Watch Neil’s Interview on his Epic Adventure
In this captivating interview, we sit down with Neil Armstrong, Merlin’s Engineering Director, who conquered the gruelling Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan last month. Neil shares snippets of his experience of this remarkable cycling race; the exhilarating highs, the challenging lows, and his advice for those who fancy following in his draft.
A massive shoutout to Neil Armstrong, Merlin’s Engineering Director, for an incredible achievement: completing the gruelling Silk Road Mountain Race as a solo rider! We’ve been eagerly tracking your journey every step of the way, Neil covered a colossal 1,879km of tortuous terrain in 13 days, 13 hours, 34 mins and 30 seconds. Your determination and passion are truly inspiring! Bravo on this extraordinary accomplishment!
*Please note this photo was taken early into the race, Neil may have been mistaken for wondering wizard, Radagast the Brown shortly after crossing the finishing line.
Neil Taking Part In The Silk Road Mountain Race 2023
Neil Armstrong, Merlin Engineering Director, is using the four weeks of holiday awarded at Merlin after 10 years of service to take part in the Silk Road Mountain Race. This unsupported mountain bike race covers a challenging course of 1880km in Kyrgyzstan, almost all off road with about 30,000m of climbing. The ultra-distance cycling community consider it to be one of the hardest races on the circuit because of the high altitude, severe weather and the lack of resupply locations. There are 118 entrants this year and all previous races have seen only half the entrants finish.
Neil says; “I’m grateful to Merlin for allowing me the time off at a busy time for the business, to my family for putting up with me spending so much time training and to my friends for listening to me droning on about the race and my preparation for it, since January. I’ve always liked an adventure and this one looks like it could be the toughest yet. I think it’ll be good to launch myself well and truly outside of my comfort zone into a challenge with so many unknowns and risks, with a high chance of failure. Let’s see if I can hack it!”
 
