The Rapha Festive 500 Recap

I had intended to provide a day-by-day account of the Rapha Festive 500, but then I realized that would be pretty boring (for me and for those who read this blog).  Now that it is over, I wish I had better documented this effort.

The timing for the Festive 500 could not have been better.  I had time in my training schedule to do some longer rides and we (Tulsa, OK) had fantastic weather this past week.  I started out strong the first two days but then took Sunday and Monday off for family Christmas-time activities.  My family is pretty understanding of my need to ride but my legs were so tired after riding several hundred kilometers the previous two days that I welcomed the break.

Since I had to go back to work on Tuesday, I commuted every day and tried to log some extra kilometers on the way home.  Commuting to and from work by bike is something I used to do all the time; however, I was letting the weather and lack of sunlight be an excuse to drive - instead of ride - to work.  The Rapha Festive 500 reminded me that commuting to work is an excellent way to get some training in, save some money, and mentally prepare yourself for the upcoming day.

On the last possible day I logged my final 67 km to complete the goal.  I had some help along the way and they deserve some thanks.  Thanks to my teammates and riders of other teams who also participated in the Festive 500 for keeping me motivated and for joining me on several of these rides.  Thanks to my coach for working with my training schedule to allow me to participate in the Festive 500 (although he probably thinks it means 500 miles instead of kilometers).  Most importantly, thanks to my wife for pushing me out the door to make sure I got my kilometers in and for being understanding of the time commitments to meet this goal.

For everyone that took on the Rapha Festive 500, I offer my congratulations.  I tip my drink to you and I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year.

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 1 Recap

This is a team blog (not my personal blog), so I wanted to write this from the perspective of everyone who participated in this ride.  Unfortunately, that is a lot harder than it sounds.  Therefore, you are stuck with getting this from my perspective.

It was an atypical Winter day in Tulsa.  Yes it was only 32 degrees outside, but on the plains, winter weather is usually accompanied by a bitter cold wind blowing at least 15 MPH.  On Friday, we had plenty of sunshine and relatively no wind.  I left the house on my trusty winter bike (a fixed gear with fenders and lights) and headed to the shop.  Here I met up with Travis, Mike, and Jess.  We continued along the river to the official ride starting point to meet up with 7 others interested in riding 500 km before January 1.

The route took us out to Skiatook where we refueled and then headed back via the Dam.  I hadn't been on this road since racing the Tulsa Spring Classic - Tall Chief.  I had forgotten how much climbing was involved and being on the fixie added some additional challenges.

I wanted to take some pictures but I was hesitant to take my gloves off and try to dig my phone out from several layers of clothing.  It was a great ride with some great company.  A great way to start the Rapha 500 and I look forward to more rides like this in the coming days.

Ride to Redemption 12/23

Tomorrow is the first day of Rapha's Festive 500.  If you are in the Tulsa, OK area, feel free to join us in the "Monday Night Ride parking lot" (just North of the Blue Rose parking lot) at 1:00 PM December 23 for a 44 mile ride to kick this event off.  Some of us will be riding fixed gear bikes, so the pace should be pretty mellow.  Besides, we are all just happy to be on our bikes.

See the map below for our route plan.

Rapha's Festive 500

Rapha is throwing down the metaphorical gauntlet and challenging us to ride our bikes this holiday season in The Festive 500.  The goal of this event is to ride 500 km (about 310.7 miles) between December 23 and January 1.  As I have stated before, it is a good time to get in some base miles, so the timing is perfect.  Additionally, spending 17 hours (or so) on the bike between Christmas and New Year's Day means 17 hours that you are not at home grazing on treats and other fattening foods.  The timing of this event is also nice as I have a couple of days off from work.

Since I am going to be participate in The Festive 500 I will try to completely chronicle my rides.  Strava will be used to track my miles (I mean kilometers) for this event and I will update this blog with stories and (hopefully) pictures.  You can check back often to see if there are updates or follow us on Twitter.  Better yet, why don't you just give me a call and we can go for a ride?