as·sault [uh-sawlt]

~noun
1 a : a violent physical or verbal attack b : a military attack usually involving direct combat with enemy forces c : a concerted effort (as to reach a goal or defeat an adversary).
....of the Urban Kind.

What a day! About 25 miles of city streets (a first for Scaredy Cat Me) including Airport Blvd, Barton Springs Rd and crossing Lamar (My only thoughts here were PEDAL! PEDAL! PEDAL!). The obstacles were just hard enough to still be a little challenging without getting too frustrated and sucking all the fun out. I thought I would NEVER be able to walk the 20 feet on the stilts, but amazingly, after falling twice right off the bat, I made it all the way across. There were dozens of customers at Jo's Coffee enjoying the spectacle that was all the exhausted racers trying to do this. The Big Wheels were so much fun...I did a 360 on my first turn (or at least a 180) and wish I could've gone around the course again. There were many awkward moments, like diving and climbing through an inflatable obstacle course and plunging our arms into the ICY water of Town Lake to hand paddle our inflatable raft around a buoy and back. I'm not sure I felt so much like a kid again during some of those obstacles as much as just a big doofus. But it was LOTS of fun.Here are CCC and JC with me bringing up the rear as was my position for the entire day. CC put a nice spin on it and called me The Anchor, but really, I'm just slow. I blame the bike. Doesn't it look too small? JC and I were Team 11, reflecting our stunning quiz score. Josh publicly acknowledged today that some of his questions might have been ambiguous, so I felt slightly redeemed. Thank you, Josh. I'd like to add here that the #1 team was the Fat Tire Girls (New Belgium / Fat Tire being a major sponsor of the race. Hmmmm, I'm not usually that cynical, but one could use their imagination here....).
These beauties are what we were after at each checkpoint. Upon successful completion of our tasks we were awarded a bead. These were more precious than pearls and to be guarded with our lives.

CC and TM (aka Team Nuisance) did a little back tracking but must've been cruising 'cause they still beat us. There are more pics on Yonster's Flickr page.
Big E and Little A got a little antsy , grouchy and bored while they waited at our last checkpoint. They perked up once they got some free keychains, lip balm, and sunscreen. Bubble Boy was our official photographer and Go-To-Guy clue checker/finder. He drank my share of the Fat Tire.
After we all made it back we collected all our freebies, including yummy tacos, New Belgium beer and lots of SmartWater. What a fun day! My legs are going to hurt tomorrow, but it was worth it.