Race to Valhalla is 72 miles with about 7,300 feet of climbing on traffic-free gravel through the Blue Ridge escarpment, headlined by the roughly thirty-minute Winding Stairs climb from Lake Cherokee in the early miles. Steep grades run throughout, with more escarpment climbing between the final aid station at mile 57 and the finish in Walhalla, under variable mountain conditions.
This is a twelve-week plan for riders working with about 5–7¾ hours in each non-race week against a course this steep. Most rides go toward the repeated climbing and the sustained effort of a long ascent like Winding Stairs, because the limited hours have to match a demand this specific.
72 MI · 7,300 FT CLIMBING · TRAFFIC-FREE GRAVEL ROADS THROUGH THE BLUE RIDGE ESCARPMENT IN · 12 WEEKS · 5–7¾ HR/TRAINING WK · TIME-CRUNCHED
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 and a mid-plan retest, so the plan runs on your real numbers
- The full Race to Valhalla 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