Minneapolis Mystery Clue

Her seldom seen but more famous cousin hails from Scotland. Find this Minneapolis celebrity and you'll find the location of the first mystery checkpoint at Sunday's Minneapolis Urban Assault Ride.

10 Years of UAR: Josephine

The stories keep rolling in! The latest entry in the 10 Years of Urban Assault Ride contest that we'll feature comes from Josephine. Tell us your story and maybe you'll find it featured on our blog soon, and if it's our Grand Prize winner, maybe you'll it featured in Bicycle Times Magazine!!! Enter today!

Team "We Go Both Ways...(over passes that is)” was back to defend our title. Started off great - were  first to multiple stops, found the 2nd mystery checkpoint and got to the finish line ~15min before the next team! So what went wrong?

#1: Second to last stop = South College Pool. Objective = jump in & grab 3 different cans of New Belgium beer. Jumped in, searched around, found 3, DONE! Got out then realized that I couldn't see...haven't been swimming in a while, but apparently if you wear contacts you're not supposed to open your eyes underwater...SO off we went to the finish blind as a bat – thank god for Kim! 

LESSON #1: If you wear contacts don't open your eyes underwater if you want to see later

#2: You earn a bead for your chain at every checkpoint. I decided that it's faster to put the beads in your mouth as you go...at the finish I gracefully spit out the beads & reach down for our chain - it's gone. Time doesn't stop until all beads are on your chain, SO now I'm running around yelling "I need a chain, who has a chain!?" We're so early that the only people there are volunteers with no chains - FINALLY found one, got the beads on & clock in at 1hr 15min, hell yeah. BUT WAIT! We only have 7 beads & they're saying there should be 8...what? 

LESSON #2: Put on the beads as you go!

#3: I usually procrastinate, but I love UAR so I mapped out our route as soon as the checkpoints were posted. Unfortunately a checkpoint was added a week before that I never noticed & therefore didn't have on my list...turns out it was on our route & we rode RIGHT by it, BUT this was after the pool so I couldn't see, we missed the checkpoint & therefore missed a bead. We were told that missing a bead was a 10min penalty & it wouldn't be worth it to go back. 

LESSON #3: Double & TRIPLE check that you actually have ALL of the checkpoints on your map

#4: Thought we were in the clear & won since the next girls came in at 1hr 25min, 10min after our "official" time. So we're celebrating, drinking, having a grand old time till we learn that missing a bead is a 10 HOUR penalty, not 10 MINUTES - sad day. New official time: 11 hours & 15 minutes 

LESSON #4: READ the rules! 

SO in the end we destroyed the girls, but lost...still had a great time & learned some lessons along the way!

Thanks for sharing your story, Josephine!


Share YOUR story today, and register now to be a part of the next ten years of UAR memories!

St Louis Mystery Clue!

Hey St. Louis! The clue for the FIRST mystery checkpoint is available.

1) Follow the link HERE.
2) Complete the jigsaw puzzle to see a photo of the location of the first mystery checkpoint.

We'll see you SUNDAY!

10 Years of UAR: Jennifer

It's hard to believe it's been ten years! The Urban Assault Ride will host its 10th annual event in Austin on June 24! We've made some great memories over the years, and to celebrate the 10 years of UAR, we're collecting some of those stories and sharing them with the world.


To add to the fun, we're drawing from all of our weekly entrants for a Road ID gift card, and we'll select five finalists to be voted on for a chance to win the Grand Prize, to be announced at the Urban Assault Ride in Austin on June 24. Tell us your story to get entered for a chance to win! 


Our Grand Prize winner will get an awesome prize pack including KEEN shoes, ZEAL sunglasses, and more - PLUS get his or her story published in Bicycle Times Magazine! 


This week's winning story comes from Jennifer, who had quite the adventure at the Urban Assault Ride in Austin in 2011! Check it out!


"UAR Austin 2011 on a tandem bike, with a one-legged stoker!  First time ever for both riders on a tandem, stoker had a broken fibula,in a boot, and wasn't allowed to put any weight on her leg. All bike dismounts/rests had to be done on the left, ALWAYS. Crutches were slung across backpack for transport and had to be fitted at every obstacle, then shrunk again to safely bike again.  We completed ALL the obstacles, including the water paddle and 3 legged obstacle which we had to do on 2 legs so our third leg wouldn't bear any weight.  And we had to piggy back the first 100 yards to our bike at the start so crutches could be ready to go with the bike!  Epic!"

Tell us your story, and register today to be a part of the next ten years of Urban Assault Ride memories!

10 Years of UAR: Jason

The Urban Assault Ride is celebrating its 10th season this year! We've made some great memories over the years, and we constantly hear stories and get emails from people who have taken part over the years. We're celebrating those stories in our Ten Years of Urban Assault Ride Memories Giveaway!

Share your story with us for a shot at this week's giveaway and the Grand Prize! We'll announce the winner at the Urban Assault Ride in Austin! Register today to be a part of the next ten years of memories!

Jason won last week's drawing for a Road ID gift card, and he shared this story with us. It's a great story that encapsulates so much of what we're about - fun for all ages, the great after party, and discovering new ways to incorporate your bicycle into your everyday life.

Thanks, Jason!

Hi Josh-
Met you briefly at last year's Minneapolis UAR, where I rode with a friend.  I just wanted to reach out to you to personally say thanks for putting this event on, I know it's got to be a ton of work, but I also wanted to let you know you're accomplishing your mission of spreading the good word about biking.

I had never ridden on the Minneapolis Greenway, prior to last year's UAR- Now I commute on it to work, about 3-4 days/week.  I brought my family to this year's Minneapolis UAR, and we won 2nd & 3rd place in the family division, and my eldest son won the Mustache dance-off (of which I am more proud).  I also got 5 teams of my co-workers to attend, and they had a blast!

Yesterday, the Monday after the UAR, they asked their Mom if they could ride to school, and they all did.

Anyways, thought you'd enjoy hearing that- and thanks again- Keep up the good work!  We will all be signing up right away next year!

Jason

UAR: New Friends, Old Friends, and These Guys

I promised you last week I would tell you the story of these guys.

Producing the Urban Assault Ride over ten years in multiple cities across the US, we’ve met some interesting folks. We meet thousands of people every year, from racers, to volunteers, to local business owners. It takes the cooperation of many hands to put on a race series like this, from our own team, to the dedicated non-profits we work with, to the Special Ops team, and more. The guys above… they fall into a category all their own.

The scene: Austin, Texas, June 2009.

Because Austin’s UAR is the oldest race in the series, it has historically been our biggest race of the year. To put on an event that size and keep long lines from forming at our obstacles, we needed a LOT of everything. We had an obstacle that year in Austin called “Human Bumper Cars,” which amongst other things, required 24 huge 18-wheeler sized inner tubes to be inflated. A floor pump wasn’t going to be up to the task, and as it turns out, neither was one of the compressors we had along for the job.

With one of our compressors dead, and our partnering bike shops closed, we found ourselves shuttling empty tubes to a gas station, getting the air turned on, filling them, running them back to the obstacle site, and repeating. A time consuming endeavor to be sure. Fortunately, we found some willing helpers hanging out nearby. We recruited one gentleman, who recruited help, and their team of three made quick work of a task that would have taken us 4 hours on our own. In the end, they accepted our original offer of $20, turned that $20 into a 30 pack of (clearly not New Belgium) beer, a couple Snickers bars, and a good night.

For the full story, check out Josh’s post from our old blog.

What's your favorite Urban Assault Ride story? Submit your favorite memories to social@adventurefit.com for a chance at winning one of our weekly prizes or our Grand Prize, to be voted on leading up to our 10th annual Urban Assault Ride in Austin on June 24, 2012.

Don't miss your chance to be a part of the next ten years of Urban Assault Ride memories. Register today!

Celebrating 10 years of UAR memories - Tell Us Your Story!

The Urban Assault Ride is old enough for its own big wheel! The UAR is celebrating its 10^th year, and to celebrate, we’re giving away a bunch of prizes! We've made great friends and great memories over the years. Tell us your story for a chance to win!

In addition to some great prizes, the Grand Prize winner will get their story 

published in Bicycle Times Magazine!

In June 2003, 120 riders lined up and the start gun went off for the very first Urban Assault Ride in Austin, Texas. Now in its 10^th year, 100 times as many people will experience this one of a kind event, combining everything we love about bikes - riding with friends, exploring the city, some camaraderie and some competition, and washing it all down with a delicious beer.

Life is about great times and great memories, and we have made some great memories over the years. Everywhere we go, we hear stories from past years, of new routes discovered during the race, of favorite obstacles, and of people who re-discovered bikes and have incorporated them into their daily lives.

Grand Prize:

Free Pair of KEEN Shoes

Free Pair of ZEAL Sunglasses

Road ID Gift Card

Free Box of Clif Bars
1 Year Subscription to DRAFT Magazine

Story Published in Bicycle Times Magazine

and more!

4 Finalists

Free Box of Clif Bars

Road ID Gift Card
1 Year Subscription to DRAFT Magazine

Free Pair of UAR Socks

We want to hear your stories. Submit your favorite Urban Assault Ride story between now and June 17. Never ridden the Urban Assault Ride? No problem! Submit your favorite urban riding memory from the last ten years.

How to enter:

• Email your favorite urban riding story or Urban Assault Ride memory to social@adventurefit.com*
• Get creative, send us photos, send us videos, however you want to tell your story! Keep your entry under 500 words, and limit it to 3 photos.
• Submit your entry by 11:59 PM CST June 17, 2012.
• Limit one (1) entry per person.

How to win: 

We will draw a random winner each Friday between now and June 24^th, 2012. We will post a few of our favorites during the week leading up to the Austin race, and your vote will pick a winner. Voting will end at 6:00 PM CST on June 23rd. The Grand Prize Winner will be announced in Austin at the Urban Assault Ride after-party and will receive an awesome prize pack from our sponsors!

Throughout the weeks leading up to our Grand Prize vote, we’ll post a few of our favorites on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Thanks for the memories! Register today to help us celebrate our 10^th season and get in on the next 10 years of great stories!

Remind us to tell you this story later...

*By submitting your entry, you grant Adventure Fit use of your words, photos, or video for our blog, website, emails, social media, and other promotional use.


This promotion is not affiliated with Facebook or Twitter, or administered, sponsored, or endorsed by Facebook or Twitter. 


You understand that you are providing your information Adventure Fit/Urban Assault Ride and Not Facebook or Twitter.


Winners will be selected by a panel of Adventure Fit staff and will be contacted by email and later announced on Facebook and Twitter.