← All eventsStonehaven MSBH GRDO
39-mile / 63km gravel sportive at the Midsummer Beer Happening. ~3,700ft / 1,130m climbing on forest tracks and fire roads. Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. Single feed station, no mechanical support. Self-sufficient gravel.
Nearly 3,700ft of climbing packed into 39 miles of loose Aberdeenshire gravel. That is a serious lump per mile. This is the GRDO, the biggest of the Midsummer Beer Happening's four gravel routes.
Forest tracks and fire roads out of Stonehaven, broken into repeated sustained climbs on surfaces that punish tentative legs. Power on gravel costs more than power on tarmac, and the descents ask for real handling.
It is not an ultra. It is a hard half day. One feed station, no mechanical support, so you carry your own everything. Then you walk to the beer festival.
Is Stonehaven MSBH GRDO for you?
- Punchy climbers who can go again. The route stacks repeated loose climbs, so it rewards riders with sustained power who recover between efforts, not one-hit sprinters.
- Confident gravel descenders. Loose forest descents hand free time to riders who trust the bike and quietly cost the tentative ones.
- Self-sufficient riders. One feed at 25 miles and no mechanical help means you fix your own flats and carry your own food from the start.
- Fit club riders stepping onto gravel. A 3 to 5 hour day that rewards road fitness plus genuine off-road handling.
Training plan for Stonehaven MSBH GRDO
A training plan for Stonehaven MSBH GRDO isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Around 3,700ft over 39 miles: relentless climbing density, roughly one mile in ten pointing up
- Loose-surface climbing, where you give up 5 to 10% of your speed for the same power versus tarmac
- Forest descents on loose gravel that cost time if you ride them tentatively
- Self-supported riding: one feed at 25 miles and no on-course mechanical help
- 2x20min sweet spot at 88 to 94% FTP to build the core threshold engine the climbs demand
- Gravel hill repeats: 6x4-5min on a loose climb at 100 to 105% FTP for climb-specific power
- Mixed-terrain long ride: 3 to 4hr taking in 1,500 to 2,500ft on gravel as a course rehearsal
- Race-pace sim: 3 to 3.5hr at sportive intensity, with half to two-thirds ridden on gravel
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
