The Trans Balkan Race is the kind of event that would normally be labelled as type 2 fun, and some would even say type 3. In my case, right from the start (or rather, since my stomach settled on day 2) it was type 1 fun. The places, the fellow travellers, the vibes, the astonishment of finding an unexpected drinking fountain in the midday heat or the free food in a mountain hut in Croatia, the potato bureks, unspoiled plateaus in Bosnia and huge, desolate valleys in Montenegro: are we really in Europe? The route is undoubtedly remote and exhausting, sometimes really slow, and very hot even in early June, but every kilometre is worth it. Even the moments of difficulty and the small tears are necessary, you get into a survival routine and become a motor, despite broken shoes or compromised carpal tunnels. The climbs are many, the real descents do not exist.

The adrenaline from all this made me hardly feel the fatigue and kept a constant smile on my face (when there were tears, they were most often of emotion). My first long ultracycling race was at times not a race but more of a bikepacking adventure - a little harder and more intense, yes, and smelly. At other times I enjoyed the boost given by the competition (in my lower-middle rankings) fighting for my position (while reminding myself that the challenge was first and foremost with myself, who chose to sign up for this race because I love the Balkans, and biking of course, and crazy ideas). Eventually I made it to the finish, 12 hours later than the best-case scenario, but I knew that if I started I would also arrive, and so I did, me and my bike all in one piece, with my favourite playlist on repeat making me feel invincible on the climbs, especially on the last and spectacular one towards the Bay of Kotor and Risan.