Freezing Saddles 2015 ~ At Least Yer Not in Kiev, Comrade

[dkel]

@hozn 103228 wrote:

To be fair, trainer rides are — or at least should be — a lot harder than a typical outdoor spin. I look at the trainer and feel queasy thinking about those intervals; so even on cold days the choice to ride outdoors isn’t always born of masochism. And it is a type of dedication to competitive cycling or physical fitness to entertain something that is so wholly unenjoyable. The trainer rides are great for building fitness, but riding outdoors is so much more fun.

I don’t doubt the challenge of trainer rides (having never done one myself), but the complaints in the comments on that Strava page weren’t about the difficulty of trainer rides, they were about cold weather, as if one couldn’t possibly be expected to get out in the cold and ride. It’s precisely what we’re overcoming in BAFS.

[hozn]

Heh, yes, that is true. And silly to complain about trainer rides not counting in a mileage competition, since mileage has little applicability to trainer rides.

Happy new year!

[wheelswings]

I was wondering, is there some way Freezing Saddles riders can make themselves identifiable (to each other) on the roads?

This afternoon my daughters and I (two of us on mountain bikes, my younger girl in the Burley) rode the Arlington Loop, the HP Circle of Cycles, and some coffee-neering detours. If we had seen any fellow FS riders, we would have given you chocolate chip cookies. But we didn’t see anyone we recognized. Hains Point was pretty desolate aside from a single peloton from FreshBikes (many hidden behind masks) and there were few other cyclists.

We were thinking, wouldn’t it be great if there were some small way riders could indicate their participation in Freezing Saddles… like tie a red ribbon on their handlebars or something? Has this been done in past years? It would be fun to exchange a friendly wave, say hi, or distribute treats to hungry cyclists. :+)

[rcannon100]

Many of us have the little reflective tags that say “Bike Arlington” or “Bike Forum” – some are yellow, some are blue, and some are even pink! I think that was the idea behind this. Maybe a volunteer could make another go at it.

Or just keep coming to coffee and beer and you will eventually get sick of recognizing everyone’s face. “Oh goody, its Dickie again. yay.“

[glennpstevens]

@dkel 103227 wrote:

Me too! I posted here instead, among friends.

Rule #3. It was your obligation to post a snarky comment on that thread.

[Arlingtonrider]

I think I have a few extra tags I could bring to the happy hour. If someone could volunteer to get more (from BikeArlington Intergalactic Headquarters?), that would be great.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@wheels&wings 103312 wrote:

I was wondering, is there some way Freezing Saddles riders can make themselves identifiable (to each other) on the roads?

This afternoon my daughters and I (two of us on mountain bikes, my younger girl in the Burley) rode the Arlington Loop, the HP Circle of Cycles, and some coffee-neering detours. If we had seen any fellow FS riders, we would have given you chocolate chip cookies. But we didn’t see anyone we recognized. Hains Point was pretty desolate aside from a single peloton from FreshBikes (many hidden behind masks) and there were few other cyclists.

We were thinking, wouldn’t it be great if there were some small way riders could indicate their participation in Freezing Saddles… like tie a red ribbon on their handlebars or something? Has this been done in past years? It would be fun to exchange a friendly wave, say hi, or distribute treats to hungry cyclists. :+)

In a few weeks, in the most miserable part of winter, you can probably assume most crazy peopl….er…riders you see are BAFS participants.

[vern]

So last night I was reading and at one point decided I wanted to sit cross-legged, so as I moved into that posture, trying to cross my left leg, I felt pulling and tearing from the point of my left hip down across the top of the thigh, extending to the inside of my left knee. Naturally, I stopped, and thought that was so weird since I was just trying to obtain a posture I’d been in about 10,000 times in this life. And being a man, I naturally had to try it again, with the same result. This morning it’s very sore and uncomfortable. My apologies to my FS2015 teammates, whoever you are, as I’m going to sit out this weekend and see if it can quickly heal. If it doesn’t, I’ll probably ask the powers-that-be to sub me out next week.

[jrenaut]

Ugh, that sounds terrible. Heal quickly.

[americancyclo]

@hozn 103114 wrote:

From the looks of it (http://freezingsaddles.com/leaderboard/team_text) I am guessing that most of the contestants have not yet authorized the application or joined the BikeArlington team.

Is that why the front page says 125 contestants but only 87 folks on the leaderboard?

[hozn]

@americancyclo 103388 wrote:

Is that why the front page says 125 contestants but only 87 folks on the leaderboard?

Likely a factor, yeah, though it is also possible that there are last-year contestants in the system that still have the app authorized. I probably should fix those queries to exclude people without teams (and then they will get deleted once things are under way).

[wheelswings]

@TwoWheelsDC 103318 wrote:

In a few weeks, in the most miserable part of winter, you can probably assume most crazy peopl….er…riders you see are BAFS participants.

Hmm. Perhaps, though my impression was that there are lots of folks who bicycle commute year ‘round without being plugged into BA or other social networks. It’s just a reliable, cheap and happy way to get places. This is my first year doing FS but I’ve been riding nearly every day for close to a decade. Surely I was not the only lone wolf out there? In any case I’m delighted to make your acquaintance and join the flock :+) .

[Steve O]

@wheels&wings 103312 wrote:

I was wondering, is there some way Freezing Saddles riders can make themselves identifiable (to each other) on the roads?

We were thinking, wouldn’t it be great if there were some small way riders could indicate their participation in Freezing Saddles… like tie a red ribbon on their handlebars or something? Has this been done in past years? It would be fun to exchange a friendly wave, say hi, or distribute treats to hungry cyclists. :+)

I think this is a good idea. There are some clues, but no clear identifier:
– I believe there are at least two of us riding around with “bicycle icicles” on our bikes. See one of those and you know for certain, but it’s a tiny subset
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7315&stc=1[/IMG]

– Someone wearing a Bike Arlington scarf was likely a BAFS year “The First” participant, but I think they’ve proliferated beyond just those riders. Plus they are so awesomely warm, they aren’t often worn on days that aren’t real cold.

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2513&stc=1[/IMG]

– zillions of people have the yellow, reflective cuff holders, so those won’t work

So perhaps we can devise a unique visual sign. One idea, as per wheels&wings suggestion, would be to tie something on the handlebars, like a red ribbon or a white handkerchief or the like.
I rarely see white cuff holders. If we could get a supply of those, maybe?
Check this out: http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/reflective-snap-band.htm

Perhaps we could order a supply of these in a new color, like green or pink. Customized for Freezing Saddles, everyone could get 2 for about 3 or 4 bucks. Put it on your bike or your ankle and we’ll know it’s you. We’d never get them in time for the happy hour, though, so distribution could be difficult.
Additional thoughts?

[elwbikes]

@Steve O 103427 wrote:

So perhaps we can devise a unique visual sign. One idea, as per wheels&wings suggestion, would be to tie something on the handlebars, like a red ribbon or a white handkerchief or the like.
I rarely see white cuff holders. If we could get a supply of those, maybe?
Check this out: http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/reflective-snap-band.htm

Perhaps we could order a supply of these in a new color, like green or pink. Customized for Freezing Saddles, everyone could get 2 for about 3 or 4 bucks. Put it on your bike or your ankle and we’ll know it’s you. We’d never get them in time for the happy hour, though, so distribution could be difficult.
Additional thoughts?

I like either the ribbon or the reflective thing, one note–Women & Bicycles has white ankle cuffs. That is a somewhat small subset, but also an overlapping subset

Pink and green are fun though!

[ebubar]

Today was a great day for sleaze rides for this year’s BAFS. Luckily we live exactly half a mile from the store, so rides to get milk for hot chocolate are perfect for getting my sleaze on!

[Author]

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