Natalie's story: Appalachian Journey

BaseCamp athlete Natalie Barron shared her experience at the 2026 Appalachian Journey bike race in Virginia.

My third year taking on the Appalachian Journey 38-mile race is in the books! This is a tough gravel event in Floyd with around 4,000 feet of climbing, and it's a partner race that I’ve now done three years in a row with my teammate, Mike Swackhammer.

This year brought absolutely beautiful weather—sunny, warm, and windy. Temperatures were in the mid 70s, which is pretty unusual for early April in Floyd. Normally, this race is a lot colder, so the warm conditions were a nice change.

Going into the race, I felt well prepared and confident after completing the BaseCamp winter training program. I've been putting in a lot of work building endurance as I prepare for bigger goals later this season like Unbound Gravel and Gravel Worlds, and I used Appalachian Journey as a C event to test my fitness and pacing.

The day didn't go perfectly. Mike and I got separated on one of the early climbs, and in the confusion I made a wrong turn that added about two extra miles to my ride. I ended up riding part of the Blue Ridge Parkway before climbing back up a gravel road to reconnect with the course. That kind of setback could have really thrown me off mentally in the past, but this year I handled it much better. I stayed calm, regrouped, and once Mike and I got back together, we pushed on and kept a strong pace.

The biggest positive for me was how good I felt throughout the race. I never really felt tired, and I still felt strong at the finish. That tells me my endurance is in a really good place right now and that my winter training is paying off.

In the end, Mike and I finished 8th out of 22 teams. Even with the wrong turn and extra mileage, we were only about two minutes slower than our time last year, which I consider a very successful day—especially with a competitive field this year.

Overall, Appalachian Journey was a great confidence booster and a solid stepping stone toward the bigger races ahead.