2025 Photo Scavenger Hunt

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  • #1135036
    Kbikeva
    Participant

    I’m happy to head this up again this year.

    Last year we used the Wordle game to generate the daily hunt objectives. If you participated and have strong feelings about disliking it, please (kindly) share that with me along with any ideas on how to make it better.

    All of us who have run this contest can tell you that posting the search topic is the easy part of the contest. Deciding on the winning photo is the hard part. It’s often so subjective. So if you’ve been frustrated in past years and want to help provide a different perspective, please send me an email to Westenhoff at Gmail and we can figure out how to divide and inspire. Note: if you are a judge, you can participate, but you cannot compete.

    Looking forward to searching alongside all of you!

    Kbikeva (Kelley)

    #1135243
    Kbikeva
    Participant

    UPDATE – PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT 2025

    Photo Scavenger Hunt – I’ll be doing some traveling during the competition and it will be difficult (on occasion) to satisfy those who want a quick resolution each day. You’ll also provide input/vote when the winner for the day isn’t clear.

    Please consider volunteering to help with this prize. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out and hunt and post. It just means you don’t get a prize. And you’ll earn my eternal thanks and maybe a free lunch or dinner in the spring!

    Please email me at westenhoff at gmail if you’re interested.

    Thanks, Kelley

    #1135266
    Kbikeva
    Participant

    2025 Photo Scavenger Hunt Rules

    Not many changes this year – if you’ve played before, you know the drill. Remember it’s a GAME and it is supposed to be FUN.

    We are looking forward to hosting the 2025 Photo Scavenger Hunt Pointless Prize. We welcome back our seasoned veterans and extend a special welcome to our newbies. Last year Serdar and Kelley used Wordle to generate words, offering alternates on really challenging days. But the vast majority of players went with the Wordle words – so it’s ON. We will let Wordle generate the words this year – and NO alternates!

    You’ll have to solve (or wait until we post the answer by 8am) the daily Wordle game in order to discover the photo clue.

    Wordle is a logic guessing game, hosted by the NY Times (no subscription or log-in required to play). Each answer is a five letter word. All the rules for Wordle are at the site provided. If you’re not familiar with it, we encourage you to practice playing a couple of times before the scavenger hunt begins. Here is the link:

    https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

    Rules:

    As in previous years, there are two competitions this year: the main competition and participation prizes! You can compete in both simultaneously or just one.

    To compete for a participation prize, you must (1) upload one or more photos of the item to your Strava ride for that day AND (2) title your Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt. Please only hashtag ONE ride per day with #scavhunt. This hashtag will ensure you automatically show up and get ranked on our scavhunt leaderboard (https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt). This is simply a numbers game – do it each day, and you’ll have the maximum number of entries. If you use the tag more than once in a 24-hour period, one of them will be disqualified.

    To compete in the main competition (with one or more points awarded daily based on photo creativity, beauty, and/or my capricious whims), your entries must be posted HERE on the Forum in this thread. To view the MAIN competition Leader Board, this is the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kzvi8AI6kNAqx3_cviFKqCOrQuR9nd8u/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110513558266826733267&rtpof=true&sd=true

    Please note that this is an active document – don’t rest on your laurels until the competition ends.

    Detailed rules:

    1. You should be a participant in Freezing Saddles ’24. Friends of Freezing Saddles can post, but only actual participants can win prizes.
    2. It has to be on a bike ride on the day it was requested
    3. For the main competition, the photo must be posted in the Forum on the day for which it was requested, i.e., 12:01 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST for the day it was requested. Sorry, we won’t count the ones that aren’t posted for the day it was requested. That is part of the challenge.
    4. We are embracing the random nature of games and life by using Wordle as the clue generator. Each day, you will go to https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html and play the provided. The solution word is the clue. You do not have to have a subscription to NYT or log in to their site. Wordle is provided free with the link above. If the Wordle game is too difficult or frustrating, there are two options – keep going until you run out of clues and the solution will be revealed. Or visit https://tryhardguides.com/wordle-solver/ which will help you figure it out. The new Wordle drops at midnight.  The word for the day will be posted on the forum as a new post, and will be added to the list on the first page (this one) of the scavenger hunt forum. Go to that page if you don’t want to search through the recent posts. Hint: Use “wordle“, “scavenger”, or “photo” to search if you can’t find it.
    5. The CVC rule – if you ride at night, you’ll need to stop your Strava at midnight and start at midnight+1 second in order for the photo to ‘land’ on the correct day. Since you’ll be pausing to solve the Wordle, it’s a good time to do this.
    6. Just as in past years, when you post your photo, use the format mm/dd/year – word. (Example 12/13/2023 – SPENT)
      Extra points for doing hard words, doing hard words in sucky weather, and being generally entertaining are within the discretion of the judges – but they MAY happen! Description, short backstory, or location are optional (but nice).
    7. It has to be a picture you took. You don’t need to be in the photo, but if you are in it, it either has to be a selfie or done with a self-timer.
    8. Only one picture per day should be posted in the Forum. More than one, no matter how cute or engaging, will disqualify the player for that day. One photo means one photo – not two squished into one or any permutation thereof.
      You can include as many photos as you wish on your Strava ride but each Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt will be worth exactly 1 point – and you can only tag 1 Strava ride for this each day (even if you do dozens of bike rides that day)
    9. It has to be a picture, not a video.
    10. The photo must be of something you find on your ride, not things you bring or make yourself (unless otherwise specified). Example 1: Don’t build a pile of dirt, snow, or rocks if the Wordle clue is “MOUND”; Example 2: if the Wordle clue is “FRUIT” don’t bring a piece of fruit with you on your ride, and take a photo of that. It’s a SCAVENGER hunt. NOTE: Your friends are not “something you bring from home.”
    11. Your bike does not have to be in the photo, but we do love seeing them used creatively in context.
    12. Found item needs to be clear and discernible (or legible if text) in the picture.
    13. The Ricky Rule: Filters are OK, but no obvious/blatant photoshopping…. and no AI-generated images, please. Not that we would know anything about such things.

    2025 Rule for Forum Access Challenges: We love Bike Arlington and the fact that the forum exists, but sometimes it’s a pain to use. When it’s being wonky, it’s usually wonky for everyone. In that case, post your “money shot” in your Strava. We’ll try to figure it out, but if it’s a particularly frustrating day for all of us, we may just skip awarding any points that day.

    Remember: this is a GAME with POINTLESS prizes. Taking it too seriously/competitively takes away everyone’s enjoyment.

    Scoring

    1. Scoring will be similar to BAFS24, and there are two different prizes you are competing for simultaneously:

    Main Competition: To compete in this prize you must post in this thread complying with the rules above. Scoring will be arbitrary and capricious, and only one person per day is guaranteed to get the point each day. How will you be the lucky point winner for the day? Impress us with your creativity. The rider with the most Main Competition points at the end of the competition is the… winner of the Main Competition.

    Participation Winner: There will also be one or more participation award(s) for the top daily participant(s). Tag one ride each day with #scavhunt, add your photo(s) of the item, and watch this leaderboard https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt. If you tag your ride with the hashtag, make sure you upload a photo. The leaderboard will score this automatically (one point per daily #scavhunt ride) and is honor-based. Please do not tag more than one ride per day with the hashtag and please do not use the tag without a photo. The top rider(s) (based on the number of rides, not mileage!!) will get a special prize at the end of Freezing Saddles! If there is more than one who rides and posts every day, we’ll think of some way to award the winner of a tie.

    And last, but not least. Remember to be respectful of private property and obtain any necessary permissions when taking photos, especially in private areas. Additionally, try to capture unique angles and perspectives to make your scavenger hunt photos more interesting and creative. Have fun exploring your town and interpreting the theme in creative ways!

    Good Luck!
    Kelley (kbikeva) and Glenn (bikesnick)

    #1135270
    cvcalhoun
    Participant

    Hint for the Wordle-averse: If you don’t want to wait until they post the answer by 8 am, it can typically be found soon after midnight at https://tryhardguides.com/wordle-answers/. I have now been lured to the dark side and am in fact playing Wordle. But last year, when I was not, that page enabled me to find the Wordle word when I was out on those middle of the night rides.

    Oh, and on the CVC rule (gee, I wonder who that was named after!), it is my understanding (unless the rules changed from last year) that you don’t actually have to stop a ride exactly at (or before) midnight in order to participate. You just have to a) take and post the photo for Day 1 before midnight (even if your ride hasn’t ended by then), and b) stop your Day 1 ride and start a new one after midnight but before finding/posting the photo for Day 2. Example:

    • On Monday, the word is FLUNG. You start on a ride at 11:30 pm. You find something that is flung at 11:45, take a photo, and immediately post from your phone so as to make the midnight deadline. However, since you are also participating in public art (which requires a 10-mile bike ride), and you have only managed 5 miles by midnight, you don’t want to end your ride then. You don’t have to. So long as the photo was posted before midnight, the ride can end after midnight. So you keep going until 12:30 am when you finish the 10 miles. After midnight, you can check to see what Tuesday’s item is. But you cannot actually photograph it until you have started a new ride after midnight.
    • Tuesday’s word turns out to be PATIO. So at 12:30, you stop your ride and start a new one. During that new ride, you can go find that patio and photograph it. And in case your fingers are now frozen from taking your photos and doing all your pre-midnight posting, you can wait until you get home and warm up your fingers before posting the patio photograph.

    Can you confirm that my understanding of the rule is correct?

    #1135274
    Kbikeva
    Participant

    Yes Carol. That is correct. The point was that in order to get credit for both days’ Wordle, each has to be posted on its own day.

    #1135352
    Kbikeva
    Participant

    Happy New Year and Happy First Word for Photo Scavenger Hunt!

    The word for January 1, 2025 is

    NERVE

     

    #1135359
    sszibler
    Participant

    1/1/2025 NERVE White House

    While I was getting a photo for the #Parks PP, US-0657 President’s Park (White House), I figured this was also, supposedly, the Nation’s Nerve Center

    There’s so much inaugural stuff set up that this was the best I could do photo-wise.

    #1135363
    consularrider
    Participant

    #scavhunt 1/1/2025 – NERVE.  The Herman B Wells office at Owen Hall (1884) the nerve center of the Chancellor’s web

    #1135364
    cvcalhoun
    Participant

    1/1/2025 NERVE

    I figure that Josiah Henson must have had nerves of steel to escape slavery carrying two of his children in a backpack.

    #1135369
    CaseyKane50
    Participant

    1/1/2025 – Nerve

    It would take nerve and skill to scale the Washington Monument.

    #1135370
    Alison M
    Participant

    01/01/2025 – NERVE

    Steeling my nerves to ride across the 14th St Bridge in the wind. Bailed and walked halfway across to avoid being blown into the Potomac. #ElmiraGulch

    #1135371
    Alison M
    Participant


    Sorry – still getting the hang of the forum! Here’s my blown-over bike

    #1135372
    DCAKen
    Participant

    01/01/2025 – NERVE

    After fighting the traffic and dodging the potholes in the Maryland section of Beach Drive, crossing the District line to smooth pavement and no vehicles soothes my jangled nerves

    #1135380
    Serdar
    Participant

    01/01/2025 – NERVE

    My friend Paul had the nerve to ride hands-free against a headwind. 🙂

    #1135384
    Fiona Grant
    Participant

    01/01/2025 – NERVE

    I’m scared of horses, but I held my nerve when this handsome fella walked over and said hello. I’m sure he was after food or a warm blanket – but I patted his nose and admired his eyelashes instead. Amazing animals.

     

    Getting up the nerve to pat a horse

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