Finished mine today with a 40km loop – tempted by Zwift, but actually managed to get it all done outside. Last few days have been tough with temperatures hovering around zero, so route choice has been a bit hit and miss, but a nice mixture of road and gravel rides kept it interesting and only one minor fall on ice. Third year in a row for me and this year has definitely been the hardest…

Well done to everyone who finished or even attempted it indoors or out!

Got it done today, using marginal gains of a Thermos with tea and honey, and freezer bags over the socks.
Well done to all the folks on here who had a go at it. See you next year?

Just about to do my final 73km after feeling a bit stiff in the old legs this morning, was struggling to walk around at points! All on Zwift so don’t need to worry about icy roads or darkness but it’s still been a big challenge for me. Should take me 3 hours or so then it’s time to order a pizza!

I saw a couple of guys out in the snow today. I can only assume they were chasing this. Fair play to you all. I wish I could find the time to try it.

A final 35km on the mtb and done. Some of the lanes really weren’t looking good! A lot of ice, yet off road still a lot of mud!

Last 97km finished today – all outside on the road. -1°C to start and then it rocketed to +1°C during the day… Bright sunshine and a very heavy frost. I came across some ice on an off camber steep hill. MTB technique of sitting in a low gear and spinning avoided any unpleasantness…

Enjoyed it. First time for me as not really into these contrived ‘look at me’ challenges but probly do it again next year. 👍

Great work all!
Agree with comment that it’s contrived but it does put you on a bike at a time when you’d usually be on the sofa 🙂

That’s me done too. A final 35km on the mountain bike round the local tracks, picking up some mudguards, finding a beer from our club #beerienteering thread, hiding another, and bumping into a stranger on a nice CX and having a good chat about bikepacking and endurance racing. Frost and ice everywhere, though still some mud in places, but a nice day to be out for a gentle spin.

All outside, but, while I’ve known to poke gentle fun at the Zwifters, respect for doing it that way – don’t think I could, mentally. Particular kudos to @speedstar – I’m lucky(/have made choices) that mean I don’t have kids to look after or work at this time of year and I can spend time preparing for rides, riding, and recovering. That’s way more hardcore than going out for a long ride in the freezing cold.

This was my first Festive 500, so what have I learnt?

I guess I already knew this, but, as @tombon illustrated too, having a contrived goal like this gets you out when you wouldn’t otherwise. Sometimes it feels like a waste of effort, but crucially, sometimes you unexpectedly win. My Christmas Eve ride was a case in point. No way I’d have ridden into a sleet-laden headwind for an hour, but contrary to the forecast, it turned into a glorious day, if only for a bit.

It turns out, despite living in suburbia, I can do a reasonably quiet 20 mile road ride from the door.

As per @ugarizza, the weight penalty of a hot flask is well worth it, even if it’s just for emergencies.

Council gritting route maps are a useful resource!

A final well done to everyone who finished or attempted, have a beer tonight and I’ll raise one here for us.

Well unfortunately due to real life getting in the way mine was a festive 300!  Still it was all outside and 100 was offroad on the fatbike.

Like others said, double well done to those that completed it and every km ridden was probably better than watching strictly or whatever rubbish was on tv this year (except Bob and Whitehouse going fishing obvs)

Happy New Year and god lets hope its a better one…..

Just about thawed out from getting over the line earlier. Max temp of -1° on the Garmin but mainly stuck to roads that had been gritted.

Well done to everyone who saw it through

Cheers

Massive well done to everyone who finished and rode outdoors. Brutal year for it.

Had a nice ride in fresh snow this morning and the maxxis colossus 4.8’s I’ve been lugging around were awesome! Tally ride wise= 225km off road 57km road..well short but like others have said better than sitting on the couch. Carrying on tomorrow.

chapeau to the outdoor hardcore, I found it hard enough on the turbo.

All done now with a 64km ride today.

502km in total.

Well that’s me over the line, 501km in just under 17 hours total. The last 20km really hurt and I struggled. Those of you who have done even part of it outdoors, let alone all of it, I doff my cap to you.

Now time to order a pizza.

I did a 45km ride 2 days ago taking me to about 470km all outside. I thought I’d finish it off that evening after work and did “Qatch quest” on Zwift to take me over the line. First time I’ve climbed Alpe du Zwift, and it was probably a bad idea in hindsight. Did 70 minutes up it, not bad for my first attempt, off the back of 500km in 6 days.

We watched the moon rise and mist roll in during our final ride into the night. RUTH HAS DONE IT! #Festive500 at age 7. And yes, that’s frost on our handlebar bag! Well done, Ruth. You even took your Dad by surprise with that one! 👊🏻 Thank you to everyone who encouraged her. pic.twitter.com/341lDbrw6m

— Family ByCycle (@FamilyByCycle) December 31, 2020

All respect to @speedster above with a 6 month old getting up at 3am to do his turbo sessions.

It was a good decision to allow turbos this year. I was getting really run down at one point, and by doing long sessions at a very low intensity in the warm, it helped me finish. I think if I’d gone outside and tried to do more, I’d have got ill.

So good call to allow turbos by the organisers.