While they might not be trying to reinvent the wheel, the coordinators of the Urban Assault Ride are all about popping wheelies - and spreading the word about the benefits of biking. What was once a small community bike competition in Austin, Texas, has turned into one of the nation's largest self-sustainable, "off-grid" cycling events - complete with Big Wheels, Slip 'n Slides and all-the-beer-you-can-drink afterward. SOLVING THE WORLD'S PROBLEMSJosh Kravetz, 32, a former professional cyclist and owner of Adventure Fit, a company that produces sporting events, created the Urban Assault Ride in 2002 after becoming tired of bike races that were "too hard-core competitive" and "not that fun anymore," he said. "We went for something totally different and new," Kravetz said. "We wanted people to come together and have fun - couples, friends and families."The goal of the race in Seattle, he said, is to inspire participants to learn more about the city and use bikes more often for transportation rather than only for health reasons or leisure. "When it comes down to it you can solve a lot of the world's problems with bikes," he said. "It's healthy. It doesn't pollute. There's no dependency on oil. We're trying to show people how easy the lifestyle is, particularly in cities with great infrastructure like Seattle and Portland (Ore.)." A BIKE-FRIENDLY FOOTPRINTWith an estimated 500 participants scheduled to attend on Sunday, May 18, this year's Urban Assault Ride would be Seattle's first major cycling event since the city unveiled its $240 million Bicycle Master Plan in September 2007, a bike-friendly blueprint for creating "hundreds of miles of new bike lanes, bike routes, trails and transit connections" over the next nine years, the plan says.The Urban Assault Ride - which starts and finishes at the Fremont Outdoor Cinema, at North 35th Street and Phinney Avenue North - will require participants to map their own route to various checkpoints throughout the city, including Gas Works Park, REI's flagship store, Recycled Cycles in the University District, Gregg's Cycles in Green Lake and Bike Sport bike shop in Ballard. And while the event won't close any roads during the competition, Kravetz stressed that participants should exercise caution over the nearly 25-mile course. "A ticket equals a disqualification," he said. "Some roads will be off-limits, but it's very important that people are safe otherwise."The checkpoints, however, are a different story. "People should let loose and have fun," he said. "[The checkpoints] are what the event has been known for. We thought of the craziest things that we always wanted to do but didn't have the chance, like bike jousting, Big Wheel racing and, yes, Slip 'n Slides." A SUSTAINABLE EFFORTFor this event, there's no such thing as a free ride. Tickets are $120 for a two-person co-ed, male or female team, and $110 for a two-person family team. Each team member will receive an organic cotton T-shirt, a backpack and a water bottle, among other items, while the winning team will receive two commuter bikes from New Belgium Brewing, the event's primary sponsor. All proceeds will go to Bike Works, a nonprofit business in Southeast Seattle dedicated to teaching children how to ride and fix bicycles. Kravetz also hopes that the event promotes more than just efficient biking. "It's about sustainability," he said. "We're going from event to event in a biodiesel truck and using a solar-powered trailer to power the live music for the after-party. It's about a lifestyle that's respectful to the world we live in." Participants' gift packets will also only include products produced in an environmentally efficient manner, he said."We could plug in at every venue we go to and power the whole thing that way," he said. "But we feel it's more important to do things the right way. Through a fun and crazy event like this I think we're speaking that message a lot louder - and we can show people that a little change can make a big difference."To find out more about the Urban Assault Ride, visit www.urbanassaultride.com.[[In-content Ad]]
