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Rapha Festive 500 - hints and tips
I have officially joined the Festive 500 challenge on Strava, made a rough plan of my routes/distances for each day, and I'm currently roping in some club mates for company. As a first timer to the challenge, can anyone offer any hints and tips?
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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There's a video series about the challenge and how to prepare here:
Always Another Adventure
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuSEN52fnqKmD99JkfexTGA/videos
I'm giving this serious consideration for the first time - I've usually parked up for the year at the start of party season but as there hasn't been one this year, no better time than the present.
Does anyone know if ebike rides are counted? I go at much the same speed, ebike or "winter" bike, and HR tracking shows a similar level of effort overall, but the ebike has much better mudguards, built in lights, better food-carrying ability etc...
Prep the bike. Clean it thoroughly and check everything - tyres, brake pads, chain. It's going to get a battering and the last thing you want is finishing a Christmas Eve ride and finding that you have no pads left and no spares because there won't be a shop open to sell you any! Sort that now while there's still shops open and still time to get a next day delivery if necessary.
Be flexible with the routes, check the weather and go from there. No point committing to a big day out in remote areas when the forecast is for 1°C and hail.
Take lights and make sure they're charged. You've got limited daylight to play with and it'll probably be bad weather anyway.
Ideally, stick to routes and roads you know. Trying to navigate a new and interesting route will slow you down. Hills will also slow you down - if your aim is simply getting it done then stick to flatter rides wherever possible.
And one that I've learnt over the years of doing this. Christmas Day sees the worst driving you will ever experience. Families crammed into a car with steamed up windows and hyper kids driving to granny's house, they're late, stressed, not sure of the way and then that gets repeated in the evening except the drivers are all pissed as well. Probably worse this year if Christmas Day is the only day that Covid restrictions are eased.
Get a ton in the bank on Christmas Eve, squeeze a couple of hours in Christmas Day and you've only got to do 350ish in the following 6 days
By sheer coincidence this popped up as an ad on my fb feed the other day. All sounds like sensible advice to me: https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/rapha-festive-500-tips