[Kbikeva]

January 4

RELAX

 

[Kbikeva]

Oops, you’re right. Well, I’m still not going after that one at this point. If it turns out to be critical to my 5 in a row, I’ll reconsider.

There is a restaurant here that in other locations is called The County Line, but here it’s State Line . . . confusing, yes. But great BBQ!

🙂

[Kbikeva]

Just popping in to say I’m doing as well as I did last year — 0 for 3 on my card!

However, considering the closest County line here is 21 miles away over a mountain (it also happens to be a state line and an international border), I’m just as happy to not have County Line sign on my card today. 🙂

Thanks Carol for doing this – it’s fun to think about how I *would* show those if I had them on my card.

[Kbikeva]

Nadine, I have to take off my FS Scavenger Hunt hat for a minute and put on my Friends of the W&OD hat. There is an agreement between NOVAPark (W&OD) and Arlington under which Arlington can clear the trail of snow and ice as they see fit and wish to do within their jurisdiction. There is no such agreement further west on the W&OD, so IF anything is done, it will only be in Arlington. That said, there are many people in Arlington who are concerned about chemicals/brine going into the water, so that may be why there’s intermittent treatment of the pavement.

Also, the bridge over Langston Blvd is NOT the Pete Beers memorial bridge. I knew Pete well and miss him, so this is no disrespect to him. But NOVA Parks doesn’t name features of the trail after individuals, but rather the locations where they exist. I just wanted to set the record straight since some people playing FS may not be familiar with the bridge and might start looking for one with that name. It is best to not perpetuate this misdesignation.

Okay, back to Freezing Saddles hat (helmet?). I loved the way you saw the never center in the trees. Very artful!

Kelley (KBikeva)

[Kbikeva]

1/3/2025

CHEAP

[Kbikeva]

1/2/2025

 

CHOSE

[Kbikeva]

Happy New Year and Happy First Word for Photo Scavenger Hunt!

The word for January 1, 2025 is

NERVE

 

[Kbikeva]

AlanA, you can still play along and run a reindeer game as a BAFS. It won’t be the same without you somewhere in the mix!

 

Kbikeva

 

BigRedBoiler – what an interesting concept. You’re right – they are everywhere but we tend to just let them fade into the landscape. Now I’ll be paying more attention! Thanks!

[Kbikeva]

I did expand the listing. For the US it’s 11863 Parks listed. So I looked at the map, which is definitely easier to home in on a target area but there aren’t that many of those 244 spots in Virginia near the immediately bikeable DC area. Still, it’s an interesting idea. I hope those who live near the cluster of yellow in DC will have fun with this!

[Kbikeva]

Yes Carol. That is correct. The point was that in order to get credit for both days’ Wordle, each has to be posted on its own day.

[Kbikeva]

I don’t really understand the search function on that link. I’m trying to look for eligible parks in the area I’m traveling to during BAFS, and it won’t search by US-TX. For that matter, it won’t give me a list of US-VA either. What am I missing here?

Kbikeva

[Kbikeva]

2025 Photo Scavenger Hunt Rules

Not many changes this year – if you’ve played before, you know the drill. Remember it’s a GAME and it is supposed to be FUN.

We are looking forward to hosting the 2025 Photo Scavenger Hunt Pointless Prize. We welcome back our seasoned veterans and extend a special welcome to our newbies. Last year Serdar and Kelley used Wordle to generate words, offering alternates on really challenging days. But the vast majority of players went with the Wordle words – so it’s ON. We will let Wordle generate the words this year – and NO alternates!

You’ll have to solve (or wait until we post the answer by 8am) the daily Wordle game in order to discover the photo clue.

Wordle is a logic guessing game, hosted by the NY Times (no subscription or log-in required to play). Each answer is a five letter word. All the rules for Wordle are at the site provided. If you’re not familiar with it, we encourage you to practice playing a couple of times before the scavenger hunt begins. Here is the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

Rules:

As in previous years, there are 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 AND (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). This is simply a numbers game – do it each day, and you’ll have the maximum number of entries. If you use the tag more than once in a 24-hour period, one of them will be disqualified.

To compete in the main competition (with one or more points awarded daily based on photo creativity, beauty, and/or my capricious whims), your entries must be posted HERE on the Forum in this thread. To view the MAIN competition Leader Board, this is the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kzvi8AI6kNAqx3_cviFKqCOrQuR9nd8u/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110513558266826733267&rtpof=true&sd=true

Please note that this is an active document – don’t rest on your laurels until the competition ends.

Detailed rules:

1. You should be a participant in Freezing Saddles ’24. Friends of Freezing Saddles can post, but only actual participants can win prizes.
2. It has to be on a bike ride on the day it was requested
3. For the main competition, the photo must 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 is part of the challenge.
4. We are embracing the random nature of games and life by using Wordle as the clue generator. Each day, you will go to https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html and play the provided. The solution word is the clue. You do not have to have a subscription to NYT or log in to their site. Wordle is provided free with the link above. If the Wordle game is too difficult or frustrating, there are two options – keep going until you run out of clues and the solution will be revealed. Or visit https://tryhardguides.com/wordle-solver/ which will help you figure it out. The new Wordle drops at midnight.  The word for the day will be posted on the forum as a new post, and will be added to the list on the first page (this one) of the scavenger hunt forum. Go to that page if you don’t want to search through the recent posts. Hint: Use “wordle“, “scavenger”, or “photo” to search if you can’t find it.
5. The CVC rule – if you ride at night, you’ll need to stop your Strava at midnight and start at midnight+1 second in order for the photo to ‘land’ on the correct day. Since you’ll be pausing to solve the Wordle, it’s a good time to do this.
6. Just as in past years, when you post your photo, use the format mm/dd/year – word. (Example 12/13/2023 – SPENT)
   Extra points for doing hard words, doing hard words in sucky weather, and being generally entertaining are within the discretion of the judges – but they MAY happen! Description, short backstory, or location are optional (but nice).
7. 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.
8. Only one picture per day should be posted in the Forum. More than one, no matter how cute or engaging, will disqualify the player for that day. One photo means one photo – not two squished into one or any permutation thereof.
   You can include as many photos as you wish on your Strava ride but each Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt will be worth exactly 1 point – and you can only tag 1 Strava ride for this each day (even if you do dozens of bike rides that day)
9. It has to be a picture, not a video.
10. The photo must be of something you find on your ride, not things you bring or make yourself (unless otherwise specified). Example 1: Don’t build a pile of dirt, snow, or rocks if the Wordle clue is “MOUND”; Example 2: if the Wordle clue is “FRUIT” don’t bring a piece of fruit with you on your ride, and take a photo of that. It’s a SCAVENGER hunt. NOTE: Your friends are not “something you bring from home.”
11. Your bike does not have to be in the photo, but we do love seeing them used creatively in context.
12. Found item needs to be clear and discernible (or legible if text) in the picture.
13. The Ricky Rule: Filters are OK, but no obvious/blatant photoshopping…. and no AI-generated images, please. Not that we would know anything about such things.

2025 Rule for Forum Access Challenges: We love Bike Arlington and the fact that the forum exists, but sometimes it’s a pain to use. When it’s being wonky, it’s usually wonky for everyone. In that case, post your “money shot” in your Strava. We’ll try to figure it out, but if it’s a particularly frustrating day for all of us, we may just skip awarding any points that day.

Remember: this is a GAME with POINTLESS prizes. Taking it too seriously/competitively takes away everyone’s enjoyment.

Scoring

1. Scoring will be similar to BAFS24, 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. 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. If you tag your ride with the hashtag, make sure you upload a photo. 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 and please do not use the tag without a photo. The top rider(s) (based on the number of rides, not mileage!!) will get a special prize at the end of Freezing Saddles! If there is more than one who rides and posts every day, we’ll think of some way to award the winner of a tie.

And last, but not least. Remember to be respectful of private property and obtain any necessary permissions when taking photos, especially in private areas. Additionally, try to capture unique angles and perspectives to make your scavenger hunt photos more interesting and creative. Have fun exploring your town and interpreting the theme in creative ways!

Good Luck!
Kelley (kbikeva) and Glenn (bikesnick)

[Kbikeva]

UPDATE – PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT 2025

Photo Scavenger Hunt – I’ll be doing some traveling during the competition and it will be difficult (on occasion) to satisfy those who want a quick resolution each day. You’ll also provide input/vote when the winner for the day isn’t clear.

Please consider volunteering to help with this prize. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out and hunt and post. It just means you don’t get a prize. And you’ll earn my eternal thanks and maybe a free lunch or dinner in the spring!

Please email me at westenhoff at gmail if you’re interested.

Thanks, Kelley

[Kbikeva]

I just looked at the Strava 2025 Freezing Saddles page – it says 275 people. Can that be correct?

[Kbikeva]

https://bingobaker.com/#675229d12da00a50

 

Thank you Carol, for again giving me a reason to bang my head against my handlebars. 🙂 At least it’s all in fun.

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