Hi, I’m just trying to choose a plan for a Gran Fondo type ride later this year.
The event that I’m preparing for has different distances to choose between, roughly 100km, 200km, and 300km.
The Gran Fondo training plan is geared towards doing a 160km ride and that’s it. It would be nice to have a range of plans to suit the event distance that might be expected.
I’m fairly sure that after doing the GF plan I’ll be able to finish the 211km course. But it keeps playing on my mind that the extra 50km in the mountains will be a significant difference from the target distance of the plan.
So do the GF plan and just ride a bit longer on the weekend rides? Or go for the Gravel Grinder plan?
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Last year I prepared for the infamous “Ötztaler Radmarathon,” an Alpine Gran Fondo in the Tyrolian Alps of about 250km with over 5000 m of climbing. I prepared for it with the GranFondo Plan, spiced up with some longer rides on the weekend. These have been five longer rides of between 200 and 245 km with between 1000m and 2500m of climbing involved. In the middle of the GranFondo Plan, I ramped things up with a 4-days training camp in the mountains to get some climbing in the legs.
That was a perfect approach to the “Ötzi” for me from hindsight. Maybe this helps you choose the right plan for yourself.
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Hey @LaserGoatTechnician ,
For an event ~300km, I’d go with the 200mile Gravel Grinder pan. For your 211km course The GF plan will work and if want to add a bit of extra volume on your weekend rides, that would work well for you. Having a chat with a coach to nail down some specifics for you may help as well.
Cheers,
Spencer
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Thanks Spencer, I’ll give that one a try 
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