Chequamegon is 41.7 miles with 2,561 feet of climbing from Hayward to Cable. The Birkie ski trail, forest roads, snowmobile routes, wooded paths, and large mass start turn a compact distance into a fast day of repeated surges and constant position changes.
This is a twelve-week plan for that day, built around your fitness and the hours you actually have. The work develops endurance for the full distance, repeated harder efforts for the rollers, and enough race-specific riding to practice holding speed without wasting energy.
41.7 MI · 2,561 FT CLIMBING · BIRKIE SKI TRAIL + WOODED PATHS · 12 WEEKS · 7–11 HR/WK · FINISHER
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 Chequamegon MTB 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