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The time has finally come on 29 December. Finally a day all to myself again. No family celebrations, Christmas obligations or biscuit orgies at relatives' houses. A cold, dry winter's day to improve my mileage balance. As my wife packs our children into the car in the morning and sets off to visit relatives, the sun glints deceptively over the frosty white meadows. The weather app on my mobile phone shows minus two degrees. A little later, I'm rolling across the street with my face half covered and wearing thermal overboots. Winter shoes from our estate.
But when I press the gear lever for the first time, nothing happens. Press again - again nothing. The electric gearstick makes no attempt to direct the chain over the sprockets. Crap. So it must have been too cold for the Di2 battery in the garage last night. But turning round now to charge the battery for two hours? No. I'd rather continue on my planned route southwards from Pfaffenhofen with the 52/17 gearing. The plan: after a coffee stop in Munich, the big loop should take me along the Isar to Freising and Moosburg before heading home via Ampertal. With a glimmer of hope in the back of my mind that the battery might not have completely discharged after all and might come back to life during the course of the day.
The halved thousand: what's behind the Festive Challenge
But why collect kilometres instead of sipping mulled wine at the end of the year? Because in the winter of 2009, a cycling-mad Brit came up with the idea of completing the training programme of a professional racing cyclist between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Graeme Raeburn, then head designer at clothing manufacturer Rapha, set himself the ambitious goal of riding 1000 kilometres in eight days in his home town south-east of London. On the shortest days of the year, with slush on the roads and temperatures below freezing. He managed to achieve this, only to realise afterwards that even seasoned professionals clock up far fewer kilometres in the quiet time and that his 1000-kilometre mark was somewhat pointless.
A year later, his employer called for the Festive 500 Challenge for the first time. What began with fewer than 100 participants in 2010 has now blossomed into a worldwide fight against Christmas lethargy. Alone via the training platform Stravaa total of 119,000 cyclists registered for the winter kilometre race between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in 2019. In 2021, 239,000 participants took part in the Rapha #Festive500 on Strava - a new record. From South Africa to Sweden, from professional cyclist Karl Platt to brevet specialist Fiona Kolbinger.
63 kilometres a day or 500 in one go: it doesn't matter with the Rapha Festive 500
It doesn't matter whether you get on your bike every day for a 60-kilometre session, turn it into a Christmas training camp with your mates or ride the distance in one go. Those who manage it will receive a patch for their jersey, albeit for the last time in 2020. In addition Rapha is launching a special clothing collection and giving away a handful of prizes. For example, for the most spectacular failure or for the person who had the worst weather.
Even virtual roller kilometres in the well-tempered basement didn't count until 2020. Things have changed since coronavirus. Indoor kilometres on Zwift & Co. will also count towards the Festive 500-kilometre account in 2022. But that's out of the question for me, because I cycle outdoors all year round - even in winter. I found out just how hard 65 kilometres can be in the last few days of the year right at the start of my festive 500. On Christmas Eve, I swung myself into the saddle for a two-hour lap between putting up the Christmas tree and giving presents. In five degrees and drizzling rain. Afterwards, I was glad that a roast goose was waiting for me after a hot shower. The next day, I used the journey to the traditional family dinner to top up my kilometres. By the halfway point, I had wet and clammy fingers and numb toes. But at least I was able to reach into grandma's biscuit box in the afternoon.
For me, Christmas week is one of the calorie high points of the year. If you spend more time in the saddle during these days, you have less time to eat.
Like many people, Christmas week is one of the calorie high points of the year for me. Family dinners here, coffee mornings there and a bowl of biscuits on the table everywhere. But if you spend more time in the saddle these days, you have less time to eat - that's my thought. I had also heard about the Festive 500 in previous years, but I had never signed up. The plan to collect 500 kilometres on a road bike during a Christmas week full of family get-togethers seemed too ambitious. And all this in what might be disgusting weather at home and possibly the best ski touring conditions in the mountains. But this year there were no more excuses. Two clicks in the Strava app at the beginning of December sealed the deal.
Festive 500: Together instead of alone
Of course, my friend Andreas had heard about it. But instead of taking part himself and rolling along the salted roads of the Hallertau together, he only received a curt message on 25 December. "Can start tomorrow at 8am. Two hours maximum." Okay, better than riding alone, I thought. And so we set off early in the morning in fog and zero degrees, planning future ski touring projects.
That's also what the Festive 500 is all about: Riding together with others or visiting friends. That's how inventor Graeme handled it at its premiere and later said in an interview: "I always wanted it to be on a social level. You don't have to drive 500 kilometres. Sure, the 500 is a great goal, but you can also set yourself a personal goal."
I had done it this way in previous years, but this time my sporting ambition was awakened. That's why I added a short extra shift to the round with Andreas in order to stick to my daily 60-kilometre plan. But once again I had to realise: You don't get kilometres for free at this time of year. Despite wearing thermal overshoes and insulated winter shoes, my feet felt like two lumps of ice by the end.
136 kilometres without changing gear
Back in single-speed mode just outside Munich. The Garmin now shows 70 kilometres and the temperature has climbed to zero degrees. Every few kilometres I intuitively press the right-hand gear lever. But the rear derailleur remains in a state of shock. Fortunately, my route is largely flat. I follow the Isar northwards and make surprisingly good progress. I ride past the airport to Freising and on towards Moosburg. Until, after 100 kilometres, the GPS device turns me away from the main road and sends me on a constant up and down via side roads.
Like a track sprinter starting off, I have to choke the cranks in a pedalling stance to get going on the climbs. I've given up trying to shift gears and have resigned myself to the single-speed transmission. So I concentrate on pushing, pulling and breathing on the hilly way home. An hour later, I'm done and, exhausted but satisfied, I check my digital Festive 500 account in the steaming bathtub at home. With the 136 solo kilometres of the day, my balance has now climbed to 457 kilometres. With two days left.
When scrolling through the app, only one of my friends stands out and has already completed the challenge: professional cyclist Karl Platt rode a whopping 357 kilometres in one go the day before in similar bibber temperatures. Together with five friends, the marathon ace cycled from Worms to Strasbourg in France and back. Almost twelve hours in the saddle at an average temperature of zero degrees. From my point of view, it was an incredible achievement and yet just one of many spectacular rides in the Festive 500 ranking, which is led by riders who cover four times the target distance in eight days.
When our children start their nap the next day, I want to finish the job. My bike is allowed to spend the night in the cellar, within easy reach of the power socket. And so I feel like I'm flying round my home circuit. With gearing adapted to the terrain and my usual high cadence. The constant ups and downs take me through the barren hop fields of the Hallertau for an hour and a half, until the kilometre marker finally passes the 50 mark. I'm back home in time for coffee and cake and immediately receive the receipt for my efforts since Christmas Eve: "Congratulations, you've completed the Rapha Festive 500 challenge!"
A digital badge adorns my Strava profile as a reminder. But what really counts are the hours in the saddle and the balance to the hectic Christmas period.
To be precise, it was 512 kilometres, spread over seven rides, which puts me in the overall ranking at over 16,000. A digital badge adorns my Strava profile as a reminder. All smoke and mirrors. Because what really counts are the hours spent in the saddle and the balance I get from the heat of the Christmas season, which I would probably only have managed to do sporadically without the Rapha Festive 500 Challenge.
Rapha Festive 500 Challenge 2022: info and facts
Fewer than 100 participants registered for the first Rapha Festive 500 Challenge in 2010. Since 2011, the festive kilometre collection has been taking place on the Strava training platform and has become increasingly popular: from just a few thousand starters at the beginning to the 2022 edition with more than 238,000 cyclists. Over the years, more than 130 million kilometres have been covered and more than 700,000 people have taken part worldwide. Incidentally, last year's winner was a Brazilian with an impressive 2872 kilometres, which he collected in summer temperatures in the north of Sao Paulo. Further information and inspiration for the #Festive500 here.
You can register for the 2022 Festive 500 challenge directly on Strava. here register. As a reward, there will also be a digital badge this year. In addition, all participants who complete the 500 kilometres have the chance to win a new bike with a Campagnolo Ekar groupset from the Open Cycle U.P.
