Natalie's story: GRUSK

BaseCamp athlete Natalie Barron shared her experience at the 2025 GRUSK (Gravel Ride up Spruce Knob) bike race in West Virginia.

This was my first time doing this event, which is largely noncompetitive. I chose the Medio, which was 54 miles with 4354 ft of climbing. There are so many course options in this event, from a 24 Spruce Highlights course to a 319 mile Trecento adventure.

There were 3 times sections on the course, but they turned out to be mostly not marked. I had planned to ride those hard, but I just had to SAIL that plan and ended up riding with some friends, making some new friends, chatting with Frank Giresi on course, and enjoying the day. Great after party with really good lasagna, a band, and free beer.

The course is mixed surface, with the majority of the gravel segments well groomed, with the exception of Forest Road, which was a challenging double track rocky uphill followed by the "grassy downhill," which had rock, root, mud, and ruts. I stopped near the end to snap a picture to remind myself that I can do hard things and I'm getting better at gravel skills.

Thanks to BaseCamp and Jill Gass for getting me in shape to have the energy to take in the beauty of West Virginia on a summer day.