BAFS2025 Team 15

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  • January 17, 2025 at 2:04 am #1136063
    Dachs6
    Participant

    Team 15 Assemble! We will use this thread for intros, at a minimum let us know (generally) where you live, how many times you’ve done Freezing Saddles or if you are a “first time caller”, and what motivated you ride a bicycle. My intro is below, and you will also have received it via email by the time you navigate here- if you are on Team 15.

    My name is Andy Rohrer, for those that don’t know me (which I think is all but one of you). I actually live just outside Brussels…Belgium. I am one of the “out of area” participants, threading back to when I lived in NoVA while assigned to the Pentagon between 2013-2017. I am viewable on the BAFS Leaderboard as der Bierpuncheur // GRVLR 🐗 🇺🇸. The basis of my nom d’velo derives from my love of craft beers (juicy IPAs, barrel aged stouts, and rare or historical styles) and my preference for riding on gravel for stupidly long distances just because I am alive. This is my tenth Freezing Saddles, and my fifth year captaining a team. I have won the outright distance twice, and a a few of the Pointless Prizes along the way. Those things motivate me because if you make a game with a leaderboard, I just want to be on top.

    But, that is not really why we Freeze our Saddles. This is about motivating people to ride their bikes year around to make cycling safer for all of us by making it normal to see cyclists at any time and about challenging ourselves. Ride as much as you can, challenge yourself to ride when you think you can’t because its too cold, too wet, too windy…but don’t take chances, and don’t ride if you simply don’t feel safe (ice!). Regardless of where we each end up individually or collectively, we all win if we ride our bikes in the winter. That said, familiarize yourself with the points system (TL;DR- ride 10 miles a day to max your points, diminishing returns after that) and have fun.

    Last order of business: team name. For the new participants we can get crazy with the Cheez-Whiz as Beck said, or we can be generic and just be Team 15. And, if you are intrigued by maths, this article is all about the number 15.

    Okay, if you’re still reading, please navigate to the Team 15 Strava Club and join so we can get all of your miles counted for the team total. Welcome, and cheers…and dress warmly, next week is gonna be Arctic!

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  • January 17, 2025 at 9:25 am #1136081
    antibozo
    Participant

    As team name, i propose Secret Squirrels, or anything squirrel-related. 🐿

    January 17, 2025 at 10:09 pm #1136113
    Sophie CW
    Participant

    Hallo Andy and Team 15!!

    I’m Sophie and this is my fifth year doing Freezing Saddles.  I’m inspired by all those who do ride all year around and I’ve learned a lot from fellow FSers.  I volunteer on the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee and a board member at the Rockville Bike Hub.  So I’m a biking enthusiast and all about getting more butts on bikes!  I ride for transportation and run lots of errands around town on my bike.  I’m not a very fast rider but I do some longer rides for recreation as well.  I like the Pointless Prizes to explore and look for things on my bike as well as motivation to get out on cold, winter days.

    I see some familiar names on our team list and look forward to meeting everyone, if not at the opening happy hour, hopefully on a future ride.  My suggestions for a team name are:  Chain Reaction 15 or Shift Happens

    January 18, 2025 at 1:09 am #1136125
    Donna Snyder
    Participant

    Hi Team 15! I’m Donna and I live in Silver Spring, MD. I love cycling and decided to join Freezing Saddles this year for the first time because of the challenge. I enjoy exploring the Washington DC trails and prefer riding outside whenever possible. Looking forward to a very successful Freezing Saddles competition this year!

    January 18, 2025 at 2:10 pm #1136155
    bmillah
    Participant

    Hello all!

    I’m Brian (‘bmillah’ here) from Silver Spring. This will be my 8th year participating in Freezing Saddles and it’s really the only thing that makes the winter tolerable. 🙂 I’m dedicated to getting all of my days in, but will sometimes sleaze a ride based on family responsibilities.

    I like riding and being outside during the winter -mostly because nobody else is. 😉

    During the past year, I’ve developed a love for winding paths and secluded trails while exploring connections between neighborhoods, dirt paths, public parks and everything in between.

    Sophie, Jefferson and I were on the same team last year. Andrew (Godzilla) and I are neighbor buddies and he was my official riding partner last year (according to Strava Wrap).

    There are a couple of long rides I’d be interested in doing this season. One from Silver Spring up to Baltimore and back. The other is to do all four boundary stones in the same day. I’ll plan these in advance and send out info when we have nicer conditions. Maybe we can make it a group effort.

    Hoping to meet you all in person, but understand we are all spread out and the likelihood of that is slim. Tho, it wold be cool to take a trip to Belgium over a long weekend and Andy can show some of his favorite routes. hahah.

    Oh, finally, I don’t frequent the Forum very much and much prefer Strava for updates. However, if people want to share more here, I’d make an effort to log on more often.

    As for the name, I’m agnostic though I did like the sound of ‘Shift Happens.’

    January 19, 2025 at 7:50 pm #1136223
    Sophie CW
    Participant

    Hey Brian,

    I would be interested in a ride from Silver Spring to Baltimore and the four boundary stones one.  Let’s hope we can do that when there is not snow/ice on the roads.

    Thanks!

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