Urban Assault Ride

In the words of New Belgium Brewing Company; the Urban Assault Ride is, "a funky bike scavenger hunt."  The event occurs in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, September 18th.  Proceeds go to benefit the Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance (CABA) and Trips for Kids.  This is the second year Charlotte has hosted this event.  It starts at 10 AM and most riders will be finished by noon.  Bikers will cycle through Charlotte going as far north as NODA and as far south as Park Rd. Shopping Center.  The course will cover around 20 miles depending on the route in which cyclists decide to take.  A party follows with games, food, and of course lots of New Belgium beer. 

This year the ride is being held later in the year because of the weather.  Last year it was held on Father's Day in late June.  Temperatures were in the mid to high 90's.  This year the forecast is for temperatures to be in the high 70's.  What a perfect temperature for a bike ride. 

This year I will be out of town celebrating my third anniversary with my beautiful bride Jessica.  I have several friends that are riding and I am very jealous.  If someone in Charlotte has no plans this Sunday they would be foolish not to come out to this event.  This event joins my two favorite things Cycling and beer.  

New Belgium History

New Belgium Brewing Company is based out of Fort Collins in the great state of Colorado.  Jeff Lebesch founded the company in 1991 after encouragement from friends and family.  His inspiration for brewing initially started during a mountain biking/beer tasting excursion he took to Belgium in 1989.  He came home with a few ideas for a recipe and not long later he came up with the recipe for the signature beer Fat Tire. 

Jeff and his wife Kim still run the company to this day.  The company is employee owned and in 1998, a unanimous vote by employee owners switched New Belgium to wind power. With this vote New Belgium became the first wind powered brewery in the United States.  I sure hope other businesses follow the great example of great businesses like New Belgium Brewing. 

Here are a few links to find more info about New Belgium brewing Company and the Urban Assault ride: 

http://www.newbelgium.com/home.aspx
http://www.urbanassaultride.com/









Don't forget to check out the facebook page for this blog with extra pictures of all the places I have written about.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Ridge-Bandit/190721607643691

McDowell Nature Preserve

Located in the far southwest corner of Mecklenburg County, McDowell Nature Preserve is as close to South Carolina as you can get in Mecklenburg County. The preserve contains 1108 acres bordering Lake Wylie.  It is the oldest park in Mecklenburg County. The preserve includes seven miles of trails and has been left 90% undeveloped.


This is a fairly small park with lots picnic areas and excellent peers for fishing.  The main attractions to this preserve are for the nature center, hiking trails, fishing peer, the many reservable picnic shelters and for the public boat access to Lake Wylie.




Because of the undeveloped nature of the preserve it is the perfect place to take a child on their first ever camping trip.  The preserve is close to nature, yet still close enough to Charlotte that if the weather or the trip in general turn for the worst you can easily pack up and go home.  The preserve includes 56 total campsites that can serve both RV's and tent camper's.  The camping area include's 13 RV sites, 26 car-camping sites, 10 primitive camping sites, one cabin and six 9X12 foot Rent-a-Tents.


The campsites are all reservable as are some of the picnic shelters. On most weekends it is a good idea to make reservations in advance. The best place to reserve for a picnic or party is the picnic shelter on Copperhead Island. This shelter is located at the end of Soldier Road next to the public boat access. The best parts of this park to me are the fishing pier, the picnic shelters and the hiking trails.  I enjoy the area most often for trail running and for an afternoon picnic with my wife.


The Nature Center at McDowell Nature Preserve is very active. It offers environmental education programs for scout troops, teachers, schools, and other organized groups.  They participate in the special events Earth Day and International Migratory Bird Day.  It includes an interpretive display observable most days of the week.




The next time you are looking for a place to go fishing, have a picnic, or just go for a leisurely stroll remember to go see McDowell Nature Preserve.

Don't forget to checkout the facebook page for this blog to see many more pictures of all the places I have written about.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Ridge-Bandit/190721607643691