Rapha Festive 500
The Rapha Festive 500 is a challenge to ride 500 km over eight days from Christmas eve to New Years eve.
I’d planned some routes; I wanted it to include some new places and to involve a tradition and family visit.
Of course this wasn’t something I could have contemplated in the past, so it was cause for much reflection and concern. This year has necessitated much soul-searching. I questioned my decisions and plans. And wondered how those around me might react. I am fortunate that those people have supported and encouraged me.
Christmas eve was a club ride, with a twist. One of the members is a coach and planed a ride with some youngsters whose parents would not have been able to keep up. He asked for some minders. It was a good ride and a great start.
KM’s complered: 131.
Christmas day is usually one of family get togethers. I wasn’t sure what
I wanted to do. I decided to ride, it’s my default coping mechanism. I
took advantage of quiet roads to cross all of the London bridges. I don’t think this would be as enjoyable if the roads were more congested. It was quiet until Westminster bridge; so many tourists. They spilled into the bike lanes, which were also busy with rental bikes. I crossed the river twenty times over nineteen bridges. The last crossing was Tower bridge; south to north; which meant doing a u-turn around a traffic island once off the bridge. A short time later I arrived in Vauxhall, it was then my usual commuter route to get home. There were a few cafes open at various places but I’d resigned myself to not stopping for coffee before I left, so I didn’t pause.
KM’s complered: 237.
Boxing day tradition is a ride with Matt. Once upon a time we would sit in a bus stop and drink tea from a flask, and eat Christmas cake courtesy of his mum. For the past few years we’ve met in Costa’s of Westerham. This year I rode the “long way”, to bump up the distance. Matt arrived with his son, Max. It’s been a few years since I’d seen him.
KM’s complered: 305.
The ackward period day one - Friday 27th. Some places are open, the roads are fairly quiet and The Archive is almost empty. I was ahead of my distance target so no wandering around the lanes; it was straight to the cafe. I expected to see many other riders on the road and when I arrived. But I was the only one who hadn’t walked or driven for coffee and cake. Luckily a few minutes after I sat down two riders arrived. They asked if they could join me, of course I said yes. They were members of East Grinstead CC. One was vaguely familiar, he had attended a few of the same evening TT’s as I had that the club run during the summer. Steve, Nick and I chatted about the cafes we had in common, and rated them. The quality of coffee and especially the cakes was our criteria. Some had made it harder for cyclicts to visit them, which seemed weird. Why would you discourage customers?
KM’s complered: 362.
Saturday I planned to join a club ride. But woke up at 02:30 lay awake until 03:30, and admitted defeat. I got up and had some toast. The ride would have been nearly 80 miles including getting to Oxted and back so I decided I may be too tired for it. I sent Richard, the ride leader, a message to tell him I wouldn’t be attending. And then fell asleep. I awoke feeling better but it was too late to ride with the club. I had breaskfast and headed for The Coffee Works in Lindfield. The round trip is about 44 miles. I arrived after about in 1.5 hours, and felt great. Over coffee I planned a route to a bike shop/cafe a little further on, adding an extra 16 miles. When I got there it was closed. I needed something to eat and saw a bakery was open. The eccles cake was probably the best I have ever tasted, but the coffee was undrinkable.
KM’s complered: 470.
Sunday; a ride to Sheree’s for coffee and then over to see my sister and mum. Sheree’s tea room is a special place. She knows what I’ve been through over the past year. We had a short chat about how I’d coped over this period. A few days on my own had been tough, but also okay. It was certainly good to be around people. I also had a short catch-up with Ken, another regular. Arriving at my sisters was again just what I needed. At this time of the year I can’t stay too long. It gets cold very quickly and most of the route is country lanes; so it gets completely dark with a poor surface in places.
KM’s complered: 535.
Monday; although I’d ridden enough I wanted to complete the Rapha challenge by visiting the London Clubhouse. And include a couple of Regents Park laps. Saturday was planned to do enough that the challenge would have been ended with Sundays ride. The change after getting too little sleep caused me to think about this ride. As you will have read, I rode further in the end so this wasn’t necessary. The weather looked good, better than the forecast for the rest of the week, so off I went. I also wanted to be amoung other riders, the last time being the club ride on Christmas eve, not forgeting Nick and Steve at the Archive. As it turned out Regents Park was almost empty of fellow lappers. And the clubhouse was very quiet. Very nice coffee though. There was a strong headwind around parts of the park and most of the way home. On the bright side; there were patches of blue sky and glimpses of the sun. So it wasn’t all bad.
KM’s complered: 611
I really do love my bikes. They allow me to travel and keep both mentally and physically fit.
To sum up my week. The weather has been, considering the time of year, very good. I’ve mostly dressed about right. A couple of mornings have been damp and misty. Would I have done it if the weather was colder and wetter? Unlikely.
WilI do it again next year? I try not to repeat myself; I want new challenges or to see new places.
I’ve had a lot of opportunity to review this year and think about the next. On the whole I think, with help from others, I’ve coped okay. I am feeling more positive about the next twelve months.
The only thing left to do was clean the bike.
I hope you had a great Christmas; whatever you did.
Happy new year to you all.