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Does anyone here know much about 'Urban Assault' biking? My hubby says the way I react to his car-dodging way of biking, it'd never be for me, but naturally the moment he says that, I gain a tremendous curiosity for it. ;)
I live in Eugene, and I know it has a bigger scene in Portland, but I can still be curious. =)
I used to do once-a-month nighttime (the best time IMHO) Urban Assaults in Austin. It's fun with a group and even more fun when it includes beer and greasy Tex Mex.
The best UAs are in large-ish cities and it's even better if some real singletrack can be included. Here in the midwest they are often used as winter training rides. They will definitely help your curb-hopping, stair-riding, car-dodging skills.
I haven't done one since I moved here; "Small Rural Farming Community Assault" just doesn't have the same ring to it...
:D
I dunno about that one... There's a certain charm to riding through farm fields and doing an endo when your front wheel is somehow locked into place on a frozen cow pile. =)
On the up-side, one quickly becomes accustomed to the 'earthy' smell of a cow-field. ;)
I do a little every now and then. We ride throught some vacant lots, old railroad property, and finish up in the park downtown. There are some really fun stairs to play on in the abandoned amphitheatres, and lots of litttle nooks and crannies for ledges, and jumps. The word from the bike cop who rides a Kona Stinky is just don't run people over, and dont' hurt the flowers.
What I like about it is that we stop to "play" at various areas... hopping UP stairs or whatever, and it's very low pressure. There's a lot of room for sucess.
Irulan
Though I love the name, I don't know that I would ever be comfortable doing such a thing....
my brother commented to me this past weekend, "you ride a bike like you are driving a car." I retorted that since most of my biking is done during rush hours in a major metropolitan city, it's for my own safety. :rolleyes:
... it would take me some time to break out of the mental habit I'm in to be able to muck around and have some fun.
That's Ry's main comment, too.
Of course, his past was spent running across 4-laners for fun and having to jump over the hoods of some cars, or taking off pple's rear-view side mirrors after having them come a little too close...
I suppose that gives him the right to laugh when I look *both ways* .... *twice* and only start when I have enough space that I would make it in my Metro as well as on a bike... I've *just* gotten bouncing down curbs... haven't really gotten the 'up' over them, but I'm getting there. The fact he's sunk his butt into a cushy recumbant that doesn't curb-hop very well gives me a chance to explore the learning curve without having to watch him gracefully leap over them like a gazelle with wheels.
dodging traffic doensn't factor into urban assault for me. That just sounds downright stupid!! To me, it's using urban components to put together a fun ride, sans cars. On mtbikes of course, I dont' know how else you could do it. We ride stairs, go through vacant lost, speed through homeless camps (yikes!!) and just use man made object for our playground.
Irulan
I know... Traffic dodging isn't my idea of something bright or fun to do either... I have to do it enough just trying to get to work (stupid people pulling out without BOTHERING to look for bicyclists...) and I've told him several times he and his friends are lucky to be ALIVE...
Boys... it's a wonder they manage to survive to adulthood. ;)
seriously - I cringe as i watch my brother weave around on the road - not sure how he's made it this far.
Urban assault would not be received well in this city, traffic dodging or not - we've got the skateboarding community extremely pissed off ... if the city is banning skateboards on hardscape, I can't image them allowing bikes! Property owners have also been making renovations to their properties to discourage skateboarders - any biker is going to be given the same reception.
here's how my urban ride went tonight. I met my friend in front of where she works. We rode off past the area, then the courthouse, and onto a piece on uncevleoped old RR property that she appropriately calls "end of the world". We get in quite a few miles dodgine old rr ballast, over rr trestles, homeless camps, piles of cement blocks and broken glass and then along the river. Back into downtown, where we go through the park and into town two blocks. We go to the corner where my hubby's office is, two stories up, and wave at him, call him on the cell phone. :D
Then in the park, it's our little play ground. There are all sorts of little and big ledges to ride off of, drained ponds with rocks and so on. We put pads on. Some lady says, my you look serious and my reply is "we are weenie old ladies that don't want to get hurt". We mess around some more, and have some good laughs at how niether of us can do wheelie drops, which really limits what we can ride off of. The down and around the bike path, over a few different bridges, back through the park until it was time to go.
Irulan
Quote:
Originally posted by Irulan
"we are weenie old ladies that don't want to get hurt". Irulan
Too funny that you think you are weenie old ladies -- there are some people I know that would call you "gnarly bike babes"!:D
I am jealous.
yeah, <blush> it was just so funny at the time. Especially we go to this old abandoned pong. Niether she nor I can wheelie drop worth a crap, everything gets landed front wheel first, so that limits the height of what you can roll of. So we stand around and point and stay "I'm not doing that!!! BUt (insert name of male here) can, no problem.
heh heh
Irulan