The Lowell Classic closes the Michigan Gravel Race Series each October: fifty-four miles along the Flat River and the rolling farm roads of rural Ionia County, with about 2,150 feet of climbing in short, repeated hills — and a morning that can start in the 40s.
This is an eight-week plan for that course, built around the hours you have to train. Eight weeks assumes you’re starting with a base, not from scratch — it focuses that fitness on repeated short climbs and on riding them well late in the day, rather than a general build.
54 MI · 2,150 FT CLIMBING · 82% UNPAVED, ROLLING HILLS · 8 WEEKS · 7–11 HR/WK · FINISHER
WHAT'S INSIDE
- Structured rides with real graphs on your calendar — not PDFs to decode
- Strength built in with video walkthroughs — climbing legs get built off the bike too
- Weekly notes from me + the Gravel Grit mental program for the hours that hurt
- A testing week so eight weeks of work fits the fitness you actually have
- The full Lowell Classic guide — pacing, fueling, gearing, race-day execution
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Legs that still have the last hills in them — and a finish you ride instead of survive.
For the rider whose goal is the finish line, done right. · 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