News: Charity ride for Sam Woodfield/Isaac Hudson

Due to the lack of racing and organised events in 2020, Sam Woodfield and Isaac Hudson decided to organise and undertake their own challenge whilst doing it for a great cause, MIND Charity

News: Charity ride for Sam Woodfield/Isaac Hudson

Due to the lack of racing and organised events in the world wind year 2020, Sam Woodfield and Isaac Hudson decided to organise and undertake their own challenge whilst doing it for a great cause, MIND Charity.

On December 29th, 2020 at 04.03am the two riders started their challenge of completing the RaphaFestive500Km challenge in one day! The main challenge within the challenge was always going to be the weather and the freezing temperatures, so after finding every item of clothing they owned including some items better suited to the ski slopes, they reeled off 125Km as a two-up (@31kph) before most people had woken up for their breakfast by using a fast loop they had designed around Market Harborough and a section of the A6.

After a quick refuel of some left over Christmas cake and some coffee, the boys met up with a few other riders and made their way over to Oundle (Sam’s home town). This was a great morale boost to Sam and Isaac and allowed them a chance to sit on some wheels and have some great banter with other riders including the addition of Millie Noble (new addition to UpShift Nutrition RT).

By around 11.30am they had already covered 200Km and were feeling really good. The riders had spoken to a few ultra endurance specialists and had been informed that during an event like this, they would go through a couple of spells where the legs would feel great and both riders can confirm at around the 200-210Km that this was true and they were now starting to prepare for the second half of the challenge, which was always going to be the tougher half!

With light fading and the night stint moving in for the second time, the riders headed back towards Market Harborough to once again take advantage of some rolling fast country lanes, the thrill of going down some country lanes at 50Kph was exhilarating with only their bike/helmet lights to direct them in the correct direction. It was at this point both Sam and Isaac were very happy that they knew these local lanes!

By this point, the overall distance and time was really starting to bite and was taking its toll on the mind and body, so out came the sweets including some caffeinated ones. The next 100km up to the 400km mark flew by thanks to some of Isaac’s local friends, joining them on the local chain-gang loop. It is safe to say there was no through and off and definitely no sprint for the town sign!

With just now a small matter of a regular training ride distance to go (90Km) the boys had their final pit stop to mentally prepare themselves for what was going to be the toughest 90km they had ever tackled, with a sufficient supply of wine gums and espressos consumed, they made their way back out onto the loop they used at 4am and started counting each 10km off their target and each one was celebrated and morale lifted massively, considering they had been riding for 15.5 hours by this point.

As the temperature noticeably dropped and the frost was starting to kick in, the boys knew it was now about getting the challenge done and done safely. With 45 minutes to go and the temperature well below zero now, they had a quick team chat on the road side whilst trying to find their last bits of sugar in their jackets using their frozen hands.

With 5Km (1/100th of the challenge) to go they knew the end was now in sight and they counted off each individual kilometre. Finally at a few minutes before midnight, their challenge was completed, with Sam and Isaac completing a total of 501km in 17 hours at an average speed of 29.5Kph. Upon return to Isaacs house, they were both told they had raised over £1200 for MIND Charity and that a few donations were still on their way, with the current total on 01/01/2021 sitting at £1680.

Both riders would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who got behind them and supported them during their epic challenge! They would also like to say a huge thank to all the UpShift Nutrition Race Team sponsors for making their challenge slightly easier. UpShift Nutrition provided the guys with their SUSTAIN carbohydrate powder which was crucial to maintaining hydration and energy levels and Vanelli Cycling for providing them with all their layers to keep them warm.