Watching the Tour de France this week reminded us of two things: 1) biking through the Alps seems awful, and 2) bicycle races need more obstacle courses, puzzles, and beer.
If you’re nodding along—particularly with the obstacles-puzzles-and-beer part—Uber Asphalt might be for you. The event on Saturday begins at 8 a.m. at Lift For Life Academy in Soulard and challenges pairs of cyclists to navigate to checkpoints throughout the city and earn bottle caps by completing obstacles and puzzles. Collect caps from six checkpoints, and race back to the starting gate to collect your spoils: a six-pack of New Belgium beer, a commemorative pint glass, and the satisfaction of completing a 20-to-25-mile race.
Registration is $100 per two-person team until Friday, when the entry fee increases to $120. Winning teams will be crowned in several divisions: male, female, coed, and family (adult relative and child). Awards also will be given to riders donning the best costumes. Riders not interested in solving the puzzles can compete individually in the race-only “Cruisers” heat for half the cost of registering a team.
Proceeds from the second-annual event will support the literacy programs at Lift For Life Academy, the city’s oldest independent charter school, located at 1731 South Broadway. Lift For Life executive director and founder Marshall Cohen says many students come to the school reading and writing well below their grade level. The school serves 575 students in grades 6 through 12. Cohen says money raised through the event will help the school afford more books and literacy instructors. He hopes to raise as much as $5,000 to 10,000 this year, after raising a few thousand during the event’s first year.
If Uber Asphalt sounds curiously similar to another obstacle-filled bike race—New Belgium Brewery’s Urban Assault—you’re no crack-conspiracy theorist. Cohen participated in the races with his daughter and became a fan. When the event discontinued in St. Louis after the 2012 race, Cohen wanted to keep a similar event going. New Belgium has apparently given its blessing and is sponsoring the event.
Checkpoint tasks last year included lassoing beer kegs and taste-identifying gelato flavors. Cohen says this year's competitors will have to dash through the obstacle course while carrying containers of chips and salsa. They also must navigate office-desk mazes, among other challenges.
Uber Asphalt isn’t the only way to be charitable this weekend while cycling. Big Shark Bicycle Company is hosting its fourth annual Tour des Sharks Ride and Shark-B-Que to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Prove your endurance on either the 40-mile or 55-mile routes. Both rides start at 8 a.m. Sunday at Big Shark West, 17233 Chesterfield Airport Road. The barbecue also happens there, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Email mike@bigshark.com if you wish to attend.
