How to Conquer Rapha Festive 500 This Year, According to Riders and Coaches
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So you’ve signed up for the Rapha Festive 500—or you’re thinking about signing up. Maybe a friend told you to do it, maybe all of your cycling buddies are planning to take part, or maybe you just saw it on Instagram and it sounded like a good idea at the time.
With just about a week to go, you’re probably wondering exactly how to pull off riding 500 kilometers between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Fortunately, we—and a few experts—are here to help.
What exactly is the Rapha Festive 500?
The challenge, as Rapha puts it, is simple: “500 kilometers. Eight days. December 24-31. A tradition like no other.” You can sign up on Strava and join thousands of riders worldwide as you all try to cover that distance in the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
There are, of course, bonuses: You get a virtual badge on Strava, a 20 percent off code for Rapha, and the chance to win a Cannondale road bike and 1,000 pound Rapha gift card (which is about $1,270).
Where can you ride?
Anywhere! You just need to join the challenge on Strava (it’s free) and log your mileage on the platform. The Rapha Cycle Clubs and ambassadors around the U.S. often host lots of group rides during the week, so check to see if any are happening near you. But you can also ride alone or with non-Rapha Festive 500 participants.
Last year, Rapha even partnered with Zwift to make virtual miles on the platform count, and this year, the rules state that GPS, virtual, and manual activities will count toward the Challenge goal. Even e-bike rides are welcome, in order to make the challenge more inclusive.
So, now that you’re convinced to join or already in, we asked coaches and longtime Festive 500 participants to share their best advice for conquering the 500K in eight days.
15 Tips for Completing the Rapha Festive 500
1. Make a Plan
Because the Festive 500 takes place during the height of the holiday season, your time may be more flexible—but you also likely have family and friend commitments to contend with, or you may be working all week with the exception of Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Before the 24th, when the challenge starts, make a rough plan of when you’ll ride each day, what type of ride it will be, and how long you’ll go. Don’t forget to run your riding schedule past your partner, especially if you have young kids and a lot of commitments. No one wants to start Christmas with an argument about whether you should ride before or after you open presents!
2. Make Your Schedule Dynamic
California-based cycling coach and bike fit specialist, Lorri Lee Lown is a fan of varying your duration and intensity throughout the challenge. Focus on moderate days and easy days, and if possible, allow yourself to ride really short and easy or take a rest day mid-way through the challenge for recovery.
You can opt to ride big miles one or two days, and fill in the rest of the 500 kilometers with a few shorter rides. Five hundred kilometers translates to 311 miles, so over eight days, that could be two centuries, five 20-mile rides and a rest day. (Lown suggests trying to front-load a big ride early in the challenge, to give yourself a buffer for weather or fatigue… just don’t go so long or hard that you’re cooked by day two!) Your schedule could also look like just under 40 miles per day for all eight days, done at different intensities, with a mix of indoor and outdoor rides. Think about what makes the most sense for you ahead of time, and make a loose plan.
3. Start Building Now
If you’re reading this the week or two before the challenge begins, make sure to ride your bike at least a couple of times between now and then, especially if you’re coming back from an offseason and heading into this challenge.
“What happens when you push a whole bunch of volume right away without building to it? Injury,” says Charlotte Backus, a Utah-based racer and coach. If you’ve been off the bike for a few weeks, dust it off and do a few rides beforehand.
4. Get Your Cold Weather Gear or Set Up Your Trainer
Time is going to be of the essence when Christmas Eve rolls around and you’re trying to start your miles while also decking the halls, so get your gear ready ahead of time. If you’re planning to ride inside and outside, you’re really going to want to get organized with all of your gear for both occasions, because setting up your trainer or putting on all the layers can easily take up 15 to 20 minutes everyday if you’re not organized.
Make sure lights and computers are charged after every ride, as well.
5. Warm Up and Cool Down
“Give yourself at least 30 minutes of warmup time,” says Backus. She likes to mix in actual functional movement and dynamic stretching preride, but even just spinning easy for a while when you get started is going to make a difference to your recovery.
At the end of your ride, make sure to take the last couple miles extremely easy to cool down.
Afterwards, Backus recommends staying active throughout the day, rather than plunking yourself down in your office chair for the next 10 hours. “Get up and down and walk throughout the day,” she adds. “It will actually boost your recovery.”
6. Don’t Worry About Speed
The Festive 500 doesn’t have any rankings for who does it the fastest, so take your time whenever possible. The easier you ride, especially in the first days, the easier it will be to continue.
“It’s vital to understand how to pace yourself across multiple days of riding,” says USA Cycling-certified coach Jakub Novak. “Start conservatively to avoid early burnout. Use heart rate zones or power output if available to manage your effort, especially on the longer rides.”
7. Stop Looking at the Leaderboard
Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing on Strava. “Remember, you don’t have to go hard,” says Backus. “A lot of people go too hard at the start with challenges like this. But don’t compare yourself to others. This is your Festive 500. If you try to ride based on comparisons to other people on Strava, you’re probably going to crumble.” (And remind yourself that just because someone went fast or long today, they may not even be back tomorrow!)
8. Beware of Bonking
Fueling during this challenge is vitally important, both on and off the bike. If this is a lot of volume for you, even the shorter ride days need to be meticulously fueled.
“Our brains run on glycogen, and if you start to notice yourself thinking, ‘I don't know if I can do this next hill,’ that’s a sign of low glycogen and you’re getting close to bonking,” says Backus. “That’s when you need to take some kind of simple carb—a gel or a bar or sports drink—so it can get to your muscles.”
9. Fuel All Day
Nutrition off-bike is critical, and luckily, with holiday meals and treats, it shouldn’t be hard to keep your energy stores replenished through this week. “In the days leading up to the challenge, focus on a carb-rich diet to build up glycogen stores,” says Novak. “During the challenge, maintain a balance of carbs and proteins throughout the day to sustain energy and aid muscle recovery.”
10. Grab a Recovery Shake
Especially if this is a big increase in volume for you, you’re going to need those calories for recovery. “I think recovery is always something we skimp on too often,” says Backus. “We either just go straight to the shower or straight to work. But we really want to focus on having a proper recovery shake. It doesn’t have to be a protein powder or recovery powder-based shake, you just want to focus on getting four grams of carbohydrates to one gram of protein. It helps with hunger. It helps with energy levels. And it helps your body recover so you can get back on the bike tomorrow.”
One option for your postride recovery drink: Greek yogurt, a banana, blueberries, and some maple syrup.
11. Get Quality Sleep
Expect to be tired this week, between the holiday madness and the increase in hours on the bike. And that means prioritizing as much sleep as possible. Even in the week before the challenge starts, Backus recommends making sure you’re getting at least those seven to nine hours per night of sleep that we know we need, essentially banking sleep in case you have a late night or early morning during the challenge.
“The biggest thing to think about during this week is recovery off the bike. The 500 kilometers is totally doable. But you need to really take care of yourself after the ride. That means sleep is your best friend,” she adds.
12. Gather Friends
Speaking of best friends, can you enlist a buddy to take part in the challenge with you, or enlist a few friends to ride with you on different days? “Gather your friends so you have accountability and camaraderie,” says Lown.
If your cycling buddies are more virtual than IRL, plan to do some of your miles on Zwift and hop on FaceTime or Discord to chat while you pedal. Do a few adventure rides with friends, or even have friends pop in for a chunk of your ride if they can’t stomach the idea of a century in freezing weather.
13. Do Frequent Check-Ins
If you notice by day four that your hip is starting to hurt on and off the bike, or your knee is acting up, it might be time to hit the pause button. “It’s not worth it to push through pain or injury or illness,” says Backus. “If you want to be cycling for the rest of your life, it’s just not worth it."
You may think you should push through pain or injury, but if you look at the big picture—being able to actually compete in that bucket list gravel race or bike tour that you’re signed up for this coming season—you’ll quickly realize that a single challenge like this one shouldn’t wreck your whole season.
14. Remember: It’s Not About Mileage
In fact, even Graeme Raeburn, the Rapha designer who created the Festive 500 challenge, has said that it’s not really about the 500 kilometers. Sure, if you miss it, your Strava won’t get that coveted badge. But it’s never been about the reward, it’s always been about the journey.
“You don’t have to do the 500 kilometers,” he once wrote for Rapha. “Why don’t you just do five rides? Why don’t you just have the ambition to go out? That’s the most important thing about it. Sure, the 500 is a great goal but set yourself a personal goal and get out and enjoy the experience.”
15. Have Fun!
The best final advice? “Enjoy the process,” says Lown. Stop focusing on your computer or Strava, just waiting to tick over that 500 kilometer mark, and instead, notice the beauty of every ride. Enjoy being out in the crisp winter air or having fun chasing a friend around Zwift Island. The challenge isn’t meant to be a chore, it’s meant to be a rallying cry to get on the bike and have some fun to close out 2023.
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