The Rapha Festive 500

A quick 10km this morning and that's me done 504(ish) km. That'll do!

My new years resolution:

• Sell off CX bike
  
• Build SSCX bike
  
  

When the time spent cleaning > time spend riding. I'm out.

I spent 21 hours and 45 minutes on my bike last week, and zero hours and zero minutes cleaning it.

I wonder if i can just pay somebody else money to clean mine while I do something else more interesting?

Part of a Rapha500 support ride

11.5k km in 2011 and 10.0k km in 2012

which year was I faster? intensity > volume

A quick 10km this morning and that's me done 504(ish) km. That'll do!

Chapeau

Respect to all who gave it a shot this year, the weather was not kind.
After 'not' cutting back on goose fat potatoes, red wine or Twiglets I felt like pulling into here on my last ride of 2012.

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad356/purple_mj/17763f909cc84e039da80a58fa163b62.jpg

no way matin, you've got the plough just down the road. Leffe and a steak a-callin'

In the end I couldn't be bothered pushing for the 600 so finished on 567k. Maybe 200k down on last year. Whatevs.. I'm peaking later this year..

In the end I couldn't be bothered pushing for the 600 so finished on 567k. Maybe 200k down on last year. Whatevs.. I'm peaking later this year..

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Man[/ame]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Man

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/jlombard/jlombard1003/jlombard100300020/8063127-man-peaking-from-under-a-desk.jpg

"Homo erectus"

http://baroudeur.gangstainc.dk/#home

Good write-ups. I like how you stay positive the whole way through, you're the polar opposite of me moaning about everything from start to finish :)

The bathroom mirror progress report is a nice touch!

The bathroom mirror progress report is a nice touch!

Yes! I really like that too.

Good write-ups. I like how you stay positive the whole way through, you're the polar opposite of me moaning about everything from start to finish :)

The bathroom mirror progress report is a nice touch!

I'll pass the message through to Henrik (the blog writer).

i enjoyed reading about the various struggles/endeavours to clock up the 500. i did not visit this thread much over the festive period. and my arse did not visit my saddle much either. though did clock up some wet and murky miles around the country lanes outside banbury. like a lot of people on here i know feel the need to start getting out there more

Good write-ups. I like how you stay positive the whole way through, you're the polar opposite of me moaning about everything from start to finish :)

The bathroom mirror progress report is a nice touch!

+1

Grab the route from this one: http://app.strava.com/activities/34185721

Go clockwise, and when the course crosses over go straight across.

Hey Dammit, I ended up doing a bastardised version of this route, wasn't up for doing (remembering) the full route so did ~30 miles

http://goo.gl/maps/gJaoZ

The "Hayden lane" section is awesome, I highly recommend it.
It's quite windy as it's pretty exposed up on the top but the views are outstanding.

P.s. well done on the xmas 500k!

-

Hey Dammit, I ended up doing a bastardised version of this route, wasn't up for doing (remembering) the full route so did ~30 miles

http://goo.gl/maps/gJaoZ

The "Hayden lane" section is awesome, I highly recommend it.
It's quite windy as it's pretty exposed up on the top but the views are outstanding.

P.s. well done on the xmas 500k!

Hayden Lane is the back side of Old Winchester Hill, no? My cousin lives at the foot of it, either way.

^Exactly!

Glad you enjoyed your run out in the countryside Vesalius.

My final ride their last week was in the rain, an old boy on a singlespeed Pinarello caught up to me just past the South Downs way intersection, as he drew level he said "turned out nice again!", I chased after him for a while until he vanished off up Winchester Hill, out of the saddle and attacking it.

I mentally doffed my chapeau, as I went past the George and Falcon toward West Meon.

^Cheers, the scenery gets really nice down towards the south downs :)

And that old boy sounds like a hero haha

Cheers, woah 14k is shitloads more. There's only 373 in the rwgps one, which runs from 14th to 1st and is based on trying to cycle 10,20 or 35 hours and it keeps a record of your miles.

So it seems I've greatly increase my chance of prizes, but for the fact they have'nt given any indication of what the prizes are and how they will be dished out. It'll probably be a bag of crisps, that they won't ship to the UK.

So I'm not very hopeful of a new wheelset, cassette, chain and cables that I've almost ground to dust during the end of days weather during the course of the challenge. I'm doing the 35 hour one, and though I was'nt the first to get there I'm currently leading with 59 hours and 907 miles so if I don't get at least a badge, by god I'll be forced to write a strongly worded letter or get a life or something.

Wahey sorry to hijack thread again but I got an 'honourable mention' for the ridewithgps challenge, and a 'wow!'

http://ridewithgps.com/competitions/Pre-resolution-challenge/overview
http://blog.ridewithgps.com/blog/2013/01/07/PreResolution-Recap/

And better than the predicted bag of crisps/chips I've been given a 3 month trial upgrade of their premium service, a T-shirt and a water bottle, woop woop.

OK so I've probably taken more value than that off my bike and its components by exposing my poor italian stallion to Decembers shite weather, but I'm easily pleased and this is offically the start, and more than likely the finish, of my cycling palamares.

I'll be expecting calls from Team Sky anyday and am preparing to adjust all my letterheads for the expected mention and free upgrade in the Queens honours list.