Events: 2025 Rapha Festive 500 Collapse
To be fair, I never considered doing the entire 2025 edition of the Rapha Festive 500. Having unexpectedly found myself off a bike for November and December, getting any miles in would be personally similar to having completed the distance - in one go. Towards the end, I couldn’t help but think how immense it would have been to pull it off.
The Rapha Festive 500 is a yearly challenge held between December 24th and 31st. Riders are asserted to cover 500 kilometers of riding in eight days. Until 2020, Rapha only accepted outdoor miles as the method of plodding the daily distances. The pandemic changed that, and so, too, the roundel. The little patch Rapha mailed to those who completed the ride outside, also disappeared for a digital one in the Strava case.
Having been off the bike for several weeks, it only seemed proper to log a couple dozen miles, just to feel like a participant. I had just received the ‘all clear’ and for a hot second, the thought of cranking out 500 kilometers suddenly was considered. At the risk of winding up back on the physical therapist’s table, the thought was dismissed as quickly as it arrived. It was still a great feeling to get out on the bike a few times across the eight days ending 2025.
The theme for this year’s Festive was an exploration of local bike trails and their accessibility. No sooner had the bike rolled into the service course at our headquarters, though, and a swift polar vortex parked itself over the area. Even today, weeks removed from the Festive, colder-than-normal temperatures are in place.
First came the ice storm. The original prediction was for inches of snow followed by a lovely crust of ice to act as creme brulee. Instead, we received accumulating ice pellets that played havoc on the public works’ ability to effectively clear the roads as well as general safe passage for cyclists. The icy front ushered in a small polar vortex, allowing any accumulation to disappear by December 25th. Some miles were snuck in on day one. More were heisted from the meteorological calendar as a round of crushing cold temperatures established itself over the region again. In three instances, the area was pounded by sustained winds up to 30 mph with gusts over 50. Soon after, goofy precipitation showed up in the form of light snow and ice over two separate storms. I discovered that the public works departments don’t clear bike paths in these conditions.
As the clock expired on both the Festive and the calendar year of 2025, I reflected on a ‘what if’? I would have hated every moment, but what if I pulled off the Festive? What if I managed to log all the miles outside? What if I carefully picked lines through blowing snow and hard ice? What if I sliced through the gusting winds? I was then grounded by an article that stated the Festive 500 also comes with consequences. The obvious is time away from the family, but there are others that get easily ignored. The high volume during the off-season could lead to early burnout. And taxing the immune system could lead to illness going into 2026.
Unfortunately the bikes remained parked. Hot coffee and cyclocross reruns were watched whilst executing PT exercises. At some point throughout the Festive, I isolated a new purpose: to put myself back together for the new year. It’s not so much a cycling goal as it is an improvement destination. The Festive was never a legitimate possibility. But if I attempted it, 2026 may have become a little less possible.
