Rapha Festive 500 - 2014
It is that time of the year again. It's Christmas and with Christmas Holidays comes the Rapha Festive 500. For you who don't know what the Rapha Festive 500 is, you can read the Rapha article here. In a nutshell, you need to complete 500 km outdoors on your bike between Christmas and New Year's eve. Kilometer-wise that's not a lot. What can make the challenge hard is that you seldom have the complete 8 days to ride since you will probably be visiting your family and friends during the holidays. The second component that will make it harder is the weather. In Finland December month is seldom the best month for outdoor cycling, at least not for tracking kilometers. Last year was more or less raining each day, heavy winds and just above +0 degrees Celsius. This year, it looks as if I will be riding in snow and wet snow in freezing conditions and moderate winds.
The icy and snowy roads will make it harder, but it won't be impossible, you will just need to prepare yourself mentally, there will be many more hours in the saddle than last year, that's for sure. But I've prepared. I've bought new cycling accessories to provide me with both warmth and light. New Gore Bike Wear Road Thermo Overshoes (Gore-Tex) keeping my feet dry and warm and a Niterider Pro 1200 Race Light giving me some light to the long dark hours in the saddle.
You can read about my Rapha Festive 500 2013 from the following links:
I still need to switch the spike tires on my Felt F65X since it's really slippery outside. The last preparation for the #Festive500 was done yesterday, a somewhat intense 1,5 hours on the trainer. Today I will be preparing for Christmas, meaning cleaning up the apartment and sauna, a good low intensity training that is. On Christmas eve I will be taking care of nutrition, in other words, stuffing myself with Christmas food and chocolates. That should prepare my body for a total shock the 25th of December when I will jump on my bike and head out pushing through the cold.
Last trainer session before Rapha Festive 500
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, enjoy your holidays!