[arlcxrider]

Another “annoying little reminder.”

 

Golden Spike is now on the Pointless Prize leader board. If you use #goldenspike on your Strava posts (in the title, not the description) they will show up on the leaderboard. While it is not required, it does help with the tabulation (by the white-shoe accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe.)

 

The “official” scores are based on Forum posts.

 

That is all. Ride on…

[arlcxrider]

Hey folks,

A couple of reminders.

1) Your bike must be in the photo.

2) If you ride the train, you must post a photo of your bike on the train to claim the 3 points.

We’re off to a great start. 22 entries and 10 participants. Keep if up! Thanks!

[arlcxrider]

Looks like some of the images didn’t translate over from the “old site.” Since we’re on the honor system, I’ll score these based on the description alone.

Keep them coming! We have quite a few entries so far.

[arlcxrider]

@jrenaut 227370 wrote:

I will consult The Cabal on how many demerit points to award for taking Metro to a Freezing Saddles event to avoid bad weather

Oh, I’ll probably do the 13-mile ride to work in the morning, regardless of any inclemency, but I may “cheat” on the way home and hit the HH via Metro.

[arlcxrider]

@jrenaut 227364 wrote:

Google Maps is, unfortunately, accurate. There are a couple of railings that in summer would be used to get to outdoor seating but in winter are merely decorative. I suspect this is where people will end up locking bikes. Expect to lock to someone else’s bike. I may end up getting my ride in earlier then taking the bus, but that may not be a good option for you.

The forecast (for what it’s worth this far out) says steady rain all day. I may be on the Metro.

[arlcxrider]

@murphyjmh 227057 wrote:

I love this.

Side note – What are the current rules with bikes on metro now? I haven’t tried to take one on since pre-Covid so I’m not sure if it’s more lax or still no bikes during rush hour / peak times?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are few restrictions on full-size bikes, except that you must use the end doors on the car, not the middle. WMATA also prefers that bikes not use the escalators (it’s listed as a “guideline”). I’ve not had a problem doing the “cyclo-cross carry” on stairs and escalators during low usage times–just be aware of your rear wheel so you don’t inadvertently hit someone. I would use the elevators during rush hour. The wider faregates are easier to navigate with a bike. Not a lot of rules and restrictions, unlike the “bad old days.”

https://www.wmata.com/service/bikes/guidelines.cfm

[arlcxrider]

I’ll start (and not for points).[ATTACH=CONFIG]30984[/ATTACH]

[arlcxrider]

@Dachs6 227032 wrote:

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.

Go for it! That’s why I invented the prize — to see what interesting things people come up with.

[arlcxrider]

+1. What’s the bike parking situation around there? For scores of bikes.

[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.

---

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).

[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.

[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)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30932[/ATTACH]

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

[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.

[arlcxrider]

@cvcalhoun 226617 wrote:

Yeah, and ultimately it is in the judgment of whoever sponsors the prize–no one else’s opinion matters. And the sponsor can even make determinations after the fact. Given that every person who sponsors a prize is a volunteer and pays the cost of the prize from their own funds, I am not about to question how they run their competition–not even in one instance in which a determination was made after the fact to disregard one of my entries.

Indeed, that’s the Prime Directive. Decisions of the prize sponsor are final.

[arlcxrider]

@cvcalhoun 226609 wrote:

Given that it took us 36 pages to define what a bicycle is, I’m not sure you want to raise that question with regard to pizza.

Every Pointless Prize seems to descend into legalistic hairsplitting about “the rules.” Like what constitutes “public art.”

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