Chino Grinder is 63 miles of Arizona high desert out of Chino Valley — rolling gravel through open grassland, most of it unpaved.
The course follows the Overland Historic Road through ranch country: rolling gravel, constant sun and wind, and minimal aid — you ride self-supported between stations. This is a six-week plan for the weeks you have left. Six weeks can’t build endurance for a 63-mile day from scratch, but it is enough to aim what you have: the work that still moves your fitness, pacing that keeps you within yourself early, and a fueling plan for the self-supported stretches.
63 MI · 3,600 FT CLIMBING · 75–95% UNPAVED · 6 WEEKS · 5–9 HR/WK · SAVE MY RACE
WHAT'S INSIDE
- Triage — the highest-value work for the time left, on real graphs
- Strength kept to what helps, not what fills time, with video demos
- Notes on pacing an exposed high-desert day + the Gravel Grit program
- A testing week so the work fits the fitness you have now
- The full Chino Grinder guide — pacing, gearing, fueling, so smart riding covers what training couldn't
WHAT YOU'LL GET
The best salvaged version of your race — finishing with miles still in your legs.
For the rider who's out of runway but not out of the race. · plans@gravelgodcoaching.com
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