La Drômoise Gravel is 43 miles with about 4,900 feet of climbing, mostly on forest fire roads with short paved passages and some stony technical sections, navigated by GPS trace rather than a fully marked course. Late September brings mild days and cool mornings, with variable pre-Alpine mountain weather possible.

This is an eight-week plan built for four to six hours a week, so the limited time goes toward the repeated climbing and the technical, stony sections this course asks for rather than general base miles. Most rides focus on climbing and handling on loose surfaces, because that is where the fire roads and the GPS-navigated route make their demands.

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 La Drômoise Gravel guide — terrain, gearing, fueling