My Race partner, Jack, rollin' into downtown Minneapolis.
A few weeks ago I participated in the Urban Assault with my 9yr old son, Jack. It is basically a bicycle powered scavenger hunt. Clues and checkpoints lead you all across the city. At checkpoints, we had to complete (often silly) challenges. One was a trip down a water slide - timely, as we were about 40 minutes into the race and beginning to get a little hot. One challenge was skateboard bowling. I sat on a board, Jack pushed me towards a set of pins. We got a strike!
Riders, trying to complete a carpet puzzle - frustrated...
Over the course of 3 hours, I think we covered about 16 miles. It was hot and my partner was determined, but still began to fade towards the end. One last checkpoint was left, but was a LONG ride away, so we decided to pack it in and head to the finish. Once there, we had to complete a racecourse on a tricked-out "bigwheel" (Jack's favorite part), then run and dive down a huge, inflatable slip-n-slide to the finish line.
Bigwheels=Big fun!
Rad slip-n-slide finish line.
Later in the afternoon, Jack cleaned up in the mini-bike limbo contest. He won a messenger bag large enough to hold his kid brother! Dance-off's and other crazed contests entertained us for several more hours.
Jack, dominating in bike limbo.
Kids, look away. Bearded-man dance-off.
Don't miss this ride if it comes near your town. And pick a fun partner. Though it's billed as a "ride", its a race, so bring your competitive spirit too. Thanks for such a fun event, New Belgium!