Beer. Bikes. Big Wheels.

Three awesome things, aren’t they? Especially when they come together, as they will for this year’s installment of New Belgium Brewing’s Urban Assault Ride.

As in years past, the Urban Assault Ride series will roll through thirteen cities around the United States between April and September this year. If you don’t know, the Urban Assault Ride is part party, part competition, part effort to “promote sustainable bike-loving lifestyle” and all fun!

Participants will pair up to form teams setting out across the city on bicycles in a scavenger hunt-like competition…sort of like an alley cat, but more fun, with more cool prizes and with less attitude. There will be various checkpoints throughout the city, at which you’ll be required to complete some zany obstacle courses. The team that completes all of the checkpoints in the shortest amount of time wins.

But we’re all winners because as you finish the race, you’ll dismount your bike and stroll right into a “massive celebration of bikes and beer” with music, plenty of tasty suds from New Belgium Brewing and all of your friends having a good time.

If you attend the Austin, TX Urban Assault Ride, you’ll also get to trade stories and share drinks with some Dirt Rag & Bicycle Times staffers. That’s right. We’re the media sponsors this year, and the Austin event is one of our World Tour stops…you’ll be hearing more about that (and a cool contest) in the weeks to come.

For your planning purposes, here are all the dates for the New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride Series (along with our humble plea to bring the series…and the beer…to the northeast sometime soon):

4.18.2010 – Tuscon, AZ
5.2.2010 – Berkeley, CA
5.16.2010 – Seattle, WA
5.23.2010 – Portland, OR
6.20.2010 – Charlotte, NC
6.27.2010 – Austin, TX
7.18.2010 – Ft Collins, CO
7.25.2010 – Denver, CO
8.8.2010 – Minneapolis, MN
8.15.2010 – St Louis, MO
8.23.2010 – Des Moines, IA
9.12.2010 – Chicago, IL
9.26.2010 – Madison, WI

(Thanks to Urban Assault Ride for the photo!)

Have you, or do you plan to, attend any of Urban Assault Ride events? If so, leave a comment below and tell us about it!

We invite you to join us as the Dirt Rag / Bicycle Times 2010 World Tour rolls into the Seattle Bike Expo on March 13-14th. Or scan the list and find an event near you and roll your own tour.

If you’re a promoter and you’re wondering why your event is not on this list, it’s probably because you did not send the information to our Vice President in Charge of Event Listings. If that’s the case, then click here to email the V.P. with the details on your upcoming events, so we can list them in the future.

If you haven’t seen them, check out Friday’s and Saturday’s photos, too.

Yes, the green trike is a pedal-powered lawn mower, courtesy of Ted Wojick.

[Ed notes: Since this original post, Justin's added a day two gallery and day three gallery.]

Hanging out at the top of the ramps.

This year’s Weekend was organized by a top-notch team headed by Ray’s staffer and BMX pro Nina Buitrago and Mad March Racing coach Tamara Peloquin, and featured an impressive list of 16 gracious pros to lead clinics on everything from basic skills to ripping it up. Some of us learned the basics of bunnyhopping (without clipless pedals, mind you) from none other than DH racing legend Leigh Donovan. Current gravity podium-topper Kathy Pruitt was there showing how to catch air, some of Nina’s BMX colleagues were on hand to teach the finer points of barspins, and Tammy Donahugh, who was recently featured in the pages of Dirt Rag, came back this year as well to show how to get the most boost from the ramps. There was an equally impressive list of sponsors, who provided sweet prizes—including bike frames!—and some awesome demo opportunities.

What impressed both Amanda and I the most, however, was the number of chicks who showed up. Each year the event has grown by leaps and bounds, and this year’s total was well over 150! Quite a few women have come back each year. We noticed how many participants came ready to rock with their own jumping bike. There were also freeriders, Lycra-wearing fast types, and fairly raw beginners who came and expanded their skills. We marveled at a couple of really young girls—there was one who couldn’t be more than eight who was clearing the box jumps better than I was, on a 20”-wheeled Specialized Rockhopper. (Darcy Turenne speculated that the purple flowers help boost air.) [Edit: turns out the girl, Shelby, is older than eight, and her bike might have been 24"-wheeled... but still.]

Sadly, Amanda and I only got to hang out on Friday, and missed some party time and a movie premiere, but we know we’ll be back next year.

Check out our Gallery from the event, and look on our Forums for more photos and tales from the Weekend.