Reliance Deep Woods is two race days of mountain climbing in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest — no course markings, just you, your GPS, and the woods.

The gravel runs to eroded roadbeds and embedded rock, the climbs are long forest grades, and Sunday’s stage starts on legs that raced Saturday. This is an eight-week plan for that weekend, built around your hours — and it assumes you arrive with a base, because eight weeks is enough to sharpen climbing fitness and two-day durability, not to build either from scratch. The plan spends those weeks on exactly that: long climbs, strength for rough roadbeds, and pacing rehearsed before race day.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Structured rides with real graphs on your calendar


• Strength built in with video walkthroughs — climbing legs get built off the bike too


• Weekly notes from me + the Gravel Grit mental program


• A testing week so eight weeks of work fits the fitness you actually have


• The full Reliance Deep Woods guide — pacing, gearing, fueling, and navigating an unmarked course

WHAT YOU'LL GET

Climbing legs that show up on Sunday, not just Saturday.

For the rider whose goal is the finish line, done right. · plans@gravelgodcoaching.com