Pointless Prize – Bicycle Bingo 2026

[cvcalhoun]

Items called:

Round #3

• February 25 – Garage (freestanding). This must be a garage for an individual house, not for example a public parking garage.
• February 26 – Heavy equipment.  Go find some earth diggers, front end loaders or other big, fun equipment. No cranes or farm machinery, as those are different items.
• February 27 – Xmas lights.
• February 28 – Soccer goal.
• March 1 – Shop (bike). Take a photo of a bike shop (the sign, in the store, whatever). Show a local shop some love.
• March 2 – Traffic cone. Take a pic of one of those heavy traffic cones (typically orange). Sorry, a little sport cone from a soccer field (or similar) or a traffic barrel doesn’t count.
• March 3 – Bumper sticker.  I’ll accept ones intended to be applied to a bumper, which are attached to the back of a vehicle, even if they are not on the actual bumper.
• March 4 – Church. Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• March 5 – Sculpture (non-person). Any public art sculpture, except that it cannot be a sculpture of a person or include a person.
• March 6 – Named pond/lake. Let us know the name of the pond/lake you found (big enough that its name is on Google Maps).
• March 7 – Flag (state). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork, etc. In the interest of not disadvantaging the already disenfranchised, I’ll accept DC flags as “state” flags.
• March 8 – Duck or goose.  This must be an actual live duck or goose.
• March 9 – Temple. Given that “synagogue,” “church,” and “mosque” are separate items, I’m allowing only a Mormon temple or a temple that is not a synagogue, church, or mosque (e.g., Buddhist or Hindu). Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• March 10 – Car (orange).  Must be an actual car, not for example a commercial van.
• March 11 – Boat. Any real boat will do (i.e. not a picture of a boat or a boat on a logo…find a real boat 🙂
• March 12 – Mural.
• March 13 – Statue (person).  Must be a statue of a person or sculpture that includes a person.
• March 14 – Tennis court.
• March 15 – Shop (taco). This should be a specialty taco place, not just a restaurant that sells tacos among other things.
• March 16 – Blue USPS box (or other country equivalent).
• March 17 – Barn.
• March 18 – Yard inflatable. Must be inflated and sitting on the ground (i.e., not a balloon that hangs from something or floats in the air). I’m talking about holiday decoration inflatables.
• March 19 – Mosque. Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• March 20 – License plate (vanity).  Vanity plate is any state license plate that the owner requested custom letters/numbers. Usually to say something interesting; sometimes hard to decipher.
• March 21 – Fence (iron).
• March 22 – Synagogue. Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• March 23 – Shop (ice cream). This should be a specialty ice cream shop, not for example a supermarket or restaurant that happens to sell ice cream.
• March 24 – Flag (military). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork, etc. POW flags are considered military for this purpose.
• March 25 – Mirror. Photograph a mirror that you find on your ride (can’t be yours and can’t be on a vehicle such as a car or truck). Be in the pic; Don’t be in the pic. Just make sure it’s clearly a mirror in the pic.
• March 26 – Analog clock. Photograph an analog clock (real one) on your ride. Can’t be a watch (yours or anyone you find).
• March 27 – Tandem bicycle. Tandem bicycle (a real one, not a picture). Find a tandem bike out on your ride and take a pic. Not your own tandem….
• March 28 – Flowers.  Real flowers, growing outdoors.
• March 29 – Sign (w/pic of bike). This means a sign that has a pic of a bike on it, not a picture that includes a random sign and also your bike.  However, the sign cannot be a bike route sign or a share the road sign, since those are separate items.
• March 30 – Crane. As in the machinery, not the bird.
• March 31 – Graffiti.

Millie wins Round #3!

Round #2

• February 2 – Garage (freestanding). This must be a garage for an individual house, not for example a public parking garage.
• February 3 – Mirror. Photograph a mirror that you find on your ride (can’t be yours and can’t be on a vehicle such as a car or truck). Be in the pic; Don’t be in the pic. Just make sure it’s clearly a mirror in the pic.
• February 4 – Cat. This must be an actual live cat. However, anything in the cat family (lions, tigers, etc.) counts.
• February 5 – Blue USPS box (or other country equivalent).
• February 6 – Synagogue.  Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• February 7 – Boat.  Any real boat will do (i.e. not a picture of a boat or a boat on a logo…find a real boat 🙂
• February 8 – Baseball diamond.
• February 9 – Sign (bike route). It needs to say the exact words, “bike route,” on it. Signs for bike trails, etc. will not satisfy this one.
• February 10 – Heavy equipment. Go find some earth diggers, front end loaders or other big, fun equipment. No cranes or farm machinery, as those are different items.
• February 11 – Farm machinery.
• February 12 – License plate (vanity). Vanity plate is any state license plate that the owner requested custom letters/numbers. Usually to say something interesting; sometimes hard to decipher.
• February 13 – Traffic cone. Take a pic of one of those heavy traffic cones (typically orange). Sorry, a little sport cone from a soccer field (or similar) or a traffic barrel doesn’t count.
• February 14 – Flag (military). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork,etc. POW flags are considered military for this purpose.
• February 15 – Named creek/river. Let us know the name of the river/creek you found (big enough that its name is on Google Maps).
• February 16 – Flag (other). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork, etc. Must be a flag that is not a country, state, or military flag. (DC flags are considered state flags and POW flags are considered military flags for this purpose.)
• February 17 – Cow. This must be an actual live cow. However, it does not have to be specifically a female; bulls, steers, or calves count.
• February 18 – Shop (bar). Take a photo of a bar (the drinking kind); the sign (or from inside 🙂 Must be a bar that is not also a brewery, since a brewery is a separate Bingo item.
• February 19 – Football field. Must be American football, since soccer goal is a separate item.
• February 20 – Tennis court.
• February 21 – Balloon.  An actual balloon, not a picture of one. No yard inflatables, as that is a separate Bingo item.
• February 22 – Dog. This must be an actual live dog.
• February 23 – Shop (diner). Photo of a diner (with its name in the pic); if no “Diner” in the name, make sure it’s obvious that it’s a diner.
• February 24 – Car (yellow).  Must be an actual car, not for example a school bus or a commercial van.

Carlos wins Round #2!

Round #1

• January 1 – Sign (bike route).  It needs to say the exact words, “bike route,” on it. Signs for bike trails, etc. will not satisfy this one.
• January 2 – Cat. This must be an actual live cat. However, anything in the cat family (lions, tigers, etc.) counts.
• January 3 – Dog. This must be an actual live dog.
• January 4 – Blue USPS box (or other country equivalent)
• January 5 – Flag (other). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork, etc. Must be a flag that is not a country, state, or military flag. (DC flags are considered state flags and POW flags are considered military flags for this purpose.)
• January 6 – Graffiti
• January 7 – Boat. Any real boat will do (i.e. not a picture of a boat or a boat on a logo…find a real boat 🙂
• January 8 – Yard inflatable. Must be inflated and sitting on the ground (i.e., not a balloon that hangs from something or floats in the air). I’m talking about holiday decoration inflatables.
• January 9 – Synagogue. Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• January 10 – Custom mailbox.  Needs to be a unique mailbox; not something you can buy at the store. Not a “wrap” over a std mailbox. Not just a big pole/post housing a mailbox. There are plenty of good examples out there. Go find one.
• January 11 – Tandem bicycle. Tandem bicycle (a real one, not a picture). Find a tandem bike out on your ride and take a pic. Not your own tandem….
• January 12 – Statue (person). Must be a statue of a person or sculpture that includes a person.
• January 13 – Hospital. This must be a hospital for humans, not a veterinary hospital.
• January 14 – Train. Any train that actually runs (Amtrak, Metro, children’s miniature train). No train cars being used as restaurants, train artwork, stationary trains being used as museum exhibits.
• January 15 – Mural.
• January 16 – Sign (county line).  In the interest of not disadvantaging the already disenfranchised, I’ll accept DC line signs or signs for a city that is not within a county as “county line” signs. However, these must be signs at the boundary, not signs directing you to the boundary.
• January 17 – Bird. This must be an actual live bird that is not a duck or goose.
• January 18 – Sign (share the road) – It needs to say the exact words, “share the road,” on it.
• January 19 – Tree (coniferous). Tree that produce cones. Most, but not all, coniferous trees are also evergreens, and vice versa.
• January 20 – Sculpture (non-person). Any public art sculpture, except that it cannot be a sculpture of a person or include a person
• January 21 – House (stone).  The outside must be at least 75% made of stone.
• January 22 – Post office. US Postal Service or foreign country equivalent.
• January 23 – Sign (park). This is a sign for a park (as in green space), not a sign related to parking.
• January 24 – Flag (state). An actual flag, not a poster, flag artwork,etc. In the interest of not disadvantaging the already disenfranchised, I’ll accept DC flags as “state” flags.
• January 25 – Mirror. Photograph a mirror that you find on your ride (can’t be yours and can’t be on a vehicle such as a car or truck). Be in the pic; Don’t be in the pic. Just make sure it’s clearly a mirror in the pic
• January 26 – Shop (bubble tea). This should be a specialty bubble tea place, not just a restaurant that sells bubble tea among other things.
• January 27 – Tennis court.
• January 28 – Duck or goose.  This must be an actual live duck or goose.
• January 29 – Cow. This must be an actual live cow. However, it does not have to be specifically a female; bulls, steers, or calves count.
• January 30 – Temple.  Given that “synagogue,” “church,” and “mosque” are separate items, I’m allowing only a Mormon temple or a temple that is not a synagogue, church, or mosque (e.g., Buddhist or Hindu). Can be a photo of either the building or the sign, but you must identify the building if there is no name shown.
• January 31 – Car (custom paint). Photo of a car w/custom paint job. Anything questionable will be arbitrarily decided by me. No wraps or business logos/printing. Private car; some custom, after-market paint job.
• February 1 – Fence (privacy). Needs to be at least a 6ft fence you can’t see through (typically wood; could be brick/stone).

Ken wins Round #1!

Note change from prior years:  Participants should post only on Discord, not here!  Please do not reply to this post.

Yes, Bicycle Bingo is returning for 2026.  I’m announcing this one early, because it requires a sign-up before January 1 (at least to play the first round).  To sign up, please go to this link and click on the button to generate a bingo card, then go to Discord and post the URL of the card you generate as a reply to the thread in #bicycle-bingo entitled “Post the URLs of your cards here.”  If your Discord name is not the same as your forum name, please include your forum name or your Strava number in your post.  Once you do that, I will add your information to the spreadsheet for the contest.

Basic premise:

• Daily (starting Jan 1) I will announce the proverbial “bingo number” to the forum (which will actually be an object/thing; see sample card image, below).  The announcement will be made through an edit to this post, via a new post under bicycle-bingo on the Discord server, and via the spreadsheet I will use to keep track of the items people have found.
• If a player has that item on their Bingo card and finds the “thing” on their ride that day or a future day, they will need to do three things:  1.  Take a photo of the item and post a reply to the post for the day it was called (not the day they find it) on the Discord server indicating what they’ve found, including the photo.  2.  Include the photo of the item in their Strava ride for the day and use #Bingo in the Strava ride title. 3. Mark that spot on their Bingo card.  (If you forget the URL of yor Bingo card, you can check this link to find it.)  I strongly recommend, although do not require, that you tag the photo as well as the ride with #Bingo if your ride contains entries for more than one contest, because if you do not, you may end up violating the rules of another contest by having your #Bingo photo also show up as a second entry for the other contest.
• The rides for each item must be on different days. For example, suppose the object for January 1 is balloon and the object for January 2 is flag.  If you miss that balloon on January 1, you can find a balloon and post it on January 2. But if you do, your ride to find the flag must be on January 3 or later.
• You can post the day of your ride or the next day. But no sandbagging (saving up a bunch of rides and then waiting until you’ve almost achieved Bingo to post). If you do not post your item to Discord by the end of the day after you find it, it will not count and you will have to go find it again to get credit.
• First player to find 5 things making “BINGO” (i.e., five items in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row) wins.

Key additional info (and I’ll probably add more later to clarify based on questions I get):

• Although you can find the thing on the day I call it or any day after that, it won’t count if you find the thing before the day for which it is called.  That applies even if I have already posted the item for the next day.  E.g., if I post an item at 8 pm on one day, saying it is the next day’s item, finding it before midnight on the day I post it won’t count.
• I will request to follow everyone who plays this game on Strava so that I can verify their entries. If you have Strava set so that you have to approve people following you, please approve me. I’m Carol ✊ on Strava.
• First person to announce BINGO to this thread (and I verify their entries) wins.
• Once someone wins, I will clear everyone’s card and start a new round.  (I anticipate we will have three rounds before the end of Freezing Saddles.)  I am able to clear your card without anyone’s involvement, so you will just find it blank when you go to use it for the second or third round.  If you want to use a different card for the second round, you will need to post on the Discord server giving the URL of the new card before the first round ends.
• If we haven’t finished the third round by the end of Freezing Saddles, I will continue the game until someone wins that third round.

Other thoughts:

• I plan to post the day’s Bingo# the prior evening.  But I’m only human, and may occasionally fall asleep before doing it.
• Most objects are likely self-explanatory, and I will provide a little more detail with each day’s announcement.
• There are 75 objects/items in total and 25 are randomly selected for each player’s Bingo card.
• Here is the link to the Google sheet I use to track what’s been called, and everyone’s card.
• If you win, I’ll verify you submitted valid photos on the day when you found the item (which must be on or after the day it was called) or the day after.
• If you want to cheat and ruin the fun for everyone, I’m sure you can.
• Prize will likely be a gift card of some kind.

Have fun and let me know any questions!

Topic

[bikingjenn]

logged into Discord but unable to figure it out. Do you make this challenging on purpose?

Here’s my card link:

https://bingobaker.com/view/9746786

[cvcalhoun]

@bikingjenn, that link isn’t working.  Sometimes people have trouble if they use a phone rather than a computer to generate the card.  Would you like me to generate a card for you? Or is this your card?

Also, I think if you go to this link, you’ll be able to get to the Discord server.  You’ll need to be able to do that anyway in order to play.

[Author]

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