I glance down at my Wahoo head unit as it ticks up to 300 kilometres. I’ve been riding for over 14 hours now and yet, as the little voice in my head is quick to remind me, there’s still another 42km to go. With darkness setting in and technical singletrack up ahead, I know I have to stay focused to make it back to Girona and the finish line of the Traka, one of Europe’s premier long- distance gravel races.
My being here, deep into a race that attracts elite-level gravel riders from around the world, is the culmination of a four-month journey, one that required me to dedicate myself to a rigorous training regime. I knew I’d have to train harder than ever before if I was to be physically and mentally prepared for one of the longest days I’d ever spend on a bike. That was the plan, at least, when I began the process at the start of the year, signing up for what was billed as the Traka Adventure, a 560km ultra race combining the gravel roads of Catalunya with several high mountain passes in the Pyrenees.
