing motivates than a happy snail stilling ahead of your dot on the tracking app. Four riders remain behind the virtual broomwagon, with __Anna Petters__ the only one with real hopes of overtaking the snail.

# Riders of the day
I’ve broken my rule for selecting riders from the smaller nations and gone full Balmy with the Brit Army. Well, actually two racers, not a whole troupe. When I read __Jenny Wordsworth’s__ profile - I was initially curious on her poetry abilities, but soon learned she loves the high mountains - another mountaineer coming into bikepacking and quite recently due to a knee injury. So I watched her dot with great eagerness. I spotted another Wordsworth lurking close to her Dot on day one and after a little 'Sherlock Holmes-ing' I discovered she was married to one __Martin Wordsworth__ and there’s a mini-Wordsworth too. It was’t long before they fell into the coveted ‘Lantern Rouge’ position and I eagerly awaited some updates. This came in a brilliant post on Instagram. I’ll leave this for you, the diligent dotwatchers that you are, to click on the link below and read for yourselves. They definitely deserve riders of the day. They added to the drama but appear to be pressing on. It looks like they may retain the Lantern Rouge for sometime. I implore you to also look at the Stories, being posted by a friend, it's the dry sense of humour only matched by the weahter todate on SRMR.

[Jenny WordsWorth Insta](https://www.instagram.com/jenny.wordsworth/)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - __Peta McSharry__ - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hit’s the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Peta McSharry

Kyrgystan offers one of the wildest and most inhospitable environments for a bikepacking race with its often harsh unpredictable mountain weather, which is all the more reason to dotwatch!

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