Tulsa Knows How to Throw a Party
One of the things I have come to realize about bike racing is that getting your ass kicked in a really cool race is way more worthwhile than dominating a shitty little race. What I'm talking about here is pageantry--after all that hard work and winter, when you go why not go carte blanche, baby? The folks who organized and staged Tulsa Tough had it all going on. It was amazing to see. This was their first year and you'd have thought they'd been doing it for 20.
Tulsa Tough's well-chosen venues were ringed with cool restaurants and bars and big crowds of spectators. There's something about an atmosphere like that that just makes you want to launch a suicide attack for nothing more than just hearing your name blasting out of that huge, professional stage and sound system. And it's quite cool to see tents stocked with plenty of energy schwag that is only for entry-fee-paying folks---"sorry, mam, this is reserved only for the racers--No, you can buy some right over there." I'll swear, I heard that exact quote.
Also very cool is when there is no waiting at the long line of sparkling clean porta-johns, or for one of the many wind trainers positioned near the start/finish line. And anyone who has ever traveled with teammates who all need to pack spare wheels can truly appreciate full-service neutral support--and by full service, I'm talking about a pro mechanic and a full rack of spare bikes in case you should need more than just a wheel change.
The Tulsa Tough organizers know the value of entertainment and they had a completely separate sound stage set up each day for live music. After our race on Saturday, Jeff Chattin and I sat down to a fine meal right along the home stretch and had slightly more than a few pints of some very nice micro brew while we watched the entire men's and women's pro events and listened to a local band that was several cuts above what you normally hear at outdoor festivals like this. It was appropriate, however, that the live music would be that good as one of the Meccas of country music was located right along the race course--the famous Cain's Ballroom, the very building where none other than the legendary Bob Wills honed his licks and created Texas swing.
And talk about accomodation, just for this race the city of Tulsa completely paved about eight blocks of streets. That's what you call service. From the prize list to the atmosphere, the Tulsa Tough organizers put a lot of thought and energy into what many race organizers ignore--having a good time. Later.
Tulsa Tough's well-chosen venues were ringed with cool restaurants and bars and big crowds of spectators. There's something about an atmosphere like that that just makes you want to launch a suicide attack for nothing more than just hearing your name blasting out of that huge, professional stage and sound system. And it's quite cool to see tents stocked with plenty of energy schwag that is only for entry-fee-paying folks---"sorry, mam, this is reserved only for the racers--No, you can buy some right over there." I'll swear, I heard that exact quote.
Also very cool is when there is no waiting at the long line of sparkling clean porta-johns, or for one of the many wind trainers positioned near the start/finish line. And anyone who has ever traveled with teammates who all need to pack spare wheels can truly appreciate full-service neutral support--and by full service, I'm talking about a pro mechanic and a full rack of spare bikes in case you should need more than just a wheel change.
The Tulsa Tough organizers know the value of entertainment and they had a completely separate sound stage set up each day for live music. After our race on Saturday, Jeff Chattin and I sat down to a fine meal right along the home stretch and had slightly more than a few pints of some very nice micro brew while we watched the entire men's and women's pro events and listened to a local band that was several cuts above what you normally hear at outdoor festivals like this. It was appropriate, however, that the live music would be that good as one of the Meccas of country music was located right along the race course--the famous Cain's Ballroom, the very building where none other than the legendary Bob Wills honed his licks and created Texas swing.
And talk about accomodation, just for this race the city of Tulsa completely paved about eight blocks of streets. That's what you call service. From the prize list to the atmosphere, the Tulsa Tough organizers put a lot of thought and energy into what many race organizers ignore--having a good time. Later.
posted by JimmyMc at 1:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home