I hadn’t considered doing the Festive 500 this year, though I’m quite familiar with the challenge. It wasn’t until a friend proclaimed they would attempt it that I realized I could put some time towards such a challenge since I had the week off work.
I wanted to put my spin on the challenge and ride each of my bikes (six in total) for one big ride. I did the math, planned some routes, and sliced up how I could meet the 500km distance in a manageable way – but then when my partner Aimée asked if we were going to spend time together while we were both off, I realized it was too much and dialed it back: 50+ km per bike for every bike.
The bike I am least likely to ride 50km is my old Raleigh Twenty; it’s around 1971 give or take, heavily upgraded but in a period-correct manner such as the drum brakes. It’s very heavy and four gears are functional. Despite this it is actually very fun to ride, and doesn’t feel heavy when you’re riding it.


I headed east with the intention of a bike route loop that would take me east to the edge of Coquitlam, then south around New Westminster and home.

The day was nice, the sun was shining and I was really enjoying riding this bike. So when I reached the eastward point of my planned route, I just kept going east. I took an especially muddy connector trail to a green space in Port Coquitlam that I really enjoy.



At this point I am questioning whether the Twenty is a great bike or if I just enjoy riding any bike. In either case, it really makes me wonder why I have spent so much money on my bikes when something this modest brings me the same amount of joy!


I cruised through ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park, stopping to take a photo with one of the long-unoccupied houses on the park grounds below. I’m curious of their history.

At this point the driving reason for me to continue eastward was to revisit the Riverside Hospital grounds just to the north.

Previously a psychiatric hospital, the buildings have been long abandoned. The combination of their appearance and their history are truly haunting, and a powerful experience. Going alone added to the effect, there was absolutely nobody around.


I leaned into the discomfort of this experience as I thought about what it must have been like to be kept here.



After the hairs on my neck had been sufficiently raised, I made my way out the west end of the grounds and awkwardly connected down to something remotely bike friendly. This included jumping a couple barriers and riding a decent amount of sidewalk on busy streets… Coquitlam bike infrastructure leaves much to be desired.



The light was failing by the time I was on my last 10 km of the ride, but I was treated to a very pleasant sunset.



Here was the final route, going above and beyond to a total of 58.4km which I’m confident is my longest ride on this bike – I have ridden over 40km on it at least twice, but perhaps never over 50.

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