Now that we’ve discussed all of the benefits of Hygge as it relates to Buffalo in winter, it’s time to turn our attention to the outdoors. The Campus Cycling Collective (a 501c3 Nonprofit organization) has devised an ingenious way to get Buffalonians outdoors, enjoying themselves throughout the winter. No, it’s not a festival. Rather, it’s a series of interactive activities, organized under the banner of The Great Winter Get Out.

The premise behind The Great Winter Get Out is fairly simple. Throughout the season (through March 31), participants engage with a scavenger hunt style game that involves fun challenges, including documenting items via photos, attending functions, having fun in the snow, etc. Players collect points along the way, which they then upload to a social media app called Goosechase. Some challenges might be attending events or meetups, while others might be tracking down an elusive item and then documenting via photo or video. Some of the challenges might be a breeze, while others are considered tough.

This is a really awesome thing that anyone can get involved with, it encourages outdoor and active lifestyle during a time when most people like to hibernate a bit. It’s fun, social, and lets people be creative. The app we use is really cool, you can see all the submissions that all the other participants make, and there is a points board that is updated immediately after challenges are completed. It’s almost like an outdoor Pokémon Go adventure but with bikes, snowshoes, and cross country skis!

Campus Cycling Collective is the group that puts on the various group activities that depart from Campus WheelWorks on all sort of adventures. If you’ve been looking for something fun and different to do this winter season, then consider playing a part in The Great Winter Get Out.

Here are the challenges…

DECEMBER CHALLENGE — Did you take a picture of you & your bike with Santa? Submit your photo with him, you and your bike. 400 POINTS BE AN ANGEL — Make a snow angel, Make it look like it is riding your bike, snowshoeing/xc skiing. 400 POINTS WHERE’S FROSTY? — Take a picture of your bike with a snowman. 400 POINTS PHAT TIRES 4 EVA — A picture of you riding a fat bike. 400 POINTS BYRNCLIFF — A winter wonderland. Visit Byrncliff Resort. 500 POINTS WHO THE HECK IS SCOTTY MO!? — A selfie at Felt Bicycles East Office, with Scotty Mo. Of course you need to ride there. 700 POINTS “YOU WHEELIE MAKE MY HEART RACE” — Campus WheelWorks puts on the best fat bike race in the area. Come participate (it’s really fun) or just hang out and watch! 700POINTS GLOW RIDE — Dress your bike in an incredible amounts of lights. Ride it around Delaware Park. 500 POINTS POKÉMON GREG — Catch a Greg Wilder while he’s commuting. 600 POINTS BYRON BROWN — Find the mayor. Tell him how much we need better winter bike infrastructure and maintenance. 1,000 POINTS THE COMMON COUNCIL — Find your District council person. Tell them about one bike infrastructure problem in your district that needs improvement. 1,000 POINTS JANUARY SOIRE 1/10/17 — Come to Providence Social for a monthly Get Out get-together. We will give out prizes, talk about the Get Out, and strategize on the best kinds of socks to wear while out having a ball in the snow. 500 POINTS FEBRUARY SOCIAL HOUR 2/7/16 — Come to Providence Social for a monthly Get Out get-together. We will give out prizes, talk about the Get Out, and strategize on the best kinds of socks to wear while out having a ball in the snow. 500 POINTS MAGIC MARCH MEETUP 3/7 — Come to Providence Social for a monthly Get Out get-together. We will give out prizes, talk about the Get Out, and strategize on the best kinds of socks to wear while out having a ball in the snow. 600 POINTS LEND A HELPING WRENCH — Stop by the GoBike Buffalo Community Workshop during their open hours at 98 Colvin Ave for a volunteer session. They are Buffalo’s only community bike shop that teaches people how to maintain and care for their bikes. 600 POINTS FACIAL ICICLES — Let’s see the photos of them frosty Ice covered beards or wonderfully frozen scarfs. 500 POINTS WHITE WALKERS – Get out there and snowshoe. Anywhere. In the Snow. Bonus Points if it’s snowing. 600 POINTS CCC THURSDAY XC SKI NIGHT — Join the CCC for our Thursday Cross Country Ski Night in Delaware Park. We ski every Thursday night there is snow. Meet 7:30pm @Campus. 600 POINTS GO GO GAMELAN — Bike over to 345 West Ferry and join the Buffalo Gamelan Club on a Monday night at 7pm for a beginner gamelan lesson. 600 POINTS 10 LAYER CAKE — Your sweet selves need gear to stay out in the cold. Show us your average winter cycling layers. 400 POINTS JANUARY CHALLENGE: MLK DAY — Take a selfie at Martin Luther King park with the Martin Luther King statue. While you are at it, research the man and his philosophies, we can all learn something from him. 500POINTS FEBRUARY CHALLENGE — Valentine’s Day! Deliver a valentine to a secret crush by bicycle/cross country skis or snowshoes. 600 POINTS HATE STREET — What street do you hate, go there, and tell us why. 600 POINTS BIRD ISLAND PIER — There is a really nice view of the city from the end of Bird Island pier. 600 POINTS STUFEMEISTER — Heaven is like a cold breeze off Lake Erie in the Winter. Climb to the top of the Erie Basin Marina Tower, yes with your bike. 500 POINTS BOTANICAL GARDEN PARTY — Ride yer butt down to South Park, one of the most beautiful Olmsted parks. Take a photo with the gardens or the lagoon. 600 POINTS FIFTH WHEEL — Go on a bike ride with at least 5 people. Must be mixed gendered. 500 POINTS BUFFALO BIKE PARTY — Get involved with one of Buffalo’s fabulous group ride organizations. Go on one of their rides! 600 POINTS BIKE CAMPING — Pack up your bike with gear and go on a camping adventure. 700 POINTS SNECKDOWN — A what? Find a cool sneckdown in Buffalo. 500 POINTS CHASING WATERFALLS — Ride up to Niagara Falls. Bonus Points if Falls are frozen. 700 POINTS O-CANADA! — Ride across the Peace Bridge, sing part of the Canadian national anthem halfway across. 500 POINTS MERCURY DROPPING — Get a picture with a thermometer below freezing. Coldest thermometer picture gets bonus points. 400 POINTS ROAD LESS TRAVELED — Make bike tracks on an unplowed street. 400 POINTS KING OF THE MOUNTAIN — Find a big snow pile, the bigger the better. Of course, with your bike/ snowshoes/or skis on top of it too. 400POINTS MATTAMY NATIONAL CYCLING CENTRE — It’s freaking cold out, who would want to ride a bike outside?!?! Indoor bicycle tracks….the future…. visit and watch a race, or ride, they offer inexpensive fun courses for certification. 600 POINTS DEYOWENOGUHDOH (UNITY) ISLAND — Take a picture of / with the border patrol agents always stationed there. 600 POINTS WINTER BIKE PILE — Most bikes locked together in a pile wins extra bonus points. 640 POINTS BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION — XC skiing the outer harbor with Lake Erie in the background. Bonus points for frozen lake and a sunset. 600 POINTS BUFFAWANDA CHOO CHOO — The BuffaWanda is WNY’s new rails to trails multi use path. It runs from ShoShone park in Buffalo all the way to North Tonawanda. Apparently there are no funds to plow this brand new beautiful infrastructure that could be a winter bike commuter’s dream. Bonus points if you bring a shovel there and dig part of the path out to encourage our civic leaders to put money towards snow removal. Post to social media of course. 500 POINTS HORSING AROUND — Get a picture out there in the wild winter with some animals. On a farm? At the zoo? 500 POINTS GO FLY A KITE — On one of your winter adventures, also bring a kite. Try to fly it. 600 POINTS NEWSWORTHY — Picture or video with a famous Buffalo, NY news broadcaster and your Get Out transportation item of choice. Bonus points if on air, promoting The Great Winter Get Out, more bonus points if on air outdoors in a snow storm. 600 POINTS OLD FOLKS — Visit an old folks home by bike. (and sing for them?) 600 POINTS CUTE STUFF — Bike to a rescue pet center and play with the animals. 500 POINTS QUALITY FAMILY TIME — Get Out with your immediate family be it bike, xc skis, or snowshoes. 600 POINTS SPECIAL DELIVERY! — Deliver cookies by bike, still warm from the oven, somewhere. 500 POINTS HAIKU — Create a haiku on a nice, homemade card and deliver it to your favorite local small business. 400 POINTS COCO MADNESS — Bike somewhere and get some hot coco. 400 POINTS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY — Selfie on a “gold chair” at Holiday Valley. 400 POINTS VALET — Valet your bicycle at a restaurant. 600 POINTS DINING ALFRESCO — Bike somewhere cool in the city. Have an outdoor picnic or barbecue. 500 POINTS HITCH HIKER — Double ride a stranger on your bike. 400 POINTS SHAKESPEARE — Visit Shakespeare Hill in the off-season for some sledding. Bonus points if you post a video reciting lines from your favorite Shakespeare play. 400 POINTS ETCH-O-STRAVA — Draw a picture by bike, ski, or snowshoe using Strava. 400 POINTS BIKE POLO — Is winter bike polo a thing? If not it should be. Bonus if with fat bikes. 500 POINTS SAUCY — Recreate Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene on bike. 400 POINTS DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN — Listen to at least 1⁄2 of Wagners full Ring Cycle while biking, xc skiing, or snowshoeing. 700POINTS SOUPS UP! — Bike to volunteer at a soup kitchen. 600 POINTS SPARKS FLYING — Go on a date by bicycle. 600 POINTS CENTRAL TERMINAL — Wouldn’t it be nice if Buffalo’s iconic train station came back to life and actually had train service? Visit. 400POINTS BRINGO! — Ride a bike to go play bingo. Then play. 400 POINTS INKED — Go get yourself a bike related tattoo. Major bonus points—we’ve had a custom tattoo designed by the artists at Hand of Doom Tattoo for this event. Get that one. 1,000 POINTS FOOD NOT BOMBS — One of the best food justice organizations in Buffalo. Visit Food Not Bombs (or volunteer!) by bike. 600 POINTS SLEIGH RIDE — Pull someone in a sled by bike. 500 POINTS ICE BIKES — Visit Buffalos Canalside and rent some Ice Bikes. 400 POINTS FRESH PRINTS — Your winter gear of choice next to some animal prints in the snow (not dog ones) 400 POINTS BPO — Bike to The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Bonus if biking all the way to the RPO. 400 POINTS J-SKI — XC ski on city streets. 700 POINTS SHOPAHOLIC — Go grocery shopping with your snowshoes/skis/bike. 400 POINTS FA-LA-LA-LA-LA — Go bicycle caroling. 500 POINTS TEAM JERSEY — Make a homemade team Jersey/Costume, take it on an excursion. 600 POINTS OLD SCHOOL — Make a snow fort, play in it – be safe in the process. 400 POINTS HIGH FIVES — Find a stranger in the wild, riding in the cold, give them a high five! 400 POINTS NEGLIGENT — Snag a picture of a bike locked up somewhere and totally covered in snow. Not your bike! 400 POINTS RAVE — Go somewhere cool (literally) have a dance party. Bike/XC Ski/Snowshoe 600 POINTS GOOD NEIGHBOR — Find a sidewalk that is never shoveled. Shovel it, Not yours silly. 600 POINTS GET AIRBORNE — Choose your method. We want to see sky underneath ya. 500 POINTS TRAINER RIDE — Lots of people buy bike trainers so they don’t have to ride outside in the winter. Take your trainer, put it outside and do your time out there. Bonus points if you ride during a Blizzard. 400 POINTS PERFECT SNOWFLAKE — Take a picture of a perfect snowflake…on your bike. 400 POINTS ICE IS NICE — Go ice skating outside. Bonus if it’s a pond or backyard. 400 POINTS RAINBOW ROAD — There is a marking halfway across the pedestrian walkway of the Rainbow Bridge that marks the US/Canadian Border. These photos can be epic in the dead of winter when the river is frozen. 400 POINTS LAKE ICE FISHERMAN — We want to see a pole and hole. 600 POINTS TUBING — Going downhill with inflatables! 400 POINTS CITY HALL — This building is iconic. Bike there! While you are there, you should go to the top of it, the observation deck is really cool. 400 POINTS SKI RACER — Participate in or watch a XC Ski race. 700 POINTS PLOWIN’ — Turn your bike into a snow plow. 500 POINTS ARTS N’ CRAFTS — Visit Campus WheelWorks. Make a paper snowflake with your team/name written on it. It’s going on our wall! 400 POINTS ETERNAL FLAME — Visit the area’s most iconic gas leak. 600 POINTS SUPERFREAK — Bike to Rick James’ grave. 400 POINTS BACK TO NATURE — Getaway from it all at Tifft Nature preserve. Check it out with Bike/Skis/or snowshoes. 500 POINTS POTATO FAMINE MEMORIAL — Go check out Buffalo’s best known monument to the great potato famine. 400 POINTS CAZENOVIA PARK — Get a shot of “Caz Creek” 400 POINTS STOMPING GROUND — Go to a neighborhood far away from yours, get a picture of their neighborhood sign, while you’re there, visit some establishment you never have before (Allentown, Black Rock, Riverside, First Ward, Lovejoy, etc.) 600POINTS MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE — The CCC puts on one of the finest snowshoe events every year at Hunters Creek, come join! 600 POINTS FRONT PARK — You, your bike, and Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. 400 POINTS LASALLE PARK — We hear it has a strange amphitheater thing. 400 POINTS RIVERSIDE PARK — Snag a shot from the pedestrian bridge that straddles the blight of highway that runs along our most famous river. 500 POINTS UNION SHIP CANAL — Bike down to the Union Ship Canal. This is where the Campus Road Race team practices in the warmer months. A relic of our history. 500 POINTS RED JACKET PARK — Probably the least known large park in Buffalo. You might want to bring Snowshoes. 500 POINTS UNITY ISLAND NORTH PIER — The Black Rock Canal meets the great Niagara River. 500 POINTS SHAKEITDON’TBRAKEIT—Join GoBikeBuffalo for their annual winter dance party. 500POINTS BREW-SKI @ KNOX FARM FEB. 18TH — 42North Brewery is hosting a XC Ski and beer tasting on this historic East Aurora Park. There will be rentals, beers, and groomed XC Ski trails. 600 POINTS MILEAGE CLUB 12/16/16–1/9/17… 50 MILES — Sign up to our Strava Club and log your winter miles. Hit the threshold per period and get the points! Bonus prize each month more most total miles. 500 POINTS MILEAGE CLUB 1/10/17–2/6/17…100 MILES — Sign up to our Strava Club and log your winter miles. Hit the threshold per period and get the points! Bonus prize each month more most total miles. 600 POINTS MILEAGE CLUB 2/7/17–3/6/17…100 MILES — Sign up to our Strava Club and log your winter miles. Hit the threshold per period and get the points! Bonus prize each month more most total miles. 600 POINTS MILEAGE CLUB 3/7/17–3/31/17…150 MILES — Sign up to our Strava Club and log your winter miles. Hit the threshold per period and get the points! Bonus Prize each month more most total miles. 600 POINTS

THE RULES

Teams or individuals may participate.

Anyone can participate for free—however we plan on having really cool prizes, if you want to compete for prizes (including custom clothing) we will ask for a $20 donation to the CCC. Payable in person, at Campus WheelWorks or online at www.bikereg.com/the-great-winter-get-out

The phone app we are using to run the game is Goosechase. Download it and search for the event name: The Great Winter Get Out. Within the app either create a team or Choose a team to join.

If playing as an individual, just make a team with only yourself as a member.

There is a password for our event in Goosechase because we need all participants whether playing for free or not to fill out a waiver. Get the Password by registering for the event online at or in person at Campus WheelWorks.

If you for whatever reason cannot get a phone to work, try to get on a team with someone whose phone does, if that doesn’t work participate through social media tagging the challenge number and #getoutbuffalo.

For every activity based challenge you must be in the photo, as well as either your bike/helmet, snowshoes, or xc skis as evidence.

If playing as a team, at least half the team must be present during challenges and on certain challenges all must be present.

Most challenges don’t require any specific mileage to complete, however there are points for monthly mileage objectives, and a prize each month for overall most mileage completed. These are outdoor miles only, not trainer rides, unless you use your trainer outside. To participate sign up for our event Strava Club.

You are encouraged but not required to also post pictures and videos to social media. Use the official game tag if you post any images to social media outside the app! #getoutbuffalo

Challenges do not need to be done in any particular order.

Unless impossible because of distance (and we expect people to stretch the limits of their winter mobility), challenges are to be completed either using Bike, XC Skis or Snowshoes, we do understand that a small number of items outside the city might need to be driven to.

When taking photos of people make sure to get their consent.

Don’t cheat the spirit of winter, participate in good spirit and good faith.

Additional Bonus Points may be awarded at the discretion of judges for going above and beyond in terms of awesome. Since this is our first year, rules and challenges are subject to change.

THE PRIZES

CAMPUS CYCLING COLLECTIVE KITS (NUMBER TBD)

5 REDDY BIKE SHARE ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIPS

2 GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS TO SKYRIDE (~$30 VALUE EACH)

1 VIP TICKET TO SKYRIDE ($100 VALUE) 2 GOBIKE BUFFALO MEMBERSHIPS TATTOO FROM HOD

45NRTH STUFF!