Project Happy Bike 2026

And just like that...Project Happy Bike is over!

The idea for this project came about during my experience on the 2025 edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race. I had just stopped off to resupply in a small village called Sary-Mogol, which sits in the shadow of Lenin Peak, when a child on a bike came up to me and demanded the Snickers that I’d just bought from the shop. I gave away a different chocolate but still he demanded my Snickers bar. I continued to refuse and eventually he lost interest in asking and turned his attention to my bike. He investigated and I obliged as it seemed to distract him from my food. He pulled the brakes and rocked my bike which stood firm. He then went back to his bike and tried his brakes out: the bike rolled freely. Seeing there was something I could actually do to help here, I went to his bike and made a simple adjustment – giving him brakes again. He beamed and took off - doing skids and wanting to race me round the small bazaar that we found ourselves in. This was my 'lightbulb' moment and I spent the next year of my life working towards getting myself back out to Kyrgyzstan to continue this work.

I set off from London on June 1st 2026 to ride 3800km to Istanbul where I then took a flight directly to Bishkek. Here I picked up my modified BOB trailer and, equipped with an ensemble of tools and spare parts, made my way across the country to Talas - the starting point of the 2026 edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race.

I set-off on my own version of the race route...incorporating as much of the actual route that I was capable of getting myself and my very heavily loaded bike and trailer over. It was an ambitious exercise and resulted in me having some of the hardest days I've ever had on a bicycle in my life.

The effort was well worth it however - allowing me to reach some of the most remote villages in Kyrgyzstan where I could set-up my bike stand and begin my work. I spent the next 2 weeks visiting villages and setting up my bike stand in magazines (village shops), guesthouses, street corners and even offering my services in local bike shops along the route. At one point, I even became the 'phone-a-friend' option for a bike shop that found themselves in the presence of a rider from the race who had broken their bike.

After 1000km of riding I wound up in Cholpon-Ata, the finish line of the race, where I rested, recovered and shared stories from the road with all the race-hardened riders who had just traversed the wildest areas that Kyrgyzstan has to offer.

As I write to you now, I am back in London, the leaves have just started to turn and my time on the road feels like a very distant memory. This memory, however, burns bright in my mind and the experience and inspiration I gained from all the locals I met along the way continue to fuel my ambitions for the projects to come. I fixed over 30 bikes during my time in Kyrgyzstan, but it is not this number that I use to quantify the success of the project - it is the smiles and gratitude of the Kyrgyz people after allowing me to fix their bikes that solidifies this project as a roaring success.

There is still so much to do in Kyrgyzstan in this field and I hope one day I can find a way to get out there again. Bike repairs in places such as Kyrgyzstan are such a vital part of allowing people to stay connected, alongside enabling the younger generation to act on their inspiration from the riders they see journey through their country year after year.

I'm not sure when it will be...but Kyrgyzstan, I will see you again soon.