The Rapha Festive 500

Annoyingly I had a double rear puncture ( 2 x tubes ) riding the bike path alongside which the hedges have just been trimmed.
I planned to finish today, but had 36 km to end with over the next 2 days.

On closer inspection at home, the tube has split/ perished around the join to the valve.
Not sure how long this has been a spare, but I can’t remember my last puncture.
Just checked all my other spares on the other bikes🙄

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Wanted to try and finish with a 200 but the constant wet fog/drizzle made it impossible to ride with glasses. So a nice excuse to not ride in the dark for a few hours. 70km to finish it off tomorrow.

(255/500). Looking ominous:

Weather warnings for rain, snow and winds of up to 70mph have been issued for parts of the UK on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the Met Office has said.

Stay safe in the coming days folks.

and done!

Great work!
Most pics people, seems to have been damp but a pretty tolerable year!

This was my pal Graham. I joined him for a couple of laps. He’s a total machine.

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Slightly annoying not to finish yesterday, but managed a quick sprint this morning to complete it.
Good luck to everyone on the last few km , especially with the weather coming in, be safe.

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@veganjoseph currently doing repeats of a road, mental :) https://www.instagram.com/josephxkendrick

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14 hours in and he’s at 290kms, fucking nuts. The guy spends more time in the gym than riding a bike these days too.

Anyway I’m done with 50miles before 9:00 this morning. Finished in 6 days of riding.

We bailed on the Cantii Way yesterday at Rye. Another flat on the Terreno Dry (not TL) on my partner's bike and struggling to get the tyre off with frozen fingers (I forgot my own rule about -5C on the forecast!). Obviously only noticed this was after having sat in the pub. Fog rolled in again and we'd have about an hour of daylight to do the remaining 80k so we thought fuck it and got train from Rye.

I've got 17k to go...

I can't believe I used to bust out a Boxing Day 600k like it was nothing and these days I'm feeling shattered after a few 150k days.

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170 back to London to finish it off, got damp early door and froze, tea at shoreham airport cafe (which is class) and was fine the rest of the ride.

Quite liked doing it in 3 big rides than chipping away slowly like I did the last time. All of it was as in the perma-gloom. Nice to see the sun out today.

I've ridden to Two Flints brewery in Windsor to finish it (and me) off.

How much did you do off road (I haven't been keeping an eye on this thread so maybe you've already answered that)? F500 off road isn't to be taken likely, especially if you're winging it.
I love the Terreno Drys, but not for any wet miles, unsurprisingly. Also you gotta pay so much attention to the compounds these days and not the price.

Started this with a cold on day one, got better and finished it with another cold yesterday.
Last ride was on Zwift so ‘bah humbug’ to the Christmas / rapha 500 spirit. Felt crap enough as it was without needing to feel crap and wet and miserable.
Sofa
Fire on
Xmas cake
Ice cold in Alex on the box
Will emerge in new year so I hope you all ride safe and have a good night tomorrow!

Easy 70km mostly along canals to complete it. Another one done.
Now I can get back to Zwift guilt-free.

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23km left for me to do. It’s 5km home from work tonight and then I’ll just potter around some coffee shops on the way to work tomorrow to get it done just before the bad weather arrives in Edinburgh.

It was mostly road. I was on Conti Contacts - basically slicks. Funny trying to ride them in the mud.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13203064731
https://www.strava.com/activities/13211231348
https://www.strava.com/activities/13217314015

75k over to Two Flints for a couple of hazy IPAs, a DIPA and their Impy Stout. Honest Burger for lunch and some cinn buns for afters. Living the dream.

Heading out Camberwell to Sittingbourne early doors tomorrow if anyone wants to join? I’ll head on to my mum’s, you might want to turn around or get a train?

Not been riding off road much the last few months so did a nice Z1/Z2 50km today noodling around muddy tracks. Good excuse to give the bike a clean afterwards, just a few km tomorrow to finish the F500 and to tip over to 15,000km for the year.

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Good effort everyone

Still enjoying it?

Love it, but looking forwards to giving this a shakedown ride tomorrow for a change (front end still needs dialling/dropping/chopping and taping)

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Looks like something is off with the spacers

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