Beer, Bikes, and Big Wheels...Tales of the Urban Assault Ride.

We have a new blog...and you need to check it out.

2011-05-03T19:40:00.000-06:00

It's called Adventure Fit Life.

We, the crew of Adventure Fit Inc, do more than ride bikes, drink beer, and power slide big wheels. Some of the other things we do include: eating tacos, throwing frisbees for our doggies, kissing our babies, and rocking out at concerts.

And we run this pretty cool company that puts on events like the Diva Dash and the Urban Assault Ride. The blog is a journal of it all. So check it out will ya?!

http://www.adventurefitlife.blogspot.com/

Lots and lots of pretty bicycles

2011-02-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

We made a quick run down to Austin to plan out the course for the new Diva Dash and had to swing by the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. It's amazing how the bicycle is such a simple creation, but there are some very creative people out there that are able to tweak the design and style just so...in a way that makes them so beautiful. The engineering, design, paint, and general artistry was amazing.

Here are a few things that caught my eye with a couple notes about the bikes....

Loved the paint, head tube lugs, hammered fenders and white racks. A fun bike for the Ft Collins Ralleye rides

This is a Black Cat. They're famous for our their pivoting dropouts that allow a chain to be tensioned. They did this paint in house - which is pretty sweet.

This bike got a lot of attention. Custom Ti single speed cross with belt drive, tapered headtube fork, and deep carbon wheels.

Here's that headtube, made possible due to some nice Chris King headset engineering. Also loved the V-brakes

Oh how I love IF bikes. Here's a nice simple 29er single speed rigid. Integrated seat post, carbon wheels -no doubt this one is well below 20 lbs.

Here's that seatpost.

This bike was insane. There were no bolts to be seem. Super CLEAN. Inset leather on the top tube bad grips, integrated/seamless everything. This got my vote for best of show. It's by Naked, who won best of show in Portland in 2008.

Here's the curvy rear end

so pretty! looks at those lines!

Milwaukee bikes had a single speed road frame as their 1st model about 7 years ago. They're branching out now. This is a cool and simple 29er hardtail

This bike was full of tricks. Not something you'd want to take on a long remote MTB ride due to the tubular wheels, but if you light light bikes, this one was under 19lbs

The good fellas at Ft Collin's Panda bikes had some really nice bikes on display. They use the bamboo for main tubes and metal lugs. you'll be seeing these at some UARs this year

It's really cool how you can see the texture and organic look of the tubes. Bamboo is light, strong, renewable, and easy on the eyes

This could very well be my next bike. A full-squish blacksheep. I didn't get a lot of photos of this one -I was too busy drooling over it. Some cool things: 4" of travel, pivoting on a plate welded to the bottom bracket shell. The chain is tensioned with a 2 sliding attachments that not only allow the frame to accomodate a belt drive, but it can also be taken apart - to fit in a suit case. I LOVED it.

Crumpton is an Austin builder who has been in the game for quite a long time. This is a Di2, electronic shifting bike

Erickson has some of the cleanest welds around

Another nice custom cross bike

Vanilla bikes really caught my eye back when the NAHBS 1st started up. Since they won best of show, they now have a 5 year wait and are not taking orders. This is their Speedvagon model - which you can order. Beautiful paint that starts at the stem and goes all the way down the bike

I knew a rider in Austin who was a huge fan of Richard Sachs bikes. I didn't really get them until a few years back. They take the art of lugged bikes to a new level

Another Vanilla Speedvagon

Vanilla paint

Closer to see the lines. I'm a sucker for continuous lines

This is a nice clean builder from Boulder: Mosaic Cycles. I really liked their style.

very clean.

Check out the Liger. Napoleon Dynamite would be proud

At the Cielo booth, they had this stem. What's cool? Integrated top cap and headset top, with a cable line through the middle for clean cross bike cable routing

At Geek House - here's a sweet bike that resonates with probably less than 1000 people in in the world. It's a dedicated bike polo ride. Dual disc brakes - with one lever. Rotor guards, mallet mount, and front full disc wheel

They welded another rotor to the fork to protect the actual brake rotor

Eye candy at the Erickson booth. So colorful and precise

Here's another shot of the Naked 'boltless bike'

Creativity must run the family. Zack (owner of Panda bikes) brought some saddles handmade by his Dad. Love these and they felt way more comfortable than Brooks saddles

Looks like something you'd see on a German kids toy.

At the same booth, a rather unique looking carbon wheel. One question: how do you true it? Oh...I guess you don't. Maybe this is a good wheelset for your rollers at home

Pretty pretty paint

Pretty wild looking. Gotta wonder how much the bottom bracket would flex under hard pedaling

Another custom cross bike - this one from Independent Fabrications.

Here's the headtube.

So there you have it folks. If you are a bike geek like me, you've got to make your way to this show next time around!

Thanks for checking out my photos and ramblings

Another day at the office

2011-02-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hmmm....what could we be working on here?

One for the weekend

2011-02-19T08:42:00.002-07:00

3 things you should check out...

2010-11-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

1. TWO by TEN mtb gearing. You can get it from Sram (they're all-in with 2x10 options at 4 levels). You can get it from Shimano (if you feel like rocking das XTR. You can even get some rings to retro fit it. But if you like to ride in the dirt. it's the way to go: simple, full use of gears, lighter, less chain slap.Check it out now. You can high five me later.

2. Danny MacAkill's new video. I just love those backwards manuals and nose wheelies. True story - I have reoccuring dreams about have mad wheelie skills. I wake up from these dreams with the same feeling I had as a kid - when I'd wake up from a dream realizing that I couldn't play with the GI Joe of Transformer that I just dreamed about.

3. Sleigh Bells. If you listened to the new MIA album, you may recognize some beats. I love how much sound can come out of two people.

Random thoughts on the single track

2010-11-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Did a great ride on Boulder County's best trails on Saturday. Here are some of the things that went through my mind (in no particular order):

idea for a new event: have a bunch of folks race from point A to point B and back. The time is recorded. Then they drink beers. They get 10 minutes taken off their time for every beer they drink. They they do the drunken bike obstacle course. For every time their foot touches or the bike goes off course, they get their overall time multiplied. What to call it? My mind wandered before the name came to me
I saved the life of a small rattlesnake on the trail. It was about 12 inches long. I tried to push it with my wheel, but it wasn't going for it. So a fellow rider held my bike while a found a stick. I used the stick to fling the snake about 50' off the trail. Less sun there, but also less threat of vertebrae breaking mountain bikers. I wondered why people feel they they should kill snakes when they see them. I know they pose a danger, but so do cars (even more so). You don't see people destroying cars when they ride.
While listening to my ipod, Metallica's cover of 'Last Caress' (originally by the Misfits). The lyric, "I've got something to say - I killed your baby today" idn't seem as amusing as they used to - now that I'm less than a month away from being a Dad. Still love how the melody of the song makes me joyfully whistle despite the message.
On the topic of Metallica, I came across the album, Garage Days Re-Revisted. It's so awesome when you can re-find an album that sounds better than ever before. The songs on this album are so good, it's no wonder that they released it as an EP. Sometimes it's about quality not quantity (did you hear that Kings of Leon?)
There were so many people on the trail that I wondered if there were some sort of Batman 'bat-shadow on the moon' signal that I missed. Then I thought - just like me - it must be the 75 degees in November signal that called everybody out. Aha.
Listening to the MGMT song Congratulations, I wondered if fame and money cause people to hire others to do ordinary tasks not because they are too busy with important celebrity stuff, but rather they simply have enough money to pay other people to do it. I'm sure SOME people make better use of their time when they hire others, but mostly it allows people to be lazy. But then maybe instead of lazy, they are allowing their celebrity brains to recharge so they can impress us with another fantastic project.
Full suspension bikes are just so incredible. I was riding a Specialized Stumpy FSR Carbon Pro and it was awesome. Faster, more comfortable, and so much more capable. I know this for a fact since the day before a rode a 29er hardtail. It was nowhere near as fun. I tend to agree with Zach's conclusions in this article.

Riding is a great way to let the brain loose. I've had some of my best epiphanies on a bike (thoughts above not included)

Quiz Answers - REVEALED

2010-10-25T10:28:00.000-06:00

FINALLY, you'll be able to sleep at night - aren't you happy!

Here are the answers to the 2010 Urban Assault Ride BONUS QUIZ....

(we're not including local questions -so if one is still bugging you, comment on the blog, and we'll let you know the answer;)

Q: Specialized has a killer line of bikes designed for urban cyclists, commuters, and city dwellers. They gave some lucky folks some of these bikes on the condition that they blog about their experiences. One of these bloggers rides a beautiful Live bike and she installed something special on her bike. What did she install?
- a 'floating' beer handlebar holder
- a 'floating' beer frame holder
- a 'dynamo-powered' front light
+ a 'skirt guard'
(explanation: Specialized's line of city bikes are Globe line and they've got a bunch of Bloggers writing about their experiences with their Globes. One blogger: Sweet Georgia Brown, wrote about her skirtguard for her sweet looking Globe Live)

Q: Specialized sponsors a rider that won two of the 'Spring Classics'.
This rider has a nickname that shares the name of a movie directed by a man who also directed which other movie?
> Check all that apply
+ Full Metal Jacket
- Rad
+ Eyes Wide Shut
- Cannonball Run
- Matrix
- Speed Racer
(Explanation: the Rider who won the races is none other than Fabian Cancellara. His nickname is Spartacus. Spartacus was directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1960. My Kubrick also directed the movies Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. Hopefully this question got you to watch the movie Rad as well!)

Q: New Belgium's Tour De Fat is another crazy celebration of Bikes and Beer. It's a tradition at the Tour de Fat to offer up a custom bicycle to a rider willing become car free and donate their car to the TDF's local beneficiary. Which TDF hosted the very 1st car for bike trade?
+ Denver 2007
- Ft Collins 2007
- Austin 2008
- Durango 2007
(Explanation: this was a tough one to track down. But if you did, you'd see the it was a close-to-home Tour de Fat where the 1st Car/Bike Trade occurred.)

Q: New Belgium became the country's first brewery to subscribe to 100% wind powered electricity in 1998 and can produce up to 15% of its electrical needs by capturing methane from its process water treatment plant to fire a co-generation engine which produces heat and electricity on site. What is another sustainable feather New Belgium Brewing can add to its cap?
- Over 75% of employees ride their bicycles to work at least 3 days a week.
+ They have the largest privately owned solar array in Colorado
- Over 80% of employees ride their bicycles to work at least 4 days a week.
- Almost all paper used by New Belgium employees is recycled and used for beer packaging
(Explanation: New Belgium does indeed have the largest private solar array in the state of Colorado. Many folks ride their bikes to work as well...but the percentage is not documented. And using paper for beer packaging - that's a good idea, huh? Maybe it'll happen soon.)

Q: Which beer in New Belgium's Explore Series is the "hoppiest"?
+ Ranger
- Trippel
- Abbey
- Mothership
(Explanation: Ranger is the hoppiest. If you don't already know this from taste, you can look at the IBU (International Bittering Units) rating on each of the beer's pages on the New Belgium website.)

Q: If you were to submit a film to New Belgium's new Film/Beer festival, what topics can your film be about? check all that apply
- bikes
+ beer
+ whimsy
- big wheels
+ sustainability
- pets
(Explanation - technically the films can be about anything, but we're focusing on the Bonus Points:

Your film can be on any subject in any genre but for bonus credit, try to include one or more of
New Belgium's three main follies:

Craft Beer
Sustainability (think environmental statements)
Whimsy (think spoofs, giddy candid moments or anything worth watching)

Q: Where might you be (legally) able to purchase a New Belgium beer?
> check all that apply
+ Missoula, Montana
- New York, New York
+ San Antonio, Texas
- Richmond, Virginia
+ Charlotte, North Carolina
(Explanation: not too many states East of the Mississippi River get to buy NBB beers. Here's the place to check.)

Q: In the current (issue 7) of Bicycle Times, which of our sponsor's products do they review?
- Keen Commuter shoe
+ Globe Live 3 bike
+ Timbuk 2 backpack
- Pedros trixie tool
(Explanation: you gots ta pick up the magazine for this one. Once you do, this is pretty easy)

Q: In the current issue of Dirt Rag (issue 151) there is an article about the Boonville Beer Festival.
> Which beer is mentioned in this article?
> Choose all that apply
- Lips of Faith Berlinerweiss
+ Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout
+ Firestoen Walker's Parabola
+ Castle Brewery's Samichlaus Bier
(Explanation: you gots ta pick up the magazine for this one. Once you do, this is pretty easy)

Q: Who did Clif Bar bid farewell to in 2009?
- Banjo
- Bubbles
- Sandy
+ Scrubby
(Explanation: Poor Scrubby. Clif Bars VP of Dogs passed on to the land of unlimited snausages and tummy rubs. We found this info here.

Q: Which Clif products have extra protein (a key nutrient for sustained energy)?
> Check all that apply
+ Builder
+ Roks
- Clif Kid
- Clif Mojo
(Explanation: you could just go out and try all the products, or research the ingredients. The top two are high in protein.)

Q: Which Keen shoe model now has a clipless pedal option?
> Check all that apply
- Coronado
- Venice
- Boston
+ Austin
(Explanation: we got a ton of questions about this one. Altough the Coronado has a cycling option, it's a firmer sole - which is great for pedaling...but it's not an SPD clipless pedal option ;)

Q: What will most Keen shoes protect?
> Check all that apply
+ 1st Distal Phalange
+ 4th Metatarsal
- Malleus
- Fibula
(Explanation: If you have a pair of Keen shoes (we hope everybody does) you'll know that most models have toe protection. It's a cool look in addition to protecting your feet. The top two question choices are bones in your foot. The Malleus bone is in your ear and the Fibula is the calf bone)

Q: Which element of Keen's Hybrid life is missing: Create, Care, and _____
A: play
Explanation: pretty cool concept for a company if you ask us!

Q: Which city was the bag in this photo made?

A: San Francisco
A: San Fran
A: San Francisco, CA
A: San Francisco, California

(Explanation: Timbuk 2's custom bags (like the bags in the photo) are all made in San Francisco CA. You had the option of spelling it a few ways.)

Q: What year and by whom was Timbuk 2 created?
+ in 1989 by a bike messenger
- in 1950 by a telephone lineman
- in 1985 by a seamstress
- in 1990 by a starving bike racer
(Explanation: Dig a big on Timbuk 2's site and you'll see the history which reveals the story of a bike messenger's creation of TB2)

Q: On Giro's blog, they feature a video of another 'urban race'.
> What country does this race take place in?
A: Brazil
Explanation: Here's the race - in Rio. Pretty incredible!

Q: Giro has a signature helmet for one of its riders who has a private training facility.
> What unique feature does he have on the sides of his jumps?
A: rocks
(Explanation: on Giro's Red Kite Blog, there's a video for Paul Basagoitia's private jumping compound. You had to do serious digging to find this one. When asked about the rocks on the sides of his jumps, he said they just look cool. He hand picked them from a local river. Unique.
Paul Bassagoitia's compound from Jorge Alvarez on Vimeo.

Q: Go to the Urban Assault Ride's Facebook page, find the question in the 'Discussion Board'.
> After following the instructions, choose your answer.
3 is the answer
(Explanation: sure there are a lot of things NOT like the others. For example the Pharcyde video was shot backwards. The Daft Punk video is the only techno song. However, this question was designed to bring some props to Spike Jonze, one of my favorite directors. The only video in this group that he didn't direct was the Beastie Boys Intergallactic.

So there you have it folks. Hope you learned some cool things and earned some valuable bonus time in the process. Thanks for playing!

Scenes from Madison...

2010-09-30T21:02:00.000-06:00

All official Madison photos are available here

Madison Mystery checkpoint clue

2010-09-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

Do you know where this is? Go find it!

Scenes from Chicago

2010-09-15T12:16:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everybody that joined us for the 3rd annual New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride in Chicago!

We had a blast on the beautiful day at Murphy's Bleachers - we hope you did too.
The results are posted HERE and the photos are available as well. Buy some and cherish your Beer, Bike, and Big Wheel experience.

Here are some of the great shots taken by our official Chicago photographer, Marla Halerz.

Chicago Mystery 1

2010-09-09T15:42:00.000-06:00

Have at it folks!

Refer a Friend (or 2) - Win a New Belgium Cruiser

2010-09-01T08:59:00.000-06:00

How would you like to own this coveted cruiser? Here's your chance!

About the bike:
It's a limited edition 2010 New Belgium Brewing cruiser. Made by Felt Bicycles, it has a front rack made to transport a case of beer. The wood panels on the rack are made from repurposed wood killed by the notorious pine beetle. The chain ring has multiple bottle openers built in. It's rims are fat and wide and red. It has fenders that'll keep you dry. It's just about the coolest bike around - but if you've seen it in person at the UAR this year, you already know this!

How to enter:
It's fast. It's easy. And you don't have to live in Chicago or Madison to participate (but you do have to get people to these UARs).

It's easy! All you have to do is get your friends to sign up. One easy way to do this is to "Like" the UAR on Facebook - then share the event with your Facebook friends. When you friends sign up for the UAR, make sure they put YOUR email address on the registration page where it asks who referred them. This is required!

For each team that signs up and notes they were referred by you, you get an entry into our drawing for some awesome UAR schwag, including a coupon for a FREE pair of Keen shoes.

But, the person who refers the most teams in Chicago wins the bike! And so does the person that refers the most teams in Madison.

Other stuff you should know:

You need to refer a minimum of 4 teams to be eligible to win the bike.
The contest for Chicago ends on Friday Sept, 10th
The contest for Madison ends on Friday Sept, 24th

One more fun fact: the only way to get one of these bikes is to work at New Belgium Brewing Company....or to win through an event.

Good luck and have fun spreading the word about the New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride.

How it all began.

2010-08-30T08:35:00.000-06:00

Well...you asked for it and here it is. The answer to the question: "How did you come up with the Urban Assault Ride?"

It's been a long journey and I certainly didn't have the vision of a nationwide 13-city Beer, Bikes, and Big Wheel Tour back in 2003. Here's how it went down.

Chapter 1: Big Wheels and BMX roots

I had two. My 1st was a Hot Wheels big wheel and the 2nd was an Incredible Hulk big wheel. Both gave me my 1st sense of freedom. I rode those babies all over my 'hood. I also experienced my 1st taste of pedal-powered pain. Me and my friends used to ride up next to this mattress and jump off the big wheel onto it. I missed once and my knee has a nice scar to show for it. There was a big gash - "nothing left to stitch" - I remember the Dr saying. I didn't blame the big wheel though.

I got into BMX freestyle when I was a kid in Montclair, NJ. I loved the flatland tricks. I watched RAD almost every day (I still listen to the soundtrack from time to time). I had a few Mongoose bikes and I was a 'freestyler'. I wore the clothes to fit the role: Vision Street Wear was my favorite. I read the 'rags' too - like Freestylin' Magazine. My Dad lived in the SouthBay in SoCal where the magazine was based. I remember going to the magazine office and getting to meet the editors (one of the questions on the 2010 bonus quiz references this). I was star struck - not only by these guys who I thought were brilliant in their writings and drawings, but also by the bikes all over Wizard Publication (the company that owned the mag). I asked them what they were going to do with the hot pink GT Pro Freestyle Tour Team Model when they finished testing it - hoping they'd toss it my way (to no avail). I was also into punk rock. I had a cousin that was into punk but later turned into a DeadHead. So he was happy to hand down his punk LPs to me. I was already into Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, but I was then exposed to The Vandals, The Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, Bad Religion.

....and then I moved to Ft Worth TX. Yep.

Chapter 2: Big culture shock moving from the diversity of NJ to that of Cowtown, USA. I was none-to-thrilled. I went to middle school in Crowley TX. There were literally barns to tie your horses to. I was still rocking the punk rock BMX thing and there was nobody within 100 miles like me. This is good and bad. The teachers didn't care for my t-shirts and while I was in school, they imposed a "no concert t-shirt" rule.

This seemed rather ambiguous to me. I decided to push the limits. I wore a D.R.I. shirt and explained it was a cross country running club I was part of.

Soon it was time for high school. I went to a private school where there was a uniform. Always an 'individual' I tried to differentiate myself the best I could. As soon as the clock stuck 15 years old, I got a job. I worked at Service Merchandise - in the 'Sight and Sound' dept. At 15 years old, I sold everything from phones to stereos, to computers, to cameras to TVs. I quickly learned what I DIDN'T want to do when I grew up. Part of the job was wearing a tie to work. I transferred that to my school uniform and wore a different tie each day to show some character. I rode a Honda Elite 50 to high school since I wasn't able to drive a car yet. The kids at school scoffed, but I was fully mobile. They got rides home with Mommy. Now look at the scooter crazy - ahead of my time I tell ya!

While in high school, I decided to get in shape. I went through about a month of painful running until I was hooked on the adrenaline and endorphins. I woke up before school and would run a 6.7 mile loop. My best friend was a Sony Sport Walkman

I listened to Pantera and Slayer and loved to run. I started running 10ks and 1/2 marathons in high school. Reading about 'cross training' in Runner's World Magazine, I thought I'd get a mountain bike since they were becoming all the rage. Ah yes...bringing back the bike.

Chapter 3: Give a man a Mountain Bike and set him free....
I decided to buy a couple mountain bike magazines to decide what type of bike to get. This was around 1993 and mountain bikes were HOT. Suspension was brand new. John Tomac was the poster child. Missy Giove rocked a pirahna. All the high end parts were anodized aluminum. My first bike was a GT Pantera. It was purple and stiff aluminum. It was rigid and I loved it. Ft Worth TX wad zero trails to ride (probably still doesn't) - so I had to drive a solid 45 minutes to the nearest trail. Didn't bother me. I was in love with mountain biking.
I wore a fanny pack, cotton t-shirt, and some of my Dad's hand-me-down lycra shorts.

Chapter 4: University of Texas at Austin...

I was incredibly excited to bust out of Ft Worth and head to the live music capital of the world. I had a lot of friends going to school at UT - but I was more excited to explore life from a whole new perspective. The dorm where I was living didn't allow bikes inside and I was not about to let my precious GT Pantera weather the elements. I went across the street to Discovery Cycle - where I was hired. My 1st bike shop jobby job. I wrenched on bikes, I sold bikes, I worked the store alone on Sundays. Sunday was the day when all of my friends would come in (very hung over) to hang out and so that I could work on their bikes.
I got REALLY into the cycling lifestyle. I soon sold my Pantera to afford a Gary Fisher carbon bike (above). It had a RockShox Judy and I thought it was the shit.

Later that year, I visited a friend going to school at CSU in Ft Collins. I borrowed a bike, we rode Horsetooth, I went to my 1st REI (which blew my mind), and to cap off the weekend, we saw a Grateful Dead show. After the show, a friend handed me a beer with a bike on the label - my 1st Fat Tire. I was in love with life - riding in Colorado, beer named after a bike trip, and my 1st (and only) Dead show - Jerry Garcia died a couple months later :(

Chapter 5 - Lajitas

I heard about this race in the Chihuahuan Desert in Texas. Lajitas was a ghost town close to Big Bend National Park - a 7 hour drive from Austin. I didn't know anybody going, but I knew a guy who knew a guy....
So late one night, I was picked up by a bunch of dudes in a Suburban and a trailer. I gently placed my precious OCLV ride into the trailer and climbed into the Suburban to introduce myself. They were blasting Black Sabbath, Metallica, and a had a keg sitting in the back seat. I was just about in heaven. However, I soon learned that sipping off a keg for 7 hours meant stopping every 30 minutes to pee. A great drive nonetheless.

Lajitas blew my mind. Mountain Bikers absolutely took over this little town. Every hotel room, every bottle of Gatorade, every 6 pack was consumed. I saw things I'd never seen - trials bike riding, lots of cool shiny anodized parts, log pull contests, ghost riding contests....and some incredible riding through the desert. My experience at Lajitas was life-changing. I loved the riding, the camaraderie, the atmosphere of the after party, and the ability of my fellow riders to converge in a place and take it over. This is the atmosphere I strive to create with the Urban Assault Ride.
Sadly, Lajitas was 'purchased' by a wealthy Austinite who tried to turn the whole place into a very hi-end luxury resort. The resort is still around, but struggling (last I heard). The bike race is now Mas-o-Menos - a marathon event - rather than a 3 stage race. You can't camp by the river and there's certainly no Clay Henry - the beer drinking goat (and previous mayor of Lajitas).

Chapter 6. I like to go fast
Racing was my life. I didn't want to stay in college - I just wanted to ride. I raced and raced. I travelled with and on my bike. I was an advocate of bike transportation before it was cool.

One winter, I toured from Flagstaff, AZ to Manhattan Beach, CA. Although it was not all that long ago, we didn't have a cell phone, GPS, or anything you'd take on a tour today. It was a killer trip with many many memories. I highly recommend a bike tour.

I took many bike trips - primarily for racing - but always for fun. Here's JohnnyBoy, one of my best racing buddies making his mark on the Cadillac Ranch.

Every summer, we'd leave the heat of Austin to hit the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. We rode Santa Fe, Durango, Telluride, Crested Butte, Vail, Fruita, and many more. In fact, on 9/11/01, when it all hit the fan, Sol and I were riding in Fruita - not a soul in sight. It was hard to conceptualize what we were hearing on the radio.

Bike trips are what make the world go 'round (if you ask me). You'll get to see things like this trail - part of the Colorado trail between Silverton and Durango

Then a say day - my Dad shut down my professional cycling hopes by telling me that I'd have no financial support for college unless I kicked racing to the curb. It's true that my GPA wasn't close to a 4.0....but bikes were something I truly loved. How many people ever find that, right? He told me, "Work hard, retire early, and then you can race your bike." I was not very happy. I had a great sponsorship with Cannondale/Wheels in Motion and only got the chance to race 1/2 the season. Still feel bad about that one - but I was still under my Dad's financial hold. But I did buck up and work hard at the University of Texas. Hindsight is 20/20. It was a hard lesson - but I'm happy I hit the books after all.
I found that I really enjoyed studying Marketing. I liked that creativity could be applied to business. The college advisors all said that internships were important so I did a couple. One was with a company called NetSolve - a network management company. Boredom was plentiful - but I saw the opportunities becoming available in the internet industry. I decided that I wanted to take my shiny new marketing degree into the exploding world of DotComs.

At this point, I figured that since I had a direction for my career (and a means to make a living) I'd get back in to racing. I took one of my Cannondales to Ozone Bike Department since I heard they buy used bikes. Ozone was owned by a couple of crazy characters - Andrew Dugas and Vytis Vardys. They started the store pretty much out of a closet. They'd lock the doors when the riding was good. They were having a lot of fun. I thought I'd put my marketing degree to use and I worked with them to develop some kick ass race teams. It was a damn good set up. I put together sponsorships for the team so that my friends and I were totally hooked up. We had top of the line bikes to ride (for free), spare wheels, tires, heart rate monitors, clothing, shoes, helmets, burritos, birkenstocks, ice cream, coffee...and a TON of fun. Looking back, the sponsorship we had was better than a lot of pro MTB teams in Colorado.

I raced hard almost every weekend. At this point the DotCom industry was doing great. I bought my 1st house at 22 years old and I was high on the hog.

I did some road racing too. I got up to a Cat 2 on the road and was racing Semi-Pro on the dirt.

Chapter 7: The implosion of the interwebs...and a new beginning
Around 2001, the DotCom I was working for (and just about all others as well) ran out of momentum. I found myself without a job, with experience that nobody needed, and a mortgage to pay...but I was fit.
I figured that I loved to ride so I might as well try to give it a go. There was not much money racing professionally (and who was I kidding - I was no Lance). I decided to get creative and start a new venture: RIDE Personal Training
Working with bike shops for referrals, I'd train new cyclists on how to use their new steeds, where to ride, and pretty much all the cool things about two wheels. I'd meet them at their house, fit them on their bikes, then show them a ride from their doorstep. It was quickly very popular. Particularly with guys who wanted their wives or girlfriends to ride. As we all know, for some reason - it's next to impossible to give your spouse riding instruction. That's where I came in handy. I was training up to 5 people a day - that was up to 7 1/2 hours on the bike. I was still racing too...but it was really hard to train...so I figured it was time to scale it up.

There was a gym in town called Powerhouse (now it's Pure Austin). I worked with them since they had a killer spin program (Lance himself was known to drop in on early morning classes). Instead of doing one-on-one sessions, I taught cycling clinics to groups. This worked out pretty well and I enjoyed meeting all the people that worked out at Powerhouse.

At this point, I was racing around the country. The photo above was at Sea Otter where I was racing the 1st 29er production model. I was a guinea pig for the piggishly heavy bikes that Fisher was putting out at the time (they've come a long way.)

I also started doing some adventure races around this time. I loved the team element. My team was winning every race we entered. We even won the USARA National Championships in 2002

Since I was getting into all sorts of different sports: climbing, running, kayaking - I figured I'd moved past all of the opportunities inside a gym. So...I left Powerhouse to start a new business called, Evolve Fitness.

At Evolve, we did all sorts of outdoor training and clinics.

We became Austin's Outdoor Gym - training people for all sorts of sports - generally enjoying all the trails, lakes, and urban workout opportunities that Austin provided.

My good friend Sol Frost and I even taught a high school mountain bike program (again - before it was the 'in' thing to do). St Stephen's School had their own trail system, a bunch of loaner bikes, and vehicles for road trips. We took all sorts of kids racing and for remote MTB trips.

We even arranged for a custom bike for our student Sam - who ended up rocking a hard tail 16"

Soon, we needed to add instructors...and my world was quickly rocked. I met Jackie.

We didn't date right off the bat. We trained clients, did trail runs, and worked out together. Jackie has just moved from NYC to Austin. She had been a modern dancer and was my dream girl.

We soon eloped in Santa Fe - we've been married for over 6 years now.
Jackie, for better or worse, got roped into the family business.

The evolution of our clinics was to combine all of our sports and interests into one event - the Urban Assault Ride was born.

The 1st Urban Assault Ride was in Austin in June of 2003. We had 120 riders, 10 obstacles, and a live band. Michelob Ultra was our 1st beer sponsor - but I'm pretty sure everybody drank Chango's margaritas instead.

Over the past 8 years, I've put all of this life into the Urban Assault Ride. If you look at the race, you'll see everything from punk rock, to big wheels, online marketing, mountain bike festivals, and hanging with friends.

It continues to be a great journey and never one that was fully planned from the get go. Every season, the UAR evolves. Hopefully the UAR has provided a memorable experience for you with a thing or two that'll change your life - maybe a new favorite beer, maybe bringing back the experience of riding a big wheel, maybe your 1st time riding mini bike. Whatever it may be, I hope you take away some of the love for a life of Beer, Bikes, and Big Wheels.

Thanks for reading.

Scenes from Des Moines....

2010-08-28T22:19:00.000-06:00

Many many more photos available here.

Des Moines 1st Mystery Clue...

2010-08-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

Here you go folks. Enjoy and we'll see you there!

St Louis Mystery Checkpoint

2010-08-12T17:01:00.002-06:00

Here you go folks. This shouldn't be too hard. Find this and the 1st Mystery Checkpoint will be yours.

Good luck!

Minneapolis Mystery Clue

2010-08-05T16:00:00.003-06:00

Ask yourself...what do these things have in common.
(click to make the image bigger)

Good luck.

Tales from the 2010 Urban Assault Ride season

2010-08-03T22:00:00.005-06:00

After every event, there are always folks that come up and say "Do you travel around with the Urban Assault Ride? That has to be the coolest jobs ever! How did you get into this?"

Well - yes indeed - it has to be one of the coolest jobs. But - it is a crazy amount of work - most of which folks don't see. Here's a couple stories that we experience behind the scenes:

1. After party hijinks... we all enjoy the New Belgium beer at the after parties. Some more than others. In Fort Collins this year, we had just about 500 riders. We went through about 17 kegs. There are 120 beers in a keg. That means 2040 beers. That works out to an average of over 4 beers/rider. Now - we all know that not everybody had 4 beers - some had way more than their fair share. How do we know? Well...we were informed that as riders were leaving, they decided it was appropriate to take a souvenir UAR 3' x 8' vinyl banner with them. I had to approach a shirtless, jean short, and mulleted rider with a banner under his arm. I said, "Hey man - I noticed that you cut down one of our banners and have it under your arm." His response..."oh yeah...um...well...I saw a trash can over by the banner so I thought it was trash." The said banner was attached by 6 zip ties to a steel fence and neatly framed the entrance to our venue. I said, "well actually we use those banners at all the UARs across the country. If you'd like to take that one with you it will cost us $160 to replace it. Would you like to buy one?" To which replied, "Naw man - that's cool - you can have it back." Silly rabbit. I suppose that it's flattering that he tried to steal the banner of the UAR since he had such a good time. Or maybe he had plans to repurpose it and make it into a tote bag. One can hope, right?

2. Speaking of thieves... Last year in Chicago, following our checkpoint manager meeting, we returned to the UAR truck to find the window broken out. After some quick investigation, we found that the thief stole our GPS, camera (a cool waterproof Olympus)...and my personal Timbuk 2 Checkpoint. I was not really too upset until I realized they stole my personal luggage. Luckily they left 3 messenger bags - each with a laptop in it.
The next day, I was thinking...they probably won't want my clothes and they'll just toss the bag. So, we went back to the scene of the crime, split up and walked down some alleys. Sure enough...we found it. They left pretty much everything (toiletries -including my glasses, shoes,and almost all of my clothes). BUT - they took one outfit: a Swobo wool collared polo, my favorite pair of Chrome knickers, and a pair of UAR socks. Somewhere in Chicago, there's a stylin' dude who has some good cycling fashion sense. Keep an eye out. A couple of lessons learned:
1. if you have a GPS, clean the ring on the window from the suction cup - this is what they apparantly look for.
2. If your insurance offers a glass break coverage - get it. This has no deductible and it was fixed the next morning.

And speaking of cycling fashion sense - here's a Honda commercial form down under:

Been doing some hikes with the doggies

Also getting in some solid rides lately. I hit the Jamestown trails with Boups today. It was hot and fun and we rode new trails. Good times.

Ok - that's all for now. Best of rides, y'all!

What I did yesterday...

2010-07-19T09:12:00.003-06:00

Put on a bike race....

Saw many years of work captured in ink on a fan's shoulder

A good day indeed.

Check out more photos of the Ft Collins New Belgium Urban Assault Ride here.

Thanks so much to all the riders, sponsors, and volunteers that made such a killer event possible!!!!

scenes from the bike

2010-07-14T12:05:00.011-06:00

In between putting on bike races and pecking away at the computer, we like to ride bikes.

Here are some things we've seen from the bike this week....

Found some new trails in Boulder county. Old mining roads out of Jamestown. Pretty fun to ride on a weekend and see nobody on the trail. We did climb for 3 hours though.

Here's an old miner's shack, these days nothing but rat droppings and beer cans. I can just imagine some dudes sitting around looking at gold nuggets - back in the day

this is a Columbine flower - the state flower of Colorado. Also the name of an infamous school. I like the flower better

In case you didn't hear, Jackie (the UAR Race Director) is pregnant. Here's here happy belly

Mr Ben May - haven't ridden a MTB with this fellow since college in 1995.
Here he is learning how rewarding the downhills are - after realizing how altitude effects das lungs.

Austin mystery clue

2010-06-24T15:06:00.002-06:00

Click to make big....

Charlotte Mystery Clue....

2010-06-17T19:52:00.002-06:00

Click to make big...

Super Ned and Butterflies

2010-06-05T10:04:00.012-06:00

There's a little town above Boulder called Nederland. It's got a few coffee shops, a great Nepalese restaurant....and some of the best mountain biking in the front range. It's nice and tight single track that weaves through Aspen groves and past abandoned gold mines. I usually ride it each year a couple times and I got a jonesin' for Ned this week.
Usually, we drive up and hit the trails for a few hours. There's also a bus that leaves Boulder that'll take your bike up with you. It's only $2 and this was my plan. However, the plan was foiled as I missed the bus. So, it was time to ride up 3000' and 20 miles to the trail. When you ride out and back to a trail in Boulder, the locals like to call it "Super" - like "Super Walker". So this must have been "Super Ned" Not too many people do this though - it took over 2 hours just to hit the trails.
I took the Boulder Creek bike path until it ended around Betasso preserve (another fun trail). Then I made a turn on Sugarloaf, up some steep switchbacks, up, and up, and up some more. There's plenty of things to look at - like Boulder creek.

After a lemonade and some iced coffee, I hit the West Mag trails. This is Aspen Alley.

Here's some of the tight twisty singletrack. It doesn't get much narrower than this. There were plenty of spots that had handlebar marks on the trees.

On the way home, I rode Magnolia Rd. A fun dirt/paved route back into town. I passed this ranch that looked so peaceful. I'd love to have a little cabin like the one in the center of this photo. All said and done, it was a 4 1/2 hour ride - with plenty of dirt roads, trails, and snow capped mountains. No wonder Outside Magazine recently listed Nederland as one of the best weekend escapes.
Then when I got back, Jackie told me that the butterflies were hatching! I got her this cool gift where you order butterfly larvae, then watch them develop in this incubator. We saw then go from worm to pupa to butterfly. On this picture you can see a couple of them still in the pupa stage.

Here's one drying out its wings

Then it was time to set our new friends free. Kinda sad they only live for two weeks! We made sure no birds were around 1st. I love the photo of the butterfly on the tree. Click it to make it bigger - it looks so proud doesn't it?

Anyway - I hope you're getting out there enjoying nature. It's such a beautiful time of year. Oh yeah - drink some good beer too!

Happy Trails

2010-05-30T22:19:00.015-06:00

We hit some new (to us) trails today - Soapstone Prairie. It seem like we hit it right about the perfect time too. A couple weeks later and everything would be golden and windswept.
Over to the left is Wyoming. The trail takes you up to a ridge with a nice overlook. Pretty amazing considering how 'out in the middle of nowhere' this trail feels.
Lots o kittie litter gravel around the corner. You had to get used to the tires sliding. It was like riding a hovercraft - never feeling like your tires were fully engaged. Here's Kurtie banking out of a dip.
Benny showing us how the 29er tires hook up.
Some pretty sweet views to be had.
Yours truly - enjoying the cool breeze on top of the ridge line.

Ben - showing us how to truly enjoy the post ride beer.

But one of these things is not like the other. Kurtie says there's a new trick called 'icing' somebody where you expose a Smirnoff Ice (like above) and the person who sees it has to drink it. I think he was perhaps trying to pull one over over on me - but I had to oblige (much to my dismay)

I was rather embarrassed when a fellow rider rolled up and I was drinking the 'Ice".

Kurtie riding a big boy's bike
A good day indeed. When you get a chance, head north of Ft Collins and ride the trails at Soapstone. Just make sure your buddies aren't packing any Smirnoff Ice.
Thanks for the good times Ben and Kurtie!

scenes from the bike

2010-05-30T08:26:00.010-06:00

Did a nice little ride from Ft Collins to Longmont the other day (via the trails Hogback, Blue Sky, and Devil's Backbone). Here are some things that caught my eye.I was riding in Black Sheep territory, when I spotted Ryan sporting this badboy. Truss fork, dual top tubes, media blasting...oh so pretty!
Horsetooth reservoir. It made me want a little boat to cruise around after a nice bike ride.
Off the in the distance you see 'tha bone' that Devil's backbone is named for. It's a nice rocky trail and I love it when trails can take you from point A to point B (vs a roundabout loop)

Back in Longmont, I saw one of the most elaborate scaffolds ever. This is just to put up a big pole. Funny thing is - I'd have never noticed this if I wasn't riding a bike. Sometimes, the slower you go the more you see.Spring has sprung. Some awesome gardening in Longmont these days!

Best of rides everybody!
-The UAR Crew

Scenes from Portland

2010-05-24T16:46:00.014-06:00

Thanks to our man Jordan Mitchell, we got some great shots of the action in Portland yesterday.
Check out his website for some killer fashion, travel, and culinary shots.
The 'spear the rear' challenge at the after party went over very well. This was the eventual winner
Not a drop of rain during the ride. Lucky for all the racers in the hot pants (and there were plenty)
Moments before taking a header in the mini-bike limbo championship
Paperboy skills
Tony Carpenter. Mortgage broker by day - crazy skilled after party dancer by afternoon
Human Bowling perfect SCORE!
Pioneer Courthouse Square - quite possibly the best place in the world to tear through an inflatable obstacle course
Mustashioed and ready to ride

Justice

2010-05-20T09:20:00.001-06:00

Just another day at the office

2010-05-18T08:29:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to wake up from this dream of a job. Sure it's work, but what other job in the world looks like this....

The season is rocking along very well in 2010. It sure appears that riders are loving it too.

Check out this BLOG from the winners in Seattle

And here's a great POV video.

Thanks for all the riders, sponsors, volunteers, and beer drinkers that make the New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride possible!

Seattle Mystery Clue

2010-05-13T11:23:00.003-06:00

Have at it kids....
(Click puzzle to make big)

GOOD LUCK AND WE'LL SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

Super Fun Happy Fun Joy Day. Berkeley. New Belgium Urban Assault Ride

2010-05-04T08:12:00.012-06:00

Check out some photos shot by my main man (and brother) Alex Warschauer...

A little dance contest action "You want some of this?"
Berkeley experienced the 1st New Belgium Brewing Triathlon. The winner took home this beautiful bike.

How do you raffle off Specialized tires? With a hula hoop contest of course.
Some of the best costumes we've seen in 8 years. Check out the New Belgium beer bottles on the capes of Super Skinny Dip Girl, Fat Girl, and Ranger Robin Tipsy
Big wheels NEVER get old
When you're happy and you know it...lift your bike over your head
Such ugly scenery at the Keen piggy back polo obstacle. Damn you Golden Gate bridge, why did you have to get into this shot!?
The racers are off - hitting the streets of Berkeley.

Thank you Berkeley - we'll be reliving the memories until the end of time.

Berkeley Mystery Clue

2010-04-29T17:50:00.001-06:00

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO ENLARGE

Solve the puzzle, ask yourself....'where do these clues take me?' Then go there.

Good luck and we'll see you this weekend!

Not-so-urban Assaulting

2010-04-27T08:42:00.015-06:00

When we're not rocking big wheels across the country, we bring out the fat tires. We rounded up the troops for a trip to Fruita/Moab. It was supposed to be a single day blitz of the Kokopelli trail (142 miles from Fruita to Moab), but mother nature didn't want to cooperate. Instead, we hit our favorite desert trails in a more social (i.e. alcohol-filled) setting.
The drive wasn't so long when you've got good company. We found a bow belonging to Matt's 2 year old daughter. I tried it on and I think this will officially be the last time I'm able to wear such hair accessories. RIP josh's hair.
Here's Richard (Dicky) Swords in between spells of altitude induced vertigo.
Speaking of driving, We decided to do a little 'froadin' in Matt's Tundra. Then Anut decided to follow in his TDI. Impressive.
The trails in Fruita...well you know....they rock. I don't need to say it anymore than the millions of others who love it here. This picture has been taken 1000's of times, but there's nothing like attacking this section of single track (Joe's Ridge)
Matt was the only one to clean this switchback. Chad and Anut watch on with admiration.
Moab for a big group ride: ride up to PorcRim, hit the Upper Porc trails, then ride home. Then maybe hit a night ride on the Sovereign trails

Matt getting stoic
Sol has shorts with a special 'puckered porthole' feature. Nobody knew what this was for, but we liked making fun of it.
Sol and I got separated, but that gave us plenty of time to reminisce about a long mutual history of Jerky Boys, our favorite lines from Gummo ('let me smell your wrist'), and the adventures of marriage/fatherhood.
We also got rip up some incredible single track. This was my 1st time on the LowerPorcTrail.
There was a section on the trail called the notch that didn't seem ridable to me. But as this video proves - it certainly is.

Good times indeed. Now on to the next Urban Assault Ride in BERKELEY!

Tucson Mystery checkpoint clue....

2010-04-15T16:52:00.002-06:00

Click the puzzle above to make it bigger. The answers to these clues will lead you to the 1st mystery checkpoint location. Once you get here, you'll get the clue to the next mystery checkpoint.

Good luck!!!

Check out what's coming together...

2010-04-12T16:05:00.006-06:00

The good folks at Timbuk2 are putting stitches to our 2010 custom UAR bags. 1st place teams will all get a pair of these bad boys. You'll also get to be a messenger for a few minutes in the Timbuk 2 Paperboy obstacle. Pretty SWEET!

techno-tomatoes, beatboxing hounds, rocking mummies

2010-04-06T22:21:00.005-06:00

For your viewing pleasure, some videos with das songs from daft punk....

directed by SPike JonZe (Who I once met when I was a freestylin' fan and he was the editor of the magazine):
Da Funk

directed by Michael Gondry
Around the world

directed by Roman Coppola

Daft Punk - Revolution 909
Uploaded by hushhush112. - See the latest featured music videos.

Public Service Announcement

2010-04-02T07:58:00.003-06:00

I've been known, from time to time, to enjoy a beer or two. And I'm here today to make you aware of some of the potential concerns with drinking. No, I'm not talking about dangers of drunk driving or wearing a lampshade on your head after too many. I'd like to talk a bit about "drinking while typing", or DWT as it's commonly known.

You see, this is not an isolated occurance - it's sweeping the world. Many people are plagued with the inability to reason with themselves after putting back a couple and saddling up to the computer. Even Google has a product for it. I'm pretty convinced that the success of eBay is due to DWT. Did you know that most winning ebay bids are made between 10:30pm and 2am? (Actually I just made that up...but I wouldn't be surprised.)

I friend of mine, who shall remain anonymous (let's call him "lil' lawyer") has a automatic program to warn him of emails being sent after hours. This is effective at slowing down his drunken online-dating inquiries. It works well for him and keeps him out of trouble.
Too bad he doesnt live in Australia. Virgin Mobile Australia has a solution for Drunk Dialing: a service called Dialing Under the Influence (D.U.I.). Before heading out for a night of debauchery, a Virgin Mobile customer simply dials 333, then the number of someone who shouldn't be called midbender - a boss, a recent breakup, the cute girl who works two cubicles over. The number is then rendered unreachable on that handset until 6 a.m. the next morning, by which time the tongue-loosening effects of the evening's alcohol will presumably have worn off.

Good things can also come from DWT. For example, the inspiration to this post...

Last night, we received an entry into the upcoming Tucson Urban Assault Ride. There's a section of the sign up from where riders let us know how they heard about the UAR. This was his response..

"The leaves had just turned a copper-orange when the sun
began to crest over the snow peaked mountains to the west. My feet,
dangling precariously beneath the placid waters of the cool Sycamore
Creek, my golden retriever at my side, panting, smiling, when I saw the
shadow of that wandering vagabond. His voice was thunderous and it shook
me to the core, made me question my belief in humanity, in myself, in
those warm summer evenings in Tucson. He said, "have ye the courage to
partake in a test of intestinal fortitude, courage, civility, dexterity
and alcohol tolerance? Then mount your trusty iron steed and head to the
Urban Assault Ride!" As I wiped the sweat from my brow, with the
handkerchief that old man Hutchins gave to me in the cemetery fourteen
years ago to that day, I smiled as I thought of Betty and remembered the
last thing she said to me before she was eaten by cannibals in Tanzania:
"Win...that...ride...and drink a lot of beer." And that, is how I heard of
the Urban Assault Ride."

Very impressive writing, my friend. I'm not certain, but I would imagine this little ditty is a result of DWT. We will be sending this fellow some stickers for his efforts.

Personally, I enjoyed one of the benefits of DWT when emailing Prana's customer service department. I explained (after a few New Belgium's mind you) that the shirt I recently purchased from Prana had sleeves that were a tad too short. I let them know that when I lean down to pick up my kitty, my sleeves ride up to mid fore-arm. This explanation was enough for the good folks at Prana to send me a new shirt and a little something extra too. Good people over there at Prana. And now, I'm a lifelong fan of Prana and even writing about them to you all. In fact, I have to recommend a pair of shorts. If you grew up during the OP, Maui and Sons, Billabong, Spuds MacKenzie era, you probably remember OP's corduroy shorts. Well check it out - they're back and they're badder than ever!

And you'll be happy to know that this somewhat random blog post was written with a clear head. The only intoxicants involved were caffeine and some rather dry oatmeal.

In summary - I advise you to take this post simply as a Public Service Announcement. DWT can be dangerous, but it can be good too. But believe me - it does exist. Now go put on your favorite corduroy shorts and ride your bike to the bar to get a couple beers!

Globe trottin'

2010-03-29T21:02:00.010-06:00

The folks at Specialized hooked us up with a killer fleet of Globes for the UAR season.
First up - the LIVE - a beautiful ride with a built in front rack.
...and not just any rack. Check it out - a wood base with tubular tray. The whole bike is a really nice shade of creamy red. Very classy.
I also like the chain guard and chain ring set up. This way, your pant leg will never get caught in your chain and it makes for a super clean look.
Here's some nice attention to detail. Check out the spring between the frame and the fork. With a loaded front rack, the steering can be a bit squirrely. But not with this spring steering dampener. This keeps you steering straight when loaded. You'd probably never notice this little touch unless you built the bike. Nice work Globe product managers!
There are very few logos on the Globe line, which is nice for the city line since a lot of folks want subdued looks when around town. Another nice touch is the head badge which allows you to slide in your own personal touch. It can be a photo, business card, or a one of the designs that the Globe folks send with the bike. All the bikes in the line have this feature.
Also check out the integrated headset. It makes for a nice clean line along the frame.
You've probably seen the ROLL. Without a doubt, one of the best designed, coolest fixies out there. I really dig the whited-out color scheme. The frame is actually powder blue. Check out this front drop out. A couple cool things: 1. it's flush and integrated - no other bike has this. 2. It uses an allen wrench to take off. This way you don't need to bring a big 15mm wrench with you. A normal multi-tool will do. Other nice touches: the rear hub is flip flop (so you can run it fixed or freewheel), deep dish rims, high flange hubs, and an old school plastic seat which reminds me of my BMX days (surprisingly enough -it's pretty comfy!)
The bar/stem is totally flush and integrated. If the brake levers were not on it (which you can remove of course if you ride it as a fixed gear), it's a perfectly flat line. A nice modern design and a work of art.
Another beautiful bike in the line, the HAUL
It's the cargo bike of the line - thanks to this beefy frame with built in wood rear rack. It's set to run dual panniers. Also part of the rack is a blink that molds in perfectly (there's also a blinky on the stem). There are two models of this bike. One has disc brakes (which I think is the way to go since you could be carrying a heavy load). Both models have integrated headsets, internal cable routing (very clean looking) and very comfy grip and saddles.

I'm going to be doing a thorough test of the Roll very soon and I'll give a report! You can test out these Globe bikes at any of the New Belgium Urban Assault Rides this year!

If you're reading this before April 4th, you can win your choice of one of these Globes in this contest!

Check out the march UAR Newsletter

2010-03-25T10:35:00.003-06:00

You can join the eNewsletter list here.

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here



Gettin' all reved up!

We're less than 1 month away from our kick-off event in Tucson and the 2010 UAR season is going to be soooo awesome. This newsletter is full of free bikes, team entries, and things you should know about. Read up! - The UAR Crew

Check out the happenin's....

	2010 New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Rides Want a new bike? Do you love the Urban Assault Ride? Do you like BEER? Our Hero! Do you want to save some $$$$? Things we think are cool....

Want a new bike?

The 2nd of many killer contests, this month we present the, "I WANT TO WIN A NEW GLOBE BIKE!" contest. We LOVE the 2010 Globe Bicycles line and you will too. Check it out. If you win this contest, you can choose a Haul, Roll, or Live of your very own. And don't think about being stingy and keeping this contest to yourself - in order to win you have to tell your friends. Good luck - this is a sweeeeet contest

Get your new Globe Bike here....

Do you love the Urban Assault Ride?

If you had a great time at the UAR and feel like shouting your love of beer, bikes, and big wheels...we've got the job for you!
We're looking for people to join the Urban Assault Ride Street Team in each 2010 UAR city.
If you are chosen, you'll get a free team entry, all the beer you can drink (on race day), and free UAR clothing. You'll be expected to hang some posters, spread the word locally online, and tell lots of friends.

Think you've got what it takes to be on the UAR Street Team? Email Marc...

Do you like BEER?

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL WITH A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO DRAFT MAGAZINE. GET A FREE 4 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO DRAFT MAGAZINE: A BEER ENTHUSIASTS GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE.

Get your free subscription here..

Our Hero!

We like to celebrate people that live the UAR dream. Coreen Puetz of Madison, WI is such a person - and is the latest UAR hero. She did the Madison UAR in 2008 and learned the virtues of a bike-transportation lifestyle....then she got run over by a SUV.
But that won't stop her! She's back and badder than ever. You'll find her back on two wheels at the 2010 Urban Assault Ride in Madison. We applaud you Coreen and you're our latest UAR hero!
Do you live the life of Beer, Bikes, and Big Wheels? If so, tell us the story of you and your bike. If we choose you as our next hero, you'll win all sorts of bike gear to keep you rolling (and we'll make you famous;)

Tell us your story - contact Sharon

Do you want to save some $$$$?

Did you know that we offer discounts if you sign up sooner than later? Of course you did - that's always the case, right? So...what's stopping you? Oh...I guess you like to waste your money, right? Do you know who your teammate is for 2010? Have they committed yet? Do you want to sign up before the UAR sells out? Did you turn off the stove before you left the house? Do you know the meaning of life? We do. It's Beer, Bikes, and Big Wheels. See you at the New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride

Things we think are cool....

- Keen's "Pedal" line of ladies shoes
- How to avoid an avalanche
- Lots of pressure and never breaks!
- Would have LOVED to see this show
- Our 2010 shirt design

2010 New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Rides

Tucson, AZ: 4/18/10

Berkeley, CA: 5/2/10

Seattle, WA: 5/16/10

Portland, OR: 5/23/10

Charlotte, NC: 6/20/10

Austin, TX: 6/27/10

Ft Collins, CO: 7/18/10

Denver, CO: 7/25/10

Minneapolis, MN: 8/8/10

St Louis, MO: 8/15/10

Des Moines, IA: 8/22/10

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Presenting Sponsors

Want a new Globe bike?

2010-03-24T04:21:00.002-06:00

Check out the latest contest presented by the good folks at Globe Bikes. We ALL want to ride more and one of the best ways to get in more rides is to use our bikes to get around town. Globe bikes are perfect for this. The 2010 line as some killer cargo bikes, very well-designed fixies, and even low maintenance belt drive (chainless) bikes.

Pretty simple contest: become a UAR Facebook Fan, answer 3 questions, then tell 2 friends. If you win, you get your pick of a ROLL, HAUL, or LIVE. Pretty sweet, huh?
CLICK HERE TO ENTER OUR LATEST CONTEST...

A new UAR HERO!!!!

2010-03-11T16:02:00.009-07:00

I'd like to welcome Coreen Puetz to the small, elite group of Urban Assault Ride heroes! UAR heroes know what life is all about. Maybe they can pull a big wheel back flip, maybe they spread the gospel of bike love, or in Coreen's case - experienced a scary bike on car rumble (and lived to tell).
Here's how it went down in her words:
Hello Sharon my name is Coreen and this is my UAR story.

I rode the UAR with my soon to be roommate in 2008 in Madison, WI and had a blast! Ty (my roommate) and I decided if we could get through the ride we would be good roommates and we did and we were.

Prior to the ride a was a fair weather biker. If it was a nice day and within 7 miles I would bike it. Otherwise I had a car. What the UAR taught me was I don't need a car in Madison. That day we went from east to far west and back again. It was no problem. After the ride I bought myself some pretty hard core panniers and some adverse weather gear, and from that point on I was cyclist. And I loved my new identity.

I don't need to tell you there was no UAR in Madison last year, and I seriously contemplated riding in Minneapolis, but my less than stellar sense of direction stopped me.

Then on September 17, 2009 at about 7pm I was biking home from work. I had a green walk signal and the SUV that inevitably ran me over had a "no turn on red" red light. The truck ran over my left calf. I was in between the front a rear tires when he (thankfully) stopped. My pedal impaled my calf in 3 different places. My MCL, ACL, PCL, patella and meniscus were all torn or damaged. My ankle was sprained, my hips were in the wrong place, my left leg was now shorter than my right one. And worst of all my bike .... it was ruined. (I still get a little weepy over my bike).

I did not break a bone. I did not require any surgery. I am already more functional then the doctors originally thought I would ever be again and I am still healing. This has been attributed to the shape I was in prior to the accident. Because I was literally biking everywhere (thanks in part to the 2008 UAR) I was part super human.

This years ride in Madison is exactly 1 year and 9 days after my accident, and I cannot wait to ride it! Just the fact that I will be physically able to is a huge victory for me.

Thanks,
Coreen Puetz

Coreen - in our eyes, you truly are a hero! Unfortunately, most riders have a rendezvous with a motorized vehicle at some point in their riding career. Luckily, you escaped and are ready to ride in the UAR again! We're also really happy that the UAR showed you how great bikes are for transportation - in Madison or in any other city. And most of all, we're so happy that you're able to pedal again at all!

Coreen will receive a UAR Care Package with some great things to help her get back on the road. With the support from our friends at New Belgium Brewing, Specialized, and Timbuk 2, your next rides will be way better than your encounter with that nasty SUV.

IF YOU HAVE A STORY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE (and it doesn't have to be about surviving a bike-on-car encounter;) LET SHARON KNOW. If you're selected to be our next UAR hero, you'll be profiled in our eNewsletter and you'll win lots of great cycling gear!

BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!!

Pretty bikes, BlakRoc, and The Beer Book!

2010-03-04T07:23:00.003-07:00

For those of you readers who happen to like bicycles (all of you), we've checked lots of photo galleries for our favorite bikes from the North American Handmade Bike Show. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to go this year, but after seeing all these photos...we know we'll be back.
This is a Black Cat. You can tell by the awesome design for the rear dropout/chain tensioner. I also like the hole in the seat tube for a ulock to pass though. Very clever.
Here's a cool Independent Fabrications. I like it when bikes are versatile. This is a Ti 29er single speed frame. In the summer, you can run standard 29er wheels (this has a multispeed Rohloff hub which works to make the bike geared). In the winter, the bike is designed to accommodate fatty 3" large marge rims and tires. Quite handy for those that don't want a dedicated 'snow bike' to ride only a few times a year.
This Groovy Cycles MTB is just that - groovy.
How about a carbon fiber/walnut veneer waterbottle cage?
Speaking of bottle cages, how about some Blacksheep welded on titanium cages?

Here's an interesting design. This is an electric folding design. REAL bikes are simpler and cooler in my opinion..but this is a pretty killer design!

In music news, we just heard that the Black Keys are coming out with a new album. We also just found out about BlakRoc. A collaboration with 11 hip hop artists and the Black Keys. RZA, ODB, Qtip, MosDef, Lenny Kravitz...all putting down rhymes to Black Keys drums and guitar. It's awesome.

And last but not least...BEER. We recently got a copy of THE BEER BOOK. It's got 1200 breweries from around the world with info about their beers, the production, the ABV%, and cool stories. It makes me want to take a 'beer-tasting' vacation by bike around Europe. Sounds like a plan to me...who's in?

Best of rides, brews, and tunes!

Oh...the memories

2010-02-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

I sure do miss these guys.

"I do shine my pants." Classic

New Twitter contest!

2010-02-20T13:11:00.002-07:00

Check it out on our Twitter page
Win a FREE New Belgium Urban Assault Ride sticker pack!

The 2010 Urban Assault Ride is open!

2010-02-18T21:46:00.002-07:00

Check it out!!!

Pancakes, the North Face, and a good ol' style russian hoe down.

2010-02-15T08:42:00.010-07:00

Valentine's Day - a day to love and celebrate what is lovely. For us this mean food, bikes, and music.

Heart-shaped coconut pancakes kicked off the day and filled the belly.
Then Lawyer Eric and I took to the cold wintery trails of Boulder County. Since it wasn't going to be above freezing all day, there was no worry about mud or wet trails. There was also a brief snow shower the night before which gave us fresh tracks.
We rode Hall ranch, up Antelope, did the loop, then back down the rock garden. This photo is what the trail looked like for the majority of the ride. It's north-facing and quite snowy. This is where the brand the North Face gets its namesake. The north face of a mountain always has the coldest, harshest conditions. A true place for adventure. Eric and I pedaled along, concentrating on our lines. You had a roll on top of old foot prints. If your wheel slid off, your tire would sink hub deep. It was fun and a very different Hall Ranch experience.
Then we rolled over the top and hit the south side. What a difference a little sunshine makes, huh? This was a good thing since we didn't really want to ice skate down the rock garden. A great ride - so nice to be back on the mountain bike.
Then Jackie and I headed to the Fox theater to see Devotchka. It was our 1st time seeing them perform. If you've got a hankering for eclectic rock with a russian ho-down influence then check out Devotchka. We're talking tuba, accordian, trumpets, and one of those eerie electric resonating instruments. Oh..and did I mention trapeze/ribbon performers?
A good valentine's day to say the least. I hope all you urban assaulters had a good one too!

Hoppy Valentine's Day

2010-02-09T22:05:00.005-07:00

As if I needed another reason to love New Belgium, the UAR Crew received our annual NBB Valentine's care package. You see instead of Winter Holiday presents, the kind loving folks at New Belgium prefer to spread the love and celebrate Valentines day.

Look what St Valentine's delivered...
My 1st taste of Ranger IPA. A delicious crisp hoppy brew - which I'm pretty sure is going to be a staple in the Urban Assault beer quiver.

Cartoonified

2010-01-28T20:08:00.002-07:00

It looks like Jackie (the UAR Event Director) made quite the impression on Adam Turman, the designer of the 2010 UAR poster and t-shirt. I may be a bit biased, but I think there's a striking resemblance. All I said was "girl on a road bike, flowing hair, maybe a little cleavage"....and BAM!

The dancing and beat boxing rock on this video...

2010-01-20T10:34:00.001-07:00

pretty clever

2010-01-17T16:27:00.004-07:00

A packable (flat) foldable, recyclable bike helmet.

..but I don't know if I'd trust it to hard knock to the noggin. It kinda reminds me of the leather hairnet helmets that protect against 'abrasions'. But somehow, when falling off a bike and hitting that oh-so-unforgiving concrete, I'm concerned about severe head trauma - not abrasions. You know?
In other news...Tara Llanes is back again, this time on 4 wheels. Big props to Tara and for all of us able to ride on two wheels...we need to carpe diem - everyday. For a little background on her, check this out.

I read a book called Born to Run - which I really enjoyed. It's about ultra endurance running, the Tarahumara indians, and how running shoes are apparently the cause of so many injuries. Not only did it inspire me to run a lot more, but I think that I want to try a pair of these this summer...

Sweet bike!

2010-01-16T10:20:00.005-07:00

I found this beauty on ebay. A bit too rich for my blood, but the chrome is shining and the cork is holding...

Sometimes you just need to laugh at people getting hurt....

2010-01-13T16:37:00.001-07:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

"I'll get my forceps"

2010-01-05T19:46:00.005-07:00

Behind the Scenes at the UAR: part two

Portland OR May 2008:

This was our 1st time to produce the Urban Assault in Portland and were psyched. Everything was in place and it was the week of the production. On Thursdays before the UAR, we meet with our staff and volunteers. Usually this is at a restaurant or bar, but our friends at Keen Footwear graciously let us use their HQ as our meeting place. We arrive a bit early to check in with Dave at Keen. This is the 1st time we've met Dave. He seemed like a super cool guy on the phone and we were looking forward to meeting face to face. When we got there, we introduced ourselves. Dave gave us a quick smile and his eyes kept darting back and forth - between us and a roly-poly man with thick bottlecap glasses walking around the Keen lobby . We shook hands, Dave welcomed us and said, "You must know Calvin, right?". We had yet to meet Calvin, who was this Roly-Poly man. Calvin was a volunteer through our non-profit in Portland, Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

Dave tells us that Calvin arrived an hour early to the meeting and since Dave was our contact, he had been in charge of entertaining Calvin until we got there. You see, Calvin was special. Perhaps autistic, perhaps one too many bike crashes, who knows. When I said hello to him, he warned me about a 'methane cloud that's orbiting around him'. We're happy to work with anybody and knew that we'd be able to find a good job for Calvin and just tried to run the meeting as normal in the meantime. This was a little hard to do as he was slamming pool balls on Keen's pool table while I gave the volunteers instructions. Then when Jackie gave all the checkpoint managers her phone number in case of emergency, Calvin calls her - while she's talking to everybody.

The next morning at 7am, Jackie receives a call which she lets go to voicemail. Calvin leaves a message explaining that he has a couple pair of shoes that he needs to give away and he wants us to have a 'shoe depository' at the UAR on Sunday. Jackie returns the call to thank him for his recommendation, explaining that it's a bit too late for us to do this, but perhaps he can visit GoodWill.

I'm starting to freak out a bit. I wanted for our non-profit to know that we were appreciative of the helpers that they were able to provide us with. Yet...every job I think of for Calvin, I think of things that could go drastically wrong. I call my mom for advice before the race - she's a psychologist and has worked with many people like Calvin. She assured me that he'll be fine with a repetitive task. Fingers crossed.

Race Day morning - Calvin arrives asking for his volunteer t-shirt and states that he's ready to work. Jackie didn't have a job for him at that time so she told him to 'hang tight'. He took this statement to mean "stand as close to me as possible". And he was wheeling his bike (a recumbent - of course) around the venue with him. Jackie makes a quick turn, trips over the bike, and falls onto her head. "Soooryyyyy", Calvin says. Finally, Jackie finds a task for him. She asks him to pick up the trash around the venue. Calvin lights up with a big smile and says, "Hold on - let me get my forceps". (perhaps he's been given this task before) Then, for the rest of the morning, that's what he did. Picked up trash with his forceps. Well, except for the 10 minutes when the teams were about to start - then he put on a hip-hop dance performance for the riders. Good ol' Calvin. Once the food arrived, he ate some pizza and was on his way.

We did hear from him the next year. He offered to ride from Portland to Seattle and camp out if our venue will allow a tent. We told him to come out, but we didn't see him in 2009. Hopefully he'll bring his forceps and his recumbent bike to a UAR in 2010.

33% discount offer is over.

2009-12-31T23:26:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year folks. The UAR crew hopes your 2010 is filled with great bike rides, good beer, and plenty of downhill big wheeling!!!!

Behind the Scenes at the UAR

2009-12-28T11:02:00.008-07:00

Producing the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride across the country is a unique job to say the least. We meet 1000's of people (literally) and usually these folks are trend setterss who like fun, creative things. Accordingly, we have some pretty darn interesting experiences. Here are a few of the stories:

Two fries short of a happy meal: Austin's UAR is the oldest and biggest in the series. In order to produce this one, we need LOTS of everything. We had an idea for a 'human bumper car' obstacle and needed enough big inner tubes for at least 10 teams to do the obstacle at a time. We tried to source these tubes in Colorado, but since most tires are are tubeless these days, huge 18-wheeler size inner tubes are not as easy to find as you'd think. So the plan was to get them close to Austin - in New Braunfels - home of Schlitterbahn and tubing on the Guadalupe river. When we got there, we wanted to make sure that all the tubes were leak-free, so all 24 tubes were inflated. Realizing that 24 huge tubes would not fit in back of a cargo van, the tubes were then deflated. If you've ever deflated a bike tube by pushing in the pin of a schrader valve, you know this takes a bit of time. Now imagine the time for a 18-wheeler tube. Now multiply this by 24. So the solution was to go buy a valve core remover which made things a little bit faster.
This operation took the good part of a day and this was only 1 of 10 obstacles to set up. Yet - we had the tubes in hand as well as all the moving pieces for the obstacle to work (thanks to the good folks at Rogue Running found plenty of 'runners' willing to run around in 100+ degrees bumping 1000+ participants for 4 hours). Then Saturday night we started to inflate the tubes. We had two air compressors to use, but one decided to go kaput. It was taking about 10 minutes for a small compressor to inflate each tire. That would be 4 hours of inflating - which we didn't have the night before the big day AND we'd love to get a little sleep too.

Plan B - get help from a partnering bike shop (nope - everybody's closed).

Plan C - go to a gas station and use their compressor.

I went down to a gas station on the east side of Austin around 1am in the morning. Not the best place to be as I had a 1/2 dozen folks approach me for money. I gave the gas station attendent $5 and told him to keep it running - yet the machine would turn off after a couple minutes, so I had to keep running back inside so the attendant would turn it back on. Although we now had me at the gas station (running back and forth between the compressor and the attendant) and another crew on hand with the original compressor - it was still taking WAY too long.

After awhile I figured I'd get a bit resourceful. I asked a scraggly white bearded fellow to help me inflate the tubes and I'd be happy to pay him for his labor. He was more than willing. I provided clear instructions to how to inflate the tube, how big it should be, what to say the attendant, and where to put the tubes when inflated. Then I drove back to Rogue to pick up more tubes to be inflated. When I got back to the gas station - I was blown away to find a whole assembly line in place. Seems that my new vagrant friend rallied the troops for assistance. One guy waited by the attendent, one was on the inflator, one was stacking the tubes. It was an impressive operation to say the least. In no time, all the tubes were inflated and I had a crew of guys very satisfied with their work. I gave the ring leader a $20 and then they all started to argue over who should get what amount. Then I proposed they buy a 12 pack to share. Their eyes lit up with the possibilities of this fortunate bounty. They put the $20 to good use, bought a 30 pack of bud light and a couple of king-size snicker bars. I came by a bit later and took their picture....

More stories coming soon....

Motor-Uni

2009-12-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

Looks like a cool UAR obstacle!

2009 UAR QUIZ ANSWERS!!!!!

2009-12-09T11:30:00.008-07:00

We hear the following things a WHOLE lot:

"Wow - that quiz was HARD! Who comes up with this stuff?" and "Will you post the answers?"

Josh, the UAR carnival barker is the main man on the quiz creation (although gets some pointers from UAR partners). And of course it's hard! How do you expect it to be a good staging tool, if everybody aced the test? So yeah, it serves its purpose and of course if you'd rather be out riding than answering the online quiz ...then feel free. The quiz is just an optional tour of the UAR internet.

Now that the 2010 season is fast approaching (and a new quiz will soon rear it ugly head), we're passing out a cheat sheet to 2009's quiz. This is not all of the questions, just the ones that we used in most cities. So if there's one that's still chapping your hide, comment on the bottom of the post and we'll shine some light.

ANSWERS.....

Q: On 'Who's the Boss?", which letters on Samantha's FIRST car's license plate appear
> in the list below? (choose all that apply)
+ S
- W
- O
- B
- O
Mr. Stevil Kinevil came up with this one. You had to know what Sam's license plate said - "Sams Car". So the only letter in the SWOBO name included on the plate was of course: "S". This was an easy one.
Q: What is in this bubble?
- water
- beer
+ methane
- hydrogen
- carbonation
New Belgium does a helluva lot to be one the most sustainable companies on the planet (We're so proud of our title sponsor). One of the things they do is capture methane from their own waste water. The methane is then used for gas heating at the brewery - cool huh?

Q: What do the following companies have in common?
Sigg Switzerland, Teton Gravity Research, Patagonia Footwear, New Belgium Brewing
> check all that apply
- they all sponsor the Urban Assault Ride
- they all allow dogs in the office
+ they are all members of 1% for the planet + the UAR crew thinks they are all cool
- they are all proponents of congressional act 38n.4
This one is primarily about New Belgium's 1% for the planet's membership. And because these companies are part of 1% For the Planet, we think they're cool. Even though they are not all sponsors of the UAR and we don't know if they allow dogs in the office (but we bet they do). The congressional act we made up - just to throw you off a bit ;)

Q: Which make of car was traded for a bike at New Belgium's Tour de Fat?
> check all that apply
+ Volkswagen
+ Oldsmobile
+ Ford
+ Chevrolet
The "Trade a Car program" has been a part of Tour de Fat for a few years now and the way to figure this one out was to watch a bunch of videos on the Tour de Fat website. This is certainly not a waste of time since you get to see how fun this cyclingcarnival really is - and most of the UAR cities have a TDF near-by, so we were giving you a sneak peak in case you've never been. Lots of cars have been traded over the years and although we're not 100% sure, we went ahead and gave you credit for all of these car makes.

Q: Which beer is a collaboration between New Belgium Brewing and Elysian Brewing?
- Trippel
- Biere de Mars
+ Trippel IPA
- Frambozen
This one was simple. You just had to go here and find this. We put this in here for all you Fat Tire devotees who have not yet expanded your palate to include other New Belgium brews. There are a bunch of tasties out there - you should try them all.

Q: Who is quoted on SockGuy's socks?
> Check all that apply
+ Martin Mull
+ Ben Franklin
- Juan Pelota
+ the Gonzo Journalist
This was one of the harder ones. You had to look at all the socks to see the quotes. The only person on the list not to be quoted was Juan Pelota (AKA 'one ball' Lance Armstrong). Lance may be speedy on the pedals, but he's not known for his eloquence.

Q: Who is Clif Bar working with to reduce/reuse/recycling their wrappers?
A: terracycle
Another straight forward one. If you do a couple clickity clicks on Clif Bar's website, you get to the sustainability page, where they explain the partnership with TerraCycle. It's pretty cool since they are able to make things like this....

Q: How many miles of driving have been offset to date through the purchase of Cool Tags?
+ 7,000,000+
+ 6,000,000+
- 70,000,000+
- 60,000,000+
Cool Tags are micro purchases that you can make to offset CO2. A $2 cool tag offsets 300lbs of CO2 in the air. 23,000 cool tags have been sold and this statistic is HERE on Clif's website. They've offset over 7,000,000 miles of driving (and if they've offset 7MM , they've also offset 6MM) Tricky - I know.

Q: What does the sole of our shoe sponsor's new cycling shoe look like?
- an orange octopus
- a blue horse
- a red fish
+ a yellow bird
For this one you had to find Keen's new cycling shoe - the Springwater. If you look at the sole view, it looks kinda like a yellow bird.

Q: What beach was the 1st Keen shoe named after?
> fill in the blank
A: newport beach or newport
For this you had to go to Keen's history and find the Newport sandle. The 1st sandle to protect the toes.

Q: What type of support did our non-alcoholic drink sponsor provide through
> its 2005 - 2007 fund raising program?
+ helped cats and dogs find homes
- provided free drinks to hurricane victims
- provided funds to reduce pollution and create bluer skies
- provided aluminum to recycling center with the proceeds going to the homeless
Blue Sky had a great program called "Save Pets, Send Tabs". When you sent in the blue tabs from their soda, Blue Sky donated $.10/tab. Pretty darn generous!

Q: What type of sweetener is used in our non-alcoholic drink sponsors organic soda?
A: organic cane sugar or cane sugar or organic sugar
Blue Sky is QUALITY! No high fructose corn syrup for you our Urban Assaulters!

Q: What 7 items compose the Free Gear Project from Rudy Project?
+ sunglasses, spare lenses, helmet, bag, t-shirt, hat, sunglass cord
- sunglasses, spare lenses, helmet, bag, t-shirt, hat, poster
- sunglasses, helmet, bag, watch, t-shirt, hat, poster
- sunglasses, helmet, jersey, shorts, gloves, spare lenses, “Rudy” DVD
It was hard to miss this one. This ad has been EVERY where including on Rudy Project's homepage.
Q: Our helmet sponsor uses a material on another of their product lines
that is derived from material used on the windshield of a vehicle.
What single word does this vehicle and this man have in common?
A: apache
This was the hardest one. 1st you had to find that this photo is a portrait of Geronimo - a chief of the Apaches. Then you had to learn that Rudy Project's ImpactX lens used the same technology as on Apache Helicopters. That'll keep the mud out of your eyes!

Q: On our clothing sponsor's blog, there's a video of a now famous movie star racing a bike in a commercial for a soft drink.
> What other movie was this actor in?
- Dirty Dancing
- Howard the Duck
+ Young Blood
- Clockwork Orange
Another VERY challenging one. You had to watch a ton of videos on Swobo's blog and finally get to this page where you find the following video. In it, you'll find a young Keanu Reeve's racing his bike. He was in the movie Young Blood.

Just be happy we didn't make you quote lyrics from this video...

Q: On our bag sponsor's website, they compare themselves to what?
- salt and pepper
- cog and chain
+ rice and beans
- cats and dogs
- sweet peas and macaroni and cheese
You had to look at all of Timbuk 2's pages in the About Us section of their site. Then you'll find this quote here.

Q: What is a name of Specialized's Globe new bikes (check all that apply)
- Rock
+ Roll
+ Haul
- Huck
- Green
+ Live
Pretty easy when you go to the Globe Bikes website. They've got some pretty sweet bikes for 2010 as you can see above.
Q: What is not a lyric from a song sung by a member of Team Wonderbike?
- Je me lance, vers la gloire ... OK
- Take me to the river, dip me in the water
+ In those patent leather shoes, Mr. Jones, you look so fine
+ Run run run run run run away
For this one, you first have to find that David Byrne of the Talking Heads is a member of Team Wonderbike. Then you had to do some lyric searching for Talking Heads songs. The only correct quotes are the two on top, so since the question asked which lyric was NOT from a song....then the bottom two are the correct answers.

So there you have it folks. Hopefully along the path to your Urban Assault Ride enlightenment, you learned many valuable life lessons. Don't fret - we'll have more perplexing questions coming your way in 2010. In the meantime, do you research on beer, bikes, big wheels, cool companies, good music, funky videos, sweet sunglasses, and everything else that the UAR crew thinks is cool.

things that may be of interest to you, my friend

2009-12-07T17:54:00.003-07:00

Vintage Rally - I love how the spectators move out of the way just in time - just like in the climbing stages of road races....but unlike in bike racing, you probably won't survive if your bag get caught on a passing racer.

Our friend Abbey gets a new dress and there's a new Ranger in town.

Some bikes that we like as of late...
Yeah - the 2010 S-Works Stumpjumper is not cheap - but it looks to be quite versatile. It's 30 speed!!! and 22 - 24 lbs depending on size. 5.5" in front and in rear.
This Independent Fabrications SSR is made of Reynolds 953 steel tubing - which is stronger, lighter, and stiffer than titanium...and get this - it's stainless. Yep - the chrome is shining just like an icicle as you ride around town on your IF bicycle. A bike this sweet might make me want to race on the road again.
In a word - VERSATILE. The Swobo Crosby is a built up as a single speed cross bike (read - great commuter), but also has mounts for disc brakes, cable stops if you want to run gears....and a cool SRAM hub that can be switched from freewheel to fix with the flip of a switch (or turn or a screw or something like that). And it has orange rims and blue is my favorite color. And the seat has a bottle opener on it for when you want to stop for a mid-ride Yoo-Hoo.

So there you have it. the only thing missing in this blog about beer, bikes, and big wheesl are the big wheels. That's because they are currently hibernating...

headbands prove you're part of the club

2009-12-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

Amazing photo

2009-12-03T08:06:00.003-07:00

This photo was in National Geographic. It won a contest that Energizer batteries hosted.

It's mesmerizing to me. Click it for full viewing.

Training?

2009-12-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

Do you think that playing this will make me faster?

Sorry for the radio silence.

2009-11-28T20:57:00.003-07:00

Here's something to keep you entertained since they've been entertaining us:

Family Guy Empire Strikes back

What goes up, must come down...

Happy Thanksgiving

Played a great set opening for Wolfmother in Denver

After seeing Pirate Radio (yep - it's a true story), I can't get this song out of my head

I distinctly remember rolling around on the floor when I saw this and I think this was my official introduction to one of my favorite bands - WEEN!

Whoa, that's a BIG dog.

There you have it...enjoy.

Bike wall art....

2009-11-15T19:23:00.001-07:00

Chairman Ting - Bicycle wall art from carsonting on Vimeo.

Best shark attack I've ever seen

2009-11-13T17:57:00.002-07:00

I watched parts (only the best parts) of Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus today.

It included this classic scene which I've conveniently found on YouTube....

I bet more people have seen this youtube clip than actually watched the movie.

To give the movie some credit, it does include:

Debbie Gibson at her finest
Quality lines like, 'I don't know what's down there, but it's gotta be really big'
A love scene where Debbie is turned on about an Asian scientist's story about trying to save a dolphin
....well that's about as far as I got.

You have to admit, it's pretty darn cool to see a prehistoric shark pluck a 747 out of the air. You never know...it could happen now that the ice caps are melting.

What's the secret to being the best Cyclocrosser in the world?

2009-11-13T10:19:00.004-07:00

Off-season training at the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride!
This is Katie Compton, one of the fastest women racers in the world. She and her husband (Mark Compton) decided to take on a new challenge with the Denver UAR in 2008. Navigating the city streets and picking up bottle caps with oven mitts while being shot with super soakers turned out to be a bit more of a challenge then they thought.

Katie is usually at home here...
Where she is virtually unbeatable. Katie leads the World Cup in Cyclocross.
Hopefully we'll see you and Mark back again for some summer time cross training. I'll be happy to give you two a handful of extra beer tokens to congratulate you on your success.

that's one way to sell it

2009-11-09T18:10:00.003-07:00

While cruising ebay for this and that, I found some interesting sales technique.

Used bib shorts - worn by this guy...
Those crazy Spaniards.

interesting bike

2009-11-04T18:51:00.003-07:00

Don't think it would ride all that well....but it's kinda cool looking. I guess it's a fixie too.
Here's more info.

Halloween weekend

2009-11-01T21:57:00.009-07:00

I got the very last mask in the Halloween store. It was called, "Old Man"
But before that I rode my bike in circles and got it dirty.And hung out with this guy
I watched some of this.
Then I put on my baby blue leisure suit, old man mask, and sat really still. I scared every single trick or treater. It was crazy. I was sitting on the porch the whole time. Very still - sure, but I didn't really look fake. I think there was probably a few drops of pee on the porch when the night was over. Jackie has the best time laughing at everybody getting scared. I tell you what...I don't think I've ever seen a person enjoy watching people tremble like Jackie does.
And then we watched some of this. We asked ourselves why everybody doesn't live in Colorado. it's the best place in the world I think. Happy November everybody!

My winter project....

2009-10-27T13:28:00.000-06:00

How To Teach Your Dog To Fetch A Beer from Walker Parks on Vimeo.

got a little cold today

2009-10-26T10:03:00.004-06:00

I went for a ride at Heil Ranch today....and it started to snow. Leaving Longmont, just a couple flurries.When I got to the trail head, there was a bit of accumulation.
Kinda cool how the trail stays visible but the snow packs up on the trees and grass.
More winter wonderland.

Then...the snow came down so hard I had to wipe my glasses every minute. The main factor limiting my speed was being able to see the trail. I got down to the bottom and hit the road and was soaking wet. And I hated to do it, but I had to call for a ride home. It happens about once a year, but I thought it may be a better plan than curling up in a fetal position with hypothermia on the side of the road. Oh well - a fun trail ride nonetheless!

Secret stash

2009-10-20T17:29:00.017-06:00

People are always surprised when I tell them that one of my favorite places to ride is Santa Fe. "Are there any trails there?" they ask. Well...yes..as a matter of fact there are. But despite my praise of the 4000' climbs/descents, well mapped loops, smooth arcing turns, and great weather...not many of my friends have ridden there. Oh well...don't say I didn't tell ya!
Jackie and I have been taking a fall trip to Santa Fe/Taos for about 5 years now. She gets her modern dance/yoga on in town and I hit the trails. Check the cholla cactus and the yellow-leafed aspen. Not too many places where you can see this in the same shot.
Rasta and Maple - stick out your tongues if you love the trails!

Here are some of the trails in the Santa Fe National Forest. ***Here's a tip: take a photo of the trail map, then zoom in on your camera's display to get directions. This way if you don't have a paper map, or don't want to mess with unfolding it, you're set!***
Getting high. Yep - the trails take you almost to 12,000' - where there chair lifts end on Mt Santa Fe.

Winsor is one of my all time favorite trails. Some people shuttle it. I like to climb (either on the road or trail) to "Aspen Vista" and descend from there.
Jackie and I enjoyed some nice and toasty camp fires.
The Aspens were in full color and blanketed the trails with yellow leaves.

A bit closer to town are the Ball Trails. EVERY turn has a marker/map, so it's nice to just ride and ride until you want to stop - then look at a marker to see how to get back. I'm sure the locals know the best way to put it all together, but I just like to hit all the segments.
On the way to Taos, we saw our friend, Jon making his way to Santa Fe. He's got to have one of the biggest loads I've ever seen on a bike tour. But I guess that's what you need if you're traveling from the northern tip of Alaska to as far as his legs will take him.
In Taos, I hit the South Boundary trail. In my opinion, Taos riding is not as good as Santa Fe's, but one has to respect all the indian braves that have walked these trails over the past 1000 years. Seems that they were made more for walking rather than riding. But they take you pretty darn high up. Here's a nice view after about a 2 hour climb.
I found no other riders on the trail, but I could tell that something was there before me.

So...if you want some uncrowded trails, great camping, good tacos, and maybe a big ass turquoise/leather/silver bracelet...check out the scene in Santa Fe in Taos.

Mid-Hoptober

2009-10-13T14:42:00.009-06:00

My man Brian was in town from ATX with this family and I was hoping to show him some of this:But instead, we got an unseasonably early snow storm, so it was more like this
So we bundled up and prepared to do some shivering.
Brian got the hang of it.So we took in some sights. A rather disturbing Halloween display. Let me think....nope - don't like it.
But we did make a friend who cheered us on...
And in between, we drank plenty of this

Now off to Santa Fe for some post-season creativity refueling. We'll report back soon.

MPLS photos are up

2009-10-07T18:23:00.002-06:00

...and they're FREEEEEEE

If you're in them and would like to own it, right clickity click
BUT FIRST CLICK HERE
Here's one of me trying my hand at bike limbo. It seems I got low, but have not quite mastered the side lean. Sorry for those of you in the front row - the sun's glare off my baldness must have been blinding! The guy in the beard was not impressed.

Big Wheel Pile

2009-09-30T21:00:00.000-06:00

We got the big wheels packed for their winter hibernation....

MPLS results are up

2009-09-30T18:41:00.006-06:00

Check out the results here.

Minneapolis UAR 2009...in the books!

2009-09-28T06:23:00.009-06:00

Here we have our overall winners and their shiny new bikes!

The winning male team with their Podium Girls"Gum is Fun" took home the Timbuk2 Messenger bags
Our top men
The smartest, fastest coed teams in MPLS...

Last but not least....the LADIES podium

Last but not least...things got a little crazy out there. The camera could barely keep up, but the dance party was a crazy one indeed.

Thank you Minneapolis!
We'll have photos and results posted soon!

MPLS Mystery Clue

2009-09-23T19:56:00.002-06:00

And here you have the 1st Mystery Checkpoint Clue for the 2009 Minneapolis New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride.....

See you this weekend!

some of my favorite things

2009-09-23T07:14:00.005-06:00

As a self-proclaimed bike junkie, it always makes my spokes tingle when Interbike comes around. For those of you unacquainted with Interbike, it's the country's biggest bike industry trade show. I've gone for many years, but for lately I've been UARing it on Interbike week. That's ok though b/c the industry does such a great job of covering most anything worth seeing that all one has to do is sit back and clickity click.

So here are some things that I think are cool so far:
The Ibis Mojo is one of the coolest looking Carbon MTBs and now they're making a 6" model that Brian Lopes has been racing on the World Cup Downhill circuit. Who says carbon can't hold up to serious off-road abuse? Not Brian Lopes!
This was a Cannondale concept bike and now it's in limited production. The disc and drivetrain are both on one side and it's all in super clean looking design.
Here's a view from the back.
The receiver hitch is by far the best place for a bike rack (aerodynamic, no risk of running into overhangs, and out of the way of road debris). This one's made by Kuat and it holds any two bikes without taking off wheels, it has an attached workstand, and a built-in cable lock system. Fancy!
Winter is almost here and when you can't stay off the bike, Surly has the ride for you - the Pugsley. And now more tires are available for the super-wide rims. A snow bike is one bike I have yet to ride - but I'd love to!

That's about all for now. I'll have more tidbits soon.

Scenes from Chicago

2009-09-22T06:28:00.012-06:00

Last minute strategery
With Wrigley Field in the background, could there be a better place to start the UAR than Murphy's Bleachers?
We call this one 'bowl head'. Maybe the chin straps have shrunk over the season.
I'm calling shenanigans on these teams
Pretty in pink
The mini bike 'circle of death'. These are our two top finishers.
The mustache contest was rightfully won and respect was lavished where it was due.
The smartest and fastest men in all of Chicago
It's always hard to give away two beautiful New Belgium cruisers, but Team Clif Hanger deserved them. Their time was 1:10 - the fastest UAR finish so far!
It's amazing what people will do for free stuff. These folks are big fans of Dirt Rag Magazine

THANK YOU CHICAGO! We had a blast and can't wait to be back next year. Full photos will be up in a couple days.

Chicago Mystery Clue

2009-09-16T21:43:00.002-06:00

Here you go folks...this is all you get:
Good luck!!!

If I wasn't already in love with bikes and beer...

2009-09-15T21:34:00.001-06:00

...I'd probably have to give this a shot.

Man of the turtles....part two

2009-09-09T20:35:00.005-06:00

For some reason they always cross my path during my rides. I can't count on my fingers and toes the amount of turtles I've saved from certain death by Michelin. Here's one. Here's another.
Today, I met my first of the year. He obviously didn't realize that I was trying to help him, as he was lunging and snapping at me. He even turned around and squared up with me when I got behind him. My solution (albeit perhaps not P.C. in the turtle world) was to flip him upside down (or downside up if you're a pessimist) and carry him to safer places. I took him to a near by pond where I hope he found what he was looking for.

So if you see a friendly turtle crossing the road, be like the "I like tuttles kid" and pick it up, and put it in the closest pond or lake. Their shells may be pretty hard, but cars are pretty heavy.

And if you don't know how to pick up a turtle, this young lady is happy to show you:

All set!

2009-09-09T14:04:00.006-06:00

All the checkpoints are lined up for the last two events and we're looking forward to Chicago and Minneapolis. These were our two biggest 1st year events in 2008, so we're expecting to see everybody plus their brothers and sisters out for the rest of our midwest tour.

Last weekend was New Belgium's Tour de Fat in hometown, Ft Collins.
15,000 people, 148 kegs, $65,000 raised for the non-profit. Damn amazing. Alter egos and creativity at it's finest. Nice job NBB, indeed.
This is what Linden St looks like when it's covered with just as many people as bikes and costumes.

That's all for now - time to ride!!!!!

Check the wheelie at 1:12

2009-09-02T20:44:00.004-06:00

nevermind the commentary. The 1st part is from Bruce Brown's On Any Sunday - a classic - almost as good as Endless Summer.

This is handy....

2009-09-02T14:47:00.003-06:00

Here's a new application that maps out safe bike routes (like google does for cars), but it also includes bike paths and bike lanes. So far it's available for Austin, Chicago, NYC, and Louisville.

Pretty cool since google's output is primarily focused on cars or walking. Now cyclists have an good option.
Here's their recommendation of how to go from Bicycle Sport Shop to Crown and Anchor (one of my favorite ATX watering holes). It did a pretty good job too. Half of it is on bike paths. So - give it a shot the next time you're looking for a quick and safe route!

Dayglo back in a big way

2009-08-26T12:14:00.003-06:00

It may be time to re-up our wedding vows just so I can see Jackie in this impressive piece of stitching.

weekend pleasures

2009-08-22T08:49:00.003-06:00

This one is a bit 'risquee' - but hey, somebody invented this thing.

Hope your weekend rides find you on top of the world!

Thank you St Louis!!!

2009-08-17T12:51:00.010-06:00

Back in the mountains of Colorado after a great event yesterday. St. Louis got its 1st taste of the Urban Assault Ride and I'm pretty darn sure there were just as many smiles as bicycles out there. We'll have results up tomorrow and photos of you all up soon too.

The STL Post Dispatch came out to shoot the race and here's a photo gallery.

Here are some of my favorites:
In traditional UAR style, a Le Mans start kicked off the day
Costumes were in full-effect
Nice socks, ladies
The plunger paddle race is on!
The Scouts victorious...and a bit tired perhaps?
Bike Limbo! The winner hit 2'8" - pretty impressive considering that the mini bike limbo winners are usually only a few inches lower
A Whole Foods sack lunch, New Belgium beers, and soft grass makes for a nice nap.

Thanks to all of our sponsors - especially New Belgium Brewing and Whole Foods! Our checkpoints partners ROCKED it! Thank you City Museum, Mesa Cycles, Big Shark Cycles, and the Botanical Gardens. BICYCLEworks and TrailNet - we couldn't have done it without you all. Thanks to all of great volunteers and everybody else that spent the day with us!!! We love and bike STL!!!!!

STL Mystery Clue

2009-08-13T20:18:00.002-06:00

Alright St. Louis, here's your 1st mystery checkpoint clue:

antarctic granola limbo dens

Solve the puzzle above and you'll be on your way to victory!

Good luck and we'll see you this weekend.