Photography by Jessica Varey

2014 What You Missed This Morning Photo Competition

The annual CyclingTips #WYMTM (What You Missed This Morning) photo competition is in its sixth year. What started out as an excuse to post some simple escapism photos has now become the most popular competition on the site (and beyond).

“What You Missed This Morning” started way back in 2009 when Wade was posting photos of his morning rides to try and make everyone jealous. Since then #WYMTM has evolved into an annual photo competition that’s held over the Christmas and New Year period. Here’s what you need to know about the sixth annual What You Missed this Morning competition.

How it works

To submit a photo to the #WYMTM competition simply post a photo to Instagram using the hashtag #WYMTM and mention @cyclingtips.

Entries will be open until 11.59pm on Sunday January 4, 2015 (AEST). Once the competition closes we'll go through all the images that have been submitted and our expert panel of judges will select their favourites and determine who will win the prize packs mentioned below. Our winners will be announced on Friday January 9, 2015.

What you can win

The prizes for this year's competition can be found below:

GRAND PRIZE

ESSOR USA PACE 32 WHEELSET

RRP: $1,390 This prize has been provided by Essor USA. You can find out more information about the prize here.

2nd Place

POC prize pack: bib shorts, jersey, gloves, socks, and a scarf

RRP $765

For more information about POC, click here.

3rd place

Scott Premium Road Shoes

RRP: $375

For more information about these shoes, head to the Scott website.

4th and 5th Places

Drift Innovation Stealth II HD Action Camera and mount

RRP: $370 each

For more information about the Drift Innovation Stealth II cameras, click here.

6th place

Thule Chasm Duffle Pack

RRP $389

For more information about the range of Thule Chasm Duffles, click here.

Some rules

You can submit as many photos to the competition as you like, but you'll only be eligible to win a maximum of one prize.
Not all photos hashtagged or submitted to this competition will make it to the shortlist. To give yourself the best chance of making it through, see the tips and suggestions below.
It's fine to use Instagram and other filters on your smartphone but please don't heavily manipulate your images (e.g. no superimposed subjects)
In order to be eligible for the competition your photo must be taken during the competition dates (anytime from now until 11.59pm on Sunday January 4, 2015 AEST).
The competition is open to anyone around the world, but if you win a prize and you live outside Australia, you're responsible for organising postage.

For full terms and conditions for the 2014 What You Missed this Morning competition, click here.

Tips and suggestions

We strongly advise that you don't take photos while you're riding. Stop, get off your bike, take the shot then keep riding. We don't want to hear about anyone crashing for the sake of a photo (or at all really).
This competition isn't about taking photos of crit races or taking selfies with pros who are back home for Christmas. It's about capturing the magic of cycling, particularly at this time of year.
Take lots of photos. Even the best photographers will take many more photos than they ever use. And it's not like you need to pay for film when you're shooting with a smartphone. So shoot away!
Post-processing can help bring your photo to life, but don't overdo it.
Caption your photos to tell the story. They say a photo is worth a 1,000 words, but why not have a photo and a few words to tell us where you are and what's significant about the image? Images with captions will be much stronger.
For information about how to take great cycling Instagram photos, check out this article we wrote.
Get creative and have fun!

Mikael_L

I take it based on the main image that you’re happy to take stills from GoPros & other on bike cameras as well?
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  We’ve tried limiting the eligible photos to camera phones in the past, but it’s too difficult to police. There’s always someone who tries to get away with cheating, and it becomes a pain in the butt for us. As long as it’s on instagram with #wymtm and @cyclingtips mentioned, you’re entered. Shoot away, and ride safe!
Mikael_L

I take it based on the main image that you’re happy to take stills from GoPros & other on bike cameras as well?
Seb

Slight typo- should read competition ends on jan 4 2015 presumably but it reads as 2014?
A

Feel sorry for the Thule bag. Third most expensive prize but 6th give away! ha!
- Mark
  
  I would be more concerned with the fact that it is not going to be awarded to anyone. Quick read of the competition rules shows prizes are only being given to first 5 winners. The Thule is the 6th prize. Oops.
  - Allez Rouleur
    
    Good that it won’t be “won.” I received their top-end rear rack as a wedding gift and I’ve been less than impressed. It’s $500 USD and the bolts aren’t anti-corrosion, the arms ratchet up and down at whim, and don’t lock into position (would make loading the bikes MUCH easier), the locks are cheap and don’t retract easily and worst of all, the thing is very, very heavy. Why do I need a 50 pound rack to carry two 15 pound bicycles? It’s really a pain to move off the car, bulky and heavy. Not easy for an ever-weakening roadie. We’re bird chested cyclists, not Strong Man competitors.
    
    I told them this on the phone and all I got was, “I’m not the designer of the rack.” What kind of service is that?
    
    I think they’re living, and CHARGING, on name alone, not design, quality, or support. I’d never buy another Thule product again. I hope Kuat buries them.
    - A person
      
      Please though, if you know nothing about engineering or design, don’t criticize engineering or design. I’m sure with the bikes cantilevered out off of a hitch, with the constant stress cycles of driving over bumps, and the fact that these racks are designed to be safe for bikes that weigh MORE than 15 lbs, the design is appropriate. If you can’t lift 50 lbs, maybe it’s time to start some supplemental strength work. That being said, for $500 dollars, they should have stainless hardware and functional mechanisms.
      - A
        
        Weird comment regarding weight. I could attach a bike to a car using 50g of epoxy if I wanted to. Often trailers use ratchets straps to secure loads - do you think those ratchet straps weigh 3x more than the loads!
      - Allez Rouleur
        
        Ya got me! I’m not an engineer! But, I’m a cyclist and have used my Thule XTR rack for two years now and considering it is their top-line model, I have some serious gripes with the product. Also, I have talk with people who have other racks (Saris, Kuat) and they’ve owned these AFTER owning the XTR and said they’re far superior. Cheaper, lighter, better. It’s not just the weight, it’s also extremely cumbersome to carry on/off the car. Yeah, it’s not meant to be a piece of luggage, but this is something to consider. It’s heavy and I’m not all that tall so while walking with it you tend to smash your shins on the cross bar if not careful. I weight trained for years for other sports, plenty strong for my 65 kg.
        
        What about THEIR employee telling me he essentially didn’t care about my feedback?
        What about the ratchet arms not staying locked out when you are mounting the bike? I’m holding the bike with one hand, trying to get it in the strap…and then the arm just falls down. If it stayed locked out, life would be MUCH easier. I think it’s designed to say locked out (or should be) but both of mine fall down under their own weight. And, the original arm didn’t work at all. They sent me a full replacement. Okay, but why not just send me the one part? I now have a full arm that is going to end up in the landfill. If you’re supporting outdoor sports, I’d expect you to be enviro conscious, as I am.
        
        I don’t need to be an engineer. I’m a user and consumer. I’ve used the rack for two years. I’ve talked to fellow cyclists with other racks who’ve owned the Thule XTR. I talked to customer service and they couldn’t be bothered.
        
        It’s an okay rack but at $500 I don’t want okay. I want well made, well planned, well executed.
        
        And as for the weight, again, have talked to people who’ve owned the XTR and now own Kuat rear-tray style racks or others and they say they’re far superior to Thule. I don’t like resting on your laurels and I think Thule is doing this and selling very expensive racks to all the Fred weekend warriors based on name. I’m hear to call them out, especially after someone THEY PAY told me he didn’t really care to listen to my feedback.
    - winkybiker
      
      We have a basic Thule hitch rack, (the type that hangs your bike by the top tube), and it is reassuringly heavy, given that it is designed to hold perhaps 50-60kg of bikes. It’s not easy to design a cantilevered structure to be light and strong. We find it to be well made.
- Spider
  
  I’d like to thank Thule - both for the bag/prize and supporting this site, but also for the roof racks (proride 591) that have a put a smile on my face everytime I use them. Simply superb!
http://www.interpedalers.com interpedalers

I have been looking forward to this. Glad that its not just a facebook likes competition this year!
Coogs

You can’t moan if the prizes are free. If it’s it too much effort to take a photo and enter the comp, don’t do it. For Christmas’ sake….