Rapha Festive 500 Ride #7

Before I started the Rapha Festive 500, I knew the guys at Fort Langley Cyclery were hosting a New Year's Eve group ride. I wouldn't say I planned my whole Rapha Festive 500 around this ride, but I was counting on getting about 50 kilometres out of it.


My support team, consisting of my wife and three kids were kind enough to drive me out to Fort Langley for the start of the ride. I was on my own to get home :)


A group of eight of us set off under cool but dry conditions. It was pretty cool to ride in a group to take advantage of some drafting. We had some spirited sprints and uphill bursts. I think everyone was enjoying the dry weather. We even tackled the fearsome Armstrong Hill, which I had been avoiding all year, never really feeling up to the challenge. I don't know if it was the 450 kilometres I had in my legs, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.


@1luckybiker even made it through an entire ride without a flat!


I easily knocked out the remaining 51 kilometres I needed for the Rapha Festive 500. It was a nice way to wrap up my first year of serious cycling.

Rapha Festive 500 complete!

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #6

I had ridden 195 kilometres in two days, so I took a day off before tackling the final two days of the Rapha Festive 500. I had 124 kilometres left to finish, so I knew I would be able to make it.

I agonized all Thursday about where to go cycling, a lot of my routes where working out to be too long. I was trying to fit a ride into a three hour window. I couldn't neglect the family for too long :)

I decided to try to leave my mark on some Strava segments, so I head south down to the border and back up through Fort Langley. I never did really well on the Strava mission, but I knocked out a good chunk of kilometres, leaving me with a very manageable final day.

After five rides where I ended up soaking wet, it was a nice change to be able to complete this ride without a drop of rain.

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #5

My wife and kids were heading to a friends house for a get together, so I had most of the day to fit another big ride in.

@1luckybiker had been suffering with a lot of flats in Glen Valley, my usual riding area. I decided to head out to Iona Beach in Richmond hoping to bag another 100km.

The ride started off dry for the first 30 kilometres before the rain and wind began. Iona Beach is a popular riding area for Vancouver cyclists, and I was glad to see a few other cyclists out despite the terrible conditions.

Are beaches supposed to be wet?

I rode into a strong headwind and driving rain the whole way back from Richmond. I was riding in the dark by the time I arrived at home.

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #4

After spending a relaxing Boxing Day at Harrison Hot Springs and in Agassiz at my parent's house it was time for the journey back to Surrey.

This time I was going to stay south of the Fraser River, and expected a much flatter route. My wife and three kids would be leaving two hours after me in the car and we were hoping to meet up in Abbotsford for lunch.

As expected the rain was back as a set off from Agassiz. However, it only lasted about an hour and the sun even made a brief effort to break through the clouds.

An early nature break.

I had learned from the ride out that it is nearly impossible to remember all the key directions. So I made a route card, put it in a ziploc bag and stapled it in a loop around my handle bars.

Directions!

I was making good time on the flats through Chilliwack heading towards Abbotsford. Things were looking good to meet up for a lunch break. A coffee and a sandwich were waiting for me at Whatcom Road.

Lunch!

Clayburn Interlocking

I stopped at the Clayburn Interlocking, where the Southern Railway of BC and the Canadian Pacific Railway cross. I worked several years as a Conductor for the Southern Railway of BC, so I've been inside the shed many a time to operate the levers which change the signals. Although no longer operational, I believe it was the last operating interlockings of its type in North America.






The rain began again with about 20km left to go. I had taken off my rain pants and changed jackets already so I got soaked quickly. The conditions were absolutely atrocious and I decided to stop to warm up and eat. Luckily a Starbucks was conveniently located on my route through Langley :)

Starbucks to the rescue!

I arrived home in Surrey about 30 minutes ahead of schedule after four hours and sixteen minutes on the bike.

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #3

After riding a little harder than I would have like the previous two days, I decided to take it easy. Plus it was Christmas Day, you can't exactly spend all Christmas Day riding your bike, leaving your wife and three kids at the grandparent's.

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #2

My first big ride of the Rapha Festive 500. I had only ridden over 100km once before, so this was a big challenge, and it was on Christmas Eve!

I had asked around for some information about cycling routes out to Agassiz and was given some great information by @alexpope_rando including a Garmin course and route card from a BC Randonneur event. Needless to say, it was very helpful.

I left early in the morning, hopefully arriving in Agassiz around lunch to meet my wife and kids at my parent's house.

Less than ideal conditions met me as I pulled my bike out from the garage. This was the scene early on as I approached the Golden Ears Bridge

Approaching the Golden Ears Bridge

The rain was relentless, as I slogged over the seemingly endless hills between Maple Ridge and Mission.

Ruskin Dam

I took shelter in a doorway to stay dry while eating.

I had pre-arranged with my wife to stop by with the kids so they could see me riding. We met up with about 30km to go. She had thoughtfully brought me a coffee and I took the opportunity to grab a dry jacket and my spare gloves out of the car.

The rain managed to let up after I descended from Mount Woodside into the flats on the outskirts of Agassiz. The last few kilometres would have been more pleasant if I wasn't soaked to the bone, but I had made it!

Rapha Festive 500 Ride #1

I teamed up with @1LuckyBiker for the first ride of the Rapha Festive 500. I had been following @1LuckyBiker for some time on Twitter, but our paths never seemed to cross. After assuring my wife it was not dangerous to meet up with a person I met over the internet, I was off.

Despite a couple flat tires, and some assistance from the guys at Fort Langley Cyclery we managed to get in a good ride. I was on the rivet a lot, I think I may have held @1LuckyBiker back a little :)