We need to talk about your skills on a mountain bike.

Having excellent bike handling skills is not a matter of one’s amount of fitness, or capacity to tolerate physical or mental discomfort. In fact, functional skills are what will allow you to convert your fitness into speed on technical sections. The ability gives you the confidence to tell yourself “yes, I can” instead of “no, I can’t” when faced with riding situations out of your comfort zone – something that is served up often on an extreme MTB event such as Yak Ru.

Yak Ru Cross Country Race – XC

You have probably already read or heard about The Yak Ru Annapurna Challenge mountain bike race(XC). Riding a bicycle off-road becomes a fascinating – and brutal – endeavor when combined with remoteness, steep terrain, extremes in heat and cold, high altitude, and relentless competition.Read More

We have already established the high demands of the Yak Ru Annapurna Challenge in the previous two articles. A good deal of preparation for the Yak Ru must be dedicated to specific training for a particular set of demands. Most crucially: these demands are unlike those at any other multi-stage mountain bike event.

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If you have followed us this far into our series of training/preparation articles, chances are you have already signed up for the Yak Ru, or are otherwise intent on going on a trip or bike ride with similar scope in terms of extreme altitude and conditions.
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Being out in the mountains on your bike means being prepared to treat any mechanical issues that may occur. Part of the allure of riding in a beautiful but remote landscape such as Nepal’s is that element of self-sufficiency – getting through problems encountered on the ride without the help of a mechanic or anyone else besides other racers.Read More