My main goal for the Rapha 500km challenge was to complete 500 miles within the 9-day time frame (Dec 23-31). In the back of my mind I really wanted to complete the 500 miles within a shorter period of time because in ideal circumstances, 500 miles within 9 days isn't difficult for me to accomplish. Here's how it all unfolded.
Day 1: 66.6 miles (107km)
Day 2: 72.3 miles (116km)
Day 3: Christmas. Christmas is about sharing time with your family and friends, to remember and celebrate the true meaning of love and happiness. I am a Christian, I have celebrated Christmas before, although I can't remember the last time I did celebrate with my immediate family, and I admire those with cohesive families that exemplify genuine and unconditional love. Since I didn't have any dire plans for the majority of the day, I rolled out for the derby ride hoping to find other rare individuals. The derby is more than just a training ride for me. It's a ride full of friends, it's my "family" (think about how much time you actually spend with your cycling friends on a daily/weekly basis), we all love our bikes, and are happy when we ride...even during those dreadful training rides. It makes you feel good when you're done. And so there were 5. Yes, people actually showed up on Christmas morning for the derby. I won't name names, and I won't say who "won" because I would consider it as just another ride where people happened to be handily around. This derby really "didn't count" in my book. It was a good training ride, and I was happy to be out on what turned out to be a beautiful day. Derby+, 80 miles for the day, legs feeling fatigued.
Day 4: 81.7 miles (131km)+swim--A great ride out towards Lake Nockamixon…a windy yet perfect day for a ride. Even more fatigued than yesterday, but managed some good efforts throughout the ride. Solid day.
Day 5: 61.6 miles (99km)+run--A cold a rainy day...raining for sub-2.5hrs of my ride. This is my leg after 30 minutes of thawing in warm water. Tremors preceded. Although I neglected the nice roads of the Lehigh Valley (I rode in circles for the majority of my ride), I was out riding. Dedication.
Day 6: 81.2 miles (131km)--At least it wasn't raining…but it was WINDY. For my first ride leaving from SMC, the group stayed in the hills, so it somewhat protected us from the winds. Keyword: somewhat. There were gusts of 40mph and consistent 20mph winds. The post-ride pizza with egg and bacon toppings at Armetta's made it all worthwhile. Evening stroll into the headwind, back with a tailwind. Sweet. Fatigue+winds+hills=ice-cream.
Day 7: 57.1 miles (92km)+FREEZING+my 500mi goal complete!+run…in need of a good meal.
After I reached my goal, I continued to log my miles/km on Strava just to see where I'd fall in the standings by default. The main purpose of the Rapha challenge isn't to see who can ride the most miles, but people were going after it anyways. Sub 55 miles on Day 8, sub 54 for Day 9, 610 miles (981km) within #rapha500 week. I could've easily tacked on more miles both days because the weather was great, but I wanted to save my legs (it paid off) for church on Sunday--the derby ride. What…don't judge.
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