Boozing is good for entertainment for some, and bike riding is good for exercise and transportation for many. A boozed-up bike ride is coming to Tucson next weekend, mixing two pastimes in a not-so-safe way.
The Urban Assault Ride is self-described as a "funky bike scavenger hunt where teams hit checkpoints all over the city — completing crazy obstacles at each stop. A huge party follows with New Belgium beer, music and a legendary prize raffle!" according to the event's Web site.
A funky bike scavenger hunt with obstacles sounds like fun. But doing it with beer on public streets with traffic is a bad idea.
Though it sounds like the beer is provided only after the completion of the event, it's a beer-themed bike ride.
The Web site lists obstacle events, including one called "the keg walk." It shows pictures and video of people swimming in a body of water with a keg. The event's blog is called Beer, Bikes and Big Wheels.
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So even if there's not beer along the course, it's certainly a beer-focused event, with plenty of free beer afterward.
The Tucson event is the kickoff of a 10-location summer season of Urban Assault Rides in various U.S. cities.
It involves five checkpoints riders know about ahead of time, which can be hit in any order, plus three mystery checkpoints that teams must find on their own. The event also incorporates off-limits streets, which participants can cross but cannot ride along for safety reasons.
If any member of a team gets a traffic ticket, the team is disqualified, so adherence to traffic laws is stressed. Every participant must wear a helmet at all times during the event, and at least one person on each team has to be at least 18 years old.
The other messages of the ride are more appropriate for a large community event. It's intended to show recreational cyclists that it's also a good mode of transportation. It's meant to encourage sustainability, with environmentally responsible sponsors and a solar-powered party. Even the truck that brings the obstacles from one city to the next is fueled with biodiesel.
While the event and after-party focus on bicycling, a participant still can be cited for driving under the influence while riding a bike home from the bash, because, in Tucson, bicyclists are subject to the same laws as drivers.
I'm all for having a good time and allowing people who've just completed a 20-plus-mile event to have a few drinks, for sure (though I think the appropriate after-race drink is more along the lines of water). I just wonder if this is sending the wrong message, especially to people who don't ride on Tucson's streets regularly.
Road Q
Question: "The tubelike white cameras atop intersection traffic light poles — what are they for? Are they simply recording traffic, or are they specifically for traffic light violations?" Mary Reilly wrote.
Answer: The cameras on top of traffic signals at many an intersection are for traffic control. They are used instead of wire in-street sensors to detect when traffic is waiting for the signal to change.
The Tucson intersections with red-light cameras are: West River Road and North Oracle Road; East Grant Road and North Tanque Verde; South Wilmot Road and East 22nd Street; and West Valencia Road and South Nogales Highway.
