We’ve already written all about the Rapha Festive 500 on Zwift, so many of you already know about this week-long celebration of bad weather and long rides. (If you’re not yet feeling it and need to get in the Festive 500 spirit, check out this collection of articles from Rapha.)
Zwift has a whole slate of Robopacer-led Festive 500 events on the calendar which will surely be well-attended (finishing one of these events unlock’s this year’s Festive 500 kit). But today, we want to share some of the community-organized Festive 500 events, because these add variety and help you rack up miles in fun and/or challenging ways!
Festive 500 Events from Community Organizers
We should note that there are plenty of community-organized rides being held during Festive 500 week which aren’t listed below, but are still wonderful events if you’re looking for a long group ride! This includes popular weekly events from organizers like ZSUN, BMTR, and Cycle Nation.
The events listed below aren’t just typical weekly long rides – they are special events just for the Festive 500. Ride organizers: if you’re holding a special Festive 500 event that isn’t yet listed, comment on this post and we’ll add it to the list!
RuhrRiders Festive500: December 26-30
5 days, 5 races, 500km! Ride the Festive 500 in races with the Rund um die Krippe 500 series from RuhrRiders. All categories start together, but category enforcement is used. Learn more/sign up >
3R Ukraine Fundraiser: December 30
3R always does a massive fundraiser ride on the 30th (read about last year’s ride here), with many riders attempting to ride 500km in one go! These are not official Zwift events – rather, participating riders hang with RoboPacer groups so others can pop in and out to join the fundraisers whenever they please. If you want to participate by riding and raising funds you can sign up on this spreadsheet, and join the fundraising team for the event by creating your own page. Fundraiser Details >
Rhino Migration: December 24
The Rhino Migration is a weekly series of long races, and Christmas Eve’s event will be held across 50 laps of Crit City’s Bell Lap, for a total race length of 100km. That’s a lotta laps! Learn more/sign up >
ZZRC Festive Fun Group Rides: December 24-31
ZZRC is a longstanding Zwift squad known for their well-paced group rides. As their slogan says, “We pace – not race”. If you’re looking for a nicely paced long group ride, ZZRC has a pile of them planned during the Festive 500! Learn more/sign up >
GXY Winter 100: December 27 & 30
100km group rides paced at 2.3-3W/kg. These rides are fenced, and it’s a zapping fence, so flyers will be booted from the ride! Learn more/sign up >
The Coalition – F500 Charity Ride: December 26
Join The Coalition as teammate Aidan Oliver rides to raise funds for his campaign ‘Extreme Ride 4 Hunger’ (see Luciano’s first post about Aidan going epic for a good cause). Three laps of Triple Flat Loops for a total of 104km! Learn more/sign up >
The Big Ring (TBR) Sub-2.5 Tuesday: December 27
TBR hosts a regular “Sub-2.5 Tuesday Bunchie” ride (75 mins) but on the Tuesday of Festive 500 they bump it up to 100km. Last year’s ride had over 400 riders! Learn more/sign up >
500km – The AEO Way: December 28
500 km. In one ride! Team Aeonian is taking to Watopia’s Waistband at a pace of 2-2.5W/kg. “As the ride will need at least 15 hours, make sure you are well prepared with enough food and bidons, and a change of clothes. There will be comfort breaks of 10 mins each 100 km.” Learn more/sign up >
Eintracht Frankfurt Radsport: Dec 24-29
This club is holding daily long rides, with a Discord chart and a fundraising push for Welthungerhilfe. Learn more/sign up >
The Wrap Podcast Festive Ride: December 29
Join hosts of The Wrap Podcast Anna Russell and Nathan Guerra for a festive ride around the Makuri Islands. The first 30km will be a relaxed pace (2-3w/kg) with a chance for the Community to connect and catch up. But beware: the last 10km will be an all-out race to the line! Learn more/sign up >
Mountain Massif Seasonal Special 3-Race Series: December 24, 26, 28
This is a 3-stage event using the Fondo courses. Races happen on Dec 24, 26, and 28, with two time zones available. Everyone rides together in the “E” category, so you can race it if you’d like (these are officially races) or just do your best and finish the route! Learn more/sign up >
Eric Min’s Werkdodger Group Ride: December 28
Join Zwift co-CEO Eric Min and others on 4 laps of Richmond’s UCI Reverse. Our guess is it’ll get a bit spicy! Learn more/sign up >
See Zwift’s List
Zwift has started tagging Festive 500 community events with the “f500community” tag, so a full list of upcoming events can be found at https://www.zwift.com/events/tag/f500community.
This list will surely grow in the coming days. Ride organizers: be sure to ask Zwift to tag your event if it’s a special Festive 500 ride!
Questions or Comments?
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