Grand Old Dukes 2025 – 111 miles of Gravelfoyle

Anyone do this last year?

I’ve largely resisted the lure of Gravelfoyle till now but the Grand Old Dukes event looks right up my street, especially as I was hoping to train over the winter for similar distances on gravel elsewhere in Scotland.

How do you train for something like that? Pure endurance I guess so lots of base rides and midweek sweetspot stuff on the turbo?

It’s mid-June so I would have hoped to have got some decent length hilly rides in before then anyway starting with some spring cobbles.

Didn’t do it last year, but looking at this too.  TrainerRoad has gravel plans but they don’t look much different to road century or general FTP increase plans.

Did it last year. Great event. Mix of different types of track, from perfect smooth to almost single track to short sections of horribly rough stuff and the odd wee section of road. There is quite a lot of climbing, so it’s is quite a day.  Unfortunately I had a seatpost malfunction and had to skip the last loop as I didn’t have the legs to ride out of the saddle for 15 miles! Would definitely do it again. Would be really hard if the weather was grim.

There is quite a lot of climbing, so it’s is quite a day.

I had a look at the profile but I think it’s a bit compressed to show the whole distance, it’s pretty jagged though! Seems to be endless ‘little’ climbs e.g 50-75m elevation, and 4 or 5 bigger climbs, 3 of which come right towards the end?

TrainerRoad has gravel plans but they don’t look much different to road century or general FTP increase plans.

Yeah, I watched a GCN video with Connor Dunne training for Unbound. Basically endurance and raising FTP.

I’ve got a rather ambitious plan for the next five months, Nov/Dec/Jan building endurance with one long sweetspot workout per week, one fasted morning ride midweek and a longer (fuelled) ride at the weekend which will be either Z2 road or muddy winter gravel. Will be prioritising strength work also so 2 weight sessions a week although I’m still not moving big weights, mostly functional stuff.

Then I’ll hopefully step up the intensity on the turbo Feb/Mar/April until I can move the training outside hopefully! Should be able to fit in one or two proper big gravel rides before the event.

That’s the principle at least, somehow doubt I’ll stick it all the way through…

General riding fitness. All the short more intense stuff will be fine as that’s all most of us have time to do.  Put together a plan that you’ll want to do. If you hate the turbo then only do it when needed. Build some miles into other rides – throw an hour loop onto the end of a weekend ride with mates who are more relaxed etc.

Not done this event but do like a long MTB or gravel race. You’ll need to get some big rides on. It’s not just your legs but your whole body that needs to get through. Also need to work out what gear you will use through practice. What food you will eat. Not being a race makes this a bit easier as it will be easier to replicate in training rides. You don’t need to replicate it 100% but get close. For the dirty reiver (200km) my practice rides were 150km ish for time convenience.

Just get out and ride, but it’s Scotland in June so even if you only rode slow and stopped lots you’d still have enough daylight to finish.

And food/drink, eat & drink lots early on so you’ve enough ‘stored’ up.

Also don’t forget comfort, so big fast tyres run low pressure and a position you can sit in all day.

You’ll need to get some big rides on. It’s not just your legs but your whole body that needs to get through.

That has been my general focus anyway as have some big ambitions for next year, I had a big weekend in Aviemore recently and finished strong and comfortable so happy with that. Will be kicking off April with 180km mixed tarmac/cobbles and gravel as a sort of ‘Hell of the North’ and then have two months to fit in 2 or 3 more big rides if my 9 day working fortnight plans come to fruition.

Booked! Just need to not re-fubar my back between now and June.  Would have been nice to have a bit more information about the weekend on the website prior to booking, but it looks like it’ll be a good ride regardless.

I’ve just plumbed in a Trainerroad program for May/June next year, for an as yet undecided big hilly day out (Fred, SDW24, Cingles) and I’m currently doing their base block. But when you get to the build and specialise blocks can’t you tailor for more climbing focus (hilly gran Fondo or something?)

I’ve found for questions on program/training structure, the response from the TR help desk has been very quick, highly informed and engaged to make sure you get the most out of the system

Feels much more structured for a big goal than Zwift sets

Booked! Just need to not re-fubar my back between now and June.

Thanks for the heads up, that’s me booked ?

It’s in June so I think I can afford to spend more time on base and strengthening work and just generally enjoying whatever weekend rides I can grab during the winter, then maybe focus on intensity March/April/May.

Right now my attempts to go from virtually zero to 10km trail run form in the last 8 weeks have left me with some sort of calf tendinopathy so will be a gentle month or so on the bike to begin with…

TrainerRoad adaptive training plan currently has me scheduled for 12 weeks base, 9 weeks build, 4 weeks base, 9 weeks speciality (gravel) with Grand Old Dukes as my only event currently scheduled.  Not entirely sure what the rationale of going back to base between build and speciality is, but the adaptive training plan has done wonders for helping me regain some lost fitness over the last year, so I’m not going to start arguing with the AI now.

I’d not be too bothered by the distance, but 3000m of elevation is a lot IMO.

And all the recently roughly filled, tyre killing potholes might have been smoothed out by then.

Sounds like a nice big day out. You’ll be fine.

How do you train for something like that?

I’d probably just do a few 100km gravel rides, then a 100 mile one.

Along with my normal riding.

Looks like a good event, might look into it.

NB early bird entry price ends tonight at midnight.

Sounds like a nice big day out. You’ll be fine

You in @didn’thurt? ; )

I was waiting for an email from organiser but got myself an early bird entry, as much to secure the time off in my wife’s diary…

I’ve got an excellent (and probably entirely unrealistic) bucket list of muddy winter gravel rides I want to tick off, leading into ‘classics season’ in April with one or two long but relatively flat rides, leaving me May/June to add elevation with some Highland epics. Think one high intensity turbo session a week building from sweetspot to threshold stuff as time goes on.

Feels like the perfect event to enjoy training for!

Thanks for the invite and it is very tempting but I wouldn’t want to slow you down.

Price goes up at midnight……….

I did it last year and have done the Reiver before. Much preferred Grand Old Dukes.

i didn’t go in with any expectations and it was a bit of a grind to finish but I really enjoyed it. Signed up again this year.

Ian, you should do it.

Does anyone know if it’s a ‘register the day before’ type of event? Trying to figure ot the logistics for this and wondering if we need to stay in Aberfoyle or we can do it as a day raid from Perth.

Nothing about it in the FAQs, I was also hoping to make a dash from Auchterarder.

Ian, you should do it.

Which Ian are you talking to? 😉

Im not doing GOD – i did do Gravelfoyle 10 last month however. There was registration the day before, and on the morning of the event.

Mrs SSS and I also normally help out and marshall for Dukes Weekender/GOD, and there was also registration in the morning of the one last year (2023) if i remember. We didnt marshall for 2024 GOD as it was same weekend as Etape Caledonia which we were both riding.

The start will either be at Dounans or Cobleland. Dounans was the start in 2023.

If it were me, id assume that ‘locals’ could register in the morning….

And look out for me and Mrs SSS