The Urban Assault Ride, the self-described “biggest bike scavenger hunt series in the world” is coming to Portland for a second year, this Sunday, May 31. Teams of two will compete by racing around town, hitting checkpoints scattered across Portland, and completing various and sundry obstacle courses of ingenious design.
The goal of the ride is “to show folks how easy and fun it is to use a bike for transportation,” as well as serving as a benefit for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.
I’ll be covering the ride as a participant, and will be creating a photo essay of the fun.
The race is ridden on a self-determined route: as long as you hit all eight checkpoints, you can ride almost-anywhere you’d like. (Several, more hazardous streets are prohibited, including Sandy, MLK, Grand, Hwy 26, Burnside, Macadam, and Greeley; racers can cross them, if needed, and they can be ridden in sections with bike lanes.)
Five of the eight checkpoints have been announced: Laurelhurst Park, FatTire Farm, River City Bicycles, Sunnyside School Park, and Plan B Bar. The other three are “mystery checkpoints” that will be revealed only through riders’ wit and cunning.
Online registration is open until this Friday, May 29th, but the last chance to register is at Plan B (SE 8th & Main) from 11-2pm this Saturday, the 30th. The ride is supposed to be family friendly, and anyone ages 7 and up can participate. All participants *must* pick up their race packets at Plan B on Saturday, 11-2pm.
Registration, route and safety information can be found at the Urban Assault website, http://www.urbanassaultride.com/
The race starts at 9am on Sunday at Pioneer Square, and I’ll see all of you there! (I’ll be the one choking on the dust y’all leave behind…)
