RAPHA #FESTIVE500 DAY 3: BEATEN BY 40MPH WINDS

Yesterday's ride (26th December) was a bit of a no go for Festive 500 attempt.

I woke up at 5am ready to get set for the day - with howling winds outside. I then checked multiple forecasts to see what would be in store for the rest of the day. With 40mph+ forecast from 6am to late into the evening it just wouldn't have been possible for me to go out. I'm not that strong a cyclist to battle heavy winds for extended periods of time. Instead I decided to cycle the short route down to the gym, and back, for a speed session on the treadmill. Even the cycle home was a bit of challenge so I think I made the sensible decision not going out for a long ride.

Today's, although still rather windy, went a lot better! A separate blog post coming on my ride from today is coming up this evening.

I'm taking part in the Rapha Festive 500 challenge on Strava. Cycling 500k in 8 days from the 24th-31st December. I'll be tweeting,instragmming and blogging my journey as part of documenting my progress.Total at the end of Boxing Day: 161/500k.

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RAPHA #FESTIVE500 DAY 2: THE CHRISTMAS GIFT OF WIND AND HEAVY RAIN

First off - Merry Christmas everyone!

My plan from the beginning had always been to cycle on Christmas Day. One of the perks of being an early riser is that a 4:45am alarm sometimes isn't too bad. I was out the door just after 5am and on my way, with the aim of returning before 8 - and before the parents woke up.

The route plan for today was flatter one that yesterday's adventure. With the sky clear of rain for the first 10 miles I was optimistic that it was going to be a dry ride. Then the heavens decided to open. Aided by the headwind that seemed to be following my every move the miles seemed to be taking longer to tick off. My route mainly consisted of loops of a section of road, repeating this to rack up my miles before doing the 10 miles back again. I got to 25 miles and the rain, wind and surface water led me to the decision to head home. With 10 miles left to ride I knew the total for the day would be 35. Luckily the wind wasn't as bad on the journey home today. Torrential rain I can deal with for a couple of hours, but a relentless headwind just makes for unpleasent riding. The occasional heavy gust and a mostly calm(ish) breeze for the journey home.

As I neared my house, I couldn't get the idea of failing to do 40 miles out my head. This resulted in my circling past my home 4 times to make up the extra 5 miles to hit the average for the day. With 40 miles on my Garmin I was happy to be just ahead of target two days into the challenge. I arrived home to my parents having just woken up - perfect timing. A quick shower and change before tucking into some chocolate gold coins as a pre-breakfast snack. Now for a day of eating all the foods and a cosy film viewing.

I'm taking part in the Rapha Festive 500 challenge on Strava. Cycling 500k in 8 days from the 24th-31st December. I'll be tweeting,instragmming and blogging my journey as part of documenting my progress. 

Current total = 153/500k.

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RAPHA #FESTIVE500 DAY 1 - VERY WET & WINDY

If there's one thing I learnt from the pouring rain and horrendous headwind it's, just keep pedalling.

My Festive 500 got off to a very wet and windy start this morning. I began my ride later than usual as the 50mph winds that were forecast at 6/7am were very inviting. I was up by 6:30 for breakfast and then spent a bike of time going over my bike and making sure it was ready for the ride. I set off in the rain, the wind having slightly faded a little.

As I made my way up towards Dartmoor the rain got heavier, And heavier. With a lot of surface water and a the rain from above, I quickly got soaked through but was still warmed thanks to my Adidas kit. With torrential rain and a headwind making it all a little less fun I turned around on Dartmoor and decided to adjust my route.

As I reached my turn around point on the loop, the headwind lifted a lot. This meant for the last 25 miles my average speed dropped. I never thought about turning around to head home early. I wanted to make sure I atleast reached the 40 mile a day minimum. I returned home ready for cosy kit, food and a warm cup of tea. 

I'm taking part in the Rapha Festive 500 challenge on Strava. Cycling 500k in 8 days from the 24th-31st December. I'll be tweeting, instragmming and blogging my journey as part of documenting my progress. 

Current total = 89/500k.

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RAPHA #FESTIVE500

Having only purchased my road bike last October, I only briefly discovered the Festive 500 after reading Sarah's blog. My bike mileage was low and there was no way this challenge would have been possible for me to do in 2014.  However, this year I'll be tackling the challenge to see how I fair!

Rapha's Festive 500 is an annual challenge encouraging riders to tackle 500km (around 312 miles) in the eight days from Christmas Eve's to New Year's Eve. If you spread that distance out over the full 8 days it equals just shy of 40 miles per day.

My plan for the Festive 500 is to rediscover some old routes I used for training during my Ironman preparation and to hopefully complete the full 500km. My fingers are crossed for some dry weather as well as some mild temperatures. I'll be mixing up the routes with some flat, easy routes as well as trying to get a good chunk of climbing in.

I'm planning to write a blog post each day documenting my rides each day and will be sharing the posts links via my Twitter and Instagram.

It all starts next Thursday, so who's in?!
Learn more about the Festive 500 here and join in on Strava: Rapha Festive 500 2015

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