Rapha Festive 500 8 days of cycling and eating 24th - 31st December 2019

Rapha Festive 500 2019

I've never attempted the Rapha Festive 500 before. All our family live all over and every Christmas we have lots of people coming to stay over a total of two weeks. It's like a boarding house, and the challenge is to feed 8-10 people 3 meals and snacks every day and not be shopping every couple of days. It makes Festive 500 look like a walk in the park.

This year was going to be my parents staying for a week and no other offspring/partners actually staying for more than 2 nights. I warned mum and dad I was going to be selfish and attempt my first Festive 500, but wouldn't ride on Christmas Day when 2 daughters and their partners were also here for Christmas Dinner. Having just finished, and still being on a high from, my first Randonneur Round the Year or RRtY, I did not want to lose my fitness as I had big plans for 2020. I say "had" as I'm writing this April 2020 and the world has changed somewhat. * 

Mum rang a few days before Christmas, dad had a heavy cold and wasn't up to driving for 5 hours (mum had not long had her second hip replacement so she couldn't take a turn) so we rescheduled a January visit instead. A couple of days later their car packed up anyway and had to go to the scrapyard in the sky, thank goodness that didn't happen on the M6/M5. I felt a bit less guilty.

Rules: Cycle 500 kilometres between 00:01 Tuesday 24th December and 11.59 on Tuesday 31st December 2019 and log your rides. So my plan was a Festive 500 in Christmas Cake sized chunks, no night riding or Full Fat Festive 500 silliness that many friends are doing, tackling the whole challenge in one ride. I did want to mix up rides and also for them to be not unethically flat. 

Additionally, Rapha, who kindly sponsor the Strava Challenge, had announced that the 10th edition was the last time that they would be awarding a Festive 500 cloth badge to all finishers. 2021 on are digital badges only. I loves a badge me! Potentially 8 days cycling, 7 without Christmas day = 71.5km each day. Tactical tips from friends advised to front load as much as possible as the weather and motivation could do anything. I also planned to incorporate any social/club rides happening but I knew I'd be doing chunks solo too.

#Day1 #Festive500 Tues 24th Dec Brockley Combe and Chew Lake

78km 703m

Motivation Corner

So I thought I was being clever and those that snooze do not always lose. I waited until after the torrential rain showers and left at 10.45 for Clevedon via Ashton Court, on my own as the rest of the family who were already here were at work. I finished work yesterday. 

Traffic was very light with a dry stiff westerly blowing and it was all quite lovely (for December) except past Tesco in Clevedon that was snarled up with panic food shoppers. I devoured a quick banana at Motivation Corner, that isn’t Motivation Corner any more. Then I ascended Brockley Combe and the planes flying home for Christmas to Bristol Airport were trying to buzz me and land on my head.

Heavy traffic and sluggy rain accompanied me from Chew Stoke on round Chew Valley Lake and back home. Two quick stops to ring back youngest, who it turned out just wanted to chat in her work break. I resisted cafés which resulted in me being a bit wobbly by the time I arrived home, I need more than a banana for 80km. I raided the mince pies.

Day 1: 78/500km in 1/8 days 125% of 62.5km target 

#Day2 #Festive500 Thurs 26th Dec Ham Lane and Brockley Combe

51km 349m

Ham Lane Kingston Seymour

I did not want to go. It was drizzly with a stiff westerly and nobody wanted to come with me, but I did go and it wasn’t too bad.

"Hamming it up" round Kingston Seymour, I meant to do loops of Kingston Seymour too but missed the turn so I tried powering Brockley Combe and time trialled up and down Weston Road to make sure I at least did 50km today.

I'm behind where I wanted to be but today wasn’t nice, at least I perservered. My reward, the first piece of Christmas cake, there's plenty of marzipan and lots of brandy in it!

Day 2: 130/500km in 3/8 days 69% of 187.5km target

"Hamming it up" Ham Lane Kingston Seymour

Christmas Cake - pleased with this year's cake

Post shower, Christmas present T shirt on

#Day3 #Festive500 Fri 27th Dec 4 1/2 go to Wedmore for coffee plus commute

88km 618m

When you have to be somewhere by a certain time! I only had one working day in the Festive 500 period whereas Steve had three.

I planned a flat route to Wedmore Deli with 4 other brave souls who like cycling on a dank drizzly day. It was a sociable run to Wedmore Deli Café (having checked it was open) with Gary, Pauli and Hugo. Simon eventually caught up with us at the cafe for good coffee and millionaire’s shortbread. 

In theory I had just enough time to get back for work at 1pm and change as well. One minute we were chatting, the next we were horrified to watch Simon fly through the air in slow motion after hitting a submerged pothole. He ripped his brand new jacket and winter tights, his elbow and knee will mend hopefully. A lucky escape.

I made work "just" in time. The heating was not on in the locker room so putting very wet Somerset lanes splattered kit back on 4 hours later was rank for the final 7km home.

Last commute of the decade. Too murky for pics.

Day 3: 218/500km in 4/8 days 87% of 250km target

#Day4 #Festive500 Sat 28th Dec All the As Bs and Cs 10 000km annual target done!

90km 837m

As Bs and Cs Ashton Court-Clifton Suspension Bridge-Clifton Downs-Bristol-Avonmouth Bridge-Clapton in Gordano-Clevedon-Brockley Combe-Chew Stoke-Bishop Sutton-Chew Valley Lake-Barrow Gurney AND IT DIDNT RAIN! 

River Avon from Clifton Downs

I persuaded Steve to come out for some fresh air with me, but it was me who had a bit of a tantrum when I thought we’d decided en route to go to Clevedon via Portishead and not via Portbury as originally planned. Steve disappeared on the huge scary motorway roundabout that definitely wasn't in the plan. I am never doing Gordano Services/M5 roundabout (twice!) and the main road into Portishead again, ever.

Other than that meltdown it was a lovely ride, although Scarletts was way off standard today in Clevedon, we should have gone to Bulwarks Farm. Steve thought I was dragging him off to Weston but I let him go home before Brockley Combe. I needed to get some decent miles in today.

I was hailed in Chew Stoke by pedestrians whom I knew and subsequently chatted with another cyclist who thanked me for the tow around Chew Lake. The climbing was easier today but I didn’t try to bust any guts.

Home made Leek and potato soup and Christmas Cake was so good on my return, I’m doing this in Christmas Cake sized chunks and not in a #FullFatFestive500 kind of a way.

Passing my annual target of 10 000km really made my day. I had passed the original 8 000 km target back at the end of September and revised it. I've been so much more focused this year.

Day 4: 308/500km in 5/8 days 99% of 312.5km target 

Clifton Suspension Bridge

#Day5 #Festive500 Sun 29th Dec BSG to Bulwarks

55km 233m

Bulwarks Farm café

A nice easy regular Backwell Social Group Ride was posted for today. I like social so 7 of us wibbling round the lanes on a dank morning (Steve J, Graham, Rachel, Roger Karl and Chris) until we hit the lovely warm Bulwarks Farm for coffee and a florentine.

Today was mainly chat and cake, I took up Chris’ kind offer to sample his take on Delia Smith’s Chocolate Christmas Torte on the way back. Oh my, even I could only manage a sliver. 140km to go in two days...

Day 5: 363/500km in 6/8 days 97% of target 375km

#Day6 #Festive500 Mon 30th Dec Foggy Frosty Figgy Freezing Full Value First #Festive500 Finale

148km 1244m

Congresbury

I knew I wanted to finish with a proper audax style solo DIY today. It still left me with a day in hand if anything went pear shaped.

So I planned a proper fitting Christmassy celebratory route just shy of 100miles. I made sure there were ethical hills by ascending the Mendips and also ensuring I achieved the Strava December 7500m cycling climbing challenge. I routed round to Rapha at Kilver Court. It seemed fitting to pay homage to the Festive 500 sponsor and their café was definitely open with very generously subsidised coffee and cake for participants. Passing the glorious Gingerbread Inn at Priddy, that is boringly just the Queen Vic the rest of the year, for perfect Christmassy themed pics. Then a blast around the levels to Glastonbury and a loop of Kingston Seymour and Clevedon to finish as I have been there so many times the past week or so.

What a day, it just kept getting better. The forecast was 11 degrees and bright sunshine and not much wind. Somehow I managed to follow the fog, even though I started half an hour later than planned, hoping it would lift. The fog was very dense up on to the Mendips via Burrington Combe and all the way to Shepton Mallet. I did manage some pics of the Gingerbread Inn at Priddy. There were gloating messages on social media of friends riding in glorious sunshine almost everywhere else in the county!

Gingerbread Inn Priddy Somerset aka Queen Vic

I eventually crawled to the Rapha outlet/archive store in Shepton Mallet for my £2 subsidised coffee and cake and to collect an official brevet card. I was absolutely frozen to the core. It had taken me 3 hours to do a third of the route and it was nearly midday. A lovely warm welcome from both Claire and colleagues in the shop, and the fire in the café. I lucked out, there was one humongous almond croissant left. It was the best almond croissant ever with almond paste oozing out and a latte for warmth and calories. I was in the glorious warmth for nearly an hour until everything was defrosted. Then I managed to make a mess finding my way out of Shepton!

Rapha Kilver Court Somerset

The fog only started to lift towards Glastonbury Tor around 2. I had an hour of sun between Glastonbury and Wedmore then it got cold again very quickly but there was a stunning sunset. 

Glastonbury Tor

When the sun finally made an appearance for that hour, just wow. The Somerset Levels were mainly lakes but the circling flocks of birds were an awesome sight that I didn't manage to capture. A sing-songy cacophony.

The Somerset Levels were glorious, the sun was finally out!

I chose the main road to Sidcot over Strawberry Line today for speed. I needed an audax break, so whizzed into the Spar at Winscombe and purchased a sausage roll and ate it next to the bin outside whilst watching an 8yo mastering his skateboarding skills. All that can be said about the sausage roll was that it was fuel and it got me home. After the highlight of the almond croissant that was the definitely the Festive 500 culinary low point. I was just over 100km in with 40km left to blast. I was resigned to some night riding.

Lunch of a revolting sausage roll at Winscombe Spar at 3pm Got me home

I made Kingston Seymour for the glorious sunset and pushed onto Clevedon in spite of the temptation to knock off the corner and just head home. I stuck to the route. The pitch black and swirling freezing fog was very pretty winding home along the known lanes but the last half hour was very challenging to see anything at all. I crawled.

Kingston Seymour at sunset

I made it home to the divine smell of Steve's home made curries bubbling on the stove. What a fantastic welcome at the end of my Festive 500! The memory of the sausage roll was all but obliterated. I'd done it with a day to spare and only half an hour of night riding.

Day 6: 511/500km in 7/8 days 117% of target 437.5km

Official Old Skool Rapha 2019 Brevet Card

#Day7 #Festive500 Tues 31st Dec It’s a farm shop wrap

5km 35m

An extra gratuitous utility ride of 5km for an extra 1% distance

I needed veg and milk, so I went to the Post Office to refill my milk bottles and the farm shop for veg. I also continued to the roundabout to make the ride 5km, so it would count. On principle I don't record rides under 5km. It's a Festive 500 wrap! I've ridden 7/8 days. Just to prove I'm not always a Lycra lout...

Gert my original hybrid/commuter got the final 1% of the Festive500 miles

Day 7: 517/500km in 8/8 days 103% of target 500km

...and a not too shabby total of 4000m of ascent too.

Post commute mid March 2020 my Rapha Festive 500 patch arrived!!

* PS I got in from work one Friday in mid March 2020 utterly exhausted from just 4 hours dealing with panic buying on a supermarket checkout, the world upside down in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, to find an envelope with my Festive 500 patch in it. It utterly made my day and has inspired me to sit down and write the story down. It's good to look back on what we will eventually be able to get back to. In fact I'm going out for a solo nano permitted exercise ride now. No long distance allowed, just cake sized exercise chunks to keep our bodies and minds fit for purpose. Those chunks all add up to keep us on track, even if we don't know what that track is yet.