FS2020 Kid-Related Prizes

[LhasaCM]

As the past two years, I will be sponsoring three pointless prizes tied to riding bicycles with kids during Freezing Saddles. TL;DR version: same rules as FS2019 (at least until there’s a reason to change them).

The hashtags to use and when to use them are:

#kidical – this is the long-standing FS definition of riding your bike with one or more kids “attached” to your bike. This could be a trailer, cargo bike, kids seat on the front or back, or trailercycle. Leaderboard is based on total miles ridden. (https://freezingsaddles.com/pointless/kidmiles)

#withkid – this is meant to capture those rides and miles where you are riding with one or more kids detached from you (i.e., they are on their own bikes). Leaderboard is based on total miles ridden. (https://freezingsaddles.com/pointless/hashtag/withkid)

Note: there is a related but completely separate Kid Leaderboard competition. To participate in both, append the kid’s unique ‘codename’ to the #withkid hashtag. (For example: jrenaut’s kids are gremlin1 and gremlin2, so he would use #withkidgremlin1 and/or #withkidgremlin2, as appropriate. No need for a separate #withkid)

There also will be a combined prize to reward those who have a good mix of both. As with last year, it will be the total number of miles ridden that use at least one of the relevant hashtags, provided you’ve ridden “both ways”. Leaderboard is at https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/kidsathlon

Now, for some FAQ-style info:

Q: Does it have to be my kid?
A: No.

Q: Really?!?
A: Yes, really. However, you should have permission to take the kid(s) with you.

Q: Any age limits?
A: Yes. The past few years we’ve said up to age 14, so something like that. Please be reasonable. (As discussed elsewhere, this is the way for anyone under 13 to participate since, at that age, one can’t have a Strava account to participate solo.)

Q: So if I have a 14 year old participating in FS on his own accord, can I still use these hashtags to win more?
A: I’m not going to say no, but will observe that it seems a bit wrong, don’t you think?

Q: What about my dog?
A: No for #kidical. Yes for #withkid but only if the dog is riding their own bike (see http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?13955-Pointless-Kid-leaderboard&p=183487#post183487 for that ruling).

Q: Wait. Is it #withkid or #withkids?
A: #withkid. No ‘s’.

Q: What if my kid’s social media codename is ‘s’?
A: Please don’t. While that technically could work, it’d be better to use something longer to prevent overlap.

Q: I sometimes ride with a kid on the back and alongside another kid. Which hashtag do I choose?
A: Both! And if you stopped for coffee or beer and were rocking your sock game while sneaking in a ride before a big blizzard for maximum smugness* – use all of the appropriate hashtags.

Q: Won’t that mean I’ll get double credit in the combined competition?
A: Nope. Remember, the tech team is brilliant.

Q: What if I ride with two kids on the back of a cargo bike uphill in the snow?
A: Just single credit for a #kidical ride. And a tip of the chapeau, and whatever the opposite of envy is.

Q: What if I just happen to ride alongside a random kid one afternoon on the MBT? Does that count?
A: No. To harken back to middle school relationship terminology: you were with them but not really “with” them.

Q: What do I do if only part of my ride applies?
A: Just end the ride on your GPS-enabled device when your status changes or otherwise split your ride and tag appropriately.

Q: Won’t this fill up my friends’ Strava feeds?
A: Yep. I am sure everyone LOVES seeing my regular 0.9 mile “Pickup” rides each day.

Q: What’s the point? Won’t the same people win again?
A: Maybe? No? Who knows? The #withkid winner should be different, I think, based on changing participation/etc., and I know I will have fewer #kidical miles now that a certain someone is riding her own bike and Lego bribes don’t work like they used to (damn Switch). And who knows who signs up for this crazy thing anyway.

Q: This is too complicated. I don’t want to play.
A: Everyone is welcome, and I’d hate for people to feel that way, but as awesome-ish as they are, the small prizes aren’t worth any sort of angst. Remember, it’s meant to be fun.

Q: I have another question.
A: Then please ask it below.

*Fun fact – kids on a back of a bike help provide added traction in slippery conditions. Just be careful out there.

[chris_s]

Q: What about my dog?
A: No for #kidical. Yes for #withkid but only if the dog is riding their own bike (see http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showth…487#post183487 for that ruling).

This Q&A embodies everything that I love about Freezing Saddles, but the link is broken – correct URL is here.

[rcannon100]

What if I spend more on my dog than my kid? I mean – that basically gives the dog priority.

[LhasaCM]

@chris_s 194955 wrote:

Q: What about my dog?
A: No for #kidical. Yes for #withkid but only if the dog is riding their own bike (see http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showth…487#post183487 for that ruling).

This Q&A embodies everything that I love about Freezing Saddles, but the link is broken – correct URL is here.

Thanks for catching that – it’s now fixed. (That’s what I get for copy/pasting the published post from last year.)

@rcannon100 194956 wrote:

What if I spend more on my dog than my kid? I mean – that basically gives the dog priority.

Irrelevant for this prize’s purposes. That’s like asking “what if I spend more money on my new wheelset than my kid?” – perfectly fine indicator to the rest of the world what your priorities are, but completely pointless for this pointless prize.

[cvcalhoun]

What if I get my grandkids to push the bike when the snow is so high as to stop it from moving? Do I get #kidical points, #withkid points, or reported to Child Protective Services?

[jrenaut]

@cvcalhoun 195017 wrote:

What if I get my grandkids to push the bike when the snow is so high as to stop it from moving? Do I get #kidical points, #withkid points, or reported to Child Protective Services?

All of the above

[spelter]

I could be a serious contender here if I can give my kid an iPad while he’s in the Burley.

[chill-dad]

Quote: —-

: What if I ride with two kids on the back of a cargo bike uphill in the snow?

A: Just single credit for a #kidical ride. And a tip of the chapeau, and whatever the opposite of envy is.

<hr />

 

That was literally my first FS ride

[chill-dad]

Is this prize still in search of a sponsor?

 

I would like to offer the top Pointless Kid a box of good, unsharpened colored pencils.  This would be age appropriate and, ahem, pointless.

For the winning parents, I’d offer a wine key/bottle opener to help celebrate the joys/numb the terrors of raising kids who are as crazy as us.

[cvcalhoun]

@chill-dad, you might want to start a new thread for this. People tend to assume prize threads from 2019 are obsolete.

[Indiana]

@chill-dad love that “pointless” idea!

[chill-dad]

@cvcalhoun, thanks!  I will do that.

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