[Closed] The 2016 Festive 500 thread

Let's hope the weather plays nicely this year.

according to BBC (ha) looking dry and record-breakingly warm, 12C or more on Xmas Day!

according to BBC (ha) looking dry and record-breakingly warm, 12C or more on Xmas Day!

My Christmas Eve ride is already planned, 100km out to Box Hill and back but I'm actually tempted to do a really early spin round Richmond Park on Christmas Day.

Problem with riding on Christmas Day is that you look like a tragic lonely person with no friends but last time I went round Richmond Park on a Christmas morning it was really lovely with kids out playing on brand new bikes and flying their new kites and drones. Everyone just seemed happier than normal.

Except for the kid who'd crashed his drone into a tree and was crying his eyes out. 😳

Good luck to anyone in Scotland trying this... 24th to 26th looking "challenging" on the West Coast at least.

I've downgraded to a Festive 300. My therapist says it's good to set low expectations.

Bad start already. Night drive home for Christmas, usually nice & easy, very little traffic, get home, sleep a bit then out for a pre-planned 100km.

But I'm stuck on the fully-closed M1, there's been a big accident, been here for 3 hrs now, can't move. Not going to be home in time for the ride. That in turn will impact on all the family stuff I need to do..

Arse.

Just about to set off on my first ride of the 500, a 100miler around Lancashire with a bit in North Yorkshire. The first 50 should be quick in this wind but the return leg not so 🙁

Had 2 weeks off bike, as per usual after the cx season.
Plan now is for a gentle 100k up & over the Rhigos.

Not too sure I will have time to complete the full 500k this year ... although weather looking great next week.

Out at 6:15 and knocked off 20% before breakfast. Managed to drop a group of Rapha wanabees two hours in for extra points :). Now to family duties and an early Christmas Lunch with in-laws.

and we have a winner
https://www.strava.com/activities/809980626
Looks like a dull ride!
For me 21km down, was always going to be a MTB ride today but it got cut short when a mate went OTB and needed an Ambulance...
See if tomorrow morning is a little cooler too

I am far too impressionable to read this forum, with a push from my wife I signed up for this challenge. However, I guess I ride at about a third the pace of the majority of others who have signed up - it is going to take a good while.
50 km done this morning, in the pouring rain, but I did see a kingfisher 🙂

Managed 70km. Took me 9hrs to get from my house to my Mum's; a journey that normally takes a little under 4hrs. Missed the ride I was supposed to be on so just went out on my own later on, 70km round the lanes of Kent & Surrey.

Might go out on Boxing Day after all.

That's 1/3 of it in the bag. A poor choice of route meant the last 20 miles was a slog into a headwind.

The linked ride on Strava looks absolutely mind numbing. I'm more impressed by the mental stamina than the physical.

On just over 120km after a couple of rides today. Breezy...

The weather was shocking today so we only managed a short ride, then an afternoon with the girls in a bar. Oh 67 Kms BTW. So James unusually you're ahead of Tom early on. 😉

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Managed to get the 100 miler in I mentioned up there ^^ but chuff me the last 50miles were horrible going into that headwind 🙁 First fifty was great (well, apart from the rain and hail) averaging 18mph. Second half not so. You kinda know it's a war of attrition when your pushing out 300w along the flats but only clocking 12mph 😯

https://www.strava.com/activities/810266348

Just this once, I'd like to live somewhere flat with no headwinds. Not lovely. Not very far.

Didn't realise it started today! Have done 15km so far... 🙁

60mph winds forecast for tomorrow round these parts...

I'm in it though. Put on a bit more than expected winter warmth this year. Need to burn some of it back off again.

What happened at 34 miles bjj.andy.w? Stop for a wee?

So James unusually you're ahead of Tom early on.

I'm going to have to up my game a bit and not actually upload any other rides until 31st December, just to keep you guessing... 😉

Mister P - Member
What happened at 34 miles bjj.andy.w? Stop for a wee?

Several times, it's an age thing 😳

50 mile roadie club run with café stop yesterday. 32 mile post xmas lunch spin this afternoon. CX race tomorrow going to put a hole in the daily average. Mid week looking bloody cold but dry and lower winds which I'll take so will be extended commutes and then longer rides before late shifts towards end of the week.

We could really do with a heavy downpour to clean the roads, it's just damp enough to lift the film of crap and make it slippy 😕

I'll take lower temperatures if it means lower winds. I was pushing 9mph on the flat at one point today whilst trying to keep my HR below 140.

We could really do with a heavy downpour to clean the roads, it's just damp enough to lift the film of crap and make it slippy

Not wrong there and I have a tennis ball size patch of road rash on my hip from Saturday's ride to prove it 😡

Only managed about 24 miles today- Storm Conor bit in half way round, I double punctured in a pothole with only 1 tube and had to be rescued 🙁

So far it has been hard work. Normally when the weather is dreadful i'll still see a few other people out on bikes and you'll nod to each other with a look of grim satisfaction and for a while it lifts your spirits because someone else is out feeling the same. But i've only seen 1 other person out on a bike, ive never known it to be so quiet.

I ended up going out today after all, just a short spin around Richmond Park. It was late afternoon when I went out and I got very lucky with traffic, the roads were almost deserted and what little traffic there was gave me loads of room.

The park was lovely - the last few families heading away, a nice sunset, lots of deer and a few owls. The last half lap it was completely dark, the roads were empty and it was really peaceful.

So far it has been hard work. Normally when the weather is dreadful i'll still see a few other people out on bikes and you'll nod to each other with a look of grim satisfaction and for a while it lifts your spirits because someone else is out feeling the same. But i've only seen 1 other person out on a bike, ive never known it to be so quiet.

First ride yesterday featured two punctures (hedge trimming) and a very welcome pint in my local. Only 50 miles though. Got some longer rides planned next couple of days, fuelled by Christmas cake.

Knocked off another 95km this evening. Left at 16:30 and it got dark pretty quickly. Windy but dry, and of course, almost no cars. A couple of days off now as I'm visiting family. Rides planned for later next week, with a top up club ride on Saturday.

Definitely a bit chillier out there today. The wind was still a pain though.

I'm pretty sure for the effort I've put in for my first 200k, I would have normally netted around 300k! Feel pretty hard done by so far. Maybe I need to find some easier routes.

Oh... 'Mrs' BWD finally managed to pass on her pro-level death bug to me after a week of having dodged the coughing viral courtesy of intravenous injections of First Defence and hiding in a large cupboard for long periods of time...

I'm resting up today and I'll see what tomorrow brings, but I suspect it'll be coughing, spluttering and sneezing with lashings of sore throat. More Vit C with Zinc vicar?

Oh well... there's always next year 😐

Three rides in now, and we're up to 240kms now.

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Just over 200km for me, more or less on schedule for where I want to be, possibly a bit behind but all OK so far.

The wind today was a proper pig though. One of those days that looks perfectly calm yet as soon as you start riding, there's a headwind. Annoyingly, it remained a head/cross wind all the way round the ride. 👿

Got past halfway this evening so fairly happy with progress, though I'm inclined to agree that it's been a bit of a slog so far with this wind. Pollenca looks very enticing, richpips! Enjoy

Did a biggish ride today which brings us up to 350kms

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Up to 215km. Every day has been a battle with either the wind, some kind of virus making me feel kitten weak, mechanicals (double puncture, cable stops breaking) or all of the above.

Until today when I did an almost perfect 80km in calm, cold sunshine with a mate... then got taken out on a roundabout coming back into town. Tomorrow's early ride is going to be a little sore I think, and without my favourite tights which now feature side access (and might still appear at the puffer as spares!).

Whole family brought down with this bloody virus; gone to my chest, so have got sod all chance of completing it this year. Best use the time to catch up on my workshop tasks, bike builds, etc.

I'm up to about 30km last night, I fear I might not make the 500 😐

Just over halfway now. Compared to the previous 3 days slogging into 40mph headwinds today felt like a pootle. Would love to finish it in one massive ride but it's going to be cold and even with overshoes I doubt my toes would last a 10 hour ride. 2 more road rides and a long awaited MTB ride on Friday will do it I reckon. As long as I haven't caught the cold that all my relatives brought with them for xmas.

Been interesting and motivating to follow this. Never occurred to me to consider trying it before, as I don't get much time to ride in December due to other commitments, but now I'm seriously tempted for next year.

Keep going guys!

I wasn't going to do it and then ended up going out on early morning rides on Christmas Day and Boxing Day into London. Tough evening ride this eve over the Blackdowns hills with a rear light that stopped working 25km before the end.

That brings me to 241km. I'd like to get to 400 odd with some shorter rides by the weekend and then try to do a bit more over the 500 to finish with a longer ride on Saturday

296km to go, problem is I like riding the mountain bike, chuck in a bit of work and I reckon I need to get 45km today mix up 40 on the mtb then 60 on the road tomorrow leaving me 150 to do in the last 2 days.
It's not helping looking put at the pissing rain at the moment.

Over halfway. The hard part isn't so much the riding but the timing - I don't like riding in the dark on the road and I tend to wait for it to warm up a bit in the morning (though cold toes are still a problem). Gojng to mix it up with a bit of MTB this afternoon.

388km done. I was hoping this morning's commute would break the 400km barrier but it was around minus 2 degrees so I took it very steady and rode directly into work. I didn't want to risk a fall and ruin the year right at the end of it.

FFS! The weather's gone from crazy headwinds to freezing fog. Today is going to be a cold, boring, depressing day.