Paris to Ancaster is 62 miles with about 4,000 feet of climbing across paved roads, packed rail trails, farm lanes, and mud sectors at miles 10, 30, and 50. It runs in late April, when spring thaw often leaves the course muddy, and it ends with the Martin Road climb — a final steep pitch reaching up to 18% after 60 miles of it.
This is an eight-week plan built around your available hours, seven to eleven per week, with most of the riding aimed at handling the distance and the repeated efforts the mud sectors demand. The work builds toward being able to ride a hard climb like Martin Road at the end of a long, churned-up day, because the sting in the tail comes after sixty miles.
62 MI · 4,000 FT CLIMBING · MIX OF PAVED ROADS, PACKED GRAVEL RAIL TRAILS, PRIVATE FARM · 8 WEEKS · 7–11 HR/WK · FINISHER
WHAT'S INSIDE
- Structured workouts on your calendar, with real power and heart-rate graphs
- Strength work built in, with video walkthroughs
- Weekly notes from me, plus the Gravel Grit mental program
- A testing week, so the plan runs on your real numbers
- The full Paris to Ancaster guide — terrain, gearing, fueling
Hey, I'm Matti. I spent 11 years at TrainingPeaks, where they trusted me to teach coaches how to coach at TrainingPeaks University. I raced Amateur Elite with Rio Grande Cycling Team and podiumed my age group at Unbound 200 in 2026. I have a degree in biology and exercise physiology from St. Olaf. I'm also a middle-aged dad of three, so I know training doesn't happen in a vacuum. I help gravel riders get stupidly fast without becoming the person who brings a food scale to a party