Peter Kostov: Never less than 50mm tyres

Where he rides out of

Peter grew up in the US, riding BMX. Later he lived in the Netherlands, where a bike was his daily commute. He came to gravel two years ago and now splits his riding year between Spain and Bulgaria. His day job is web development, which allows him a schedule that flexes with the weather. Two years is not long for a serious cyclist, but the routes he names, the tires he runs, and the fueling lessons he has already logged suggest a rider who has done more with those two years than most.

His Catalonia

His home route runs through Collserola via Can Coll. 40 kilometres and 600 metres of climbing, and, in his own summary, a loop that has all of it. A short punchy gravel climb to open, a long gravel descent into Can Coll, a low-grade climb back up to Tibidabo, and a short fast descent back into the city. The kind of ride that fits a weekday evening.

Gritline's Serralada Loop is on his list of favourites for a longer one. He describes it as well balanced, with a smooth opening to warm up and later climbs through vineyards, with views over Barcelona.

Post-ride coffee is at Sitio, on the way down from Collserola. His season pick is fall, cooler weather but still summer vibes. And his advice to visiting riders is not about kit or tactics. Plan short breaks in the small villages along the route. Those, he says, are the real gems.

A ride that changed something

The Traka 200 was the longest ride he had done at the time. He put together a strategy for the effort and, in his own summary, managed to find groups to ride with through the flat sections so he could recover in the wheel.

Then, in the last third of the race, the fueling failed. He was not able to take on carbs for something like an hour and a half, in the section where he needed them most. He finished. What he takes from the day is what most Traka finishers take from theirs: the specific place their preparation broke, and what to do differently next time.

Never anything less than 50mm ever again.

What riding gives him

What riding gives Peter is a way out of the city and into nature, done with a workout attached. He is not romantic about it. Exercise, air, terrain that is not the block he lives on.

There is one specific ritual worth naming. The pre-ride food is a tortilla with peanut butter and honey. It is the kind of small, precise detail that tells you a rider has thought about the small things.

His opinion on tires is the same kind of specific. Since switching to 50mm plus, he says, the stability, the grip, and the ride quality are different enough that going back is not a live option. Coen, in a previous Spotlight, would nod along at this. He runs 55mm.

What's next

The next big goal is his first multi-day bikepacking trip, in the Pyrenees. It is a natural progression from the day-long efforts he has been building toward. Two years into gravel and now the ambition to disappear into the mountains for a few days at a time.