I havn`t got time to write much because I used an hour more than planned and I have to get cracking on Christmas dinner....
What I can say is the first two hours were spent riding in porridge in the dark. I got hit by a blizzard and the temperature was lower than expected at around -7 Celsius at the half way point.
On the way home, night turned to grey and the snow plough lads were out in full force which made the going home just sweet. Meandering down the valley through the pine tree forest was Epic enough for me to stop and take pictures and to block my freezing fingers at the back of my mind.
Wouldn`t have missed it for anything, gorgeous and pure fun!
As you can see, not much to see the first couple of hours.
Today's Strava log HERE showing 70km`s layed down. Chuffed to bits. :)
Its that time of year when I brush the dust off the blogg and start waffling (Norwegian pun intended) about my silly riding antics. I did actually complete the Rapha rising competition this year (and got the badge to show it) but didn`t document it on anything else than Strava and instagram......
Well,back to the festive. This year I`m not at all sure that I will make the 500, but i`m certainly going to give it a good hard try.
The weather conditions and amount of time my family can let me out on the bike will be the deciding factors. As with last year, I will be setting out on my trusty Cube cyclocross bike as early as my body can get out of bed.
Tomorrow is the first day and I would have liked to get out at 5 ish in the morning but the weather is forecast for a outright storm this evening and with a bit of luck should die down a little at around 6 am. and not that cold @ - 2 Celsius.
The plan is to ride as far as I physically can in 4 hours. In the summer that would mean somewhere between 100-130km`s. However, tomorrow I will be lucky if I can rack up 15-20km`s an hour depending on how busy the snow ploughs have been during the night.
Conditions at the moment are, as mentioned snow storm with about 4-6ft of new snow and approx a a foot of snow on the roads.
I am amazed by the fact that I managed to meet my goal of 500km`s before Thursday!
Today I wanted to give my family a little something back.
I grabbed my Niner One-nine single speed, put some air in the tyres and rode the first 20km`s of my 35km ride today solo.
When I came home, my youngest son was in his kit and bike at the ready. I could see the anticipation in his face. We have ridden this particular route several times before, but like me he was now riding it as a part of the Rapha festive 500!
The reason why I wanted to do this with my son, is because he has been asking to tag along all week. So today was his day.
The weather was a lot like the weather me and Espen had endured on our imperial century ride but maybe a little colder.
Sebastian rode like a champion, I could see he was getting tired but he has inherited his dads` stubbornness and didn`t complain once.
They have a saying here in Norway that says " There isn`t such a thing as poor weather, just poor clothing ".
When we got home we were so cold that the warm shower stung our legs and fingers.
After the shower, I made the whole family a British brunch consisting of bacon and eggs, chips, beans and HP sauce.
Thanks to the gents and ladies at Rapha for the inspiration and here are my redemption statistics.
Distance: 502,9 km
Calories burned: 13,783
Total saddle time: 24:22:29
Elevation climbed: 4702m
Average temperature 4 degrees Celsius
Here is today's Video, featuring today's hero Sebastian.
My plan from the start of the festive 500, was, if possible, to complete it before Thursday.
If I don`t get run over by a bus tomorrow, then I will have achieved my goal.
The reason for this is that I have a part time job as a spinning instructor. I know its a bit "no-no" but it helps pay for bike parts and most of the true enthusiasts I know have either worked as a spinning instructor at some point, or a cycle courier.
Anyway, most things I do are usually done to the best of my ability and I want my customers to go away thinking that I have given them their moneys worth. In a spinning hall, that means I also have to be motivated enough to motivate them.
I personally like to think of myself as a MTB racer but my only god given talent, is my height. I can train loads, but I just don`t get any faster and always end up as cannon fodder, middle of the pack. The most important thing is that I enjoy doing it. Otherwise I would have given it up years ago.
Right. Back to today.
My neighbour pulled me out of bed, kicking and screaming at 07.00am. My body is really feeling the miles and I could have easily slept all day.
We set of in the dark as usual. What wasn`t usual is that it wasn`t raining, nor was there sleet. After about an hour, the sun came up and the wind died down a little.
I used the first 2 hours to get my legs to wake up and then the last 2 and a half hours of pure numbness just spinning and trying to think about what I would eat when I got home. When diesel cars drive by, and all you can smell is chicken, you know your body needs re-fuelling!
We stopped at a petrol station and I bought some chocolate chip buns. Whilst we were there I finally tightened the top out screw on my front derailleur as my chain had been thrown past the big ring on several occasions the past couple of days. I just havn`t been bothered to take of my gloves because of the cold. Today BTW, the temp was around 7 Celsius on the flats and 4 Celsius when we gained some height. the roads were clear in the lowlands but there was still ice on the hill up to Drivenes.
We totalled 104km today on our slow ride shown here on Strava , which means I have now ridden a total of 469km in 4 rides. ( which is what I would normal ride on the road in a good summer month) .
I have something completely different lined up for tomorrows ride, so stay tuned!
I know rapha are looking for stories just as much as the miles, so with this being my longest ride, you get a long story.
I spoke briefly with my Friend Espen last night on the phone and asked him to join me today. Luckily for me he said it would be an adventure.
I met him half way to Kristiansand and when he asked how long we were going I simply replied with " a long way ".
To put this in context, we are both budding mountain bikers and closet roadies ( I suppose that secret is out now ), and " A long way " in mountain bike talk is about 70-80km`s.
Keeping with the festive spirit, I filled my pockets with some Norwegian Christmas goodies like the marzipan pig I mentioned on an earlier post along with "kransekake" which loosely translated is an almond biscuit/cake.
Being a mtb`er, the only winter-type shoes I have are these free ride shoes from shimano. They weigh a tonne but have enough room for a good thick pair of woolly socks.
Anyway, back to the plot. I left my house at 06.00am and met with Espen at 07.00am. He came smiling with no Idea of what was to come.
Last night it was really windy, so there were fragments of trees and rock blown on the road and because we have a warm front the temperature had risen to +4 degrees when we left and was about 6 Celsius when we got home.
The snow had all but melted but the roads were full of gravel and the rivers were bursting their banks.
Here is you watching me, watching you Espen
After about 70km`s we were hit by the tail end of the storm (aptley named hurracane Dagmar ) and endured drizzle at first, which turned into torrential reign. We had a very strong head wind and the smile on Espens face had all but disappeared. Feeling sorry for the guy I jumped on his front wheel and towed him down to the coast. Now while most sensible people would be avoiding the coastline, in a storm, we had to face it head on. The wind in my ears was slowly making me insane, it was really unbearable! "Make it STOP!"
Luck was Finaly on our side as the headwind turned to a rear facing side wind, and as we were nearing home, Espens` face started to smile again.
Espen " There are two types of winter training, before, and after fitting mudguards "
Today's tally was recorded over on my Strava logg and totalled 160km`s, 1,763 meters of climbing, 4,656 calories burned in a time of 7 hours 35 minutes.
I`ve also made a short film and I`ll post it up shortly. (I need to spend some quality time with my family)
I have been asked a few times by people who think that I`m a nutcase for doing the Festive 500.... "why? " "whats the point"
Well, apart from the obvious reason of getting in some quality miles and keeping the belly at bay.
My take on it is that any idiot can ride 500 km`s in 8 days, so its not what you do but how you do it. I`m getting out at a time I wouldn`t normally ride to the places I ride in the summer, and because its cold, I`m stopping more at the petrol stations get grab a well earned coffee and meeting strangers...
I wouldn`t normally stop to admire the views, and definitely would`t be making short films or taking pictures.
Today my legs were really feeling my struggle from yesterday, so I stopped for photo opportunities, what seemed like all the time.
I really think that I have been awarded by the best pictures I have ever taken with a mobile phone, well truthfully with any kind of camera!
Here are the pictures from today's ride, a small festive film and my Strava ride log stating 63km`s HERE
My plan today was to get in as many miles as possible in the conditions we have got.
I managed to forget to turn on my garmin 500, not once but TWICE during the ride and lost a few km`s. DOH!
Anyway I`m still pleased with 142km`s (which inncedently placed me eigth place on the Strava leaderboard, and 1km more than my boss. HA! ) done with an agonising average speed of 20.6 km/h.
I had a lot of different types of weather and winds, but the section between Høvåg and lillesand was just sheet ice. I stopped the bike to take a picture and it was pretty much imposable to walk. I`ve got to say that Schwalbe marathon winter studded tyres are simply brilliant.
After the long(ish) climb from Birkeland, the temperature dropped and I was faced with thick fog and some rain. The trip down to Vennesla was also a slow one because the road was packed with ice and a brown dry slush on top, making me drift all over the show.
Here are some pictures I took today and a little video.
Here in Norway we celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve.
Well I`m a Britt and call Norwegian Christmas legal child abuse. The reason for this is in the UK the kids get up in the morning and open parcels straight away. Over here in Norway they have to endure the fact that the parcels are under the tree all frigin day. We will go over to the in-laws at 13.00 and eat rice pudding, try to find a Mandel and win a marzipan pig (weird ehh? ).
After this, we rush home and I will make Christmas dinner, which isn`t served until 18.00 and only after were are all tidied up, are the kids allowed open their pressies...... Like I said, child abuse.
What this means from a festive 500 perspective will be another early morning where I will ride as many km`s as i can before we go over to the in-laws. Probably somewhere between 40-50.....
