BAFS 2019 General Info Sticky

[musclys]

@TwoWheelsDC 183606 wrote:

Only if you assume no one would ride ~1 mile for anything, which is definitely not the case.

This is true. When their stations aren’t out of service — frustratingly frequent lately — I CaBi to the gym at lunch. It’s about half a mile, and a nice walk. But bike is quicker, and a there and back makes a perfect sleaze.

[wheelswings]

I’m just catching up with this thread. Just a couple of clarifications. Some of the prior entries suggest that this year’s “active volunteers” made the rule change. As one of the FS volunteers, I want to make clear that that was not the case… like y’all, I heard about the change on this thread.

I haven’t yet considered the full ramifications of the rule change. Certainly it will mean a lot more pressure on less active team members, whose non-participation under the new system may readily sink a team’s standing. In the past, the rest of the team could make up for those who chose not to ride.

The idea that “a few high-mileage riders” can determine the outcome of the Freezing Saddles competition is in some ways a misconception. As captain of the winning Titanium Geraniums last year, I will note that it was absolutely a team effort. All through January, we were rock bottom for ride days and mileage. When a teammate said in our chatroom that he hoped we could finish in the top ten, I bit my lip and said nothing ‘cause I honestly did not think it possible.

But over the weeks we bonded and grew to love each other’s quirks, kindness and humor. The Titanium-G’s became a family and together we caught the FS-virus. It was by far the most egalitarian and democratic team I have ever experienced…. and the results were an amazing testament to what can happen when people work together.

[Steve O]

@AlanA 183575 wrote:

And one final note, I think the 1 mile sleaze ride is quite bogus. I’ve certainly done it in the past, but what does it really accomplish? A person riding one mile around their neighborhood in awful weather (or while they are sick) is not promoting anything of value.

From the very beginning, sleaze rides have been one of the most beloved aspects of Freezing Saddles. They are tracked specially on the web site and served as inspiration for perhaps the BEST POINTLESS PRIZE EVER, awarded in 2015 to kwarkentien.

[sjclaeys]

Watching people who don’t participate in Freezing Saddles complain about the rules of Freezing Saddles is one of the most DC things on this forum.

[Subby]

@sjclaeys 183617 wrote:

Watching people who don’t participate in Freezing Saddles complain about the rules of Freezing Saddles is one of the most DC things on this forum.

As is watching a small group of people re-write rules

[ShawnoftheDread]

@sjclaeys 183617 wrote:

Watching people who don’t participate in Freezing Saddles complain about the rules of Freezing Saddles is one of the most DC things on this forum.

Are you referring to me? I’ve been a FS participant four times, and came to the forum to sign up this year when I saw this thread, as noted above.

Perhaps even more DC is a bike riding challenge in which a couple of people who don’t ride much change the rules to tamp down the efforts of those who ride a lot.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Subby 183619 wrote:

As is watching a small group of people re-write rules

Also known as a “Senate.”

[musclys]

@ShawnoftheDread 183620 wrote:

Perhaps even more DC is a bike riding challenge in which a couple of people who don’t ride much change the rules to tamp down the efforts of those who ride a lot.

+10000000000

If this move really is about encouraging low-mile riders to participate, why not add two more rules:

1. Any rider who does not log at least two sleazes in two consecutive weeks will be booted from BAFS
2. Team scoring will be calculated not by total points but (total points/team members)

That way low-mileage and low-volume riders will be encouraged to participate, but if they don’t their teammates — who, as W&W mentioned, can no longer hope for a few 200-miles-a-week riders to lift their team numbers — won’t be punished.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I frankly don’t give a shit about the competition. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team that was even remotely competitive…I just sign up to promote the idea. So I don’t really have a dog in this fight, but I will say:

-the new rule changes seems a bit sudden and opaque for the impact that it will have
-I think the rule may make the scoring more even, but I don’t think it will affect anyone’s riding habits, which really is the objective (maybe the top riders will ride less, but I’m not so sure of that)
-The new rule may shift things to a more individual-focused competition, which I think is not in the spirit of how we originally conceived FS

I think some interesting things could be done to help incentivize the less ambitious riders, while maybe helping to even out the scores (with the disclaimer that these are not necessarily easy to implement from a technical standpoint):

-commute rides are worth 2x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-CaBi rides are worth 3x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-points available for non-riding tasks like volunteering/organizing bike-related activities (yeah this is tough, but I’m just spitballing)
-calculate team points based on some combination of standard points and “team total days ridden” (or something?)
-incorporate “jersey” points into team standings, maybe as a multiplier of some sort (fastest rider=green jersey, most climbing=polka dot jersey, etc…)

[CBGanimal]

@jrenaut 183584 wrote:

As a volunteer-run game, the people who consistently volunteer for the hard jobs get to make the rules. If the cap sucks this year, we can change it next year.

I completely agree and looking forward to seeing how this affects the game! Kind of a bummer so many aren’t playing this year!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bentbike33]

Maybe, like with travel teams and house leagues in youth soccer, we need two levels of team competition. “Freezing Saddles Sleaze League” teams are open to all participants and follow the rules as established with the weekly points cap, and “Freezing Saddles Elite League” teams are limited to previous participants who were everyday riders in at least one FS competition and averaged at least 100 miles per week (i.e., likely to be capped out on Sleaze League team points).

[dbehrend]

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-the new rule changes seems a bit sudden and opaque for the impact that it will have

I totally agree with this. I think many were caught off guard.

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-I think the rule may make the scoring more even, but I don’t think it will affect anyone’s riding habits, which really is the objective (maybe the top riders will ride less, but I’m not so sure of that)

As someone in the middle of the pack (I think I averaged about 150 miles a week during the competition last year), I’m not sure how motivated by the individual competition I’ll be to ride beyond the cap. Last year, it was about stepping it up to support my team.

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

-The new rule may shift things to a more individual-focused competition, which I think is not in the spirit of how we originally conceived FS

This is a good point and definitely relates to my comment above.

[dbehrend]

@TwoWheelsDC 183630 wrote:

I think some interesting things could be done to help incentivize the less ambitious riders, while maybe helping to even out the scores (with the disclaimer that these are not necessarily easy to implement from a technical standpoint):

-commute rides are worth 2x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-CaBi rides are worth 3x per mile (or whatever multiplier)
-points available for non-riding tasks like volunteering/organizing bike-related activities (yeah this is tough, but I’m just spitballing)
-calculate team points based on some combination of standard points and “team total days ridden” (or something?)
-incorporate “jersey” points into team standings, maybe as a multiplier of some sort (fastest rider=green jersey, most climbing=polka dot jersey, etc…)

Or, what about some level of diminishing returns above the cap (e.g., 1/2 point for miles 101-200, 1/4 point for miles above 200/week)?

[dcv]

@hozn 183573 wrote:

Sure, yes,daily sleaze rides. Emphasis shifts to riding every day as opposed to riding for any duration or distance. I assume the number was chosen due to being a median distance for the competitors, but I have no idea.

But are any of us discussing this even playing this game? . I’m certainly not, and would be surprised if Subby were to come back to this again.

Subby is playing BAFS this year, got sucked in by the mileage cap.

[hozn]

@dcv 183697 wrote:

Subby is playing BAFS this year, got sucked in by the mileage cap.

Yeah, he just told me this AM. I am shocked! He must have misread that as a daily-mileage minimum.

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