Natalie's story: Hairy Roubaix

BaseCamp athlete Natalie Barron shared her experience at the 2026 Hairy Roubaix bike race in Virginia.

The Hairy Roubaix in Bedford, Virginia turned out to be one of those rides that hits every mark—challenging, scenic, and just the right balance of competitive and laid-back.

The day almost didn’t happen for me. I had a mechanical issue before the start, but Cardinal Bicycle out of Roanoke stepped in and completely saved it. One of their mechanics even pulled a part off a personal bike to get mine running. That alone made the day.

I rode the 55-mile “Malinois” route with about 6,600 feet of climbing. The first half had two long, tougher climbs that required steady pacing, then it shifted into rolling terrain with shorter, punchier efforts later on. There was also a Strava segment competition called the “Golden Paw.” I treated those as sweet spot efforts instead of going all out, and still ended up second overall.

The winner was Beth Oaks, who I hadn’t seen in years. She’s an incredibly strong climber and it was great reconnecting. We’re already talking about possibly riding together again later this year, and she’s interested in BaseCamp.

Climbing is still not my strength. I had one moment on the second big climb where it got really steep and I kind of popped off almost into a ditch, but I was able to reset and keep going without any real issue. Aside from that, I climbed steadily and tried to stay within what I thought was SST as my power meter was not working correctly. It was good practice to use RPE and heart rate as guides.

What stood out most was how I felt in the second half. Instead of fading, I actually felt stronger and was able to push more on the shorter climbs. That’s a good sign for where my fitness is right now, especially with longer gravel events coming up.

Fueling with Hexis continues to work well. I stayed on top of nutrition and never felt depleted, which made a big difference late in the ride.

The setting didn’t hurt either—sunny, 70s, with views of Angus cows standing in creeks, a groundhog, and even a group of deer running through a field. It’s a beautiful area to ride.

Overall, this is an event I’d absolutely recommend. Multiple route options make it great for groups, and while there’s some competition, it doesn’t take away from the relaxed gravel atmosphere. It’s rare that I get beat and leave an event smiling, but this was one of them.