A low fog hung over downtown Richmond, and temperatures hovered in the 60s. It looked like it might rain at any moment. But about 400 Central Virginians decided those conditions were perfect for bike ride this morning. When the starting gun went off, the 200 teams of two took to their bikes and pedaled in all directions. Participants in the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride, they covered ground in search of checkpoints all over the city. At each checkpoint they had to complete an kind of obstacle course to move on to the next one. At Pibby’s bike shop, it was a big wheel race. At the YMCA it was a dip in the pool in search of rubber duckies. At Forest Hill Park it was a kind of ring toss game.
When the dust settled, it was clear there were first and second place teams. More importanly, the valiant duo of Jeff Jennings and a mystery rider carried the RichmondOutside.com banner to third-place glory. It was an epic showing for the fledging team sponsored by Richmond’s favorite outdoors-focused website. Way to go guys!
Check out the coverage of the race by Jeremy Slayton and Mark Gormus in today’s Times-Dispatch.