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Signed up to it again - as usual!
Not sure it'll work out, I'm with family on 24-26th although I can usually manage to get out for 50km or so at some point each day but it'll be weather dependent. I'm not slogging through howling gales or horizontal rain!
Last year I was in Gran Canaria for the third time and in spite of being quite ill early on, it was still a breeze to get through it all in the sunshine.
I've done it every year since 2012 but a couple of years ago, I failed for the first time. The weather was miserable and I got to NYE needing 150km. Had a route all planned out, was up for it but then the weather on the day was just minging. Not putting myself through that crap again.
The one thing I'd like to have a go at is doing it all in one ride. But I need a flat / flattish circuit of a few miles where I can park a car as a support vehicle with a load of food, spares etc in it.
I've signed up but I think it might cause too much grief at home. We have everyone at our house over Christmas and then 3 days at the inlaws. Not sure if I'll be able to make it work. Might just aim for a certain number of hours of exercise over the period.
Going to pass on the Rapha 500 as Id rather just enjoy some Christmas riding without a target.
Having said that, I have signed up for Restraps Solstice Century Challenge (Pre-Christmas 13th - 22nd):
https://restrap.com/blogs/news/solstice-century-challenge-w24
done it twice but last year was a write off.
indoors and in km is good enough for me
Didn't know it was still a thing. Did it a few times in the days of the cloth patches, iirc including an imperial 500, and another year squeezing it into the three days I wasn't travelling. Not gonna bother, but might do one this week as I'm on 300+ km so far in pretty nasty weather, and the next few days are looking to be decent.
I signed up, but I've felt like crap for the last month and my RHR is consistently about 8-10bpm up on normal, so I'll see how I feel and what the weather looks like. I don't mind deep frozen or mild and dry, but have limited tolerance for that horrible soaking wet, just above freezing stuff that we often get around this time of year.
I might just try to get out on a bike every day and worry about smiles rather than miles.
The one thing I’d like to have a go at is doing it all in one ride. But I need a flat / flattish circuit of a few miles where I can park a car as a support vehicle with a load of food, spares etc in it.
Sounds like hell on earth... but you could go and ride around the reservoirs at Ladybower on a gravel bike and play dodge the Christmas ramblers. I'd potter over and ride a lap or two with you 🙂
Not me - I did it once, the Covid Christmas in 2020, and it legit ruined Christmas haha. I was largely either riding my bike (semi fun sometimes in the cold and wet) or cleaning my bike and doing laundry (not fun), and not seeing my wife very much. Christmas cake slices in the jersey pocket was nice though.
I was talking to a mate about this last night. I've completed it a few times in the past but as my weekly average for this year is under 70 miles I can't see me having the legs for 312.5 in 7 days.
I’m going snowboarding, so no, won’t have time - which seems to be the case every year even when I’m not going on holiday…
I like to try the Solstice century too, but have got to work this weekend so that’s out as well this year.
edit: Richmond Park is 11 km ish, and takes approx 20-25 mins so just 45 laps, and 15 ish hours…
Signed up again this year but I've just come down with a viral chest infection so I might have to give it a miss this year?
Looking mild but maybe quite breezy for the first half of Christmas, 24th up to middle of the 8-day Festive 500 period.
We’ve got family over at the weekend so this year is going to be a bit low key and if the weather plays nicely I might have a go especially if i can get a good start on Christmas Eve.
A few years since I last completed it, might be my year but wife and kids come before Rapha so will see how it plays out.
I'm half way through cleaning up the gravel bike although not with much enthusiasm or indeed any real plans for what rides to do...
Off to family so any riding there will have to be fitted in around family duties, it'll annoy my Mum in particular if I just sod off for half the day then arrive back in time for food and wine! 27th - 31st should be more open to longer rides.
Weather looks dry(ish), grey and mild without too much wind so at least it's decent conditions. If it was going to be a week of rain, I would have already binned off the idea!
I’m going to have a crack it on Zwift (yeah, yeah, it’s not real, I don’t care). Plan is for 100km on Christmas Eve doing laps of the Volcano Circuit to get the 25 laps badge, and then depending on my level of ‘canIBeArsedness’ will see if I do the rest of the week.
Having skipped it the last couple of years, I might be in this year. Weather looks grey and mild (again), bikes are all functional, no significant family commitments beyond some DIY jobs. Plus it's always good to get a headstart on fitness over the winter so I'm not puffing too much in spring.
Are they still allowing a completely indoors version?
thing I’d like to have a go at is doing it all in one ride. But I need a flat / flattish circuit of a few miles where I can park a car as a support vehicle with a load of food, spares etc in it.
I ended up just doing the Alderley Edge bypass for most of mine. Few laps then up to Handforth Dene Tesco for a Coke and a sandwich, repeat through the night. The security guard was very helpful and let me take the bike in the store after a while.
I'd always like to, but Christmas is generally
2 days at the in-laws where leaving the living room let alone the house is frowned upon, it's the closest I get every year to wishing I did Parkrun!
A couple of days at my parents up north.
A couple of days traveling
And that's pretty much the season gone.
So if I was going to do it then it would need to be in some pretty chunky chunks to cram it into the free time.
I've got a 200k audax planned for the 4th Jan anyway so I'll atone for not doing much then.
I'm having a crack at it for the first time, luckily the wife is fully supportive of me giving it a go, and I've a friend who's keen too so we can bully eachother into heading out.
Luckily the weather is looking mild Xmas eve, so a big first ride will help, and a circuitous route from Aberlour to Lossie on the road for Xmas day to the in-laws should give me a decent start.
a circuitous route from Aberlour to Lossie on the road for Xmas day to the in-laws should give me a decent start.
I've used tactics like that before. A few years ago I rode from my Dad's in Dorset back to my Mum's in London, that got me about a third of it in one go.
Didn't actually make it all the way, I got to Guildford and a combination of it being thoroughly dark, a Garmin that had long since ceased navigating and was crashing regularly, the weather beginning to turn and roads full of shit drivers, I packed it in and got the train back into London from there. But it worked to get a decent chunk of miles without feeling like a chore.
Long before the Festive 500 was a thing, I used to ride home from my aunt's in Brighton back to S. London. We;d visit for a day just after Christmas usually, Mum and my sister would drive home, I'd get the bike and my kit out the boot and ride back.
Are they still allowing a completely indoors version?
Yep.
I've uploaded a GPX track of (what is, apparently) the worlds longest uninterrupted road descent (it's in Peru) to Tacx. It's 117km and drops over 4,000m. I will just do that five times. I shouldn't even have to pedal much, so I can set it running, step off the bike and go check in a couple of hours.
https://smithrobinson.org/accidentally-biking-the-longest-downhill-in-the-world
15h with Marie on Zwift will do it for you. I was thinking of reinstating my NYE round the M25 ride for half the total. Might try for a few hours at the velodrome on blue.
Previous years I've been happy enough with a 'Festive 5', started one good winter with 5 winter Munros, and subsequent years it's just been 5 rides and then just '5 exercises'.
This year between Christmas with both sides of the family and a sulky wife (she's on holiday and looking after our son, I'm still working till tomorrow, but apparently she's got the raw deal, sigh) I'll be happy with two rides. Should be able to supplement with three runs I guess to make the 5...
I will just do that five times. I shouldn’t even have to pedal much, so I can set it running, step off the bike and go check in a couple of hours.
Lol! Any way to work an e-bike into the concept as well? Reminds me of that poem doing the rounds at the moment:
"But what are you trying to be free of, the living? The miraculous task of it? Love is for the ones who love the work"
(not a dig at anyone doing Festive 500km indoors, it's more than I'll be doing...)
Signed up again this year but I’ve just come down with a viral chest infection so I might have to give it a miss this year?
Not much better today, my lungs are popping and crackling like a badly mapped ford fiesta, my peak flow is at 70% of normal.
I've got a fistful of steroids from the GP to calm things down a bit but it looks like I'm not doing it this year.
I hate being ill, it's such a waste of time.
I hate being ill, it’s such a waste of time.
Seconded. I'm still wiped out with some niggling viral death lurgee. Hunkering down and hoping I feel well enough for a Christmas Day walk up the local hill. Thoroughly depressing.
My wife is probably going to do it, but on zwift, which is more likely to be bearable at this time of year. I'll possibly be keeping her company (sort-of) with 100km running in the same time frame. Which will be a bit of a test for the knees after a very low-key year.
44 miles today.
Stunning sunset, finished after dark but that was all I could do what with family/work etc today.
Yes, 45 misty miles today. Didn't need to drink it was so humid. And GP5000s are so good on wet roads.
Just shy of 57 miles yesterday and I’m just about to get out again while my beef brisket is smoking on the Kamado.
Christmas Day without any guests is great!!
Strange that the festive 500 is in km but you measure your rides in miles, why is it not the festive 300?
A 2hr spin around the lanes from.my sister's house. Really quiet, the few people who were out and about all gave very safe wide overtakes.
28 miles today, so 20% of the way through now.
Strange that the festive 500 is in km but you measure your rides in miles, why is it not the festive 300?
Festive five....... scans better than Festive three, also, as it I believe it started as a roadie thing, see rule 24.
First 67 km this morning whilst the family recovered from hangovers. Would have been further but for the 2am bed and an inability to get up at 06:45. Will go out early for another 100km first thing tomorrow. Have already posted my 225 round the M25 ride for NYE. All welcome. PM for details.
managed 50 miler yesterday to start things off.all good.
heading out for a few hours with the wife in the morning.
then a 3 day tour starting friday so hopefully should have put a big hole in the distance by sunday PM.
Today's plan was a short spin with my eldest niece around the trails at Dalby then heading out on my own for 45 miles but the weather is super misty, it's horrible out on the roads. So I just took my niece around the blue trails.
She has, thankfully/at long last got a decent MTB, one with 1x, some super plush air forks, big wide grippy tyres and hydraulic disc brakes, a vast improvement over the heaps of crap she's had before. As a result her riding has dramatically improved although she's still got confidence issues from riding shit bikes previously. Anyway, it was a nice day out, just me and her so she was freed from a lot of the distractions of parents etc. and she progressed a lot even in a short ride. So that was cool.
If I do want to get through the Festive 500, it'll mean two big rides this weekend.
Managed 102km yesterday, so 172km in total done now.
Nothing done today, was busy with family visits but will get another 50 odd km in tomorrow with the club social spin.
@crazy-legs that sounds like a day well spent ?
I made it over the halfway point today and have a nice wee spin planned tomorrow so I'm starting to believe I may actually make it lol
I binned off riding yesterday cos it was far too foggy, just dangerous on the roads. I knew it was a cloud/temperature inversion but there was no way of safely getting up high enough to actually do anything with it.
Today was still properly grey and misty and miserable but I dragged the old SS road bike out, put some mudguards on it and did 100km around the Cheshire lanes today. It was pretty grim to be honest, just miles for the sake of miles. Filthy roads. I had about 130km planned but cut the outer loop short so I ended up with 105km which puts me on 235km total with 3 days left so barring some kind of miracle, it's not going to happen this year.
Not doing the 500, but I took ground out some km on the Cheshire lanes today. Yep, character building....although I seemed to set about 15 new PRs including my fastest ever 40k....which given that I've not really ridden since late October, am just getting over manflu, was hungover and didn't eat much beforehand was all a bit odd! Really CBA to clean the bike now
I managed 52km in some properly grim weather this morning to take me over the 300km mark. I was hoping to do it all outside but there's weather warnings and snow forecast here on Monday and Tuesday so I might have to suffer the turbo if I want to get it done.
I do have the club run tomorrow morning so might try and make it up to 100km which should make it just about doable on the turbo.
This might be back on....
Last night, I cleaned up the SS road bike after it's dousing of Cheshire Lane crap; once dry the filth actually just brushed straight off, helped I reckon by the fact the bike had started off spotless and polished. Kit washed and dried, everything recharged. Then I woke up this morning and, in contrast to the previous 3 days of grey murky drizzly fog, it was lovely!
So I just set off with no real plan - followed some roads I knew, a bit of an old Sportive route, a bit of an audax circuit I know, out through Delamere Forest then gradually looped back to pick up the audax circuit return leg (the audax goes off to the Welsh border, I didn't want to go that far). But basically I just kept riding! Stopped at cafe near Beeston Castle, had a nice tailwind on the return journey.
And I ended up with just over 100 miles! Which takes me to 4/5ths complete so 100km to do in 2 days and even with WFH on Monday and Tuesday, I reckon I can do that...
Made it up to 300km after today's ride in yet more grim conditions. The wind is on its way tomorrow and there's a planned MTB ride with mates on Tuesday despite the weather.
I reckon the only way to complete it now will be with a bit of Zwift, no doubt I'll do an hour or two tomorrow evening while watching the Superprestige race at Diegem. The rest I'll have to try and fit in whenever I can!
118km to go after today's ride, might just have to jump on the turbo later...
Broke the back of it doing PRL Full on Zwift yesterday, 65km to go after a local loop ending at the pub today 🙂 Weather is looking ok to finish with outdoor rides.
38km to go for me, 107 miles in the Dales yesterday + plus a 6am ride this morning broke its back.
Considered going out tonight but want to finish it in the daylight tomorrow.
First time I've attempted it, really motivated me.
Spare a thought for the 10 folk riding over 1100 laps of Herne Hill Velodrome tonight for the Festive 500 in one go thing that Rapha London have done for the last few years!
Spare a thought for the 10 folk riding over 1100 laps of Herne Hill Velodrome tonight for the Festive 500 in one go thing that Rapha London have done for the last few years!
They have my sympathy. Honestly, riding round and round a track for hours seems a bit tragic 🙂
gonna fail again............... lost all my energy.
got to 250km with a nice 3 day mini tour with the wife, got home yesterday with plans for a early ride today.
sat eating bacon butties and cant see me moving for a while.
will still ride today and tomorrow but short and fun.
well done if you manage it.
Job done
Good effort.
I’m up to 370km after todays ride, probably another 40-50km on tomorrows planned MTB ride so I’ll need to knock out another couple of Zwift rides to get it done.
gonna fail again…………… lost all my energy.
Sorry to hear that @ton . On the other hand, better to accept it than to slog around suffering just to get an arbitary figure!
I'm on 470km now, did 73km this morning, SS road bike again. Need to do a few hills to finish off tomorrow, I need 1500m of climbing to make the December Elevation Challenge too!
Weather is definitely set to get worse though, heavy rain and strong winds by the afternoon so hopefully I can get out early doors to finish it off. Even on today's ride, the wind was certainly stronger than yesterday.
Well I'm in an amber warning area for rain and snow tomorrow so the final 45km will have to be on Rouvy which I can squeeze in tomorrow morning.
I never thought I'd get close to completing it but have to say it's been a great motivator.
Well done to all who have attempted it, I think if it's got you more active than you'd normally be it's done it's job.
200 km to go and the last ride of the year will be my M25 loop. Bike is prepped (fixed enigma), food ready. Of course the prevailing wing means the last quarter is a headwind home.
Managed to get the Grapha 500 finished today. I always do a SS metric century on Xmas eve in memory of 29erKeith (formerly of this Parish) and that kicks things off nicely. Got the train out to Poole this morning and rode back which was glorious. Other than those two rides it’s been a bit of a battle of attrition and I’ve spent as much time cleaning the bike as I have riding it. Don’t think I’ll do this again unless I’m away somewhere sunny and road bike friendly in future.
Don’t think I’ll do this again unless I’m away somewhere sunny and road bike friendly in future.
That line of thought was what originally prompted our first trip to Gran Canaria back in 2017!
I think by then we'd had 5-6 years of Festive 500 trawling round in crap weather and the prospect of another year of the same was not appealing!
I wondered if I'd be able to manage it this year, but no, not a chance, managed my first ride this morning due to a combination of mechanical issues, overambitious projects and awful weather. I've managed 25km before work mostly on mywhoosh, with a quick shakedown ride down the road and back
.
And I'm done. Really quite pleased to have managed it as I'm normally lucky to get close to half that distance. Now for a rest lol
Every day a school day and all that, I hadn't realised it was 8 days!
Hat tip to anyone doing it outdoors in the UK, we were there over xmas, only saw one cyclist on the road all week. Grim.
I did a couple of 500km weeks before leaving, weather a mixed bag but nothing mudguards and gloves couldn't sort. Not sure I'd have ventured out in that fog, or the sheeting rain blowing off Morecambe Bay. Shivers...
Hat tip to anyone doing it outdoors in the UK, we were there over xmas, only saw one cyclist on the road all week. Grim.
Kent has had fine weather pretty much the whole time! Glorious day yesterday, sunny all day & a balmy 12 degrees - loads of cyclists out! Bit of rain this morning, but that’s stopped now & I’ve only got 8km to finish anyway. Might just ride to the pub & back 🙂
Done. 505km. Finished it this morning with a loop of my regular "WFH lunchtime" circuit with a stop for coffee. Was nice to be back on the gravel bike with comfy tubeless tyres and disc brakes after 3 days on the SS road bike with narrow tyres and rim brakes!
Actually not as grim as it could have been. One day where I was questioning what the hell I was doing slogging around muddy lanes in the thick mist but after that it was fine. The wind is getting pretty ferocious now, can tell the weather is set to change for the worst!
The weather up here in Moray was mostly fine and I managed 380km outside before rain, sleet and a lack of time meant I had to turbo for the rest. I did pick an uphill route to finish today though.
To be fair we were in Manchester and Cumbria!
Should have stayed out and completed it yesterday but left 24Km for today - can I be bothered 🙂
540 km and about 100 of that into the mother of all head winds today. A hard 8 and a half hours on too big a gear. If you go to the Rapha store, they’ll give you a real badge! Someone has in the VC funding has heard the naysayers.
I managed 3hrs47mins on the turbo over the challenge dates, a bit less than normal these days with long covid, but not bad considering I dug myself into a bit of a fatigue hole in the previous two weeks.
Rapha have shops? Who knew? Thought it was a SportPursuit own brand.
Well done any who managed it.