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Kerry MacPhee

@kerrymacphee

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Gaelic speaking Outer Hebrides gal pedalling long & far. Bike stuff, life stuff, gid stuff 🙌
Next ultras: The Atlas Mountains, HT550, Silk Road 👀

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2,060km. 38,000m of climbing. A 65% scratch rate. This is the story of Kerry MacPhee's incredible ride at this year’s Silk Road Mountain Race taking on one of the toughest races on the planet aboard her Genesis Mantel.

Blog now live on our website, hit the link in our bio to read it now.

#GenesisBikes #SilkRoadMountainRace #SilkRoad

@kerrymacphee
@silkroadmountainrace by @kerrymacphee

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3 days ago

Every time I pop out the other side of an ultra, my brain is like HOW! How TF did I do that 😂

Honestly it’s wild what you can do when you commit to a goal even when the goal feels impossible.

Or maybe it’s just wild what you can do when you get out of your own way 🙏

Do the stupid things pals, sign up to the impossible feeling goals. I 100% think everything in life needs a wee sprinkling of luck alongside the effort & work but on the whole, chances are you’ll surprise yourself.

That daily elevation looks insane but when you think about it, your whole day is just pedalling, pushing, munching & eventually having an extended nap so there’s plenty hours to slowly chip away.

📸 @stephenshelesky

*AI content 🤔 My route file was so big strava wouldn’t let me overlay the map (Training Peaks also flopped) so I used Canva to make a map. Took a huge risk recording the ride as a wanner but Coros came good 😂 stats and map added to the image by me not AI 😵‍💫 taken in Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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17 days ago

For most of this year’s Silk Road Mountain Race, it was neck and neck in the women’s field seeing one of the most competitive races of the series.

On the way up the Burkhan valley onto the Arabel plateau, @kerrymacphee was in the lead when she came across a Control Car stuck in a bog. Instead of riding on like any tired rider would, she insisted on helping push it out to safety. Although nothing special to her at the time, this small act sums up Kerry perfectly to everyone who came across her during her time at Silk Road.

Kerry loves racing and has a healthy approach to it, whilst understanding that opportunities like the Silk Road Mountain Race are so fleeting in the grand scheme of things.

Since finishing second, she’s spoken of the big fear she had of letting racing get in the way of the gift of being in a place like Kyrgyzstan. What if she turned herself completely inside out and then scratched, only for her lasting memory to be just hurting rather than remembering the insane opportunity of racing in such an incredible place?

She had prepared and trained hard for the race, whilst not wanting to let racing overshadow the experience. That preparation and approach meant that in the end, two truths existed at once: she was able to race, and have the time of her life.

Moments like with the Control Car, remind us what it’s all about and how in self-supported events, we still come into contact with so many people. Some racing. Some not.

We can’t wait to see where Kerry heads next.

Photography: Control car captured by fellow racer, Martin Hilgers.

Race photography taken by @stephenshelesky and @nils_laengner by @kerrymacphee

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20 days ago

The weather in Kyrgyzstan summed up in one photo - lips burnt to a crisp but snowy underfoot & being chased by storm clouds… 24 hours later I was lying on a deck chair by Lake Issik Kul, beer in hand 😂

Kok-Ayrik pass, the last pass of Silk Road Mountain Race 2026!

I nicknamed it the spiral of doom while I was on it. I don’t think I’ve ever travelled 1km as slowly as the last km of this climb! The air was so thin at just under 4000m that everything felt impossibly hard & slow, the switchbacks were relentless, steep & awkward particularly with this dump of snow, & the arch at the top never got any closer 😂

This pass troubled me greatly before I was even on it. Having had an experience that scared me on the Kol Ukok hike a bike, I let it get to me & I couldn’t stop thinking negatively & wondering would happen if I needed a sleep & my thermarest punctured again rather than how cool a push through the night could be. I also have some negative association with a last night push after Atlas - I had weeks of waking up in a nightmare thinking I was still trying to pedal through the night (it was a miserable experience) & didn’t want to go back there.

After Kok Ukok & sleeping at 3800m, my legs & parts of my body also swelled up which is a good early sign of altitude sickness - I managed to keep on top of this though but it was an underlying anxiety.

In the end, whilst savage, I loved eeking out the last of Silk in the daytime. The valley & pass were flipping insane. It was super eery too, hearing small avalanches & rockfall around you, stillness besides the crunch of snow & a humblingly slow ascent. I’m so grateful for what this pass forced me to sit in mentally & physically.

I was doing some really clunky database work the other day. Cutting & pasting screeds of pages. When I started, it felt like it would take an eternity, then I remembered that feeling 1km from the top of this pass & how far away it still felt. Yet it came. Like the pass, I just sat in my boring work, enjoyed the simplicity of the task & got there. It was nice to feel lessons from ultra flow into daily life.

Do things in life you’re not sure you can pals 🙏 It’s good for you 🙏 taken in Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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23 days ago

Every time I see this picture I burst out laughing 😂

Even in the moment, my brain was going - this feels like a WTF moment yet I can see the hilarity 😂

This was coming off the Arabel plateau, where I’d been hijacked by driving hail, snow & rain. I’d ducked behind a pile of rubble to put all my layers on, around 4000m up thinking I’d have a swift drop back into warmth with a long decent to CP3 at 1500m. Cling on & you’ll be warm in no time I thought!

I had no idea there was a flipping gold mine on the other side though! One of the highest gold mines in the world! The heavy rain & snow had turned the road into a muddy clay shit show, with hunners of lorry’s grinding up & down. My glasses were covered in crap immediately 😂 I stopped 3 times to clean (smear) them before giving up & descending with them dangling from my mouth.

At one point, the descending traffic was held to allow the accenting lorry’s enough room to somehow gain traction to keep climbing. I’m sure I heard someone shout ‘Bloody cyclists’ in Kyrgyz as I skipped by the traffic 😜

Warmth felt like it took an eternity to get to, descending blindly, dodging lorry’s & maintaining a skid free, pothole free line - everything was a bit blurry without vision 😂

Eventually the relief from chilly tootsies came, & I thought I’d wiped my specs well for the final few KM’s down to CP3 🤣

I think it was the contrast between the ethereal, remote climb up onto the Arabel Plateau & the industrial, jarring descent off the other side that bemused me most, as well as being aware of the clag that covered me slowly hardening as the breeze started to resemble something akin to the heat of a hairdryer rather than the capriciousness of Arabel.

Funny the things that make you feel alive, present & grateful.

This is the first time I’ve ultra’d with specs. One too many eye ulcers post ultra have put the fear in me quite rightly. Getting my hands & nails clean enough to put contacts in never felt achievable but I managed to balance both. Pretty sure my eyes are a little more crinkly round the edges now but the crinkles have stories at least 🤗

📸 @stephenshelesky taken in Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

I am MISSING this squad like crazy this week - Team Splash, AKA the Mountain races media team, AKA Colin McRae (Nelson’s Da Chris), @melwwebb who curates the fab Mountain Races Podcast & @stephenshelesky who take the most incredible photos 🤗

This crew have an insane ultra on their hands chasing riders across the Kyrgyzstan mountains & the number of flat tyres & escapades they got into were quite hilarious albeit not at the time 😂

Coming into CP2, I rode passed them only to hear the hiss of another flat tyre 🫠 I was so confused getting to the check point only to see Stephen already there - he’d hitched a lift & sprinted a mile to see me in 😂

In the Burkhan Valley up to the Arabelle plateau I came across them stuck in a bog 😂 Being the Scottish bog fairy, I had to help push them out only to land in the bog myself 🤣 Funny at the time, not so much when my stinking wet gloves offered little warmth in the snow, hail & driving rain across and off the plateau.

Another time they drove by only for Chris to rally through a giant puddle that covered me head to toe 😂

I absolutely love how much this crew brings the Silk Road Mountain Race to life & catch the unfolding adventures. It’s super special to have these memories documented for life & this team were there just for the women. Amazing eh?!

The flow of the day for me felt like observing the gentle Nomadic life of shepherding flocks of animals onto higher pastures as daylight broke, with the reverse as the sun fell. Sometimes the landscape felt brutalist, with soviet remnants & eery concrete buildings littering the hillside.

Without fail, this crew would pop up unexpectedly. At all times, a particular insight from @apcordingley who raced last year stuck with me: you think you’re in the middle of nowhere then you realise you’re in the middle of someone else’s universe. A distant yurt, a curious Nomad on horseback - everywhere! A bit like the media team too who slept in some remote places & popped up unexpectedly. Alway such a joy to interact with.

The flow now is slow - work, rest, recover, eat & hope the volume that has been turned down returns to homeostasis.

Thank you for the memories 🤗 taken in Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

Current vibe: dazed and confused as I re-enter the land of the living & make it home 😅

One of the words that struck a chord with me in the very extensive race manual that accompanies @silkroadmountainrace was ‘capricious’. It echoed round my head for ten days like an omen!

Being Scottish, I seem to spend 90% of my days training in bad weather & whilst I hate the bad weather, the bad weather seems to like me & I perform well in it 🫠 I really hoped the challenging fronts would come in but the reality is that in the mountains, the front can come to you like your very own weather system whilst lower down & all around, everything is groovy! The opposite is true too that you can travel over a glorious pass whilst those around you meet the capricious version. Be careful what you wish for I guess!

Like the never ending mountain push ups, things that felt an eternity in the moment, were, in the grand scheme of ten days, always far more temporary. You knew you’d eventually drop into warmth, or the sun would rise once again, or the plateau would run out of elevation. For the first three days, the prayers were the opposite - that darkness would arrive to alleviate us of the punishing heat! How this Peely Wally Scottish lass survived I do not know! I’m obsessed with weather (Met Office MacPhee 🫡) & had prepped 2 bladders & all sorts to deal with heat so I guess it worked.

My eloquent version of how I deal with these ‘capricious’ moments is reminding myself that sometimes you just have to sit in your own shit. Through Kyrgyzstan, these moments were the gift. They weren’t easy but compared to when they’ve been served up in day to day ordinary life, knowing you willingly chose capricious somehow made it just fine.

It didn’t stop me being scared though. I had a few scary moments but I always knew I’d pop out eventually.

I feel really really fortunate to have been able to pedal over 2000km across Kyrgyzstan. So so grateful, quite overwhelmed & acutely aware of the privilege.

Most overwhelmed by all the cool messages which I really hope to get back to.

Thank you everyone for joining me on one hell of a ride 🫶

📸 @stephenshelesky taken in Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

The Silk Road Mountain Race 2026 - A dream come true & an experience that will take some time to process.

I didn’t have a plan other than to make sure that racing my bike didn’t get in the way of the gift of travelling over 2000km through Kyrgystan. It was a shock to find myself in the lead for several days & also enjoying this so much! Maybe it was a weird flow state - getting on the bike every ‘morning’ was exciting & I didn’t feel the need to get super ‘racey’. I was scared to actually as every day still felt like the finish line was a lifetime away & I didn’t want to blow! My legs felt good though & I felt patient & content just moving in awe of the landscapes, people & beautiful interactions along the way.

I soon learnt that @natuzzchen & I were moving at the same speed 😅 Crossing invisible paths as I woke & she slept, the gap always at 3-4 hours. I also knew this was heehaw in an ultra & all it would take was 1 thing. I had a bad night on the hike a bike - it was tough for everyone & having chosen to climb the pathless scree slopes in the darkness & snow, I chose hard. Maybe I was being ‘racey’! I got through this but the undoing was my thermarest puncturing at 3800m in the cold & wet. It was a miserable shivery experience & I had no choice but to get up & keep moving just to stay warm. It was disorientating hiking off the mountain pass feeling so drained. I chose to reset, sleep, eat & repair my thermarest in the next town but ultimately Nathalie took the opportunity & absolutely smashed the end of the race. For sure she deserved the win. I was so content & happy with how things had gone that rather than chase like a lunatic, I opted for a longer sleep before tackling the final snowy pass in the daylight. I didn’t want it to end! I’m proud of my growth yet still learning so much! Plenty mistakes but I put experience ahead of competition - I’m conflicted about who I am as an ultra rider but unbelievably happy to have given the women’s race some animation & dot watching joy - so frikken cool having 2 women knocking about the top 10!

The privilege of a lifetime 🫶

Biggest thank you to the dot watching super fans! The best 🫶

📸 @stephenshelesky taken in Issyk-Kul', Ysyk-Köl, Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

Kerry MacPhee is the second woman to reach the finish line in Cholpon-Ata, in a time of 10 days, 9 hours, and 36 minutes, and 11th overall.

She animated the race from the start, finding herself in the lead within the first 24 hours and holding it all the way to Kochkor, where she opted to rest after a challenging night on Ukok Pass, where her mattress punctured. She laid it all on the line, and in the end needed to reset to reach the finish.

Every time the riders around her saw her, they would report to the control car how inspiring she was, always finding a silver lining in the obstacles thrown her way. She loved bivvying out under the stars, and had told us it was a dream come true to race here, especially excited about how competitive the women’s race was. Her kindness was most present when she came across Control Car 2 stuck in a bog in the Burkhan Valley, and would not take no for an answer, jumping knee deep into the mud and insisting on helping push it out.

Once she realised she wouldn’t close the gap to Nathalie, she opted for one last big sleep, wanting to see as much of the final day and enjoy it.

On Kok-Ayrik, the final pass, she was caught in a massive snow storm, but she said it was fun all the same, having come so far and made it through every mountain before that.

Her comment at the finish said it all: “Sgoinneil,” which is Gaelic for brilliant.

Chapeau, Kerry!

Supported by:
@albion.cycling
@pertexfabric
@tailfincycling

🎥 @chistyakov.evgeni
📷 @stephenshelesky by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

Justinas Leveika and Kerry MacPhee both lead the race.

In true Kerry style, she referred to yesterday as a ‘recovery day’ due to the amount of downhill, whilst also celebrating how lucky she felt to be racing alongside another super strong woman at the front of the race in Nathalie Schneitter. As she rests, Nathalie catches up to her, so whilst they’re not racing side by side, they’ll keep meeting and one decision to rest or resupply could be impactful.

DotWatchers breathed a sigh of relief as Justinas opted to rest well at CP2, recovering with a bed and a good meal. His strategy worked better than anyone could have expected, as he seemed to click into another gear, going onto ride the full 381km from CP2 to CP3 in one hit. Concerned about his fitness pre race, this feels like an extreme way to ride oneself back into form but one that’s working… The chasing pack of Jens Van Roost, Alexander Kopp and Manu Cattryse all seem to be looking after themselves well and although they are ~100km back they are all well in the race with so far still to go.

Photos @stephenshelesky @nils_laengner by @kerrymacphee

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a month ago

Isn’t it mad that when you race Ultra, you’re bike becomes your home?! The simplicity of having every single thing you need on board cannot be matched and my steed for the next ten days or so is this beauty 🫶

It takes a lot of time, trial & error, saving up the pennies & partnering with some mega folk to get to a point of refinement when it comes to ultra kit and holy moly am I grateful to be where I am kit wise.

Sponsors are amazing. I ride my bike heaps so stuff wears out quickly & I honestly would be in a pickle if I didn’t have some incredible folk keeping my bike & kit pinging. Those wee nods of confidence in you as a person & as an ambassador go such a long way and none of the brands I ride for ever expect or ask for an outcome. They just want to see their riders having the best time in their kit & on their bikes & that’s exactly what I do every time I swing a leg over a bike 🤗

The biggest thanks to my long standing pals at @madison.cycles & @genesisbikesuk. My frame is 8 years old and the Genesis strap line is ‘The original Adventure Bike’. Quite fitting eh! I love it & I love to rep a bike that’s stood the test of time & has a million stories to it 🫶

For the sake of brevity (🤪) over my usual Spraffles, my set-up looks as follows:

@shimano_uk XTR 10-51/30t
@pro_bikegear finishing
@dtswiss 1200 wheels laced with a Son dynamo by Chris at @beespokewheels_uk in Manchester 🤗
@restrap switch rack, custom frame bag, tool roll & front roll 🤗
@coros_uk navigation for the mega battery
@exposure.lights Diablo & Revo 5 powered by the Dynamo & also charges all my stuff on the go 🤗
@use.components Vybe suspension seat-post which is a fab hardtail upgrade
@vittoriauk_tyres 2.5 Mezcals front & rear
@albion.cycling clothing - so good, lightweight, SPF’d, warm & plenty pockets
@madisonclothinguk base layers, sunnies, warmers & socks
@rab.equipment Mythic Ultra 360 sleeping bag. A lovely pressie from my 4 siblings and warm to -8
Thermarest Neo X Air mat
Open research hooped bivvy - a lovely pressie from @apcordingley
@flextail_official spare battery pack & pump
@truflo.pumps pump
Shimano GE5 shoes with gold lock lace upgrade 🤌

BRAW! taken in Talas, Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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2 months ago

Biggest takeaway thus far from Kyrgyzstan is be a dreamer 🤗 You never know where it will take you!

There’s a fun angle to my dreams here in Kyrgyzstan which is that BBC Alba are creating a Gàidhlig language documentary of my experience - before during and after. Hamish and Eric are here on the tools & I’ll be documenting as I go too. I think I’ve finally sussed how to put the GoPro away without leaving it on in my pocket and flattening the battery 🤣

Because this is a self-supported race, there are very strict rules in place around how they interact with me en route which is basically not at all outside of Check Points. The self-supported nature of the race is real. There’s a mutual respect & understanding between riders & organisers that we get no outside assistance bar facilities available to everyone like shops, and no unfair influence like cameramen encouraging you & giving you intel! So much so that Eric has to carry a tracker too so the race organisers can keep an eye on him too & ensure absolute fairness. They’ll be catching lots of others riders too of course.

Whilst I don’t consider myself an ‘influencer’, I’m a very proud Hebridean & Gàidhlig speaker. I didn’t have a word of English till I went to school! Sport & indigenous language are a beautiful marriage - you don’t need to understand the words to know what’s happening & I love that a race that passes through places not dissimilar in culture to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, with an indigenous language at its core will be broadcast at home in my mother tongue 🫶 My Mamaidh will be proud and probably horrified at getting an inside scoop of this peculiar life I lead 😅

Tomorrow morning I hope to share my kit and bike check vids 🙌🏻 I have some absolutely mega folk keeping me kitted and rolling through the mountains ahead who I am eternally grateful to.

Still Cannae believe I’m in Kyrgystan 🙌🏻 taken in Talas, Kyrgyzstan by @kerrymacphee

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2 months ago