[Steve O]

Time to update you on current Meh-Diocrity standings.

With only a week to go, it’s still possible for some teams and players to move into the middle spot. Just the perfect amount of slacking or a tiny bit more ambition could turn the tables. Oooo…the drama!!

Right in the meh-ddle of the individual standings, we find Ken Gordon and Lesly J

And the leaders of meh in the team standings are:

 

[Steve O]

I will bring a bunch of green Freezing Saddles ankle bands to give away, courtesy of Komorebi

[Steve O]

Feb 6 – Pupil

This is where many pupils can be found on school days.

[Steve O]

Loose Bones and I will be there

[Steve O]

From WABA today

Heads up: as of yesterday, there are a number of river-adjacent trails that are closed as a result of the plane crash on Tuesday night:

• Mount Vernon Trail between the 14th Street Bridge and Daingerfield Island
• 14th Street Bridge & Hains Point
• Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (both sides)

Our friends at East Coast Greenway report that the closures are expected to last at least a week.

Unrelated to the crash but important if you use the Anacostia River Trail: the bridge just south of Bladensburg Waterfront Park and the rowing school is being replaced, and will be closed for a week starting next Tuesday. Unfortunately there’s not a good detour around this. If you ride the ART for fun, it’s probably best to head in the other direction. If you rely on the trail for transportation, your best bet is to exit Bladensburg Waterfront Park and to catch the R12 Bus at Upshur Street and Kenilworth Ave and take that to the Deanwood Metro. From there you can take some neighborhood streets back to Deane Ave and pick up the trail again.

And, finally, DC Water’s Potomac River Tunnel Project has already resulted in some potholes and detours at the Georgetown terminus of the Capital Crescent Trail. Things will get a bit more disruptive in the coming weeks as they start to dig some very deep holes next to the Washington Canoe Club boathouse. The trail will remain open but there will be a couple of different detour configurations in the coming months.

[Steve O]

January 31 – TOAST

Same subject as Casey, but a cooler photo

[Steve O]

https://live.staticflickr.com/4740/40375906292_eec57f9035_h.jpg

This was one of the greatest group rides of all time! In fact, it resulted in the winning photo of the Clever Caption Pointless Prize from 2018, as shown here:

[Steve O]

Once upon a time we implemented a scoring rule that limited any one individual rider’s team contribution to 150 points (for individual rankings, no limit), with the idea that it would blunt the effect of the super riders. I think that our analysis after the fact indicated it made little or no difference.

That’s been the case with most of our scoring changes over the years. I think the current scoring system is the best so far. That said, I have been a proponent of also including non-miles/days metrics, since Freezing Saddles is, at its core, a social game. Hence, social metrics should be the basis of the scoring system – or at least a component.

[Steve O]

An economist would point out that there is not really a difference between a five-point bonus and a five-point penalty, so this idea is the equivalent of giving riders 15 points for their daily ride and non-riders zero. Simpler to implement, but not really any different.

OTOH, behavioral economists would point out that people are more loss averse than gain loving, so a penalty might have a greater behavioral effect. That would lead one to the proposal that all non-riders should receive a 10-point penalty for not riding rather than riders getting a 10-point bonus, doubling down on the loss aversion cognitive bias.

The psychologists would then weigh in with the notion that doing that would lead to despair and discouragement and the eventual doom of Freezing Saddles.

IMO, none of these scenarios is likely to be even noticed by those who are only kinda participating anyway.

[Steve O]

Actually, to be fair, I note the card I generated had a “sign (bike route)” on it. So I have generated a new one that does not have either of the current calls on it.

https://bingobaker.com/#679a5c7d6fe940c4

Thanks,

Steve O

[Steve O]

May I join round 2?

https://bingobaker.com/#679a5b933d79ff8a

Thanks,

Steve O

[Steve O]

1/27/2025 – SHUNT

You need three tracks to effectively shunt a train car

[Steve O]

As of Monday, May 20, I have not received any interest in this ride. It is hereby canceled.

[Steve O]

I also awarded Bicycle Icicles to the 5 participants who cycled when the temperature was below 10 degrees F

They are:

• too slow crowe – 8.9 degrees
• Mitch Temoche – 8.5 degrees
• Scott Binde – 6.9 degrees
• Kris Stein – 0.2 degrees
• Joshua Hanson – minus 4 degrees

On the opposite side of this, I announced the FS24 Hall of Shame: the 14 riders who never once cycled when it was below actual freezing, 32 degrees F. From least shameful to most:

• Joan Bickelhaupt
• Denitsa Apostolova
• Kurt Becker
• Nat Chait
• Andrew Moore
• John Tonetti
• Wade Sheppard
• – m –
• Sylvester
• Lana Duran
• Junior Alvarado
• Colleen Geasey
• Lucy Thomas

and a certificate to the one participant who never rode below 40 degrees:

Anyone who would like their certificate or their bicycle icicle, please let me know.

 

[Steve O]

I awarded some pointless prizes at the final happy hour, including these:

Team Meh-Diocrity awards

 

 

And the individual Meh-Diocrity Awards

 

 

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