[wheelswings]

I gave awards to six people.

Night Owls
Freezing Saddles had 29 night owls who started rides between midnight and 4 a.m.
I had prizes for the top three owls…
Eric Weisz (11 rides)
Scott McConnell (7)
Kathy Lewis (6)
What sort of shady business were they up to, riding in the middle of the night?
The lucky winners received caffeinated Jelly Bellies to help stay awake at the handlebars.
The certificates include a limerick:
In the sinister darkness of night
Glide these bikes like a raptor in flight
Were they hopping the bars?
Claiming roads back from cars?
Pre-storm sleaze before streets turn to white?

Sleaze Queen – 2nd place
Karen Warkentien, the second place queen, was honored for her 57 days of sleaze. Here’s what I said:
UNFORTUNATELY I did not qualify to award the first-place sleaze queen, not coming from such royal lineage myself.
FORTUNATELY we have a second-place sleaze-winner, and as a Bipolar Bear I happen to have a special fondness for second place.
UNFORTUNATELY as a public health professional I have been very concerned about all this sleaze taking place in Freezing Saddles.
FORTUNATELY I was able to make Karen a special necklace using components from the Famous Men’s Wear Brand Trojan Her Pleasure.
UNFORTUNATELY my aim wasn’t very good with the hole puncher.
FORTUNATELY we are all bicycling people so I know we all carry a patch kit!

I then gave awards to our Longest distance riders…Kurt Mickelwait and Chris Shue.
Initially I was thinking I’d only need to make one special necklace, but then I realized that Kurt and Chris had better wear one too, ‘cause these guys are serious studs.
Kurt took a ride of 209.723 miles
and
Chris went for a ride of 204.974 miles,
Besides the lovely necklaces and certificates, each winner received cookies from Whole Foods.
Given the sleaze queen’s predilection for …um…[edit]…one-mile rides… we know she likes good things in small doses. Karen received a carton of single serving packets of chocolate chip cookies.
As for Kurt and Chris – these guys do not hold back. Why stop at a serving when you can inhale a whole box?
Congratulations to all.

[wheelswings]

Harvard School of Public Health has come out with a new study on the need for comprehensive electronic police data on motor vehicle collisions with bicycles. The researchers analyzed crash templates from 50 states, plus several thousand actual crash reports from New York City. They found the police data to be severely lacking, focused largely on whether a bicycle was involved and whether the rider was wearing a helmet. They recommend a much more useful/comprehensive set of nearly 30 potential crash-scene coded variables for police templates, including impact points (such as open doors and mirrors) and specific crash patterns. This is very relevant to some of the discussions we’ve been having in our Arlington BAC meetings about law enforcement crash data as a tool for preventing future injuries and fatalities.

Here is the press release on the study:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/bicycle-safety-crash-reports-need-to-capture-more-data/

And here is the actual article, published in Injury Prevention.
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2015/03/30/injuryprev-2014-041317.full

I hope we can discuss these bicycle-crash templates at a future Arlington BAC meeting.

[wheelswings]

@ian74 113073 wrote:

I know FS is long over, but I got to be rather close with many of you. Some of you know I mentioned the health issues for our coming baby, and now we are so close. We are due for induction this Wednesday.

It was good to get your update, Ian, as we’ve been thinking about you a lot in anticipation of April 8. I hope things go as well as they possibly can, though I realize it will be excruciatingly difficult and heart-wrenching even under the best-case scenario. Let me know whenever you’re up for a ride or a beer … I know our fellow bears (and friends-of-bears) would want to join as well.
Holding you, Carolyn and little Acky in the Light and sending love and hugs from your bear family. w&w

[wheelswings]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8188[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8189[/ATTACH]

What a great time. Thank you.

[wheelswings]

@rcannon100 112450 wrote:

Alone at FCCII

Surely it is a relief to find respite from us shady characters. :+)

[Wish I could join you. Am getting kiddos out the door.]

[wheelswings]

My bicycle cost me $200 twenty years ago. I chose it because it was the bike that came with the free helmet. It’s a mountain bike, but back then I didn’t know what that meant. I ride my bike close to 365 days per year. Mind you, I won’t be winning any races on it. But it’s reliable and it gets me where I need to go. You don’t have to spend a whole lot of $$. The headlight cost me $96 – that’s the most expensive component – worth spending the extra to be safe in the wintertime darkness.

[wheelswings]

@rcannon100 112206 wrote:

I counted them out and Tim certified ~ 49 Brand New Scarfs!

What happened to scarf #50?

[wheelswings]

@KWL 112082 wrote:

If I’m allowed to laugh at people who get up at Midnight to ride one mile just to get the 11 points for that day, I’ll be there. (How soon can I sign up for BAFS 2016?)

You mean you never did a midnight sleaze?
Then I recommend you try it next winter!

Those who have ridden in the middle of the night know what a high it can be to ‘own’ the roads when the car-drivers are asleep. Add to that the sense of utter absurdity of the pre-storm sleaze – the realization that there’s really no reason to be riding the night-owl shift aside from this silly game — and the midnight sleaze take on a special significance. I’d definitely do it again.

At least for someone in the “sandwich generation” whose life is about looking after children, parents, bosses, and others who need our care, there is something absolutely delicious about getting out there and taking a middle-of-the-night ride just for the pure stupid fun of the Freezing Saddles experience.

That said, if you’re not on my team next year then feel free to skip it. Sleep is important. :+)

[wheelswings]

@Powerful Pete 112061 wrote:

I have not grown a millimeter.

Me neither… I did not get any taller….am still a shrimp. And I don’t bother with scales, so who the hell knows.

But if you could quantify happiness, I know I’d be a winner.

[wheelswings]

Hi creadinger,
Sorry to hear of your knee pain.
It’s tricky to diagnose since there are several possibilities that affect the outer part of the knee….and I’m not sure if you mean all the way on the side – the ilio-tibial band – or more toward the front, like patellar tendinitis. The treatment is completely different… happy to chat at the HH if you’re there.
I’m no expert but I’m a bit of an injury geek and my heart goes out to anyone who gets hurt – been there.
My suggestions are:
1.One of my favorite reference books on sports injuries is called, Listen to your pain: The Active Person’s Guide to Understanding, Identifying, and Treating Pain and Injury, by Ben E. Benjamin. It’s got diagrams and diagnostic tests to help you figure out what’s wrong, plus recommended exercises and other fixes for each injury. It might be worth picking up a copy.
2.If you decide to elevate this beyond input from the Forum :+), you might consider an appointment with Dr. Ayne Furman in Old Town Alexandria.
http://www.archandsole.com
She’s top of the line for this sort of injury. And since she’s an avid runner and cyclist herself, she “gets it” and won’t simply tell you to stop riding. She diagnosed an ankle injury of mine years ago after I’d been in pain for 16 months under the ‘care’ of multiple other doctors. She fixed me in a week and had me racing again in a month.
Good wishes. w&w

[wheelswings]

@kwarkentien 111754 wrote:

w&w, may I steal the presentation honors for this one away from you? As the reigning Queen, I feel it is my duty to pass along the mantle to the new Queen.

I’d be happy to award the second-place Sleaze Queen. As a Bipolar Bear, I’d like to note that there is something extra special about second place. Just sayin’. :+)

[wheelswings]

Thanks from me, too. I had a fantastic time riding in circles with y’all. Who knew HP could be such fun? It was a blast.
Huge thanks to Sarah B. The warm welcome on every lap and the bottomless supply of bananas, cookies, and other yummy treats were just amazing. I am still on a high.
Sorry I fled without a proper goodbye. I suddenly got shivery after the toasting, so I knew I’d better start pedaling fast. xoxoxxoxoxxooo w&w

[wheelswings]

I’m in. Looking forward.

[wheelswings]

I would like to sign up to present three pointless prizes.

1.Sleaze Queen.

2.The person who logs the longest ride (the farthest distance). There is still time to win this one!

3.Night-owl prize for riding between midnight and 4 a.m….. I am currently sorting out the data details with Hans.

Looking forward to our celebrations next week! w&w

[wheelswings]

My goals:

1.Distribute 50 DD holes — not homemade, but that’s a good thing in my case.

2.Ride at least one loop.

Admittedly, riding once around felt more than sufficient when I lapped HP and the Arlington loop on New Year’s Day with the kids/trailer. The girls have happy memories of that ride … largely because of the awesome discovery that Best Buns was open on our way home… not because of the cold and windy trek around HP! :+)

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