Joy and Pain, are like Sunshine and Rain, both one and the same as anyone familiar with the Frankie Beverley Anthem will recognize. Apart from the sunshine, this ride had all of those elements, an absolute classic ride only marred by Kay Green’s pothole crash just before she got home …. we wish her well.

Despite this downside, it was an absolute classic winter ride in the rain, Box Hill was deserted (nice!) and the host at Destination Bike was superb (again). We were, unexpectedly, joined in Destination Bike by Cycling Weekly writer, Ribble Colective Pro Rider and VeloForte man, Tom Couzens and, what a gentlemen … absolutely fascinating! We wish him well in all of his pro-rides this year, look out for the National CX Championships in Scotland coming up.

SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST FESTIVE 500 STANDINGS:

AND THE GRAND FINALE AT 9am NEW YEAR’S EVE FROM THE POLISH WAR MEMORIAL…..

It’s the grand finale of our Festive 500 series of eight rides over the Festive Season. There are two route options at 64km and 67km and a social gathering and award ceremony 11km from the end at the Coy Carp Harefield.

We are all meeting up at the Coy Carp from about 12.30pm for a little get together to award the Roundels … a bite to eat, coffee and maybe a drink (there is not cafe stop). If you are not riding, then why not pop over for a social gathering? We estimate around 12.30pm onwards, see you there!

Sunday 31st December at 9am from the Polish War Memorial

OPTION ONE: Coy Carp Caper 64km

OPTION TWO: Coy Carp Added Caper 67km

You can choose on the day which route and group you ride in. We generally have several groups on the road, depending on how many people are riding, so it’s flexible and tailored to riders’ needs. The slowest group will generally wait for the slowest rider (or split into sub groups) but you should be able to manage 30kph on flat stretches with an average speed of around 22kph over the distance. Faster groups will be more speedy of course.

Just turn up at 9am at the Polish War Memorial (A40 Ruislip / Northolt) with the route downloaded on your device. To get the route you need to sign up (free – see button above to subscribe) and then you’ll have access to our routes via the members’ zone tab above (choose routes and rides).

As noted above, we decide on the day as to how many groups we split into, it really depends on who turns up. The faster groups will usually do the longer of the two options, with the aim of us all reaching coffee stops at similar times

FESTIVE 500 LATEST STANDINGS;

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