The deadline for registering was December 24 at 11:59:59 PM. We have now passed the official deadline to register for Freezing Saddles 2026. We will still attempt to accommodate late registrants to the extent we can. (Even after we reach the maximum number, there are always people who sign up but then don’t ride or don’t join the Strava club for the team to which they are assigned, or who get injured during the competition, and we need replacements for those people.) But the earlier you register, the more likely we will be able to get you onto a team.

Note that if you are ever assigned to a team (even for example if it is in the middle of the competition because someone gets injured and has to drop out), your miles/points from January 1 will be retroactively counted. (If you are replacing someone who dropped out, the miles/points of the person who dropped out will be erased back to the beginning of the competition.) So if you’re hoping to participate at some point, you’ll want to start riding January 1. Note: You will not be assigned to a team unless you either start riding on January 1 or soon thereafter, or you let us know via the contact form why you can’t (e.g., I broke my leg, but the doctor says I can ride again starting January 15).

If you just want to be one of the Friends of BAFS (listed on the site, participate in events, receive e-mail notifications of events, and be eligible for most Pointless Prizes, but not compete for points), you don’t need to fill out this form at all. Just follow the steps at this link.

Freezing Saddles is a game organized by friends in the Washington Area Bike Forum. It is a convivial and good-humored team competition in which participants are randomly assigned to teams.  The teams then compete for points.  Ten points are given for every day someone rides at least a mile, and additional points as follows: 10 points for mile 1, 9 points for mile 2, 8 points for mile 3, etc.  Miles 10 and over each day earn one point each.

The game runs from 00:00:00 January 1 through 23:59:59 March 19, in Washington, DC local time.  Rides begun before the start time or ending after the end time March 20 will not count.

Communications and organization will be through the Washington Area Bike Forum.

Registering is only the first step in entering the game.  Please visit and bookmark this link to learn the other steps required.

If you want to get a flavor of what the competition has been like in past years, you can check out the forum topic.

Questions? You can reach us through this link.

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