Devils Cardigan is 66 miles with about 7,500 feet of climbing on gravel roads through the Tasmanian mountains. Mountain conditions are variable, and the first mountain sections come in around mile 35.
This is an eight-week plan built around the hours you already have for long rides, with most of the work aimed at holding a steady effort over repeated climbing on tired legs. The goal is to get you to the start ready for 66 miles of mountain gravel, not just a distance you can cover on fresh legs.
66 MI · 7,545 FT CLIMBING · GRAVEL ROADS THROUGH TASMANIAN MOUNTAINS · 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 Devils Cardigan 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