Although the route is 147km long, it can be shortened by missing out one or two of the loops if the weather is bad or you need to get back home.
NOTE: At 36.7km the route splits to the left, at 41.4km you will pass the cafe at Ferneygrove Farm for the first time, then at 42.7 you turn right to do the middle loop for the first time. This means you pass the cafe again at 56km, 70.5, 80.4 as you do this loop 3.5 times. You do part of it again on the way back, passing the cafe at 106km.
Cafe is: Fernygrove Farm at Hawthorn Hill
JOIN THE RWGPS FESTIVE 500 CHALLENGE GROUP HERE
HOW TO ACHIEVE THE AWARD……. £7 entry to cover the cost of Roundels (Pay and Sign Up above) Please Contact Us for more details and join the RWGPS group (see below).
Initially, you will be able to join th RWGPS Festive 500 Challenge Group yourself here but around December 23rd we will remove those whom haven’t paid to enter.
Smash out some rides over the 8 day period from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve, recording your rides as usual (setting your device to upload to RWGPS)….. but as Rapha no longer issue badges, the way to get your hands on this collectible roundel is to do the Festive 500 Challenge with WEST LONDON CYCLING
The challenge is to ride 500km over 8 days from Christmas Eve to New Years Eve. You need to record your rides and upload to RWGPS and, yes, indoor rides do count!
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE CONTACT US
THE RWGPS CHALLENGE FESTIVE 500 CLUB IS HERE (PAID INVITEES ONLY FROM 23 DECEMBER)
We have to restrict access to the RWGPS Challenge Club as we were getting people joining who were unlikely to be participating, but we would like to open it up for viewing during the 8 days, so watch this space.
We will always acknowledge how Rapha developed this, but they stopped doing the badges and it isn’t quite the same. We understand why, commecially it is expensive and we have created our own badges too in recent years. But it needs to pay for itself so we had to, like Rapha, reassess it.
We took a fresh look at this on behalf of the West London Cycling Community (and beyond) and we think that a nominal entry fee (£7) and an awards ceremony on the final day at THe Coy Carp in Harefield where the final ride finishes, might be a way of bringing the Festive 500 back to the adventure and fun it should be at a grass routes, non-commercial, level. If you are not aware, the challenge is to ride 500km starting on Christmas Eve (24 December) and finishing by New Year’s Eve (31 December).
500 kilometres. Eight days……. yeah! You can do it.
Over the last 13 years, more than half a million participants have ridden the Rapha challenge, you can be part of the legend too. If you are up for it in 2024, why not Join us?
Started in 2010, the goal of Rapha’s original Festive 500 was to keep us riding throughout the festive period, recording our rides. Rapha are not offering a ‘Roundel’ (sew on patch thingy) any more but you could still obtain one by completing their challenge with WEST LONDON CYCLING.
The challenge is simple in theory but often tough in practice: ride your bike for a total of 500km between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and sync your rides to RWGPS.
We are even offering you a bit more modern flexibility too. Whereas to complete Rapha’s original challenge all rides had to be be outdoors, we will accept virtual rides if properly recorded. We would expect you to complete the majority of rides outdoors of course, but if there is deep snow, you can still complete our part of the challenge and qualify for our commemorative Roundel..
The exclusive roundel, will be an essential addition to the collection for past participants and a wonderful and prestigious souvenir for first timers.
Here are the routes we have scheduled and all will start at 9am at the Polish War Memorial … although the Christms Day one is a little earlier at 7.30am with Boxing Day at 8am (to enable you to squeeze in a ride before family committments if possible) and routes may change if the weather is bad and a different ride is more suitable. We may also delay start times on icy mornings but remember that you can clock up your 500km on a smart trainer too. We will monitor it on RWGPS, so be sure to upload your rides. You do not need to do the 500km on our rides, but to get the badge you will need to pay and sign up to a RWGPS group where we can see your rides.
TUESDAY 24th DECEMBER 2024 8.00am Festive 500 Ride Christmas Eve Ride 147km
WEDNESDAY 25th DECEMBER 2024 7.30am Festive 500 Ride Xmas Day Morning Mission 47km
THURSDAY 26th DECEMBER 2024 8.00am Festive 500 Ride Boxing Day Morning Ride 70km
FRIDAY 27th DECEMBER 2024 9am Festive 500 Ride Xmas Fat Burner 79km
SATURDAY 28th DECEMBER 2024 9.00am Festive 500 Ride Flech Flashride to Box Hill 112km
SUNDAY29th DECEMBER 2024 9am Polish War Memorial Route OPTION ONE: The Wraysbury Way 62km OPTIONTWO: The Wraysbury Crimp 72km (Part of the Festive 500 Series) Cafe Stop Burnham Beeches
MONDAY 30th DECEMBER 2024 9.00am Festive 500 Ride 75km for the Festive 500 75km
TUESDAY 31st DECEMBER 9.00am Festive 500 Ride Coy Carp Added Caper 67km
THE FESTIVE 500
Here are a few local rides if you need some inspiration (Ride them any time on any day you choose although we will be running group rides from the Polish war Memorial (A40 Ruislip / Norholt) over the period. Check our upcoming Rides / Excursion Versions for details):
West London Winter Ride 77km
Rusty Burnamon Ride 68km
