Events: Planning the 2019 Rapha Festive 500
(2019) The event I happily groan over is approaching. The Rapha Festive 500, an official cycling challenge to ride 500 outdoor kilometers between December 24 to 31st is coming quick. It is exciting and borish at the same time. It is an official unofficial event with no formal registration but requires Strava acceptance. I anticipate dreading going out to try my luck at the distance.
It is my fourth attempt for 2019, and I need a win. The first year I successfully covered the distance but didn’t have the cycling app Strava. If it’s not there it didn’t happen, which I tell myself daily. The past two attempts, all on Strava, were failures. I am one-for-three. I need to convert that to two-for-four.
Two years ago - my first failure - mother nature clobbered the area with exactly zero chance at success. It was a snow blown nightmare with ice, snowdrifts, headwinds, and extremely low temperature. I pulled the plug almost as quickly as I saw the long range forecast. I never revisited the planning for 2017. Over the last few days, it has been bothering me.
This may sound repetitive; that’s because it is. Every year I try to put together a theme for the Festive 500. There are six houses in Bucks County that hosted America’s first commander- in-chief when he was a general in the Continental Army. George Washington crossed the Delaware roughly fifteen miles from our office. He was allegedly refused board in the bar and grill a scant ten miles from our office. This is unfinished business. Not only must we finish the 500 with a .500 record, we should also finish one of the planned Festive’s routing.
If there is anything learned from past Festive 500s it is this: Do not stick to a plan wholeheartedly. Elements beyond control can ruin the whole attempt. We could plan to ride to the houses General Washington resided in only to resort to laps around the neighborhood for hours on end. Blowing winds or snowdrifts could signal the end of any attempt. Rain and dark clouds could shorten the daylight hours to knock out portions of the event. All of this must be considered when frustration mounts and the miles don’t. There is enough craziness over the holidays, why add to it with an obsession of distance?
It is that time of the year when cyclists of all abilities gear up in the Festive spirit and roll for eight days trying to collect some 300 miles. Think of a binding agent for your attempt. You may find that, not only will the miles add up, but you may learn something in the process. Then the Roundel will mean more than just riding 500 kilometers at the local velodrome until failure.
