Win a free year of komoot by sharing your Festive 500 rides with us... plus check out some monster 500km tours for inspiration!

Update, Jan 4th: As promised we said we'd pick a winner on the 4th January... and our winner is Richard, who did actually ride the whole 500km in one go! See his epic tour here, congratulations Richard we've sent you a message. 

Gearing up to take on Rapha's Festive 500? Well thanks to our friends at komoot you could make your completion of the famous cycling challenge even sweeter, because we're giving away a free year of komoot Premium! All you have to do is share one of your rides with us... and for the really brave, we've shared some monstrous 500km routes if you fancy making a seriously epic trip out of it.

> Matt Page's Rapha Festive 500 in a day: how he did it
> Get started with komoot

How to enter

Simply:

- Sign up for komoot (if you haven't already)
- Follow road.cc on komoot - on the app click 'manage friends', or on desktop hit the three dots in the top right and 'find friends'. Search road.cc, follow us!
- Complete a ride by recording on the komoot app, or uploading an existing GPX file. To upload a file, click 'Tours' on the app or the '+' symbol in the top right on desktop and import your file.  
- Share your ride with road.cc - click tag participants and tag road.cc 

Anyone who tags us in one of their rides between 24th December and 31st December we'll count as an entry, and the winner of the free year of komoot Premium will be picked at random and announced on 4th January. Good luck! 

Fancy a mega challenge? Check out these 500km routes to tick of the Festive 500 in one go

That's right, with our friends at komoot we're sharing three huge 500km routes that span across Wales, the Midlands, South West, South East and a few places in between, plus some shorter routes inspired by them. Of course, unless you're a seasoned ultra endurance pro then we'd highly recommend not trying to do it all in 24 hours as our in-house specialist Matt Page did last year... but if you are, or want to take on an epic multi-day bikepacking/touring trip to complete the Festive 500 with some pals, we'll be extremely impressed! 

 Let's have a look at the tours: 

Epic ride 1: 500km Tour of Wales

Want to really get to know the incredible Welsh scenery? This huge route with 6,800m of climbing will surely suffice. You'll encounter sweeping coastal roads, valleys and big climbs on route, exploring some of the best parts of South and Mid Wales. 

Shorter 'inspired by' route: Welsh Castles 

If you want to check out a few Welsh landmarks in a day, this ride is one to try. In 67km you'll tick off the medieval Monnow Bridge, Clearwell Castle and St Briavels Castle for a memorable day out.

Epic ride 2: The Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 1

Two countries, lots of counties and many amazing landmarks appear on this huge 536km route, courtesy of Will Pomeroy at Pedulation. The climbing is a bit less severe overall with 'just' the 5,430m of elevation gain, but the mixed surfaces will ensure you and your bike (preferably a gravel bike or something suitably robust) will face plenty of challenges along the way.

Inspired by route: Kingswood to Castle Combe

If you're Bristol-based, this 56km route out of the city and into Wiltshire looping past Castle Combe is a classic. There's even a race track at Castle Combe if you fancy a quick race at the halfway point!  

Epic Ride 3: Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 2

Another route from the folks at Pedulation, this 521km tour will see you head from west to east and back again in one huge loop. The Cotswolds, Thames Valley and both Oxbridge cities are on route, and you'll be relieved to know that it's just the mere 3,420m of elevation gain on this little jaunt. 

Inspired by route: Pop into Wales

This ride starts from a similar location to the 'Pint 2' epic, but heads west instead of east. You'll cross the Severn Bridge during the 53km ride, and ride through some great countryside north of Bristol. 

Hopefully the routes we've shared, particularly the long ones will provide you with some inspiration to tag us in some great rides of your own... or if anyone of the above are local to you, perhaps you can take one on!

To clarify again, anyone who tags us in a ride on komoot between 24th December and 31st December we'll count as an entry. Your deadline for sending and sharing entries with us is 11.59pm on 31st December, and the winner will be picked at random and announced on 4th January. 

If you're taking part in the Festive 500, good luck and we hope you achieve the goal. Happy riding!