So I've been really busy lately and I haven't posted anything. I still have photos from Tour of Lawrence and Tour of KC that I'll be posting soon. For now I'll post some old photos back from 2007 at the first Tour of Missouri stage 1 in Kansas City MO. Thought it be good to post these photos during Tour de France. These photos were taken with my old Nikon N80 35mm camera. I think the film I was using Kodak Portra VC, that has been expired and been through airport x-ray machines.
Contador, taken a little over a month after he found his first Tour de France
These bikes are already out of date
Video Pick of the day: O.G. (Ollie Gates) by Tech N9NE
Last weekend was the NRC (National Race Calendar) bicycle race Tulsa Tough in Tulsa, OK. This was my first year going to this race and even though I didn't race I had a blast watching the race. Not only it was a blast watching the pros race but it was a blast watching the amateurs race too.
When I first arrived in Tulsa last Saturday, I really didn't expect the race to be so popular with the locals. It was a festival, just like you would see at any international UCI race. This was a rare site for me and most Americans. Normally one would have to go the Tour of California/Missouri or to Europe to witness such a festival like atmosphere at a bike race.
I would be the first to admit that cycling in American is not that popular, but I what I witness in Tulsa I might have re-think that statement now. Take a look at the photos below to see for yourself.
Tulsa Tough was a three day NRC bike race that started on the fourth and ended on the sixth. I was only able to go to the race on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was in the Brady district which was in the northern most edge of downtown Tulsa. The Brady district was a cool part of town that hosted many cool local restaurants/bars and businesses. My personal favorite, and I'm sure it was true for anybody at the bike races, was a bar called "The Sound Pony." The Sound Pony is a true "biker bar" aka bicycle bar. The establishment had bicycle frames, bike jerseys, tour de France and other European races posters for it's decor. The sun was setting as the Pro race started and quickly became a night. The streets were lined with hundreds of people cheering on the riders. When the night ended, I thought to myself that how can this day of racing be topped off? The very next day came and more people showed up to the races. On Sunday there was another great turn out for the third and last day of Tulsa Tough. Most people congregated on a hill that was dubbed "cry baby hill" due to its long and steep grade. The houses along cry baby hill open up there homes and front lawns for everybody. There was even a band that was playing on top of the hill.
Enough typing for me now, I'll let the pics tell the rest of the story.
*I made the pics smaller for you so that it won't take forever for the page to load up. If you want to see them bigger just click on the photos to see them through my flickr.
Pro rider before his race, watching the Cat 1 2 race.
5x World Champion Steve Tilford pre race:
Brian Jensen pre race
during the Pro race at night
Brad Huff in his way to winning that night's crit
Brad Huff after winning the race
Philip Mann, post race
Hey Brad! I think that kid might be a little young for your soigneur.
Phil and Alex of Team Bahati Foundation
Shortly after they open the course, I saw this girl crossing the finishing line with a few other people.
SUNDAY's RACE!!! What a Party
Cry Baby hill, pre race: People started drinking and dancing before the pro race started
Cry baby Hill! During the Cat 1 2 race (still before the pro race) it started to get crazy Teammate: Matt Ochs People out in full support
The Band on Cry Baby Hill:
The Pro race. Brian Jensen won Sunday's race solo!
Other people that I saw at the races
Brian breaks away from the group and wins Sunday's race SOLO! Dave Towle interviews Brian on his win Congrats Brian
Pro Women's Tulsa Tough omnium winners: Jennifer Purcell having a good year so far. She won collegiate nationals last month and now Tulsa Tough omnium.
Pro men's Tulsa Tough omnium winners. Brad Huff wins omnium while his teammate took second in the omnium. Way to go Jelly Belly!
Thats all the photos i want to share with you on this post, but make sure to check out my Flickr to see the whole set of the Tulsa Tough race.
or just view this slideshow:
Here's some video that I took with my iPhone of the pro race:
Video pick of the day: Seven by Sunny Day Real Estate This song takes me back to my high school days.
The Amgen Tour of California starts up on Sunday. The organizers of the race has pushed back this years AToC hoping for better weather in May rather than in February. This is an exciting time for American cycling due to its rise in popularity, international attention, and world class athletes such as Cadel Evans, Lance Armstrong, Fabian Cancellara, Tom Bonnen, and the Schleck brothers. Even with such world class cyclist that I just mentioned, none of them are my picks for this year's AToC.
My three picks will be dominated by these three Americans:
1) Levi Leipheimer; Looking forward to win his fourth straight AToC
2) Dave Zabriskie; won the 09 Tour of Missouri, showing that he can be a promising GC contender.
3) George Hincapie; rumors have it that this might be his last year in pro cycling, maybe he can win a stage race before he goes into retirement.
Other riders to watch for:
Mark Cavendish; this might be a good to chance to finally win some stages. He's only won two stages this year after having some bad luck with illnesses and crashes.
Jens Voigt
Gustav Larsson, great time trialist and was 2nd overall at Tour of Missouri
Martin Gilbert, won stage 7 of Tour of Missouri, maybe looking for another stage win?
My good friend Aubree Dock raced in Joe Martin's women's stage race. Last Sunday I was able to come watch her race in her crit. Before the Crit she was fighting to be in the top 10 GC and she was currently 14th in the GC. During the crit (the last race at Joe Martin) she was riding strong, always riding in the top 5 positions of the pack. She was looking strong until the last lap where I was waiting for her to finish. I saw the pack come over the hill in the final 200 meters to the finish when I did not see her. I never saw her finish, so I started walking the course and fearing the worst. I saw her walking up the hill with her bike with her leg dripping in blood. Despite crashing in the last lap and unable to finish with the pack, she was smiling and laughing. However; she was able to move up in the GC at Joe Martin, she finished 11th in the GC!!! Awesome job Aubree!!! Your such a bad ass.
The pics below are from Aubree's crit. While she was getting bandaged up she discovered some road rash in an odd place, but I'll let Aubree talk about that one.
