Markus Stitz bikepacking in Kyrgyzstan on his Surly Straggler

Markus Stitz has produced this great video showing his bikepacking trip in Kyrgyzstan with his Surly Straggler

Markus Stitz has produced this great video showing his bikepacking trip in Kyrgyzstan with his Surly Straggler

Here's what had had to say about the experience: 

'I've trusted Surly bikes since my trip on a singlespeed Ogre around the world, and I have never been disappointed. For the trip to Kyrgyzstan, to ride the country in my own pace for 10 days and then race the Silk Road Mountain Race, I used my trusted Surly Straggler, which I have ridden for many other adventures in Scotland and Germany before, including mapping the Wild About Argyll Trail and Dunoon Dirt Dash. I wasn’t sure whether to use the Straggler, a gravel bike, or my ECR, which is more suited for really rough stuff, but in the end decided for the Straggler, as it gave me the ability to cover more distance. For more comfort I used a 2inch Schwalbe G-One Bite on the front, providing extra cushioning, which was definitely needed on those washboard roads. I carried extra tyres with me, but thankfully didn’t need them. There's not much I would change on my bike setup, however a 44t chainring was too ambitious.'

I also added a dynamo hub from SP, built into Halo wheels. As I was filming for ten days, I needed to be able to charge my devices in remote regions. I used the dynamo hub to charge my powerbank during the day, and power my lights when necessary.’

Riding an American bike past those many Lenin statues was quite surreal. I was born in East Germany and felt propelled back to the past many times when I cycled in Kyrgyzstan. And that inspired me to produce ‘No Stone Unturned’, which is a reflection on riding through those amazing landscapes, and having time to think about where I have come from as a person, and bikepacking has given me amazing opportunities to do something meaningful with my life'

More pictures can be found here