Urban Assault Ride

Yeah! I am a winner! I entered a contest for the Urban Assault Ride, which is a fun event put on by New Belgium Brewing. Neighbor Mike and I participated.
http://www.bikegallery.com/blog/2009/we-have-an-urban-assault-ride-haiku-contest-winner/

It was an event that combined a quiz at the start that gave clues about one secret checkpoint and required a multiple choice questionnaire that dictated your start time.

I have to admit, at the start I was pretty excited, not that I believed we could win, but there was this air of competition surrounding the kickoff that made it a fun experience. From Pionweer Square, we raced over the Hawthorne Bridge to Plan B (a bar that required a ring toss), with a quick stop at River City Bicycles, followed by a longer trip up to Whole Foods on NE Fremont (the first secret check point). The trip continued through Laurelhurst Park, Sunnyside School, Downtown Bike Gallery (the super secret spot), and finally Fat Tire Farm which is in NW Portland. When we completed that checkpoint, the guy said he hadn't seen many people with all their beads, so I thought we might have a shot at winning as we raced the three miles back to Pioneer Square for the big wheel/slip and slide finale. Alas, we should have chosen the opposite direction of travel hitting Fat Tire Farm first then Whole Foods, because we came in #5 in the men's category and 11th overall out of 120 teams.

All in all, a good event because we were drinking beers at 11 AM (weird!) in Pioneer Square and enjoying the early weather (it was mid 80s on the day!).

I will definitely do this next year.