The Rapha Festive 500

The amount of unadulterated projection in that is admirable.

.

The real willy wavers are the ones doing it in the blazing hot sunshine. Leave those pictures off social media yeah, my fkin fingers almost fell off

By the way @Biggles567 those Kinlin wheels you sold me are fucking awesome. Thanks again for a great wheelset at a good price

Great! No worries, Im glad theyre going well :)

I wouldn't normally wade in but the link has got details wrong, so figure I should. This isn't directed at you @MTB-Idle more a general comment around the F500 and contrarian PR pranks every year.

It seems any bike event involving many people ends up being divisive, and machismo becomes dominant. There's a critical mass and it implodes. This year seems to be even moreso, with the invitation to log indoor trainer miles.

The negativity becomes exponential, drives people apart. It's time and energy that could be spent more positively for the everyone and the bike community.

I tried to sum up the original spirit in the twitter post (below) when I saw some lively debate. I thought back to the original themes of appreciation of what Pro athletes have to do (had to do!) to entertain us all year round, my ambition to design/develop better winter kit for all, and to think more creatively/appreciatively about riding. It sank without trace in the chatter, but I'm glad I wrote it out;

https://twitter.com/graeme_raeburn/status/1330125482570997780

The second to last post is the important bit. That people have had great experiences (or lousy ones!) on the bike, and share in a more tangible, inspiring way than Strava. That's when the magic happens. Those people submitting beautiful photos, stories of recovery from illness, group rides that otherwise wouldn't happen, making creative animations, emerging new annual traditions, will inspire far more people to ride and enjoy bikes, than a distance or a Strava stat.

Was too busy last year, but looking forward to giving it a go this year, weather pending. Enjoy if you are riding, enjoy if you're not!

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not a single pro LTN tweet, disappointed.

also as a first gen non christian immigrant with no immediate family in the UK, I found. this piss easy, did it for 5 years in a row, enjoyed it, i think last one was in 2018, one of the rides was my penultimate RRTY ride

if there was a Castelli Diwali, that would be hard work

Urgghh, same here. Disappointed too - I tangled with the Taxi driver union a while back and currently don't have the energy to get bogged down. Have been retweeting/liking LTN posts, but will try to be more pro-active. Thanks for flagging.

Lovely to hear - that's really interesting to think about as well. Some people have a very set way of thinking about xmas and that time of year. The routine is comforting, and to disrupt it is challenging.

It would be anarchy on the streets if the restrictions weren't being lifted this year.

Build it* and they will come.

*a patch

Didn't you do 1000k though? #willywave #micdrop

Anyone who's ever done 500k only, sell your bikes, you're not worthy! (this includes me)

;-)

no offence taken. I have no skin in the game, simply posted a vaguely amusing link and its interesting how much chat it has generated.

taking on a special significance in this year of year in our club too - we're all looking forward to the R500 as a communal event that we can all take part in, support each other with etc. we probably won't all ride together everyday but will ride with various club mates on different days across the piece... it's something to look forward to too

Maybe, maybe not. All part of the myth & mystery...

....didn’t you coin the phrase Festive ‘Fousand? After riding the distance?!

Sorry yes, I should have said the dialogue between different takes is also part of the fun. The event and the response is naturally going to evolve year-on-year.

I just had a quick rummage, but couldn’t turn up the patch, but my favourite was a smoking event. Can’t remember the exact details, not because took part (I didn’t) but it was something about getting blazed up over certain dates. They got patches made and sent some over out the blue. A nice/entertaining surprise to receive.

I'm in. But I feel like I'm cheating, having glorious weather and all. A marked change from my last F500...

Great news, very jealous! (I will start the Cent Cols & plane ticket crowdfunder straight away)

For anyone looking for an alternative to a dull/indoorized festive 500, Stayer came up with a nice challenge!

We have created 12 bike-related challenges to keep your spirits up as winter descends on us this holiday season. All documented via Instagram Story Highlights over the next 12 days in photos or videos.

All participants will be entered in to a draw to win awesome prizes such as a bike fit from Cloud 9 Cycles, Stayer swag, hot items from @wizardworks, a subscription to @komoot Premium, and more TBA!

Complete rules via link in bio! Challenge ends on 14th Dec. IG Live event with us on 15th Dec @7:30PM 📺

Tag @stayercycles and @cloud9cycles and use the #12daysofbikemas hashtag.

Challenges:

On the --th day of Bikemas, my true love gave to me...

12 Off-Road Miles
Complete 12 off-road miles and document with a photo, video, or image of your route.

11 Pounds Donation
Make an 11 pounds donation (or pay what you can, or as much as you'd like) to your favourite charity. Let us know which one you picked in your story.

10 Seconds Sprinting
Self explanatory. Capture in photo or video, by yourself or ask a friend to help.

9 Pieces of Trash
Pick up 9 (or more!) pieces of litter while on a bike ride.

8 Bike Ride Creatures
This one is up for interpretation, but was meant to get you documenting 8 instances of wildlife you come across while riding.

7 Festive Displays
Snap 7 pics or vids of any great festive display sightings you come across while riding. The more outrageous, the better.

6 Coffees Outside
We love #coffeeoutside but this could also mean any hot drinks! Self-prepared or cafe stops both count.

5 Bunny Hops
Self-explanatory. It's okay if you can't do them, let's see an honest effort or a creative alternative!

4 Lit-up Trees
4 different X-mas trees documented while riding.

3 Night Lights
This one was meant to get you on a night ride but is also open to interpretation.

2 Dream Route Plans
@komoot supports this one! Share your dream route plans with us, whether they are feasible right now or not. (More info and a special code via link in bio if you are a new Komoot user!)

And

1 Big Fat and Long Massive Skiiiiiiiid!
Again, let’s see your best shot!

Lovely stuff^ some good thinking - the picking up trash is interesting. Beach cleanups are now established; maybe rubbish rides along favourite routes could become a thing?

@hippy check your dms :)

Not sure how I’d manage the sofa, mattress, sink and bags of rubble mind :-(

Maybe some midnight vigilante action would be better...

The "If you have time to go on an adventure you have time to pick up trash" motto was quite popular with instagram influencers a few years back, then the trend faded, the trash didn't

https://www.trashfreetrails.org/ was set up by one of the guys behind Surfers Against Sewage

One of the first things I want to do when I get a cargo bike is some local loops picking up the roadshit junk.

*roadside, but I left it as roadshit because that works too