Festive 500
At this point, I’m deep into the plan.
Too deep to back out effectively. The fog rolls over the two riders in front of me and for a moment I think that maybe this is all a figment of my imagination−some sort of fucked up Matrix meets the world of sporty bicycle riding.
Then a car whizzes by me over my left shoulder, and I’m shaken back into the reality of the situation.
Every year I tell myself that I am going to complete the Festive 500 Challenge. But this is going to be the year
where I don’t back out. The Challenge happens during the holidays, so it is the perfect excuse for a couple of
things. One, escape! Two, eat! (Or at least keep eating without turning into a fat shit.) Three, excuses! The challenge comes at the weirdest time as well. The cyclocross season is pretty much over and the long, slow road
to spring riding and racing is stretched out in front of you. So, during this time, when I am trying to ride a few
hundred miles, I find myself pondering the same question: “What’s my motivation here?”
The challenge is to ride 500km between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. Seems like a pretty easy proposition, right? Let’s break that down, just so that we are clear about what it means. 500 km = 310 miles. That times
out to roughly eight days. If we are still in math mode that translates to roughly 39 miles per day. Which, when
you put it that way, seems like a pretty easy prospect.
It became quickly apparent that it wasn’t. But with a little help from my friends, anything is possible.
Day One:
With Max, CD, Julie and Tim
25 Miles
We start late. Later than we
thought we would start. We’re
waiting for each other and it’s
like we have forgotten how to
do long rides on a bike. Someone forgets a glove. It’s colder
than anyone anticipated and the
shining sun has tricked a few
of us into wearing less clothes
than we might have otherwise.
Now we’re on a bike path and
the usual game of dodging riders becomes amplified by dodging homeless that are setting up
their Christmas decorations.
Day Two:
Christmas Day
0 Miles
Spouses kept happy : 1
The second day proves to
be the hardest. Because my
wife is also a cyclist I think
she won’t mind that I sneak
out in the morning for a ride,
before we open presents.
This doesn’t go over well.
At all.
Day