Pointless Prize: 2023 Photo Scavenger Hunt

[Serdar]

Hi Freezing Saddlers,

This year, Janet and I will lead Daily Photo Scavenger Hunt. We are happy to announce the topics for the first week.

Rules:

Like in the previous, we have two competitions this year: the main competition and participation prizes! You can compete in both simultaneously or just one.

To compete for a participation prize, you must (1) upload one or more photos of the item to your Strava ride for that day. (2) title your Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt. Please only hashtag ONE ride per day with #scavhunt. This hashtag will ensure you automatically show up and get ranked on our scavhunt leaderboard (https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt).
To compete in the main competition (with one or more points awarded daily based on photo creativity, beauty, and/or the capricious whims of Serdar and Janet) your entries must be posted HERE on the Forum in this thread.

Detailed rules are below (with huge thanks to Rumi and Millie for spelling this all out last year and allowing us to mostly repeat their detailed instructions!):

1. Obvs, you should be a participant in Freezing Saddles ’23
2. It has to be on a bike ride on the day it was requested
3. For the main competition, it has to be posted in the Forum on the day for which it was requested, i.e., 12:01 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST for the day it was requested. Sorry, we won’t count the ones that aren’t posted for the day it was requested. That’s part of the challenge.
4. The reason we say “for the day it is requested” is because we will release a weekly list of scavenger hunt items ahead of time, with one item for each day — but don’t take and/or post the pic until that day comes.
5. We will update the Scavenger Hunt theme weekly on this thread and Strava. We will try to update it in advance of the week ahead so you have time to make plans!
6. Your Forum post must be titled with the date and the found object/theme. Example: IF the item for January 1st were “borscht,” you would title your Forum post: 1/1/2023 borscht
7. Description, short backstory, or location are optional (but nice). That said, if your pic is abstract or not relatable to my request, please explain (e.g., I ask for “happiness,” and you post a pic of a tennis ball you found on a ride, please explain how that tennis ball = happiness)
8. It has to be a picture you took. You don’t need to be in the photo, but if you are in it, it either has to be a selfie or done with a self-timer
9. Only one pic/day should be posted in the Forum. Please only pad by adding one pic/day. (You can include as many photos as possible on your Strava ride.)
10. It has to be a picture, not a video.
11. Let’s stick to things you find out there during your ride, not things you bring or make yourself (unless otherwise specified). Example 1: Don’t scratch it into the dirt if I say find “2023”. Example 2: if I say find a flower, don’t bring a flower with you on your ride and take a pic of that. This takes the fun out of looking for things, which is the whole point.
12. Unless specified otherwise, your bike does not have to be in the photo.
13. Found item needs to be clear and discernible (or legible if text) in the picture. If you are using Tapatalk and are having trouble posting pics that are large enough, let us know, and I/we can help you with it.
14. Filters are OK, but no obvious/blatant photoshopping… not that we would know anything about such things.

Scoring

Scoring will be similar to FS22, and there are two different prizes you are competing for simultaneously:

• Main Competition: To compete in this prize you must post in this thread complying with the rules above. Scoring will be arbitrary and capricious, and only one person per day is guaranteed to get the point each day. How will you be the lucky point winner for the day? Impress us with your creativity. Since we are publishing an entire week at a time, it should give you some time to come up with a creative idea. The rider with the most Main Competition points at the end of the competition is the… winner of the Main Competition.
• Participation Winner: There will also be one or more participation award(s) for the top daily participant(s). Tag one ride each day with #scavhunt, add your photo(s) of the item and watch this leaderboard https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt . The leaderboard will score this automatically (one point per daily #scavhunt ride) and is honor-based. Please do not tag more than one ride per day with the hashtag. The top rider(s) (based on the number of rides, not mileage!!) will get a special prize at the end of Freezing Saddles!

Good Luck!
Janet and Serdar

Please, check the daily topics below. We will be editing/updating this post regularly.

1/1/23 Sunday — Fire
1/2/23 Monday — Ice
1/3/23 Tuesday — Lantern
1/4/23 Wednesday — Snow
1/5/23 Thursday — Lava
1/6/23 Friday — Ice Cream

1/7/23 Saturday ’90s
1/8/23 Sunday ’70s
1/9/23 Monday ’60s
1/10/23 Tuesday ’50s
1/11/23 Wednesday ’40s
1/12/23 Thursday ’30s
1/13/23 Friday ’20s

1/14/23 Saturday National Dress Up Your Pet Day
1/15/23 Sunday National Hat Day
1/16/23 Monday Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/17/23 Tuesday Prohibition Begins, 1920-1933
1/18/23 Wednesday National Winnie the Pooh Day
1/19/23 Thursday National Popcorn Day
1/20/23 Friday National Cheese Lovers Day

1/21/23 Saturday – Waterfall
1/22/23 Sunday – DC Music
1/23/23 Monday – World Cup 2022
1/24/23 Tuesday – selfie with the maximum number of your FS teammates
1/25/23 Wednesday – Opposite Day
1/26/23 Thursday – Vietnam War ended
1/27/23 Friday – National Chocolate Cake Day

1/28/23 Saturday – Data Privacy Day
1/29/23 Sunday – National Puzzle Day
1/30/23 Monday – Franklin D. Roosevelt? He was born on this day.
1/31/23 Tuesday – National Backward Day
2/1/23 Wednesday – National Texas Day
2/2/23 Thursday – Groundhog Day
2/3/23 Friday – Feed the Birds Day

2/4/23 Saturday – Barbie Doll
2/5/23 Sunday – Apollo 14 mission
2/6/23 Monday – The Battle of Fort Henry
2/7/23 Tuesday – The Beatles
2/8/23 Wednesday – composer/conductor John Williams
2/9/23 Thursday – “The Simpsons”
2/10/23 Friday – Wild Card!

2/11/23 Saturday “Pointless” Kids
2/12/23 Sunday Superb Owl
2/13/23 Monday Architecture
2/14/23 Tuesday Errandeering
2/15/23 Wednesday Little Free Library
2/16/23 Thursday License Plates
2/17/23 Friday Calvinball

2/18/23 Saturday *Service Saturday*
2/19/23 Sunday *Sustainable Sunday*
2/20/23 Monday *Manic Monday*
2/21/23 Tuesday *Timeless Tuesday*
2/22/23 Wednesday *Wordplay Wednesday*
2/23/23 Thursday *Thankful Thursday*
2/24/23 Friday *Foodie Friday*

2/25/23 Saturday Wicked Witch
2/26/23 Sunday Silver or Ruby Slippers
2/27/23 Monday Yellow Brick Road
2/28/23 Tuesday Scarecrow
3/1/23 Wednesday Tin Man
3/2/23 Thursday Cowardly Lion
3/3/23 Friday “There is no place like home…”

3/4/23 Saturday Lines
3/5/23 Sunday Squares
3/6/23 Monday Donut
3/7/23 Tuesday Hole
3/8/23 Wednesday Sparrow
3/9/23 Thursday Rainbow
3/10/23 Friday Philosophy

Week 11 Scavenger Hunt: Reindeer Games! They call these Pointless Prizes “Reindeer Games,” so for this last full week of Freezing Saddles, play along and illustrate the name of these famous reindeer in a photo.

3/11/23 Saturday Dasher (No hyphens, please!)
3/12/23 Sunday Dancer & Prancer
3/13/23 Monday Vixen
3/14/23 Tuesday Comet
3/15/23 Wednesday Cupid
3/16/23 Thursday Donner &/or Blitzen
3/17/23 Friday Rudolph

3/18/23 Saturday Wild Card with action, emotion, and engagement
3/19/23 Sunday Action, emotion, and engagement, but with a bike in the photo see page 174

Topic

[Steve O]

@Boomer2U 223178 wrote:

1-25-23: Opposite Day
These forms of transportation use opposite forms of propulsion

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Don’t they both use chemical reactions to create forward motion? :confused:

[rumipumi]

1/25 opposite day

Dogs and cats!

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[cvcalhoun]

@Mtansill 223158 wrote:

Hate to point it out to an awesome team, but only one person took this selfie. [emoji3526] Sorry… Rule 8.

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Well, given that Serdar was there when the photo was taken, and did not insist that we all take separate selfies, I will hope he will waive Rule 8 for this one. But I’ll leave it to him to determine whether we all need to untag that ride.

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[Nadine]

@Catedrew 223153 wrote:

1/24/23 – team pix!

Well, I’m the lone Virginia rider on my team, so the only person from the team I could get in my pic is ME!

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That’s a beautiful picture of you

[Nadine]

1/25/23 – opposite day

I rode the Arlington loop counterclockwise, so that I was going uphill on the Rosslyn hill. Most ppl I know like it better clockwise cuz they think it’s easier. Tbh I prefer the “reverse” loop cuz I think the slow climb up the false flat of the w&od is a slog…… I prefer flying down it….. and struggling up the Rosslyn hill is fine cuz you can SEE why it’s hard. (Course my perspective might have something to do with the fact that I live right by the intersection of the Custis & w&od trails [emoji16][emoji1744])

I was also wearing red from head to toe and riding a bike with lime green accents (opposite colors) and wearing my toe covers inside my sandals, which is the opposite of where they’re intended to be worn….. But we’re only allowed one pic here so you’ll hafta go to my Strava feed to see the others [emoji16][emoji1744]

Nadine
[emoji177][emoji3063][emoji2186]

[Mtansill]

@cvcalhoun 223184 wrote:

Well, given that Serdar was there when the photo was taken, and did not insist that we all take separate selfies, I will hope he will waive Rule 8 for this one. But I’ll leave it to him to determine whether we all need to untag that ride.

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If I were running the game and had noticed I probably wouldn’t have said anything. But Serdar is probably nicer than me. [emoji16]

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[bikingjenn]

@Serdar 223149 wrote:

Ha ha. That’s creative, but the selfie was not made on the ride. Sorry, Jenn.

it was made when i walked in the door from my ride, so the question is, “where does a ride begin and end?” whoa, deep!

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[Serdar]

@LGRides 222744 wrote:

1/18/23 National Winnie the Pooh Day

Little did I know, but I apparently live near Pooh’s Hundred Acre Woods!

Complete with The Poohsticks Bridge, A Floody Place, The Six Pine Trees, and a Grassy Knoll.

The actual location is called Horsepen Run – a private nature preserve in Countryside, VA.

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Great photos and text, but … Only one pic/day should be posted in the Forum. Please only pad by adding one pic/day. (You can include as many photos as possible on your Strava ride.)

[camiller]

1/25/2023 Opposites

Red means stop and green means go.

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[Serdar]

Time to announce the other winners of the main prize! And they are …

1/16/23: MLK Day – CBGanimal for a photo with biking friends with the great MLK in the background; drevil for the colorful photo of the MLK Memorial and crowds

1/17/23: Prohibition Begins – Mtansill for the funniest photo of the day

1/18/2023: Winnie the Pooh day – ALClayville for finding Pooh’s home in Annapolis; Kbikeva for the photo of a cute piglet that reminded Serdar of Charlotte’s Web, an American children’s story translated into the Turkmen language by the US Embassy Ashgabat and made available for free

1/19/23: Popcorn! – Kbikeva for going to the wet woods remembering the popcorn mushrooms seen there a year ago

1/20/23 Cheese – drevil for the photo of Joe taking a photo of Mtansill taking a photo of a person saying “Cheese”

1/21/23: waterfall – Mtansill for creative use of bottles and recycling them

1/22/23: Dc Music – RumiPumi for two-in-one submission: music and murals

1/23/23: World Cup 2022 – Boomer2U for an excellent caption and the beautiful skyline of Crystal City; Mtansill for the creative combination of a soccer ball and a bike

1/24/23: selfie with the maximum number of teammates – JoM for selfies with the maximum number of team members; LeftyLaura for photobombing Kbikeva’s selfie. Silliness pays back!

Congratulations to the leaders of the main prize!

[Serdar]

And please, check the first page of this thread for new challenges.

[AlanA]

1/25/2023 – Opposite Day

Oh no. Which way do I go?

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[Serdar]

Ha ha. That’s creative, but the selfie was not made on the ride. Sorry, Jenn.

@bikingjenn 223188 wrote:

it was made when i walked in the door from my ride, so the question is, “where does a ride begin and end?” whoa, deep!

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Ride ends when you walk

[bikingjenn]

Counterpoint: Some definitely walk during the ride…if one takes a photo in a bar, at coffee club, for PP requiring pic of bike in the photo. (please note: argument in jest, just for fun)1

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[Serdar]

@Mtansill 223158 wrote:

Hate to point it out to an awesome team, but only one person took this selfie. [emoji3526] Sorry… Rule 8.

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@cvcalhoun 223184 wrote:

Well, given that Serdar was there when the photo was taken, and did not insist that we all take separate selfies, I will hope he will waive Rule 8 for this one. But I’ll leave it to him to determine whether we all need to untag that ride.

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@Mtansill 223187 wrote:

If I were running the game and had noticed I probably wouldn’t have said anything. But Serdar is probably nicer than me. [emoji16]

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Thank you, Mtansill. I try to be nice, but a rule is a rule. JoM is the winner of the main prize as she took that photo. ALClayville and cvcalhoun take participation prizes. No need to untag those rides.

[Author]

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