Feeling rather lost after finishing the 2000km Morocco Bike Adventure bikepacking race, I was looking for my next cycling challenge. On a visit with my training partner, she gave me the awful news that she had been diagnosed with the early stages of a particularly nasty form of breast cancer. That evening I got the email from Herne Hill Velodrome that they were looking for volunteers to complete the Rapha festive 500 in one go for charity. So, my Rapha Festive 500 challenge was born.
The Rapha Festive 500 is an annual cycling challenge to ride 500km between Christmas and New Year.
The HHV F500 Challenge sees 10 riders riding on the iconic Herne Hill Velodrome starting on the afternoon 27th of December riding through the night to complete 500km finishing sometime on the 28th.
I will be raising money for two charities, the Pink Ribbon Foundation https://www.pinkribbonfoundation.org.uk/, an umbrella charity supporting breast cancer charities, projects and research and the Friends of Herne Hill Velodrome https://fhhv.cc/ which, of course, supports the iconic cycling venue but also supports cycle sport development in the community.