Hanging with 680 very inebriated bike riders drinking New Belgium Beer in the sun after a crazy bike ride is how I spent my afternoon yesterday. Keeping them hydrated with nuun while listening to a sweet Blue Grass band overlooking beautiful downtown Des Moines and trying really hard not to sneeze so hard my head explodes!
The folks who ran the Urban Assault were awesome and Mullets bar has such a fantastic location! I have a bunch of swag to give away that Stacy from New Belgium gave me to share with you!
It was interesting to see some of the bike culture here in Des Moines.
So, Urban Assault is a scavenger hunt sort of ride put on by New Belgium Breweries. Beer and Bikes pretty much sums it up. There are 13 Urban Assault rides through out the country and Des Moines came in , so far, second with 680 participants behind Austins 1500 riders. There are 2 more to come so check out their page for dates and sign up for Chicago and Madison left this season!
Here is the view from the balcony of Mullets and you can see the stage and a wave of cyclists setting out on their adventure.
Lots and lots of beer! There were a few kilts their too, Sport Kilts even!! Nice choice you hot kilt wearin fellas! I have a Sport Kilt review in the works since Jaymon and I have been able to run in our together again.
Keg bike! And in the background is the band.
I wish I could remember the name of the band......
The highlights of my day were the band, being outside although the heat sapped the life out of me, and a little bee. I had a bee in my hair and I felt this tickle on the back of my neck so without thinking I reached up to get it out and it buzzed and stung my finger. My heart started pounding immediately and it occurred to me that going into anaphylactic shock would not be wise when the only people around are 700 really really drunk people. Luckily I had chatted with the local Fire Departments medic that was on site earlier and knew who to look for if my tongue started to swell.
I admit I am a bit of a hypochondriac but my dad had adult onset bee allergy and since I had not been stung since I was a kid, I have been nervous as to what would happen.
Lo and behold it made me feel fantastic. Maybe it was the residual high from the adrenalin or maybe it really was the bee venom but it made me feel awesome! I iced my finger since it was a bit painful at the site but no swelling and the ice helped immediately. I think being a bee keeper should be in my future. Sorry little bee but thanks for your sweet donation!
Talking about sweet donations, Stacy hooked us up with Urban Assault and New Belgium gear. There will be 5 winners!!
The first package will be an Urban Assault t-shirt in size medium, a set of Velcro straps for keeping your pants out of your bike chain, some New Belgium orange chap-stick which is yummy btw! A few bike patch kits some I heart bikes pins, stickers and a postcard.
The second package is a draw string Urban Assault back pack, an UA water bottle, a bike bell!!!!! some chapstick, stickers, I heart bikes pins, bike patch kits, velcro straps for keeping pant legs out of chains, and a post card!
Three more people will get this! A New Belgium orange peel chapstick, some bike patch kits, stickers, and I heart bikes pins!
The giveaway will run until Monday August 30th and I will announce the winners on the 31st!
Leave a comment for each thing that you do since I will be choosing winners using Random.org so every comment is an entry! (you don't have to do all of them, just as many times as you want to spend the time doing and entries you want!)
- Be a follower of this blog and let me know you do so in a comment
- tell me if you want the t-shirt package or the bag package.
- do you ride a bike often? Is it a big part of your life?
- Do you wear a Road ID ?
- what is the bike culture like in your neck of the woods? Do you have paved paths to ride on?
- How do you think we could make biking safer in our culture since it is greener and should be done more.
- blog, facebook, twitter, ect. and tell me you did each time you do in a comment
Hope you all had a fun weekend!
Angie ~ You are having such fun! Great music, fun folks...okay minus the bee sting..but bees in general, sweet!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower. secretly jealous of all the fun you are having. ;-) Okay great now it's not secret anymore!
I have a bright yellow "don't hit me stupid" Road ID! I know that if I fall over anywhere but at home in PA because they would all know the crazy girl that runs twice a day and they'd take me back to my mom's house and tell her she should keep me off the roads. But I digress, anywhere else, my Road ID would tell some kind sole who to contact to gather me up if the distance or heat or terrian got the better of me!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seriously biked in years. I just can not give up the time and now that I am in love with trail running (biking it is just to fast to see it all) I don't know when I'll ever get back to serious biking. But I wish it could be more than just fun time with the kids!
ReplyDeleteThey made Cannandale bikes locally so biking is big. We don't have a load of paved trails but lots of trails for biking.
ReplyDeleteMy pick would be the bag package.
ReplyDeleteI bought a bike this year but unfortunately I have only been on it a few times. I'm chicken on the roads and don't have a hitch to drive it to our local paved trails.
ReplyDeleteI do wear RoadID!
ReplyDeleteWe have a great park nearby with about 10 miles of paved trails plus much more off-road trails. We also get a ton of cyclists riding on the roads around here... we're north of the city so the streets are quieter. The city recently painted a bike lane on one of the popular routes!
ReplyDeleteMore bike lands would help a lot with road safety. Unfortunately drivers have a hard time sharing the road.
ReplyDeleteWell, if I had a magic wand I would slow everyone down. Like people are on the islands. When we went to Aruba (and I've heard it said of a lot of the islands) people simply didn't have that hurry hurry up attitude. If drivers were not in a rush and were simply enjoying getting from a to b then it would be safer to bikers and there would be more of them! But since I don't have that magic wand, I would look toward education to instill the attitudes to biking and sharing the road with kids. What's that they say, teach them while they are young....
ReplyDelete(Oh, and wider roads in VA!!! Come on that state doesn't have a berm if you are not on a main road)
I'm a follower
ReplyDeletet shirt package please :-)
ReplyDeleteI ride a lot. I bike commute almost everywhere. Last weekend I rolled up in my car and three people commented that they've never seen me drive before.
ReplyDeleteI wear a road ID.
ReplyDeleteWe have bike lanes in some places, but not paths.
ReplyDeleteI think to make biking safer, cyclists need to learn some rules. The # of cyclists I see riding against traffic w/o lights at night makes me angry. They are trying to pass legislation to make it illegal for cars to come within 10 feet of a cyclists. Great. But is that really what we want? How can we then pass cars backed up? I think signs all over telling drivers cyclists are allowed on the road is a better idea. And emphasize which way to ride. In New Orleans there are billboards telling cyclists to ride with traffic.
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower.
ReplyDeleteI would choose the bag package.
ReplyDeleteI just started biking again this year to train for my first tri. I ride 2-3 times a week and wish I had started again sooner. It's fun!
ReplyDeleteI wear a pink Road ID.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few cyclists here. There's a nice MUP less than a mile from my house, and several area roads have bike lanes, although I wish more did!
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower
ReplyDeleteTshirt
ReplyDeleteI ride 3 times a week for exercise and most days to commute to the train station
ReplyDeleteI'm a RoadIDer
ReplyDeleteThe roads in our suburb are terrible - i can always tell when I ride into the next town
ReplyDeleteI think bike safety all comes down to education -- for both cyclists and drivers. I see people riding on the wrong side of the road all the time, blowing off stop signs, etc., and then there are the drivers who feel like bikes shouldn't be on the road and don't give enough room when passing and just don't look around for bikes OR pedestrians.
ReplyDeleteCreate more dedicated bike paths, a la rails to trails. If it was easier to get places on bikes, more people would do it. More bikes=safer because they would be more visible and drivers would become more aware
ReplyDeleteLinking on blog
ReplyDeleteFacebooking
ReplyDeleteTweeting - you need to add Tweetmeme or the share buttons
ReplyDeleteThis is a lot of comments to leave
ReplyDeleteI am a follower, what a great giveaway since I am just getting into biking!
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE the bag one since I don't even have a water bottle yet. I know, what a loser!
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a road id, I am just finding out about them! With all the rural roads we are on we should invest though.
ReplyDeleteCoach and I just got bikes to start training for tris and make family exercise a bigger part of our lives and we love it!
ReplyDeleteThere are no paved trails in my neck of the woods but I wish there were. It is scary having the boys on the road all the time.
ReplyDeleteAdded the giveaway to my blog!
ReplyDeleteAwesome giveaway! I'm a follower
ReplyDeleteI would like the t-shirt package
ReplyDeleteI ride fairly often, 2-3 times per week. It's an understandly large part of triathlon training!
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a Road ID, but I've been drooling over them for a while
ReplyDeletebike culture is great where I'm from. It's a bit of a hippie, green culture town so it's very embraced. Not without its perils, but overall embraced
ReplyDeleteI think more bike lanes, and cyclists in brighter clothing who actually follow the rules of the road would be great. I'm a cyclist but I know there have been times where I've been in a car and cyclist in dark clothes and no helmet has snuck up and I've almost hit them. Scares me!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower!
ReplyDeleteI think I would love the bag package!!!
ReplyDeleteI ride a bike quite often...did my first bike tour....180km over two days...the hubby and I love to go for rides together...I just LOVE to bike and am now thinking about a triathlon next year....but the bike tours are my favourite!
ReplyDeleteI wear a Road ID for both running and biking...everyday! Don't leave home without it!
ReplyDeleteI wish that the bike culture in my fairly large Ontario City was better....bike lanes are starting to pop up...we are lucky that we have a nice trail system by the river that is paved...plus a few great places for those that mountain bike....More people to need bike and commute to work....
ReplyDeleteI think we need to do a lot more awareness about car vs. bike safety...In Canada we have had multiple deaths this year which has been very sad...and also very preventable....I also think workplaces could help support people to ride their bike better (showers at work, safe place to leave bike etc).
ReplyDeletePosted it on my Blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an awesome day! Sure looks like fun. I love bluegrass...and beer.
I'm a follower :)
ReplyDeleteI wear a road ID, everyone should too!
ReplyDeleteWe have a great trail that goes almost the full circle of the town I live in. It's a wonderful place to walk, bike or run.
ReplyDeleteWhich package....hmmm, I honestly would like either one! The bag would be a great running gear bag for the car - and the shirt is super cool. :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm not really into biking that much. More for leisure time with my daughter than for training or exercise. I totally love spin class though - does that count?! ;)
ReplyDeleteposted on Facebook!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower!
ReplyDeleteIf I won I would pick prize number 2.
ReplyDeleteLinked to your contest on blog!
ReplyDeleteI would choose the bag
ReplyDeleteI linked this on my blog
ReplyDeleteI don't Road ID, but I know I should. It just hasn't made it to the top of the budget list
ReplyDeleteI try to ride at least once a week. I love to ride but I have to drive somewhere to ride safely so that makes it harder to schedule and get it done
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure the bike culture is like around here. I do know a handful of cyclists ride down our road but they're really fast and all decked out (a poser like me could never hang with them).
ReplyDeleteWe do live within driving distance from a tow path that tons of serious and recreational riders use so the kids and I ride on it when we do ride
I live in a rural area - not within walking distance of anything other than my neighbor. Building roads that have shoulders would be a huge improvement.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like walking to the next house with an oncoming car playing chicken with you and your kids. We've had to dive into the weeds more than once, not fun.
I wouldn't consider for even a milisecond putting my kids on a bike on our road which stinks because they love to ride.
What a fun time!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping you were giving away beer... ;o)
Hi Angie Bee,
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo, another giveaway!
I would love the t-shirt package:)
Yes, I am a faithful follower!
I will link you in now!
ReplyDeletei'm a follower! :)
ReplyDeletei would love the bag. it would actually be for my husband-- he's an insane fan of new belgium beer (which is impossible to get here in maryland, so he trades with guys on a beer site) and loves to cycle. he would think i was the best wife ever if i gave him this! :)
ReplyDeletei don't ride a bike, but my husband does and loves it.
ReplyDeletemaybe it's that i don't ride, but i don't feel like it's very safe here. there are certainly beautiful areas to ride, but i wouldn't say they are roads/paths specifically for riding, with the exception of a scattering of nature trails.
ReplyDeletei think drivers need to be schooled on how to share the road with bikes. i notice a lot of drivers here on the east coast are really aggressive and drive right up on the cyclists. it's so scary!
I'm a follower!
ReplyDeleteI wear either 3 Road IDs: yellow, black and red. Yea...needed different colors.
ReplyDeleteI'd go for the bag swag, please.
ReplyDeleteI follow!
ReplyDeleteBag package is cool - I need more bike bell in my life. :D
ReplyDeleteI usually bike 3 times/week since my kid seems to LOVE it and I have a great trail by my house. Usually just 10 miles, nothing major.
ReplyDeleteNo Road ID for me, I'm not quite that techie. But I'd like to - just not enough to spend money.
ReplyDeleteThere is a fantastic bike trail bumping right up against my backyard. Mostly hardcore bikers in all their gear until early evening when all the young moms with kids come out. The paved path goes something like 20+ miles in one direction, and a lot of people use it as a means of transportation from one bus stop to the next.
ReplyDeleteTo make it safer: EDUCATE! As a driver I never know how to treat bikes (I know I know..."like a car" but what does that really mean? I'm not going to go as slow as they are up the hill just because they started off in front of me - you know?) and I hate driving around bikers. As a biker I HATE cars and never know how to treat them. I think that dedicated bike lanes on busy roads are key, but EDUCATING people on how to treat each other is even MORE key.
ReplyDeleteTo make it safer: EDUCATE! As a driver I never know how to treat bikes (I know I know..."like a car" but what does that really mean? I'm not going to go as slow as they are up the hill just because they started off in front of me - you know?) and I hate driving around bikers. As a biker I HATE cars and never know how to treat them. I think that dedicated bike lanes on busy roads are key, but EDUCATING people on how to treat each other is even MORE key.
ReplyDeleteI just got a folding bike so I could commute, stash the bike in my office and/or toss it in someone's trunk for the ride home if it's pouring with rain. It is becoming a big part of my life!
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a RoadId. I never thought about that....
ReplyDeleteThere is a good network of paved trails in my area, but then also some real problem areas for both cyclists and pedestrians. Trying to find a good route from home to school was really hard because there are big roads with very very few safe crossings. Thank heavens for google maps.
ReplyDeleteI think the more people ride bikes the safer it becomes because drivers are used to it, so we should encourage more people to ride!
ReplyDeleteBesides more bike lanes, my area needs more pedestrian/bike crossings with lights. Even on marked crossings where people (sometimes) stop for pedestrians they don't seem to stop for bikes.
What a great giveaway! I think I would want the t-shirt package if I won. :) Unfortunately, my neighborhood is not very bike friendly, which is why I have to be extra careful when I do ride. If I had a better bike path near me I would definitely ride my bike a lot more than I do now.
ReplyDeleteThe band was Mr. Baber's Neighbors, and yea they were good!
ReplyDeleteI'd take the bag. Love it. I also love the keg bike. Can you give one of those away?
ReplyDeleteI wear a nice purple Road ID.
ReplyDeleteMy bike was my first love before running. If it wasn't almost 20 years old I would probably ride it more often. I want to reignite that love affair, so maybe one of these days Santa will bring me a new one. Only 4 months, right?
ReplyDeleteAs you can imagine, cylcing is huge here out in Boulder. Lots of trials, nice shoulders on roads, paved bike paths that go everywhere. Makes the sport very accessible and easy.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win that bag package!
ReplyDeleteI currently do not have a road id.
ReplyDeleteWe have three groups of bicyclists in my town. There are about three or four serious cyclists with expensive bikes, spandex and helmets. There are the family riders, who ride for fun and to run errands (we are in this group). And there are the "others". The people who wear no type of reflective clothing or gear and shoot straight accross four lanes of traffic in the middle of the night carrying a case of cheap beer under their arm. I have come way too close to hitting the same guy twice. Scary stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe band was "Mr. Baber's Neighbors"
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Baberhood!
Don't ride enough, but ride more than last year and next will be even more.
I'd take the repair kit in anticipation of needing one sometime in the future.
Thanks for coming to Des Moines. I trust my city treated you well. Maybe you can put the IMT - Des Moines Marathon on your to-do list.
I am a follower!
ReplyDeleteYes I wear a road ID...I have a pink and a purple one!
ReplyDeleteHi Angie,
ReplyDeleteSorry I didn't make it to the nuun tent, but the beer tent so close by. I was in the moustache contest so I plan to use my gift certificate to get a RoadID.
And I'd be interested in the prize behind "door number three."
I ride to work fairly regularly when the weather permits and try to do one or two legs of RAGBRAI every year. As I get older, biking is easier on my arthritic knees than running.
Statewide education campaign for drivers to share the road. Ideally, use a portion of gas tax to build more bike lanes. If drivers don't want to support bikes, drive less (win-win for bikers -- funding and/or fewer cars!)
Great blog, btw, and good luck with all your upcoming races.
I want the shirt
ReplyDeleteI am a follower!
ReplyDeleteI don't wear road id, but I'm looking into it.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear road id, but I'm looking into it.
ReplyDeleteI think I would take either, Although the bag one would come in handy!
ReplyDeleteI dont ride as often as I would like. I want to do it more often though as a form of lower impact cardio...
ReplyDeleteI do not wear a road ID because I stay in my neighborhood right now... When I start running longer distances and venture further away from the house, then I am going to get one of the sport ones...
ReplyDeleteWe have a biking group that gets together once a week and does a really long ride together. I am not at a point where i can join them. They just ride on the roads. We have beautiful scenery with 3 rivers going through our town, and a LOT of people bike actually... Moreso than I would have thought when I moved there...
ReplyDeleteI think more non-biking people need to be informed about it. Possibly some P.S.A.s would work and also educating younger drivers about safety to help look out for the people who do bike...
ReplyDeleteThis might sound dumb (and low), but stuff like it works, have some biking companies endorse non-biking professionals to bike around more, then I think more young people would be inclined to see the benefits...
Of course I'm a follower!
ReplyDeleteI'm torn between the bag and the t-shirt. Really it's an even tie for both, but the clincher is probably the bike bell- I LOVE bike bells!!
ReplyDeleteI don't ride my bike as often as I used to since I stopped training for triathlons. But my husband and I will make trips to the beach to bike along the coast, and one of our splurge purchases in the future will be a bike basket for our little dog so she can come with us!
ReplyDeleteNo, unfortunately I don't wear a road ID although I know I should - you've inspired me to!
ReplyDeleteThe bike culture where we live is actually pretty good. Most of the main roads have bike lanes so there's a lot of people who road bike. We also like right next to the mountains where there's plenty of trails for mountain biking. I leave the mountain biking to my husband though, I prefer to run on the trails :)
ReplyDeleteI'm an old follower
ReplyDeletet-shirt package please!
ReplyDeleteI ride a townie often, but no "real" bikes. Just my sweet one speed old-ass Schwinn
ReplyDeleteno i don't wear road ID, although I probably should..
ReplyDeleteThe bike culture is bizarro here...a mix of townie riders to hard core mtn bikers and now downhillers. There are more bikes than cars here easy.
ReplyDeleteyes! all for safer biking, but also nicer bikers that don't ride 5 abreast would be nice too...just sayin'
ReplyDeleteThat picture of you is SO gorgeous! I love your hair. I just french braided Ava's hair yesterday and it looks so darn cute.
ReplyDeleteThe band was Mr. Baber's Neighbors: The Solar String Band. I loved them too!
ReplyDeleteI would love the bag bottle prize. I do ride occassionally on my mom's 18 speed schwinn that she rode on some 25 years ago on ragbrai. I volunteered at the UAR this year while my husband and his brother rode. Next year I am so in!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a blast!! I stalk you! :)
ReplyDeletebag package please
ReplyDeleteI ride often - over 100 miles a week. It is a big part of my life for sure.
ReplyDeleteI like these questions! It is fun.
ReplyDeleteI wear a Road ID
I am the only biker in my neck of the woods, most people here think I am insane. I ride on paved roads with log trucks flying by. I have a 6ft shoulder though.
ReplyDeleteI follow.
ReplyDeleteI wear a beautiful pink road id when I bike and run
ReplyDeleteI love to ride. It's a large part of my life.
ReplyDeletebike culture here blows, but in defense I did move first from Seattle (great bike culture) to Madison, WI (another awesome biking town) and now to the new england area... minimal trails, narrow windy roads w/ no shoulder.
ReplyDeletemaking biking more accessible is all about infrastructure and education. Most people I know around here are scared to death to ride their bikes.. for fun or commuting.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I forgot to add before, I really like the t-shirt package but what I need most of all are the velcro straps and the patch kits (I say ruefully while at work futilely trying to wipe bike grease off my pants with a baby wipe).
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower
ReplyDeletebag package for me..
ReplyDeletejust got a bike 3 weeks ago and am loving it...ride at least 3 times a week.....
ReplyDeletethere are some paved paths in certain areas of town, but not enough....we need to be more bike friendly...i did catch wind that we might get a rails to trails grant to build some more bike paths, so that is good..
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower!
ReplyDeleteBag pack please!
ReplyDeleteI usually bike at least once a week. I love triathlons and do a century each summer. I enjoy biking, but I love the combination of swim/bike/run best.
ReplyDeleteBiking is pretty big around here. Because we are a little rural, people come out this way to ride as well. Some good paved paths, some bike lanes, but the really long rides out in the boonies are mostly on the shoulders
ReplyDeleteI love biking and now that I work just 10 miles from home am thinking about riding to and from on good days. I think the movement to health and keeping it safe are the keys. When people see being healthy as a way of life, not just something you do for 30 min at the gym, they fundamentally change and are looking for ways to be more active. And cities really need to add the bike lanes. I hate hearing about bike/car accidents. Bikes take up less space and are easier on the infrastructure. Why not make it easier to do?
ReplyDeleteDon't have a road id yet, planning to get one though. Maybe I'll win one in my next tri, they are using them as prizes!
ReplyDeleteyou sure are a trooper... it was a hot mess in des moines, but we make the best of it. we love our bikes and beer! we've always been a fan of UAR and it was AWESOME that it finally came here! i had soooo much fun and can't wait to do it next year... hope you can make it too :)
ReplyDeleteI follow your blog!
ReplyDeleteThe tshirt is so well designed, it's (1) wonderful to see that and (2) a must have!
ReplyDeleteThanks to a new job with real money, I've been looking into getting a bike of my very own - it'd be a great addition to the workout family!
ReplyDeleteOur bike culture is either hard core tri based or hard core mountain bike based. You have to be one tough person to bike with sharp rocks, steep drops, and cacti to cushion the fall!
ReplyDelete