DAY 1 - 24th December: Kyoto - Kizugawa (91.6 km)
I started off the challenge on a cloudy, cold Christmas Eve. 5 km in it began to snow. That didn't last long, but still, what an introduction. I picked an easy, flat route that I've done before to get some nice base miles in to begin with. I enjoyed a festive cake in Kizugawa, as is tradition now, plus many cups of free hot tea. I love that bakery.
DAY 2 - 25th December: Kyoto - Katsuragawa/Ujigawa Bridge (51.2 km)
An easier day today, mainly because I had a BikeFit session booked in the afternoon. A Christmas present to myself, I guess.
In the morning I met up with and rode about 40 km with a new friend Ryo, who works at the Rapha Cycle Club in Osaka. I figured if I get in with him, maybe he'd just give me the completion patch without having to ride the 500 km. Just kidding - actually I've been meaning to ride with him for some time and this was a fun opportunity.
In case you're wondering, yes, he also completed Festive 500 - as he should, working for Rapha!
With that distance under my belt in the morning, I headed off to the fit session at 1-jyo Ultimate Factory Kyoto where a multitude of things on my bike were tweaked or outright changed, putting me in a comfortable and powerful position to complete the long rides I'd need while remaining injury-free. Getting a pro bike fit is pretty amazing and something I would recommend to anyone vaguely serious about riding.
Following that I had to head off and cook Christmas dinner for a host of friends, resulting in this being a busy day overall! Hence...
DAY 3 - 26th December: I did literally nothing (8.7 km)
I needed a rest. I spent most of the day in a cafe. It was very warm and toasty and I knew I should savour it, because the next three days were going to be full of pain and suffering...
DAY 4 - 27th December: Ohara via Ebumi Pass West - Kizugawa (130.7 km)
It was a cold, cold day. I met up with Grecia, who had the bright idea of riding up to Ohara via Ebumi Pass - a nice Category 3 climb. This set me up well for the preceding long day. Thanks, Grecia.
I should have known better than to ride with Cory on the day after putting in 130 km, but I needed the motivation. The guy climbs like a monster and coupled with the weather, this day turned into the most epic of the challenge by far.
We started off with a seemingly never-ending Category 3 climb up to the Rainbow Road through Ohara, at which point I lost Cory and missed the bypass road he'd taken, ending up heading through a huge dark tunnel filled with trucks. Luckily I'd turned my rear light on before reaching it. I was sat in the centre of the lane on the only dry strip of rather slick cement, screaming downhill in the drops, shitting myself and getting tailgated by trucks full of rocks. Great fun. Somehow I got out of that alive, managed to find Cory again and we descended down to Biwa Lake and across it on the Rainbow Bridge (which is an oddity worth visiting if you have any interest in classic video games).
It was around this point that it started raining. Hard. This didn't stop for the rest of the ride, so we both got thoroughly soaked and the only way to stay warm was to keep riding. Most of our riding was done without feeling in hands and feet. After a brief but steep ascent back into some smaller mountains and then a long, stop-start descent into Uji (while getting harassed by care-free truck drivers on wet, slippery mountain roads), we got separated again and I ended up making my way back to Kyoto along the Katsuragawa path once again.
Over the course of this ride we experienced rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and freezing temperatures. Now that's what this challenge is all about - real suffering! Truly a hard-earned 114 km...
DAY 6 - 29th December: Ohara (+) - Kizugawa Path (Partial) (105.8 km)
Last day! All of my motivation couldn't make me get out of bed, but once I met with Grecia and Adriano again things warmed up and it actually turned out to be a lovely day. I needed just over 100 km.
We set off up to Ohara again, going just a little further to show what the road becomes on the route I took with Cory (it becomes a bit of a horror show, actually, but has a wonderful view). After descending back into Kyoto I left Grecia to her busy schedule and Adriano bravely followed me all the way to that bridge again - for him a total ride of almost 80 km which is pretty good for someone who's only been semi-seriously cycling for a month or so!
I split off again here and began on my final solo leg of the challenge. I rode maybe 2/3 total of the way to Kizugawa, to a rest stop filled with stray cats who always seem glad to have a visitor. After a brief rest I set off back home, feeling every one of the kilometres I'd ridden up to that point. Not an easy ride back, with my motivation utterly flagging...
CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
TOTAL DISTANCE: 501.8 km
Over 6 days. That includes 350.2 km in 3 days back-to-back, which I think is pretty good going, especially considering some of the conditions.
I headed off to Nagano for a skiing/resting trip over New Year. The challenge actually finished on 31st. Had I had those extra 2 days, I wonder if I'd have done things differently...
Special mention should go the Rapha Classic Softshell, which I wore for every single ride of the challenge. That thing is unfailingly awesome - far and away the best winter cycling jacket around. The design is flawless and kept me cycling comfortably across a good range of winter temperatures, through all kinds of gnarly weather conditions, both on the flat and up in the mountains. It carried everything I needed, kept me warm and dry, and ventilated perfectly. I'm not just pimping Rapha here - it really is that good.
I should be getting my commemorative woven patch soon. Now to decide where to put it - on the softshell maybe!
I started off the challenge on a cloudy, cold Christmas Eve. 5 km in it began to snow. That didn't last long, but still, what an introduction. I picked an easy, flat route that I've done before to get some nice base miles in to begin with. I enjoyed a festive cake in Kizugawa, as is tradition now, plus many cups of free hot tea. I love that bakery.
 |
| Festive enough? |
DAY 2 - 25th December: Kyoto - Katsuragawa/Ujigawa Bridge (51.2 km)
An easier day today, mainly because I had a BikeFit session booked in the afternoon. A Christmas present to myself, I guess.
In the morning I met up with and rode about 40 km with a new friend Ryo, who works at the Rapha Cycle Club in Osaka. I figured if I get in with him, maybe he'd just give me the completion patch without having to ride the 500 km. Just kidding - actually I've been meaning to ride with him for some time and this was a fun opportunity.
In case you're wondering, yes, he also completed Festive 500 - as he should, working for Rapha!
With that distance under my belt in the morning, I headed off to the fit session at 1-jyo Ultimate Factory Kyoto where a multitude of things on my bike were tweaked or outright changed, putting me in a comfortable and powerful position to complete the long rides I'd need while remaining injury-free. Getting a pro bike fit is pretty amazing and something I would recommend to anyone vaguely serious about riding.
 |
| Position after the fitting session - so much better! |
Following that I had to head off and cook Christmas dinner for a host of friends, resulting in this being a busy day overall! Hence...
DAY 3 - 26th December: I did literally nothing (8.7 km)
I needed a rest. I spent most of the day in a cafe. It was very warm and toasty and I knew I should savour it, because the next three days were going to be full of pain and suffering...
DAY 4 - 27th December: Ohara via Ebumi Pass West - Kizugawa (130.7 km)
It was a cold, cold day. I met up with Grecia, who had the bright idea of riding up to Ohara via Ebumi Pass - a nice Category 3 climb. This set me up well for the preceding long day. Thanks, Grecia.
 |
| About to head over a freezing cold, icy Ebumi Pass to Ohara. Whose great idea was this? |
After coming down from Ohara I swapped partners and met up with Adriano (a pretty new cyclist) and he rode out to the Katsuragawa/Ujigawa bridge with me - a good distance for him. By this point the weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a nice ride.
 |
| A mystery message. |
At this point we parted ways and I continued on to Kizugawa once again, solo. Two pieces of cake were consumed this time, much to the amusement of the ladies running the shop. Oh well. It was a long day and after a few periods of waiting I ended up getting back to Kyoto in the dark. No big deal, but it was even colder by now!
DAY 5 - 28th December: Ohara - Rainbow Road - South Biwa Lake - Uji - Kyoto (113.7 km)
I should have known better than to ride with Cory on the day after putting in 130 km, but I needed the motivation. The guy climbs like a monster and coupled with the weather, this day turned into the most epic of the challenge by far.
We started off with a seemingly never-ending Category 3 climb up to the Rainbow Road through Ohara, at which point I lost Cory and missed the bypass road he'd taken, ending up heading through a huge dark tunnel filled with trucks. Luckily I'd turned my rear light on before reaching it. I was sat in the centre of the lane on the only dry strip of rather slick cement, screaming downhill in the drops, shitting myself and getting tailgated by trucks full of rocks. Great fun. Somehow I got out of that alive, managed to find Cory again and we descended down to Biwa Lake and across it on the Rainbow Bridge (which is an oddity worth visiting if you have any interest in classic video games).
 |
| On the Rainbow Bridge, looking back at the mountains we just descended from. This was right before the weather turned. |
It was around this point that it started raining. Hard. This didn't stop for the rest of the ride, so we both got thoroughly soaked and the only way to stay warm was to keep riding. Most of our riding was done without feeling in hands and feet. After a brief but steep ascent back into some smaller mountains and then a long, stop-start descent into Uji (while getting harassed by care-free truck drivers on wet, slippery mountain roads), we got separated again and I ended up making my way back to Kyoto along the Katsuragawa path once again.
Over the course of this ride we experienced rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and freezing temperatures. Now that's what this challenge is all about - real suffering! Truly a hard-earned 114 km...
 |
| Road bikes are not generally supposed to get this filthy! |
DAY 6 - 29th December: Ohara (+) - Kizugawa Path (Partial) (105.8 km)
Last day! All of my motivation couldn't make me get out of bed, but once I met with Grecia and Adriano again things warmed up and it actually turned out to be a lovely day. I needed just over 100 km.
We set off up to Ohara again, going just a little further to show what the road becomes on the route I took with Cory (it becomes a bit of a horror show, actually, but has a wonderful view). After descending back into Kyoto I left Grecia to her busy schedule and Adriano bravely followed me all the way to that bridge again - for him a total ride of almost 80 km which is pretty good for someone who's only been semi-seriously cycling for a month or so!
I split off again here and began on my final solo leg of the challenge. I rode maybe 2/3 total of the way to Kizugawa, to a rest stop filled with stray cats who always seem glad to have a visitor. After a brief rest I set off back home, feeling every one of the kilometres I'd ridden up to that point. Not an easy ride back, with my motivation utterly flagging...
 |
| Welcome friends near the end of a long journey! |
CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
TOTAL DISTANCE: 501.8 km
Over 6 days. That includes 350.2 km in 3 days back-to-back, which I think is pretty good going, especially considering some of the conditions.
I headed off to Nagano for a skiing/resting trip over New Year. The challenge actually finished on 31st. Had I had those extra 2 days, I wonder if I'd have done things differently...
Special mention should go the Rapha Classic Softshell, which I wore for every single ride of the challenge. That thing is unfailingly awesome - far and away the best winter cycling jacket around. The design is flawless and kept me cycling comfortably across a good range of winter temperatures, through all kinds of gnarly weather conditions, both on the flat and up in the mountains. It carried everything I needed, kept me warm and dry, and ventilated perfectly. I'm not just pimping Rapha here - it really is that good.
I should be getting my commemorative woven patch soon. Now to decide where to put it - on the softshell maybe!
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