Spring Is the Short Window That Actually Matters
The UCI Gravel World Championships roll into Nannup on 10-11 October, which means spring isn't a warm-up to the riding season this year — it's the last structured block before race week. We wrote about preparing your bike mechanically for the event back in August (The Road to Nannup); this one is about the weeks, not the bike.
Why Spring Beats Summer for Base Miles
Western Australia's spring — September through November — sits in a genuinely good window: 20-25°C on a typical ride, daylight stretching later into the evening, none of the 40°C-plus heat that makes long outback miles risky from December onward. If you're building toward October, this is the stretch to actually use. Every spring ride banked now is a ride you don't have to fit into a shorter, hotter window later.
A Simple Weekly Progression
Nothing complicated: early spring is for rebuilding base on familiar local loops — the Kalamunda hills are a fair test without being a gamble. Mid-spring is where the weekend rides get longer and a little more honest, closer to race pace on the climbs. The final two weeks before race week are for terrain rehearsal and backing off, not for finding out what a new distance feels like for the first time.
Riding the Terrain You'll Actually Race On
Nannup sits in WA's South West forest country, and it rides differently to the red dirt fire trails around Perth — softer forest floor, tighter lines, a different rhythm through the trees. If you can get down to the South West for even one lap before race week, do it. If you can't, the closest approximation locally is anywhere with looser surface and more shade than your usual loop.
What Titanium Adds to a Training Block
None of this is about the bike, but it's worth saying: a training block is a lot of back-to-back miles on the same frame, and titanium doesn't accumulate fatigue the way some materials do over a season of hard use. It's a small thing that mostly shows up as an absence — nothing to think about, which is exactly what you want three weeks out from a World Championship.
Twenty-five days out from Nannup. The season's not over yet — it's just getting to the part that counts.