Kettle Mettle is 62 miles that starts on the gentle Kettle Valley rail grade, then leaves the rail bed for forest service roads above Princeton, where nearly all of its 5,889 feet of climbing is collected. The late miles return to rail-trail with wooden trestles and decommissioned tunnels dark enough to want a light, in warm, dry interior-BC June heat that often reaches the high 20s Celsius by afternoon.

This is an eight-week plan for finishing Kettle Mettle on the hours you already have, built around riding well on tired legs once the course leaves the rail bed for the forest service climbs. Most of the work goes toward the repeated climbing above Princeton, with easier days shaped to fit seven to eleven hours in a week.

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 Kettle Mettle guide — terrain, gearing, fueling