BAFS2022 Team 11 Bierpuncheur

[Dachs6]

At some point, 9 others of you will be assigned to this team…for now this is a placeholder. Our Team page on Strava is located at https://www.strava.com/clubs/Team_Bierpuncheur. If you came here first, please go there and join the Team to ensure you remain on the leaderboard and our team is receiving credit for your hard work on the cranks!

But, since you’re here reading, here are a few thoughts for success at Freezing Saddles.

1. Ride everyday. It’s why this competition exists: to keep people riding all through the winter…which is not as hard as it seems once you do it. Sure, it takes some extra gear and preparation to be done. But, it is not the realm of just the Belgian Hardmen. Also riding everyday through winter continues to normalize that cyclists exist, and are always around.
2. On riding everyday, there are a set of rules that surround cycling. Most of them are tongue in cheek, but are rooted a little bit in truth as sarcasm always is. A couple stand out. Rule #5: if it hurts, but you’ve got just a little further to go, whether its the last 500ft of your sleaze mile, or the last 2 miles of your imperial century, harden the f— up and get it done! Rule #9: riding in bad weather will qualify you as a badass, no questions asked. I practice both regularly, #5 almost always due to to poor nutrition planning on long rides, and #9 because I currently reside in Belgium where it is more often rainy and windy than not.
3. Lastly, I want to win…and in Freezing Saddles, winning takes many forms. Most miles ridden. Riding everyday. Riding in Winter when one may have never considered it possible. Freezing Saddles can see success in a lot of ways.

Once team assignment are made, I will modify this post a bit, or have it locked by the mods. But, those 3 hastily written thoughts will remain, whether this is the team thread or another has to be created.

P.S. In previous years some people have wondered why it is that a few of us in this competition don’t live in DC, or seem to be located somewhere else for a significant portion of the timeframe. Short answer, decisions were made many years ago that alumni of previous competitions were granted emeritus status to continue to play while we remained at a distance. I continue to participate because it keeps me connected to the cycling community I found when I moved to DC the first time, which I will rejoin in person when I move back.

For those that do not know me, my Strava handle is “der Bierpuncheur // GRVLR” with a boar emoji at the end, and my name IRL is Andy. Happy to meet you all, and look forward to another great BAFS!

[karenbikes2@gmail.com]

Thanks, Andy, for captaining. I’m looking forward to my 2nd BAFS, and hope to ride every single day this winter. I do have some travel to FL coming up, but bringing a bike with me. On the travel days I’ll be lucky to get in a super short ride, but you never know. I find that I nearly always end up riding more miles than I’d planned going out. To date this year my goal was to ride at least a mile everyday, and 10 as often as I could manage. Upping my own personal ante to at least 10 miles a day. I really like your comment that “Also riding everyday through winter continues to normalize that cyclists exist, and are always around.” One thing that got me out a lot last winter was biking, instead of driving, to run most of my local errands and I’ve kept that going. As for my cycling history, I’ve been riding a bike and loving it since I was about 8-9 years old. When I was working full time, I rode to work 1-2 days a week April-November. I’ve done a lot of traveling by bike in lots of interesting and beautiful places all over the US and other countries, but my very favorite and most awesome ride ever was 10 weeks riding west coast to east coast across the US this past summer. If anyone wants to come out to the Reston area for a ride, just let me know!

[Judd]

Happy to be on the team. Good to meet folks on Zoom tonight. I’m Judd. I live in Del Ray in Alexandria. I did my first Freezing Saddles in 2016 and have played every year except 2021. My first Freezing Saddles was pretty difficult figuring out clothing, but I had lots of help from the forum. Most of my friends are from riding bikes and from participating in Freezing Saddles. I love bikes (I have 8!) and enjoy silly themed rides. I’m a founder and the President of the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail and I’m out leading volunteer events nearly every weekend. I also do a bike tour with a group of friends every year. I’ve ridden the Natchez Trace, Erie Canal and an awesome loop through Pennsylvania.

[EasyRider]

Hi team, I’m Pete and this is my 4th Freezing Saddles, and my 20th(!) winter of bike riding here. I live in South Arlington. Sorry I missed the HH. I thought I set myself a reminder. I blame Alexa.

In years past, commuting to work accounted for most of my mileage, but work-and-school from home in 2020 and 2021 changed that. It was hard to go for a long ride with two young kids at home and so my mileage did a nose-dive. I did get in some memorable trailer rides with the kids, and one overnight on the C&O.

My goal this year is to get my mileage back up and I’m shooting for 10 per day. When I can’t do that, I’m still diligent about getting in a sleaze ride around the neighborhood. Like Judd I have many (too many?) bikes and spend almost as much time thinking about what to ride as where to ride.

[historygeek]

Hey, all. It was nice meeting some of you last night. I’m Christy. I’ve been a BAFS participant since 2015, though I skipped a year somewhere in there. I used to get most of my miles commuting, so BAFS is helping me keep going at present. I must say that being forced outside every day is really good for my mental and physical health. I’m in Hyattsville and spend a lot of my time on the ART system or biking in via the MBT. I’m more than happy to help any of you doing the scavenger hunt find Maryland Meadworks this week (it’s a mile from my house and right on the trail). My riding has also taken a hit with the lack of commute and having a kid learning at home on and off for the past two years, but I usually get in ten miles a day during BAFS. I’m “car light” (my husband has a car, so I borrow it as needed), so a lot of my rides are errands. When not riding I’m gardening or woodworking, or just plain old working (I’m a historian). I do have some hiking trips planned this winter that may interfere with my ability to bike every day, but they’re mostly just day hikes.

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