I’m just going to leave this here…
https://www.strava.com/activities/10453284890
That’s how tornadoes are created 
Has anyone gotten the 20% discount code after finishing the challenge? I filled out the form and never heard anything back.
Edit: Nevermind, it landed on my inbox right after I posted this.
Given nearly everything on the Rapha site is currently 30-50% off due to their winter sale, the value of this discount code seems limited!
A bit miffed that it took them 9 days to send me the code, by which time pretty much anything I would have bought was sold out in my size.
5 days of riding 500km really took a toll on me. Now my knees hurt…
How’s everyone’s recovery? I still feel some residual fatigue in the legs even after a 175 TSS recovery week, but I’m excited to do a VO2 workout tomorrow to blow the cobwebs out.
Jealous of the people that can knock down a 800 TSS week without wrecking themselves for 7+ days after 
My TSS for last week (Mon-Sun) was actually higher than the same time frame during R500….but I also skipped the Sunday ride that week since I had already hit the mileage.
Legs felt good all week…we’ll see how they feel tomorrow.
Horrendous about 4 days after finishing,
. Took a week and started a 1.5hr z2 today indoors with aircon and air purifier on. Didn’t fancy cycling in 180 AQI dirty air in Bangkok! Felt sluggish but vitals all good.
Feeling fine. Slightly front loaded the Festive 500 so the final Saturday and Sunday were fairly easy ~1.5 hour rides so I ended the week not too fatigued. Did a further recovery ride last Monday then felt good on Tuesday so just decided to start 2024 training (didn’t schedule anything before then as wanted to leave myself open to a recovery week). 626 TSS during Festive 500 week, 710 TSS last week. Keeping an eye on how I feel so will take a recovery week either next week or the week after. Definitely helped that I did almost all of the Festive 500 miles in Z1-2 other than a bit of tempo where gradient demanded it (and with a couple of indoor rides with somewhat inflated “speed” and a couple of outdoor group rides with a nice draft). Probably also helping that I’m doing dry January with a real refocus on eating and sleeping well.
I’m honestly feeling pretty great. I kinda fell off the wagon towards the end of the year and I feel like the 500 week got me primed and ready to start my training plan in earnest last week. It was just what I needed.
Are ppl gearing up for this?
Gearing up … no. But I do plan to attempt it since we’re not taking a vacation that week this year. I did schedule my 10-week off-season weight lifting plan to be done by then so I could do it unencumbered.
I’ll likely do it again this year, but as before, it will almost certainly be indoor vs. outdoor.
Don’t @ me if you are a purist. 
Not this year. I’ve found it messes with my training consistency too much just for an ego massage. YMMV.
This might be the recipe for this year
There were definitely some groups who had Festive 500 in the title.
The drafting effect makes things much easier
If you are in the UK you can get it done over 1.5 days, freeing up the rest of your time to chill.
I won’t be especially targeting the Rapha 500. IMO I’ve done enough riding this year so if the weather is sh1t, I won’t be hitting 500km. Ever since I had chemo, I’ve become a proper fair weather cyclist, whereas previously being a fair weather cyclist meant everyday was fair weather.
Yep, I’m signed up for pint 2, the slightly flatter one, mainly as the dates are better for me. Despite it being my first 500km, assuming the weather isn’t horrific it should be audaxing on easy mode, as there are plenty of cheap hotels for a sleep.
And if the weather is horrific, I think I’ll just not start.