The Urban Assault Ride™ is the biggest Bicycle Obstacle Event series in the nation! Here’s how it works: You and your teammate will set out on a city-wide quest for ‘checkpoints’ on your favorite two-wheeled steeds. At each checkpoint, you’ll drop your bikes and complete a funky/adventurous obstacle course, then remount your bikes and hit the streets for more.

The goal is to complete all the checkpoints in the shortest amount of time. You choose your own route and checkpoint order. This means that the most clever are often the victors. Of course, it may also help if you can pull a mean big-wheel powerslide and fly across an inflatable slip-n-slide.

After your pedal-powered adventure, your team will cross the finish line and enter a massive celebration of New Belgium Brewing Co’s whimsical ways, bikes, and big wheels. The after party is just as much fun as the ride itself, thanks to the craziest raffle prize contest you’ll ever experience.

Pick a partner and we’ll see you there!!

Tucson AZ – February 26th, 2012 Benefitting: SDMB: “Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists”

Kicking off the season in the Old Pueblo once again.

Price: Only $30 -60/person! (Sign up early for the best prices) You’ll get a 100% cotton t-shirt, a couple of free beers at the after party, some great swag from our sponsors, and entered into some contests to win even more great prizes!

Online Registration closes Friday, February 24th, at 4pm.

Packet Pick Up: (Saturday 2/25 11am-2pm) (LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!!!)
Location: Skybar 536 N. 4th Ave, Tucson

VIP Package: $10/person
Includes:

100% Cotton Urban Assault Ride T-Shirt
Custom Urban Assault Ride waterbottle
Surly Junk Strap
Super Quick Check-In on SUNDAY morning (you DO NOT need to come to packet pickup on Saturday with the VIP Package)

Start/Finish: Sunday 2/26 9am Reid Park, Tucson AZ

After Party Food and Drink: A special thanks to some great local food and drink vendors joining is for the Urban Assault Ride after party. Bring some cash and your appetite:

Mr K’s BBQ
Renee’s Organic Oven
Peddler on the Path Coffee
Isabella’s Ice Cream

Off-Limit Streets: These streets can be crossed but not ridden. Bike lanes on these streets ARE permitted.

210/Aviation Parkway (you CAN ride the bike path, but stay off the highway)
5th/6th St from Wilmot to Davis
Santa Cruz and Rillito River Bike Paths*

*Due to the high speed and high volume of the Urban Assault Ride, please avoid using these bike paths so as to not disrupt normal Sunday morning traffic.

Obstacle Checkpoints: (checkpoints can be reached in any order)

Sunflower Market (4625 E. Speedway Bl)
Tahoe Park (2000 E. Edison St.)
Himmel Park (1000 N. Tucson Blvd., SOUTHWEST CORNER)
Tucson Children’s Museum (200 South 6th Avenue)
Ordinary Bike Shop (311 E. 7th St.)

Mystery Checkpoints: There will be 2 ‘mystery checkpoints’ which all teams will have to locate – in addition to the obstacle checkpoints above. The 1st clue will be available the Thursday before the race. The 2nd mystery checkpoint clue will be revealed when you reach the 1st mystery checkpoint.

Bonus Quiz: Take the OPTIONAL bonus quiz before the UAR to gain valuable time. The best scores on the quiz start the UAR 1st.

You have from Wednesday until Friday at 4pm to complete your team’s quiz.

Online registration ends today at 4 p.m. — don’t delay! http://www.urbanassaultride.com/tucson

I happened upon this “assault” of urban Tucson last Spring, 2010 at Tahoe Park and wrote up a quick blog, followed by exciting & funny photos later (links below):

http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2011/03/20/urban-assault-ride-in-tucson-today/

http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2011/03/27/urban-assault-ride-photos/

Good luck everyone who participates — hope you all have a lot of fun as you exercise your way throughout those urban bicycle pathways/routes.

(Go to MyTowerTheatres.com for directions: Cortaro Exit/IH-10 Tower Theatres,
5755 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive, Marana, AZ.)

And here’s a great photo of the last roundup in Tucson on January 29, taken of Roy Chamberlain (courtesy of artist Mel Dominguez who participated in the event):

For more information on this Food Truck “Revolution”, go to www.foodtrucks.com., or contact David Aguirre at Dinnerware Artspace at dinnerwareartspace@gmail.com.

My blog on the last wildly successful/popular roundup which I attended on January 29 — pictured above (click here). I also went to the very first one on November 10, 2010, and now there are 5 or 6 times are many truck/wagons participating. Lots and lots of people seem to enjoy standing in line chatting with others, while waiting for food service, prepared fresh in those trucks.

Trucks scheduled to attend on Feb 6 – updated list from comment below (descriptions from David Aguirre):

`D’s Island Grill Jamaican Food
`Jamie’s Bitchen Kitchen (cuban sandwich and more)
`MaFooCo (Korean Tacos, Kimchi Tacos)
`Jane’s Rolling Wok (chinese gourmet)
`Pin-UP Pastries (whoopie pies and more tasty treats)
`Seis Curbside Kitchen (Mexican gourmet)
`Street Kitchen
`Animal Farm
`Espresso to the Rescue!
`Vero Amore Neapolitan Pizza
`Isabella’s Ice Cream (5:30pm arrival)
`Guero Loco’s Bubba-Que
`Trucking Good Cupcakes (now you’re talkin’)
`The Patty Wagon (tasty burgers)
`Red Pepper Mexican Gourmet (tacos and more)
`Robdogs (hotdogs, soy dogs, all the trimmings)
`Street Delights (pie, pie, pie)
`Ni Hao Amigos
`Baja Tacos (seafood from the Sea of Cortez)
`Stolen Recipe BBQ (omg, delicious)
`Jerid’s Roasted Corn (corn on the cob, on a stick, with hot sauce)
`Jones Street Bistro
`Jake’s Donuts and Funnell Cakes
`German Food Station (Brats! The way you like them.)

80 chairs will be provided but you can bring your own as well. Food (but not drinks) will be allowed into the theatre for movie viewing. Yappy Hour: Dogs on leash welcome.

Other Tucsoncitizen.com bloggers Karyn Zoldan “From Market to Tucson Market“, and Molly Thrasher “Tucson Bites” have blogged about these popular food truck events, first started up on November 14, 2010.

I attended that very first one, and stood in the MaFooCo long line for kimchi quesadillas with fellow blogger “Telling Stories” (Penelope Starr) wondering how a self-respecting Asian-American like me (who grew up in multi-cultural Hawaii eating from similar lunch wagons) could combine Korean kim chi with Mexican food…

So I stopped by tonight for a 2nd visit of the “delightful and inexpensive night of tasteful exploration” of the Tucson Food Truck Roundup, advertised as “Tucson’s Best Kept Secret” on Sunday, January 29th on the corner of Sixth Street/Seventh Avenue.

Wow — it was around sunset and there were thousands of people there at the once empty lot at the SW corner of 7th Avenue and E. 6th St, just west of Benjamin Supply. People were patiently waiting & chatting in the long lines of about 30 plus trucks/wagons, which may continue until 9 p.m. tonight.

The number of food trucks have multiplied at least five times since that first event in November where I only remember about 6 trucks/wagons in the Dinnerware parking lot. And I hear that brave & hardy customers have been willing to even stand in lines with almost freezing temperatures in December.

Participating Food Trucks and brief description:

Mafooco (Korean Tacos)
Jane’s Rolling Wok (chinese food)
Guero Loco Bubba Q (smoked meats)
Jamie’s Bitchen Kitchen (cuban sandwich)
Robdogs(variety of toppings. Soy dogs, too.)
Red Pepper Mexican Gourmet
Jones St. Bistro (Premier Appearance! modern urban cuisine)
Cyclopsicle (frozen dessert on a stick)
Luncha Libre (mexican gourmet)
Stolen Recipe BBQ (delicious smoked BBQ)
Baja Tacos (seafood oriented tacos)
Isabella’s Ice Cream (dairy and nondairy)
Street Delights (one word: pie)
Shinobu Diego’s Tacos y Burritos
Pinup Pastries (whoopie pies with a smile)
Street Kitchen (sesame chicken with zucchini tempura, edamame)
Vero Amore Neopolitan Pizza
Jake’s Donuts and Funnel Cakes
Seis Curbside (mexican nouveau cuisine)
Planet of the Crepes (sweet or savory crepes)
Animal Farm (big burgers, sandwiches)
Roasted Corn (on the cob)
Q UP! Barbeque(BBQ nachos, chicken wings)

That list above are which trucks/wagons were expected and most were there, plus these additional ones I jotted down:

German Food Station
Taqueria El Tiburyn
Hawaiian Shave Ice
Island Grill JA (click here for earlier blog on this Jamaican food lunch wagon)
Ni Hao Amigos (Mexican food)
Original Cupcake Truck
Peddler on the Path Mobile Cafe (espresso coffee & smoothies)
Hot Fudge Mini Donuts
Nathan’s Hot Dogs Expresso to the Rescue

Music on stage scheduled today were:
4:30 – 6:00 The Shawn Kebler Trio (Jazz Fusion)

6:15 – 7:45 Those Beatles Guys (Beatles Tribute)

Also on the schedule today/tonight:

`See Artists in Action: Mel Dominguez and David Tineo.
`The Art Library will be set up. Look through arts related books.
`Balloon twisting entertainment in food lines, and other buskers.
`Lots of onsite parking, and on street parking.

(Plus I noticed some crafts & jewelry being sold at tables.)

Thanks to Benjamin Plumbing Supply, the Southern Arizona Arts and Culture Alliance, Yelp.com, juliegraphics.com, and Tucson Food Trucks.

The next Tucson Food Truck Roundup will gather February 6th, at the parking lot of the Tower Theatres in Marana, 5-9pm.
(Go to MyTowerTheatres.com for directions: Cortaro Exit/IH-10 Tower Theatres,
5755 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive, Marana, AZ.)

Contact info:
David Aguirre
Director
Dinnerware Artspace, dinnerwareartspace@gmail.com (A portion of the proceeds from these Food Truck Roundups supports Dinnerware Artspace),

Kudos to artist David for his organization of this event, bringing this growing number of food trucks together for a roundup each month. David used to write for us at Tucsoncitizen.com as “Artistic Tucson” (along with Charlie Spillar). What a large & wildly popular community event this has become!

Stand in a future food truck line (or two or three), enjoy the delicious food, art & music, and have fun in this festival like atmosphere.

Planet of the Crepes wagon