It looks as though we are a long way from returning to normal for now. Many events that should have taken place in early spring have already been canceled or moved to the fall. Perhaps we will return (somewhat) to our regular lives in the summer - time will tell. To still have a goal, we've listed 10 do-it-yourself challenges for you.
Last year was the year when the Everesting Challenge finally broke through. Several (former) pros made a successful record attempt, including Alberto Contador and Lachlan Morton. But many amateurs have also tried. How does it work? 8848 meters of climbing on a single slope, always climbing the same side. Impossible on the flat? Even in The Netherlands people have succesfully completed the challenge by climbing de Amerongse Berg more than 140 times.
A hundred kilometers ride is a piece of cake for most of our readers. Even 200 km will have been done often enough by the vast majority. But 300 km? That's a limit that few have crossed yet. Make a nice day of it, draw a beautiful route and put together a group according to the maximum group size applicable at the time.
Probably you've seen it before. Cyclists riding a route at Christmas that looks exactly like a Christmas tree. There is a name for this phenomenon: Strava Art, or Stravart in short. Open that route planner, draw a nice figure and off you go. The fun part of this challenge is not only in the cycling, but especially in the drawing. If you're looking for inspiration, check out this Instagram account.
The idea is simple: you have to tick off all the tiles of the Open Street Map of your country. Easy if you live in Luxemburg, much harder if you're based in say France or Sweden. This will keep you busy for a while...
It's just been Christmas and let's hope for God's sake we don't spend another Christmas indoors. But even without a corona, the Festive 500 is a welcome guest on many a cyclist's bucket list. Riding 500 km between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. This year you could also complete the challenge indoors, but as far as we're concerned that's not the real deal. Battling the elements is just part of the deal.
For those living in Belgium, this is a wonderful challenge. A brutal route through the Ardennes that is a whopping 455 km and 9000 meters of climbing. The good news is that you don't have to do the route in one day.
If we really can't go outside anymore, we can luckily always ride indoors. And what could be better than re-riding the course of a gran fondo indoors? Yours truly recently rode the course of the Maratona indoors. Good for 6.5 hours non-stop on the indoor trainer. More and more organizers, including Tour des Stations and Alpenbrevet, are now organizing such a challenge, usually through the app Rouvy.
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