Un Cuento de Invierno
Recordamos tres cuentos de tranquilidad, tenacidad y triunfo del Festive 500 del año pasado.
Hace más de una década, el Festive 500 fue creado por Graeme Raeburn, un diseñador de Rapha que quería experimentar la vida, y la carga de entrenamientos, de un ciclista profesional en la época festiva. Hoy, miles de ciclistas de todo el mundo aceptan el desafío y su significado es ligeramente diferente para cada unx de ellxs.
En 2020, completar la distancia realmente era parte del reto ya que, para la mayoría de personas, el tiempo en el exterior estaba restringido por los confinamientos. Pero a pesar de las dificultades, y a veces debido a ellas, mucha gente participó en el Festive 500. Y aquí, destacamos tres de las historias más inspiradoras.
LA HISTORIA DE FRANCES
LA HISTORIA DE CHANTAL
LA HISTORIA DE MILLIE
Having returned from a 100-mile ride to mark the winter solstice just days earlier, Millie read the news that she wouldn’t be able to go home for Christmas. A new lockdown had just been announced and she was stuck in London. It was then that she turned to her boyfriend and said: “Well, it’s just the two of us. Let’s do the Festive 500.”
As a junior doctor who’d qualified during the pandemic, the first months of her career were difficult, confusing and stressful, and things weren’t easing up over the holidays. In the face of exhaustion, with the challenge motivating her to ride during her downtime, she was able to channel her frustrations into pedal power.
“Not being able to see my family was hard. I’m very close to my parents, especially since I had a brother who passed away. The holidays are a very family-orientated time of year, so I felt that I needed to be productive with the time I wasn’t going to be spending with them.
“Out of the eight days of the challenge, I was working on four of them. Two of those were long days, so twelve and a half hours long. This basically meant that we had four days to cover the 500 kilometres. Our biggest challenge was the logistics of it, figuring out when we were going to do it.
“The fatigue amongst healthcare workers could really be felt, so we all had to develop coping strategies for the emotional and physical stress. Cycling became my saviour and the Festive 500 gave it a purpose. Having a purpose is important. The pandemic brought a lot of people to that realisation. You need to do something which you find meaningful. The feeling of accomplishment is really important in life.”
In a story that became all too familiar last year, Chantal was put on furlough during lockdown before being made redundant that winter. Seeing that her friends were struggling to muster up much festive cheer, she decided to take radical action and find her old bike.
Dressed up in glittering Christmas decorations, she rode around London, visiting friends all over the city for socially-distanced doorstep catch-ups. In so doing, she also racked up more miles on her bike than she’d ever ridden before and capped off the year during which she fell in love with cycling by completing the Festive 500.
“I wanted something that was inclusive, optional and no-pressure, but that was still a massive challenge. Something where you’re not competing against anyone, you’re just competing against yourself. Two friends had Covid quite badly, so I couldn’t physically spend time with them. As part of the Festive 500, I was able to ride by them just for a wave through the window.
“For the people I could spend a little time with, I brought with me mulled wine and gingerbread. You don’t see many cyclists riding around with mulled wine in their bottle rack! The tinsel and fairy lights was a strong look, but I’m sure I put smiles on a few faces when they saw me riding by. It was all about using the challenge to spread joy.
“To anyone who’s taking on the challenge for the first time this year, I’d say find some friends to help you on your way. That can be anything from having someone cycling beside you to making plans somewhere so you have a destination to ride towards.”
PRIMERAS LUCES CON FRANCES
A lo largo de los muchos años en los que Frances ha pedaleado, ha aprendido que prefiere la paz y la tranquilidad de las rutas tranquilas. Su autismo hace que sufra cuando va por carreteras muy transitadas, así que en el Festive 500 del año pasado buscó sacarle el máximo provecho a las primeras horas del día junto a su padre Keith..
Avituallada con frittatas y equipada con una cámara para documentar todo lo que se encontraba en sus rutas, Frances y Keith a menudo comenzaban sus rutas antes del amanecer. Y, desde entonces, sus rutas gélidas han sido una fuente de inspiración. Los dibujos iniciales de Frances le hicieron ganarse un lugar en nuestros Festive 500 Awards, y hoy sigue dibujando una representación de sus rutas, como nos contó su madre Karnen.
“El ciclismo es una forma de hacer ejercicio intenso, algo que Frances necesita. Le ayuda a centrarse y también disfruta de poder salir para ver cosas. Al volver de sus rutas, siempre está llena de ideas. Siempre había querido hacer el Festive 500, pero como Keith trabaja en turnos de 12 horas en la época navideña, no habían podido hacerlo.
“Como el pasado Diciembre no trabajaba, fue la oportunidad perfecta para hacerlo. Habían recorrido largas distancias anteriormente, por lo que tenían una buena preparación y Frances motiva a todo el mundo que sale en bici con ella. Tiene una gran resistencia y nunca se rinde. ¡Keith tenía que seguir su ritmo!
“Aunque ella iba más lento para que él pudiera seguir su ritmo, Keith volvió varias veces jadeando y con pinta de estar hecho polvo. El Festive 500 fue una gran experiencia para lxs dos y, todavía a día de hoy, sigue haciendo dibujos de aquellas rutas. Aquella semana con la bici la ha mantenido inspirada durante mucho tiempo.”
