Pointless Prize: Golden Spike award

[arlcxrider]

To encourage more bikes on trains, and maybe something “fun” in the mix if the weather’s nasty, I’m offering the Golden Spike Award pointless prize.

THE RULES

1. Ride your bike to an active station where passengers board and alight. Location must have regularly scheduled passenger service. For example, the Vienna depot on the W&OD doesn’t count, neither does the old B&O station in Silver Spring. What constitutes “riding” to the station is on the honor system.
2. Intercity (Amtrak or equivalent), commuter rail (MARC, VRE, etc), heavy rail (WMATA, etc.) and light rail transit (DC Streetcar, Baltimore light rail) all count. Must be steel wheel on steel rail. (I will make an exception for Montreal.) Trolley buses (i.e., there is no fixed guideway) don’t count. Airport people movers don’t count.
3. Submissions to the forum must include a picture of the bike with a station sign.
4. Each station sign submission is worth one point and must be unique (no repeats.)
5. One submission per day of Freezing Saddles.
6. BONUS POINTS: board the train or light rail vehicle with your bike from one station and alight at another station. In that case you will claim three points. Must post a picture of your bike with the start station sign, end station sign, and your bike aboard the train to claim the three points.
7. BONUS POINT trips must be unique, but you could, for instance, board the Red Line at Silver Spring and ride to Union Station (three points) and the next day ride from Silver Spring to Rhode Island Ave and claim another three points.
8. Tie-breaking method will be at the sole discretion of the prize sponsor.
9. Useful, but not required, use hashtag #goldenspike on Strava.

[Serdar]

@arlcxrider 226647 wrote:

To encourage more bikes on trains, and maybe something “fun” in the mix if the weather’s nasty, I’m offering the Golden Spike Award pointless prize.

THE RULES

1. Ride your bike to an active station where passengers board and alight. Location must have regularly scheduled passenger service. For example, the Vienna depot on the W&OD doesn’t count, neither does the old B&O station in Silver Spring. What constitutes “riding” to the station is on the honor system.
2. Intercity (Amtrak or equivalent), commuter rail (MARC, VRE, etc), heavy rail (WMATA, etc.) and light rail transit (DC Streetcar, Baltimore light rail) all count. Must be steel wheel on steel rail. (I will make an exception for Montreal.) Trolley buses (i.e., there is no fixed guideway) don’t count. Airport people movers don’t count.
3. Submissions to the forum must include a picture of the bike with a station sign.
4. Each station sign submission is worth one point and must be unique (no repeats.)
5. One submission per day of Freezing Saddles.
6. BONUS POINTS: board the train or light rail vehicle with your bike from one station and alight at another station. In that case you will claim three points. Must post a picture of your bike with the start station sign, end station sign, and your bike aboard the train to claim the three points.
7. BONUS POINT trips must be unique, but you could, for instance, board the Red Line at Silver Spring and ride to Union Station (three points) and the next day ride from Silver Spring to Rhode Island Ave and claim another three points.
8. Tie-breaking method will be at the sole discretion of the prize sponsor.

Thanks for sponsoring this prize. Can the cyclists use this hashtag to mark their rides on Strava? #goldenspike

[arlcxrider]

Yes, please use hashtag #goldenspike. A little writeup about the ease (or lack thereof) of using various systems with a bike would be great too. Most of us know about bikes on board WMATA, and I’ve taken my bikes aboard Amtrak, MARC, and VRE. Looking forward to seeing what kind of cool destinations and trips folks come up with. And to re-iterate, there are no geographical limitations. If you’re in another locale, “your” bike could be a bikeshare.

[AlanA]

Just curious. If I got my bike in this picture would I get some bonus points? It’s a must for train lovers! (sorry for the random post, but I just had to post this after I saw the title)

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[lordofthemark]

As a former RR guy, and as someone who will tell anyone who will listen that apart from riding it, the simplest and best way to transport your bike is often or usually by train, I love this.

[Serdar]

I’m thinking of either taking the metro to the end and biking back home or doing it the other way around. If anyone’s interested, I might organize group rides for the Golden Spike prize.

[arlcxrider]

@AlanA 226660 wrote:

Just curious. If I got my bike in this picture would I get some bonus points? It’s a must for train lovers! (sorry for the random post, but I just had to post this after I saw the title)

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Special Merit awards will be considered on a case-by-case basis. North Platte, Neb.?

[arlcxrider]

@Serdar 226673 wrote:

I’m thinking of either taking the metro to the end and biking back home or doing it the other way around. If anyone’s interested, I might organize group rides for the Golden Spike prize.

I’ve done some Loudoun County loops from Ashburn station, and using Metro to cut out the “boring bits” of the W&OD. And DC>Annapolis>BWI and then MARC from BWI Station.

[AlanA]

@arlcxrider 226675 wrote:

Special Merit awards will be considered on a case-by-case basis. North Platte, Neb.?

Yup, that’s where it is. I’ve ridden my bike to it twice but drove when I did the little tour.

[Kbikeva]

@Serdar 226673 wrote:

I’m thinking of either taking the metro to the end and biking back home or doing it the other way around. If anyone’s interested, I might organize group rides for the Golden Spike prize.

Serdar there are a few “ends” to shoot for! This could be fun to do various ones. I’ll be watching this as it develops.

Friends don’t let friends get bored during Freezing Saddles!

[ltierstein]

I once had a consulting job in Curtis Bay. I would ride my bike to Union Station, get on a MARC train to BWI (folding bike), and ride to the USCG supply yard that was there. Actually I think I got off the train in Linthicum which was a little closer and had less traffic. But getting through Brooklyn was still a challenge.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ltierstein]

@Serdar 226673 wrote:

I’m thinking of either taking the metro to the end and biking back home or doing it the other way around. If anyone’s interested, I might organize group rides for the Golden Spike prize.

If you’re talking about the end of the silver line in Ashburn, always take your bike on the train to Ashburn and ride back. You will probably have a tailwind. Except the direct ride back is boring (all W&OD). Rides back from the end of the red line in Wheaton is much more interesting – Sligo Creek Trail to other trails then through town.

[ltierstein]

For BONUS POINTS, does the direction of the trip count? If I got on in Silver Spring and got off in Union Station, is that different than getting on in Union Station and getting off in Silver Sprint? It’s a unique permutation, if not a combination.

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7. BONUS POINT trips must be unique, but you could, for instance, board the Red Line at Silver Spring and ride to Union Station (three points) and the next day ride from Silver Spring to Rhode Island Ave and claim another three points.

[arlcxrider]

@ltierstein 226959 wrote:

For BONUS POINTS, does the direction of the trip count? If I got on in Silver Spring and got off in Union Station, is that different than getting on in Union Station and getting off in Silver Sprint? It’s a unique permutation, if not a combination.

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7. BONUS POINT trips must be unique, but you could, for instance, board the Red Line at Silver Spring and ride to Union Station (three points) and the next day ride from Silver Spring to Rhode Island Ave and claim another three points.

Both trips would be unique, in the opinion of the chair (i.e., the opinion that counts).

[Dachs6]

Probably unfair, since I play FS from Europe (for now)…but, I often plan P2P rides that involve a train to get to the start, or to get from the end. But, I’ll offer up some cool Belgian (and maybe Dutch, German or French) train stations.

[Author]

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