You don’t need to head out to snowy mountains, raging rivers or wide open spaces to get your adrenaline rush. There are plenty of awesome activities you can get involved with no matter how crowded your concrete jungle gets. Check out these top adventure sports for a thrill packed life in the big city.
Asphalt Surfing
You can ride the city streets once traffic dies down for the day or head to your local skate park for a spot of asphalt surfing with a motorized longboard. You’ll need a good board to get the most out of this cool sport so don’t waste time trying to MacGyver your own.
Motorised boards are also great to take with you when you do hit the open road, because there’s nothing so good as cruising along with the wind in your face and the sun on your back.
Parkour
Long before the Assassins Creed franchise incorporated Parkour moves into their video games, ultra-fit dudes and dudettes were free running around the streets of big cities everywhere. Parkour enthusiasts use some breath-taking feats of strength and agility to leap across rooftops, somersault over walls, run up the sides of buildings and more, and they make it look effortless. #greenwithenvy.
While Parkour isn’t illegal, you should make sure that you don’t trespass while you’re making like Spiderman, unless you want the added thrill of running from the law.
Urban Exploration
Urban Exploration or UrbEX has a huge following on YouTube and it’s easy to see why. Explorers take their life in their hands as they investigate abandoned buildings like crumbling mansions and old mental hospitals, disused mines, nuclear power stations and some even risk getting lost for ever in the Paris catacombs.
You’ll need to be good at climbing and able to judge if an area will hold your body weight when you go urban exploring and wearing a hard hat and other safety gear is a good idea too.
UrbEx isn’t a solitary sport, you’ll need to buddy up for safety, and don’t forget to wear your GoPro to capture your creepy footage. Oh, and hook up with some old hands in your local area to make sure that you keep things legal since you could fall foul of anti-trespassing laws otherwise.
Underground Bike Racing
This sport used to be known as Alley Cat Racing and began as a competition among cycle couriers. Basically, you have to figure out the shortest route to your destination by any (legal) means necessary.
Some riders pull crazy stunts like holding onto the back of taxi cabs and hitching a ride, it helps them get where they’re going faster. But it’s totally illegal and very dangerous to boot.
All you need to get going with this urban sport is a fast racing bike and some cycle safety gear. Get good enough and you could compete in the Cycle Messenger World Championship. Yes that’s a thing!
One of the best things about urban adventure sports is that you don’t have to wait for a weekend when you have time to head out into the wilds. You can literally put on your gear, hit the streets and have a blast. The only problem you’ll have with urban adventure sports is deciding which one to try out first.