Festive 500: It’s in the bag!

In the immortal words of NBA Jam …. Boom shaka laka! With a final gentle ride today I completed the Rapha Festive 500! Thanks to an epic solo mission yesterday I found myself ahead of schedule. Something of a rarity for me I managed to stay on track and stick to my game plan. Actually…

Festive 500: Half time score

My Festive 500 spreadsheet is looking pretty good! As planned I completed a big ride on the first day. It was a tough ride through some pretty grimy weather. I probably pushed a bit too hard, but it needed to be done. The ride on the 26th I cut short as it was below freezing. I…

Festive 500: A bit of planning

With less than a week until the Rapha Festive 500 kicks off, I thought I’d get cracking on a plan on how I’d be able to clock up the 311 miles required. On average I am going to need to cover just under 40 miles per day across the eight days between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. To get a…

The call of winter miles…

Winter rides, how we learn to love them. Awake before the birds and well before sunrise, pull on layer after layer of clothing (all carefully laid out the night before) then out the door. Friends think you’re mad and maybe you are. Why on earth would anyone want to cycle at this hour and in…

Rapha Festive 500

It’s back! In conjunction with Strava, the Rapha Festive 500 is on again this month and challenges you to ride 500km – that’s 310 miles – in the eight days over the Christmas holiday period starting from the 24th until the 31st December. Last year I tried to complete this challenge, but I didn’t really…

When the weather turns wild

I think it was Billy Connolly who said “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing.” When the weather takes a turn for the worst you often see numbers at the Sunday club ride plummet. Only the strong (or maybe foolhardy) turn up and tackle the elements, but if you’re going to turn up…