W&W London Bridge Pointless Prize Log

[consularrider]

"This icy winter snowstorm offers an opportunity to announce another of the several pointless prizes I plan to award: the prize for the most crashes. We can call it the London Bridge prize, or… for any Bruce fans, the “I’m goin’ down” prize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fdZWbIsrFk

Initially I wanted to offer this prize last winter, but it became painfully apparent that I’d have to award it to myself… how dorky is that?

The thing I'm not sure of is how we'll know who the winner is this year. What is the best way to keep track of how many times we go down? I don't know if we’d need a separate thread or if it’s better to add a specific keyword to ride titles… or if we should just rely on self-reporting at the end of the season – crashes are generally engraved quite powerfully in the memory, so I don't expect anyone will forget.

Be safe, everyone. w&w"

Think you might be in the running for Wheels & Wings PP? Since this isn't something that can be pulled off your Stave ride reports, here is a thread where you can either brag or complain about your accomplishments.

Declared falls (as of date/time of last edit):

consularrider: 6
kitty: 4
Steve O: 1
DCV: 3?
Subby: 4
Mikey: 1
J Wetzel: 1
Teresa A: 1
vvill: 2
Amalitza: 1
Boomer2U: 2
Dickie: 3
jlevine: 1
Jon Robot: 3
Steve O: 2
DrP: 2
BTC_DC: 1
LeprosyStudyGroup: 2
Vicegrip: 2
jonathankrall: 1
hozn: 1 (does he count as a slacker?)
wheels&wings: 1
JonRobot: 1
Boomer2U: 1

Anyone else playing? If you have already post elsewhere, please repost here so you can get credit.

[Steve O]

Declared falls:

consularrider: 5
kitty: 3

Anyone else playing?

I think dcv claimed 3. I will sheepishly claim 1 so far.

[consularrider]

My first BAFS fall was Thursday, January 21. I was riding the Pugsley with studded tires and made to sharp a movement to get off the street while I was on packed snow/ice covered with brown sugar slush. I was on the cobblestones of Trioksviatytelska St about to enter Mykhaivs'ka Sq and the street was blocked off for a Christmas Market.

Falls 2-5 were on Sunday, January 31. I again was riding the Pugsley with studded tires, this time on trails and forest roads in Pushcha-Voditsa just north of Kyiv. The surface was mostly ice with some crusty snow and very few bare spots. My first fall was on a slightly banked turn and the wheels just slid down the ice. The second and third falls of the day were when I was crossing the crusty snow between the wheel ruts to try and avoid some deep puddles. The final fall (that I can claim) was when my wheel caught in one of the deep and narrow wheel ruts. I did learn a lot about riding on ice during the ride.

Sample of the conditions.

[Subby]

Put me down for 4. Twice on the Custis, once on the MVT, once going through Rosslyn (is that sidewalk still considered the custis?).

[Mikey]

I had 1 - Columbia Island/to North Pentagon Parking lot wooden bridge trollheim.

[jwetzel]

Once for me. It was that Wednesday night clipper, I went down in the middle of 18th street in Adams Morgan as I tried to stop with one foot already on the ground. One of the rare times I've called it quits for safety reasons, I threw the bike into a car2go and drove home.

[Terpfan]

True fall? I haven't had one since November. But slight fall as in bike moves out underneath you, then yes my idiotic idea to try riding the icy patch in marina trail this morning did fall. But I had unclipped one foot in anticipation of something going wrong so i just awkwardly kind of half fell and then walked the stretch.

[Steve O]

True fall? I haven't had one since November. But slight fall as in bike moves out underneath you, then yes my idiotic idea to try riding the icy patch in marina trail this morning did fall. But I had unclipped one foot in anticipation of something going wrong so i just awkwardly kind of half fell and then walked the stretch.

I suppose we can discuss the definition of "fall."
I suggest anything that causes your handlebar to unintentionally hit the ground while you are riding the bike and at least one part of your body other than your feet also touches the ground. (If you can nimbly dismount and land on your feet while your bike skitters away, then not a fall, but hopefully someone got video.)

Stopped while "riding" still counts, such as while standing at a light or failing to clip out. Dropping your bike accidentally shouldn't count unless you go down with it.

[Teresa A]

Put me down for one. It was Blizzard Friday and the snow was covering the edge of the trail, which my bike tires followed and causing me to fall and hit my head (while still clipped in). Unfortunately, the snow wasn't really deep enough to cushion the impact but it was a low speed crash. :-)

[lordofthemark]

I suppose we can discuss the definition of "fall."
I suggest anything that causes your handlebar to unintentionally hit the ground while you are riding the bike and at least one part of your body other than your feet also touches the ground. (If you can nimbly dismount and land on your feet while your bike skitters away, then not a fall, but hopefully someone got video.)

Stopped while "riding" still counts, such as while standing at a light or failing to clip out. Dropping your bike accidentally shouldn't count unless you go down with it.

What if your handlebar does not hit the ground, because it is cushioned by two feet of snow? And your body rolls into the snow, but never touches "ground"?