Happy Last Day of Freezing Saddles 2020!

[drevil]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that participated in FS2020 this year. I look forward to it every year because it really motivates my wife and me to get out there and ride, even when the weather’s bad.

In Freezing Saddles, the social aspect is huge to me. I cherish the group rides, coffee clubs, and other activities where I get to meet and hang out with old friends and new. Coronavirus did a doozy on all that towards the end, but I’m glad I was able to squeeze in some of that before things got bad.

What were some of the highlights of Freezing Saddles for you this year?

Mine were:

1. Turning an idea of a silly day (Laugh and Get Rich Day) into a group ride: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikecentric/49507919071/
2. Seeing Komorebi on a mountain bike: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikecentric/49637303618/
3. The multi-team brunch meetup at East West Coffee and Wine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikecentric/49608985187/

Stay safe, stay mobile, and if I don’t see you out there, I’ll see you at FS21!

I my bike by ricky d, on Flickr

PS – Post your pics on this thread of your last FS20 ride!

Topic

[drevil]

@Nadine 199498 wrote:

Today was the first day I’ve seen Lake Artemisia crowded. I usually go there in the middle of the day on a weekday (spoiled, I know.) Like the trails, it’s best when it’s too cold or too hot out. I had breakfast there once a week last summer with Joan. …

I’ve lived besides Artemesia for close to 14 years, and sadly, I’ve never seen it as crowded as it’s been the last week. I think with the weather getting nicer and so many people and kids working from home (or even off), everyone has cabin fever. I am trying my best to avoid going through there right now, except when it’s practically empty.

[Boomer Cycles]

I closed out FS2020 last night on my reoccurring themes of solo #ParkFinder rides — only to be sandbagged in the end by @MattW (who posted an impressive 90 park rides last night after I passed out [emoji43]) — and #tacoloco — for which I got out competed straight up by @Cassandra who went for a taco ride while I was sleeping ( and is a Taconeuring Machine!:-0). However, I also found Kermit in my hood at 10pm last night before he hopped over to Lake Artemisia to finish out FS2020 w/ @RickyD & Jo. Ride on!

Sent from Boomer_Cycles via my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Steve O]

@jrenaut 199494 wrote:

People at Hains Point are practicing very little social distancing, but the kids (After hearing about FSLNHPP) REALLY wanted to do a lap. Had I known how crowded it was going to be I likely would have nixed it.

It was a lot less crowded at 11pm. Shoulda come then.

[matteblack]

You were quite the challenger, Boomer! I would’ve fallen short if my trip hadn’t been canceled. Instead of driving to Georgia on Thursday, I spent the riding around NoVA day collecting parks before celebrating the end of FS2000 with a well deserved adult beverage of choice.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21436[/ATTACH]

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@dragonflycrk 199475 wrote:

First-year participant here! A few highlights for me:

“Drawing” a manta ray in Arlington on Dave Pomeroy’s Strava art ride! This is something I’ve always wanted to do, so I was thrilled that Freezing Saddles brought about this opportunity. Thanks so much for making that happen, Dave! I would love to participate in more of these in the future, so please keep me posted. After the ride, Dave also guided me on my first journey over the Memorial Bridge. (Somehow while bike commuting for 6 years, I just never rode over it before!)

!

dear dragonflycrk,
Glad to hear you enjoyed our ride. I did, too! Riders like you are the success story of Freezing Saddles. It’s such a joy for us oldtimers to see newbies to FS get involved and embrace the challenge. You are welcome to join me on future GPS Art Rides. I’ll post them in advance in “Events”. None scheduled for now, but there might be one in April.
Hope to see you on the trail, Dave

[bigredboiler]

I’m new to the FS party this year, and want to thank everyone who makes this happen. I heard about it late in 2019 from some cycling friends/participants, and thought ‘why not? I ride most days’. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I’ll be back.

My thoughts:
1. Amazing website for tracking & the forums are so active (no way did I keep up and you see I’m writing a week after the end
2. So impressed with how many people rode everyday; my hats off to them, and I never would have guessed it to be so many.
3. Speaking of daily riding, I got really lucky with the weather (was it Winter?) since I wouldn’t just go out in the rain for fun (I missed 4 days for a work trip, but, amazingly, was able to ride the rest).
4. The pointless prizes are awesome and entertaining (I chuckled upon discovering the term “London Bridging”)
5. I never would have guessed I would be “park hunting” daily for two months (I got sucked in fast and needed a Google Map & XLS to keep up
6. I’m sure Lynn & I will not be on the same team next year
7. Looking forward to meeting some people in real life after the craziness simmers down

Hope everyone enjoyed FS as much as I did. Stay healthy and safe. Let’s hope they don’t ban outdoor cycling during the lockdown; otherwise, life is good!

See you on the road (from a socially acceptable distance for the foreseeable future!) -Kris

[Author]

Replies