Intro:
In 2017, the idea of GRUSK was first presented to me by Nate Burks, a BA Northwest Ohio gravel riding connoisseur. The ride looked incredible. Falling on the weekend after the fourth of July made getting to the event take awhile. I decided, 2023 was the year, and when registration opened on New Years Day, I signed up for the GRUSK VENTI.
A couple weeks later, GRUSK admin posted the LUNGO 260 mile category. I closed Facebook. Grimaced. Then transferred, because I don't know when to respect my own limits.
Training:
Every year, I like to pick a couple challenges that push my limits, then do ridiculous stuff to get there. Training leading up to GRUSK included:
- Milford Trail Fest (MTB, 95 miles, 6500')
- Funk Bottoms Gravel (Gravel, 132 miles, 15000')
- Mohican Trippple: Octogeddon (All the bikes, 120 miles, 13000')
Equipment:
- Bike: 2021 Bearclaw Frank
- Wheels: 27.5 HED
- Tires: 27.5 x 4 Cake Eaters (3200m, only 1 plug in the front tire 🙃)
- Crank: 38t
- Cassette: 10-52
- Bags: Apidura Racing Saddle and Aerobar Bags
Thursday 6am:
The event organizer let the ITT riders pedal out with any start time and would adjust as needed. I decided to pedal out on Thursday at 6a in the first grand departure.
The fantastic morning chill descending off of Spruce Knob was incredible. Opening 2 miles:
Old Pike Road:
1700 feet of epic, gravel switchbacks. At this point, I'm grinning ear to ear and loving this ride.
Coming off of this climb, the rocky terrain knocked my front bag loose and more electrical tape was required for keeping it on. No pic of the tape, but the road is beautiful.
Allegheny Trail Section 3:
Allegheny Trail Section 3 is a 900-footer in two miles; the below image is snipped down to the section of doom. Spent the whole time in the 52t cog, spinning slow, and couldn't get my heart rate below 150 bpm to maintain anything close to zone 2. Also, it's wide open in the sun. Fat tires was truly cheating for keeping traction to the ground on this big bastard.
Fire Tower Climb:
I'm not sure what the exact mileage is for the start of the fire tower climb, but it's roughly 1700 feet in 4 miles.
The climb includes terrain from pavement, to sand, to rocks, to gravel. This pic doesn't begin to do justice for the grade of this transition. It's gotta be at least 0.5%.
Getting to the top of the climb and seeing only authorized peeps are allowed to go all the way to the fire tower put a smile on my face, saved 30 feet of climbing. 🙄
The downhill coming off the fire tower. 🚲💨
Dollar General (Green Bank / Mile 86):
My first resupply was at mile 86.
- Gorilla Tape (replace the used electrical tape) ✅
- 2032 batteries (shifting seemed to be working like 💩, JIC) ✅
- Gatorade ✅
- Monster ✅
- Water ✅
Green Bank Observatory / Hosterman Trail & Bridge:
Riding through the observatory was truly a sight to behold:
🤣🤣🤣
The Hosterman trail was awesome single track-like. Rocks, roots, and all the good stuff. It ends with this sweet swinging bridge.
Rail & Trail Store (Durbin / Mile 103):
My second stop was at the Rail & Trail General Store in Durbin, WV.
- Snickers ✅
- Powerade ✅
Glady Church Pavilion (Glady / Mile 126):
Sometimes, you live life one water spigot at a time.
Bickle Knob / Stuart Recreation Area (Elkins / Mile 148):
The climb getting to the top of Bickle Knob was a beast:
For the most part, the climb had smooth gravel going up.
Warning for getting water at the Stuart rec shower house, there is no cold water. Only warm. 🤦♂️
Little Sandy's Grill (Parsons / Mile 169):
The gravel getting from Stuart to Parsons was smooth, flat, and overall downhill.
Little Sandy's was my last planned resupply other than water stops.
- Gatorade ✅
- Honey Bun ✅
- Monster ✅
Another awesome bridge crossing heading out of Parsons:
Blackwater Canyon Trail (Hendricks / Mile 172):
According to the course description, the trail is beautiful, with waterfalls and sights to see. When I was there, the sun had set and it was pitch black. I focused on pedaling to the light.
The best I can do to describe the trail is it's loose gravel, easy but slow, with some slimly mud mixed in, and it's uphill for several miles.
This climb doesn't look tremendous, but it finished me off. Around halfway up, my stomach started turning an undesirable way. Honeybun plus monster plus Gatorade just wasn't settling. I had that feeling of being completely full, but feeling like I needed to take a drink every three minutes. At the same time, I was cooked temperature wise. I was counting on receiving that feeling of cooling off after the sun fell, but it never came. Riding up that climb, I was soaking wet with sweat, and couldn't seem to cool down. I was fading fast.
Billy Hotel (Davis / Mile 186):
The moment I realized it was time to seriously figure out when to take a break was on this monster downhill. 70 GD feet, pavement, and I could barely negotiate staying on the edge of the road. No way I could handle a gravel downhill with switchbacks.
As I rolled into town, I seen a fire station, with a picnic table under a roof. Brain, "I can sleep there. Think they'll arrest me? IDK, better see if there's something better. I wonder if I can lay down in the parking lot of Blackwater Bikes? Whatever the local cops think, it'll make more sense at...OMG that's a f'n motel!" I rode my bike straight into the motel parking lot. There was a bar, I walked right in and asked for vacancy. He said we have a room. 10 minutes later, I had a room booked for the night.
At the bar, there were some guys chatting about riding MTB, offered to buy shots or drinks, but I was so damn tired I didn't even think to get a selfie with them.
Hotel pic out front.
Bike taking a lay down as well.
Checklist of stuff to finish off the night:
- Tell wife I actually stopped and got a hotel. Wife, "Really?!?!" Me, "Yes." Wife, "So I can sleep in?" 🙄
- Shower
- Put clothes in bathroom with heat to dry out
- Apply Gorilla tape to bags as the straps and previous electrical tape was not looking healthy
- Set alarms for 7a
- Pass out
Day 1 Stats:
- 186 miles
- 15,223 feet of climbing
- 16:43 total time
- GRUSK LUNGO Day 1
Blackwater Plaza (Davis / Mile 186):
At 5a, I woke up abruptly. Realized it wasn't 7a, but I might as well get going. I grabbed a couple snacks at the gas station across the street, sent a text to my wife to expect me at the finish around 2p, and started the day at 5:44a.
Leaving town, there is Canaan Loop Road. 2 miles felt like 8. Feet got wet. Made it out without flats or mechanicals, so that's a win.
Forest Road 244 (Mile 196):
5 miles at 5% down. Heck yeah!
This pic was taken immediately after entering the gate. A couple trees were down on this downhill, as well as taller weeds, washouts, and the left side of the trail drops off to oblivion. 😁
Dry Fork Climb (Elk / Mile 206):
1.8 miles at 7.7%. What a slog.
Jenningston-Lanesville Climb (Jenningston / Mile 211):
Nevermind, this climb is the slog.
Rich Mountain (Mile 224):
This section of the ride is just relentless.
At least there's a sign at the top.
Still Hollow Spirits (Harman / Mile 226):
I had this marked for my last water stop. For some reason, I thought I was looking for a spring. so I rode up and down the climb next to Still Hollow Spirits only finding non-usable water sources. Leaving town there was a house with a cooler and a water bottle on it. This seemed like the stop, but no one was there, so I left well enough alone and moved on. 4 miles up the road I was able to source water at a campground that is so new, it's not even on Google maps. I tried to pay the lady for using the spigot, but she wouldn't take any money. She asked, "Where you headed to from here?" I replied, "I got to get to the top of Spruce Knob." She reply, "That's a dusty mess from here. Good Luck." 🤣🤣🤣
Spruce Knob (Mile 253):
Well, this is what I came for. Climbing the tallest peak in West Virginia.
The climb is not difficult. Compared to the previous 8 climbs I put in this blog, this was the easiest. Likely, that's due to knowing it's the last monster.
Pic with that sign:
The Finish Line (Mile 266):
GRUSK's one last breath:
Getting over that hill:
The finish line is pretty empty on Friday afternoon:
Selfie with The Travis:
Day 2 Stats:
- 226 miles
- 22,562 feet of climbing
- 31:18 total time (6:08a Thursday to 1:26p Friday)
- 1 hotel stay
- Around $175 spent during the ride (including the hotel)
- 11 blog selfies
- Several feet of electrical tape
- ~2 feet of Gorilla tape
- -1 helmet magnet taillight (lost somewhere on day 2)
- -1 bottom bracket (turns out poor shifting was related to the crank actually moving a bit up & down)
Reflection:
This is the hardest event I've ever done. I'm comparing this to Mohican 100, Marji Gesick, Crusher, and Unbound Gravel XL. On Thursday, GRUSK shut me down and made me take a break. I'm not complaining. This brought on a challenge I have never experienced before. I couldn't complete the original task of riding straight through. I had to change plans mid-ride, take a reset, and still get it done. Simply put, this event is epic.
