Riding hard at Christmas is not a paradox. As you stuff your belly with food and soak yourself with booze, the roads may seem empty. But they aren’t. This year, riders across the globe will be squeezing themselves like oversized elves into tights and overshoes and heading out to go the distance, leaving the turbo trainer in the garage.

Why not ride everyday of the Christmas week and move into the New Year fit and refueled? As Rapha’s superhuman Graeme Raeburn demonstrated last year, clocking miles over the festive break is possible. He rode over 1000km in a week. See » 1000 Xmas Km. We’re throwing down the gauntlet and challenging you to ride 500km between the 23rd and the 30th December 2010. Rather than let the holidays get the better of you we want to see riders worldwide taking up the challenge and joining us to ride 500km in a week.

We want you to submit any kind of hard visual evidence, whether it be photographic, Garmin data uploads, illustrations or divorce papers. The most visually engaging or inspirational submission will win our Deep Winter Training Bundle, featuring the new Deep Winter Tights, Winter Jersey and Rapha Overshoes. The first 100 to prove (somehow) they have completed the 500km will receive a limited edition 500km woven badge featured above.

Also, Hope have kindly donated a Vision Two light as an additional prize.

• To submit your entry post a link in the comments box below to where on the internet you will be documenting the evidence. This could be on your blog, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube, Map My Ride, Garmin Connect, a series of tweets on Twitter, or your Facebook page.
• Alternatively upload images, video and words to our Facebook wall or Twitter:
Rapha on Facebook
@rapharacing