What is Urban Mushing?
Urban mushing is similar to regular mushing with wheels and no snow. The practice itself doesn’t have as storied a history as its more snow-packed forebear, unfortunately there is no Iditarod for Urban Mushing, yet it seems to be a pretty good way of expending the pent up energy stored in most Huskies.
What Equipment Do I Need?
To get started one needs 3 items… the wheeled vehicle (usually a scooter), a pulling harness for the Husky, and a scooter line for the dog to pull you along in your scooter. It should also go without saying that you’ll need a dog strong enough to pull you, and of course it doesn’t have to be a Siberian Husky.
For scooter selection, while there are a ton of scooters on the market, a favorite brand amongst many urban mushers is Diggler. They initially established themselves as makers of the first mountain traversable scooters. Since then, due to the extreme sportiness of their scooters they have embraced their role as the go-to scooters for urban dog sledding/mushing.
The harness and scooter line should be purchased by an established dog sledding company, after all if it’s good enough for actual mushing, why not for urban mushing? Below are a few harness and scooter line manufacturers:
Who Else Does This?
Most activity around Urban Mushing seems to revolve around a group based in Orange County, California. If you take a look at their site, UrbanMushing.com, you will find a large amount of information regarding the sport, from favored equipment to best places to ride and meet other urban mushers.
While Urban Mushing definitely isn’t for every Siberian Husky owner, it is definitely an interesting alternative to your typical dog walk or run.