Anyone going to try the Rapha Festive 500 this year?
Discussion
Currently at 465km, only 35km to go, which I am going to tick off tomorrow.
Weather in East Yorkshire, hasn't been too bad, only Xmas Day was treacherous with ice, but all other days have been okay to ride (except some wind and filthy roads).
I don't have a winter bike, so the steed has been getting a wash every day at the moment. Looking forward to completing tomorrow - legs are quite sore to touch, and noticeably weak when shown any incline.
Weather in East Yorkshire, hasn't been too bad, only Xmas Day was treacherous with ice, but all other days have been okay to ride (except some wind and filthy roads).
I don't have a winter bike, so the steed has been getting a wash every day at the moment. Looking forward to completing tomorrow - legs are quite sore to touch, and noticeably weak when shown any incline.
georgefreeman918 said:
Currently at 465km, only 35km to go, which I am going to tick off tomorrow.
Weather in East Yorkshire, hasn't been too bad, only Xmas Day was treacherous with ice, but all other days have been okay to ride (except some wind and filthy roads).
I don't have a winter bike, so the steed has been getting a wash every day at the moment. Looking forward to completing tomorrow - legs are quite sore to touch, and noticeably weak when shown any incline.
35 km - should be a ride in the park!Weather in East Yorkshire, hasn't been too bad, only Xmas Day was treacherous with ice, but all other days have been okay to ride (except some wind and filthy roads).
I don't have a winter bike, so the steed has been getting a wash every day at the moment. Looking forward to completing tomorrow - legs are quite sore to touch, and noticeably weak when shown any incline.
Filthy weather last week meant a couple of soggy rides for me, but my planned final Festive 500 road ride tomorrow is off. I only went and cracked it in three rides this time. Woop! Woop! 101 km on Christmas Eve, then two days off the bike for family stuff. 201 km on Dec 27th meant I needed another two days off the bike, again lots of driving and family stuff over the weekend. Then today (well yesterday now, Dec 30th, I suppose) I had 198 km to go, and I planned to hit it in two roughly equal rides, split between Monday and Tuesday. But the weather was lovely, and all my lights were fully charged, so I topped the challenge off with a 210 km ride. Which means I can now ride on the last day without any pressure to ride a set distance. I'll take the MTB or 'gravel' bike out I think, and have some fun.
As for washing my bike? Not my thing. I wipe the oily bits, and re-lube the chain, then use a squirt of Holts brake cleaner on the rims and it's good to go again. The mud, crud, and gritty bits on the frame? I let 'em dry and brush them off. It gets a proper wash and polish once, maybe twice a year, and that'll do for me.
GOATever said:
True, to be fair I’ve had it 7 years, and it was hanging in there admirably until the horse s
t weather last week finished it. A nice shiny FSA 10p should be with me tomorrow, then it’s another 7 years from that bike ( hopefully).
Then it had a fitting end! Here's to your new steering feel!t weather last week finished it. A nice shiny FSA 10p should be with me tomorrow, then it’s another 7 years from that bike ( hopefully).JPJPJP said:
Good trio of rides Yellowjack, well done
Cheers!I used this site... https://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/map.php ...to narrow the time period down and got it to produce a mini "heatmap" of my Festive 500.
The small loop was day 1, the second ride was the big loop out west to Shaftesbury, and the ride that completed the challenge went out east toward Calshot and up (nearly) to Downton. It's a handy little tool for seeing a visual interpretation of your mileage over a chosen period. Just be careful not to "draw all" if you've been on Strava a while as it takes a long time to process more than 100 activities onto the base map.
Thanks.
I genuinely thought I'd struggle to complete it this year. Too many trips back and forth on the M3 for a start, and after my first couple of Festive 500 attempts, I had to compromise with my wife and limit the number of days I spent riding. Thankfully (for me, not for her) her work schedule meant that I was free to ride on four of the eight days. Where we used to live, in Farnborough, I had to be around when she was 'on call' at the hospital because she doesn't drive and needed the car to get her in within the call-in time. She was on call here in Bournemouth on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but because we live close to the hospital she walks in now, meaning I am free to ride if she is working or on call. Doing it in three days was tough. Doable, but no picnic. But the logistics of doing it in fewer days meant that we enjoyed Christmas as a family, getting my son up and down from Farnborough to fit in with his work schedule. So we've been for meals out, to the cinema, my sons have had catch-up time together, and the eldest has had a break from his digs, and I've managed to keep up my 100% record of successful Festive 500 attempts since I first learned of it's existence in 2015. Got to register for that 5th patch now, then think about whether I want to race Battle On The Beach again next year...
I genuinely thought I'd struggle to complete it this year. Too many trips back and forth on the M3 for a start, and after my first couple of Festive 500 attempts, I had to compromise with my wife and limit the number of days I spent riding. Thankfully (for me, not for her) her work schedule meant that I was free to ride on four of the eight days. Where we used to live, in Farnborough, I had to be around when she was 'on call' at the hospital because she doesn't drive and needed the car to get her in within the call-in time. She was on call here in Bournemouth on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but because we live close to the hospital she walks in now, meaning I am free to ride if she is working or on call. Doing it in three days was tough. Doable, but no picnic. But the logistics of doing it in fewer days meant that we enjoyed Christmas as a family, getting my son up and down from Farnborough to fit in with his work schedule. So we've been for meals out, to the cinema, my sons have had catch-up time together, and the eldest has had a break from his digs, and I've managed to keep up my 100% record of successful Festive 500 attempts since I first learned of it's existence in 2015. Got to register for that 5th patch now, then think about whether I want to race Battle On The Beach again next year...
Amazing riding yellowjack. I’ve never hit 200km on a single ride (the closest I got was 190-ish and that left me spent for about a week) so managing two in the space of a week is no mean feat.
Well, as we bring the 2019 chapter of this thread to a close, I’d just like to leave you all with this message:
See you again in 2020!
Well, as we bring the 2019 chapter of this thread to a close, I’d just like to leave you all with this message:
See you again in 2020!
Finished the FF500 today (just - over by 4k's 
). I'd decided not to do it this year as the past couple of years it was a bit of a bind, however looked at my rides over the past week last night and realised I was only 40 miles off completing it - was planning a quick 30 miler this morning so extended it to get my badge!
Well done to all of those who put in the big miles over the last week, chapeau!
). I'd decided not to do it this year as the past couple of years it was a bit of a bind, however looked at my rides over the past week last night and realised I was only 40 miles off completing it - was planning a quick 30 miler this morning so extended it to get my badge!Well done to all of those who put in the big miles over the last week, chapeau!
yellowjack said:
35 km - should be a ride in the park!
Filthy weather last week meant a couple of soggy rides for me, but my planned final Festive 500 road ride tomorrow is off. I only went and cracked it in three rides this time. Woop! Woop! 101 km on Christmas Eve, then two days off the bike for family stuff. 201 km on Dec 27th meant I needed another two days off the bike, again lots of driving and family stuff over the weekend. Then today (well yesterday now, Dec 30th, I suppose) I had 198 km to go, and I planned to hit it in two roughly equal rides, split between Monday and Tuesday. But the weather was lovely, and all my lights were fully charged, so I topped the challenge off with a 210 km ride. Which means I can now ride on the last day without any pressure to ride a set distance. I'll take the MTB or 'gravel' bike out I think, and have some fun.
As for washing my bike? Not my thing. I wipe the oily bits, and re-lube the chain, then use a squirt of Holts brake cleaner on the rims and it's good to go again. The mud, crud, and gritty bits on the frame? I let 'em dry and brush them off. It gets a proper wash and polish once, maybe twice a year, and that'll do for me.
Ticked over the 35km this morning, taking my total to 504km (technically 520km as I didn't record 16km the other day due to Garmin battery issues). Going to have a few days off now, before getting back into the routine to recover. Filthy weather last week meant a couple of soggy rides for me, but my planned final Festive 500 road ride tomorrow is off. I only went and cracked it in three rides this time. Woop! Woop! 101 km on Christmas Eve, then two days off the bike for family stuff. 201 km on Dec 27th meant I needed another two days off the bike, again lots of driving and family stuff over the weekend. Then today (well yesterday now, Dec 30th, I suppose) I had 198 km to go, and I planned to hit it in two roughly equal rides, split between Monday and Tuesday. But the weather was lovely, and all my lights were fully charged, so I topped the challenge off with a 210 km ride. Which means I can now ride on the last day without any pressure to ride a set distance. I'll take the MTB or 'gravel' bike out I think, and have some fun.
As for washing my bike? Not my thing. I wipe the oily bits, and re-lube the chain, then use a squirt of Holts brake cleaner on the rims and it's good to go again. The mud, crud, and gritty bits on the frame? I let 'em dry and brush them off. It gets a proper wash and polish once, maybe twice a year, and that'll do for me.
My biggest ride was 100km, so well done on multiple rides, double that distance. I knew I could ride every day and therefore had to average 63.5km (give or take) per day. It helps that I have no kids and the missus was busy with her horses. Had to adapt a couple of days (cycle to my dads) and had to plan for my bother to pick up my spare clothes in advance and meet me there, as I didn't fancy carrying them.
All in all I enjoyed it. Forced me to ride on days where i may have not previously considered riding and best of all, I get to claim my roundel! Well done to everyone thats completed it this year!
Solocle said:
Yeah, the route was 500 km.
I'm completely dead, and hoping I might be able to pull 2x 100km out of the bag tomorrow and NYE.
Did you manage to complete the Audax route in the end? I saw your messages in the whatsapp group but can't find them any more. Don't think I saw you en route anywhere though, I was in Bicester BMCC kit.I'm completely dead, and hoping I might be able to pull 2x 100km out of the bag tomorrow and NYE.
Edited by Solocle on Sunday 29th December 12:41
I took your alternative route, ended up in strife at the road closure so just routed to the published alternative from there and was fine. This was around 6pm on the Saturday.
Good effort there, takes a special kind of person just to enter this one!
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