600@60: Don't miss it! And (if you wish) support a good cause.
I'm turning 60 this year (on August 24, 2025) and thought that "600@60" had a nice ring to it, so I'm planning to mark the occasion with a 600km bike ride in my garage using Rouvy.
There's only one contiguous 600km route on Rouvy and I've already done it. It's terrible and I've sworn to never do it again. (I've also sworn that I'd never do another ride through the night, but let's ignore that.) So we (note the plural -- yes, I'm looking at you, fellow Rouvy riders!) will do it in two stages:
Kick-off is at 7am (stage 1) and 7pm (stage 2) UK time on August 23. When we're done I'll be 60, getting ready to think about "700@70". Or not.
Anyway, you're all welcome to join me, either for the whole lot, or just for part of the fun. If you feel like it, you can also support Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders' Yemen campaign. Despite never having visited that country, I have a certain obsession with it. I have used similar rides in the past to support MSF's excellent and entirely humanitarian work there. Given the 60-based theme, I've set the fundraising target to £6,000 -- probably a bit optimistic, but go and surprise me. It really is a good cause.
The link is here:
but if you decide to donate money be careful: justgiving have introduced this really sneaky way of charging 19% extra as a -- wait for it -- "tip". There's a slider on the webpage which only allows you to reduce the "tip" to 10%. Click on "Enter custom amount" to reduce it to 0% (if that's what you want to do, of course). I'm showing a screenshot below. I accidentally ended up paying this but it's possible to reclaim the money, which I did and the "tip" was back in my account the next day. Still pretty outrageous, though, and I'll try to find another platform next time I do something like this (when I'm 70?).
Careful with accidental "tips" for justgiving.com:
Done!
Thanks to everybody who joined the party!
The obligatory "before and after" picture:
And my thoughts after the ride (from strava):
Wow, so that's what it feels like to be 60. Wish somebody had told me... Anyway, all my own fault -- though once the "600@60" appeared in my head it just had to be done. Massive thanks to all those of you who agreed with this and supported me in some form (riding and leaving comments on strava during the ride). Many did two stints (with some impressive performances on the way!) and Nick Mandoki and Tomáš Hloušek (RaTim) kept going till the end. I knew my legs could do it, but I was dreading the early morning period when the tiredness just hits you like a hammer. Was therefore pleasantly surprised when 4am came around and I still felt ok. But then... 😳. For the next 40 minutes I could hardly keep my eyes open and felt like I was going to slip off the saddle. Off-the-scale dog-tired; far worse than anything I'd ever experienced ☠️. But then the madness suddenly ended and I dragged myself to the finish, partly kept awake by the mad video that criss-crossed along what seemed like every cyclepath in Christchurch, with sudden turns and moments when I was sure Graham Love (who recorded both parts) was going to hit something. And then it was over... I hear that tickets for 700@70 are already on sale (not!), but will end with a final reminder that you may want to donate to MSF's Yemen campaign. the justgiving page (see above) will remain open for the foreseeable future, just in case you find yourself overcome by a sudden burst of generosity. Thanks for your support; it's a really good cause!