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

[cvcalhoun]

@Mikey 101103 wrote:

It was a picture of a FORD. we obviously are CHEVY people here.

Nope, the Ford was voted down on other grounds. It was the picture of the William Jefferson Clinton building that was voted down in favor of one of the very same building taken when it was not dark/cold/sleeting/windy.

[hozn]

I for one am very excited to join the slacker team again this year. Winter was so much more fun as a slacker (compared to previous year).

[worktheweb]

Signed up for my first year in Freezing Saddles. I’ve commuted in cold weather for several years in the past down to 7°F and in conditions requiring my studded tires, but it will be nice to have another reason to shut up the evil metro rider on my shoulder on the coldest days. This sounds like it is going to be fun.

So the general idea is to motivate each other to bike as much as possible in the Winter, and that there are happy hours. Curious, what are reindeer games and how do the points work? Any other finer points a new person should know?

[Greenbelt]

@hozn 101107 wrote:

I for one am very excited to join the slacker team again this year. Winter was so much more fun as a slacker (compared to previous year).

I nominate you for slacker captain this year. Last year I was captain, and I don’t recall actually doing anything, so I can attest that the requirements aren’t much to worry about.

[Steve O]

My two cents:

The Slackers should not be a “team.” Just a group. Since, by definition, they are not caring about their riding, no stats should be kept and most definitely not on the leaderboard. If you want to be a slacker and want to keep track of your winter riding, then join the game for real or just use your own Strava feed.

Perhaps they can be called the Slacker Freezing Saddle Supporters or Spectators or something. Their names can appear somewhere on the site, perhaps with bios highlighting their pusillanimousness.

They may participate in individual side bets, but since they are not a “team,” they cannot participate in team side bets.

As a “group” they can organize rides or happy hours or hold events or anything else they like. Since they aren’t really playing the game but want to pretend they are, they should take it upon themselves to more actively volunteer for the stuff that makes FS work.

Personally, I think the existence of the slackers is pointless. A slacker can do everything he or she wants without having to fill out the silly form: banter on the forum, come to coffee clubs, help arlingtonrider with happy hours, make pointless prizes, enjoy group rides, etc. If you just want your name somewhere on the web site because it makes you feel good, well, fine.

[Mikey]

@Steve O 101118 wrote:

My two cents:

The Slackers should not be a “team.” Just a group. Since, by definition, they are not caring about their riding, no stats should be kept and most definitely not on the leaderboard. If you want to be a slacker and want to keep track of your winter riding, then join the game for real or just use your own Strava feed.

Perhaps they can be called the Slacker Freezing Saddle Supporters or Spectators or something. Their names can appear somewhere on the site, perhaps with bios highlighting their pusillanimousness.

They may participate in individual side bets, but since they are not a “team,” they cannot participate in team side bets.

As a “group” they can organize rides or happy hours or hold events or anything else they like. Since they aren’t really playing the game but want to pretend they are, they should take it upon themselves to more actively volunteer for the stuff that makes FS work.

Personally, I think the existence of the slackers is pointless. A slacker can do everything he or she wants without having to fill out the silly form: banter on the forum, come to coffee clubs, help arlingtonrider with happy hours, make pointless prizes, enjoy group rides, etc. If you just want your name somewhere on the web site because it makes you feel good, well, fine.

We have an anti-slackite amongst us. I recommend just chilling. If slackers want to be on a team, then let them. If they want to participate in side bets, by all means let them. I don’t want to be stuck trying to find Herbert Hoover’s secretary of the Interior by myself (oops I’ve said too much). Like I said before, we are all on teams, some teams just don’t have any ringers.

[LMDVasquez]

Another motivating reason to keep commuting this winter – I just signed up for Strava but my user ID is a name not a number listed under “vanity URL” so I can’t finish filling out the registration form. I suspect there is some place where a # exists but I can’t find it. Any suggestions on where I can find a #

[vvill]

@rcannon100 101094 wrote:

But the people who were on it last year enjoyed being part of FS without dealing with macho BS and demands to ride when the weather is dangerous.

I think people should be able to enjoy being part of FS without dealing with macho BS/etc *without* having to sign up as a slacker. That’s why I object to the slacker team – it implies if you’re not on it you have to take the “competition” seriously, and it discourages people from signing up and trying to ride through the winter as part of a fun group game, which was part of the intention of it all. I think Steve O implied this as well.

I don’t really care either way if the team exists or not or is actually shown on the leaderboard, but I do think newbies should be discouraged from joining it, as it is sort of pointless.

@LMDVasquez 101123 wrote:

Another motivating reason to keep commuting this winter – I just signed up for Strava but my user ID is a name not a number listed under “vanity URL” so I can’t finish filling out the registration form. I suspect there is some place where a # exists but I can’t find it. Any suggestions on where I can find a #

In my browser if I hover over my avatar/profile in the top right it shows in the URL.

[Greenbelt]

@Steve O 101118 wrote:

My two cents:

The Slackers should not be a “team.” Just a group. Since, by definition, they are not caring about their riding, no stats should be kept and most definitely not on the leaderboard. If you want to be a slacker and want to keep track of your winter riding, then join the game for real or just use your own Strava feed.

Perhaps they can be called the Slacker Freezing Saddle Supporters or Spectators or something. Their names can appear somewhere on the site, perhaps with bios highlighting their pusillanimousness.

They may participate in individual side bets, but since they are not a “team,” they cannot participate in team side bets.

As a “group” they can organize rides or happy hours or hold events or anything else they like. Since they aren’t really playing the game but want to pretend they are, they should take it upon themselves to more actively volunteer for the stuff that makes FS work.

Personally, I think the existence of the slackers is pointless. A slacker can do everything he or she wants without having to fill out the silly form: banter on the forum, come to coffee clubs, help arlingtonrider with happy hours, make pointless prizes, enjoy group rides, etc. If you just want your name somewhere on the web site because it makes you feel good, well, fine.

Nah, we slackers think it’s fun to challenge ourselves to ride through the winter and we love participating and seeing our progress; we just don’t want pressure to over do it.

[Mikey]

No matter, I love all you guys.

Although there may be a FS Side Bet for the best picture of Dread’s Daughters and rcannon100’s puppies playing in the snow, just to see how many dislikes I can get.

[vvill]

@Greenbelt 101125 wrote:

Nah, we slackers think it’s fun to challenge ourselves to ride through the winter and we love participating and seeing our progress; we just don’t want pressure to over do it.

There isn’t supposed to be that pressure though!

Why bother have a group and a game if people who
a) actually do enjoy participating, and
b) enjoy being challenged to ride through the winter
don’t actually join?!

[CPTJohnC]

I love the fact that from the point where I started looking at this thread this afternoon to the point where I finally caught up, the page count increased. While I read. The passion that #BAFS2015 is inspiring is… inspirational.

[dkel]

@Steve O 101079 wrote:

If DKel and Rockford can do it, why not anyone?

Because. :rolleyes:

[hozn]

I see vvill’s point, but I will also note that the teams in contention *are* very competitive. I would feel bad if I opted to just soft pedal it in while my teammates were out riding centuries (or more).

I wonder if a future might hold a FS with two leagues — a competitive and just-for-fun?

[Arlingtonrider]

@vvill 101124 wrote:

I think people should be able to enjoy being part of FS without dealing with macho BS/etc *without* having to sign up as a slacker. That’s why I object to the slacker team – it implies if you’re not on it you have to take the “competition” seriously, and it discourages people from signing up and trying to ride through the winter as part of a fun group game, which was part of the intention of it all.

I don’t really care either way if the team exists or not or is actually shown on the leaderboard, but I do think newbies should be discouraged from joining it, as it is sort of pointless.

I’m with Will on this. I don’t feel strongly one way or another about whether there should be a slackers team in future years, but the decision has already been made to have one this year.

That being said, I strongly hope that the slackers team will consist mostly (or maybe solely) of former competitors who have participated heavily in previous years and/or contributed in a very significant way to the success of Freezing Saddles, such as by managing all the leaderboards, being team captains, creating amazing awards or otherwise doing something awesome.

Newbies will have much more fun if they participate on a team other than the slackers, and I think we all should encourage them to do that. The game is designed so that all of the teams will have people of varying abilities, and a great deal of value can be added to a team by riding at least a mile every day that’s possible in terms of safety and other responsibilities. Competitive doesn’t have to be ultra-competitive. It just means you’re playing for team points. Most of all, it’s all just for fun!

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