"Tulsa Tough" - Huge Cycling Event!

[davideinstein]

Best weekend for Tulsa. Love it.

[PonderInc]

I love this event, and it just keeps getting better!  By far the coolest event in town, and something we can really be proud of. (I'm also proud to have posted the first mention of Tulsa Tough on the TN forum.  Just sayin'... 11 years ago, I told ya so!)

We've hosted cyclists for the past several years, and it's fun to hear them talk about it.  Everyone who comes always wants to come back.  They tell their fellow cyclists it's the best race of the year.  They love the crazy fans and the crowds that come out for every race.  They love the after-parties on Sunday night.  And they love the real money that's up for grabs.  Especially among the women, it's known for great prize money and primes.  They also talk about the support from the community and how well they're treated in Tulsa.

As a bicycling advocate and commuter, I've seen other tangible benefits of TT.  Greater respect for cyclists; more support for bike infrastructure; kinder drivers; and an awareness that being a bike-friendly city has an economic payoff.  We have a long ways to go, but this event has transformed Tulsa and people's perceptions of the city.

[Conan71]

I served as food & beverage director for the event for the first time this year.  I was responsible for coordinating all the VIP and rider hospitality areas as well as all the event hydration needs other than the Fondo rest stops.  I do believe the water monsters were well-received and by Sunday very well-utilized.

It's a lot of hard work but well worth helping put a great face on Tulsa for all of our visitors.  I got great help from the Ponderinc family as well as the cannon_fodders who spent their entire Sunday and most of Friday helping me out.  Thanks to CF I did not have to spend much time on CBH at all.  To be quite honest, that has gone from some light-hearted debauchery amongst cycling enthusiasts, but now it seems it's a lot of people who aren't even aware there is a bike race going on.  CF is much better versed in what all happened up there yesterday. 

Any feedback on we did with the hydration stations, rider feeds, VIP etc. , public or private is much appreciated.

[davideinstein]

I served as food & beverage director for the event for the first time this year.  I was responsible for coordinating all the VIP and rider hospitality areas as well as all the event hydration needs other than the Fondo rest stops.  I do believe the water monsters were well-received and by Sunday very well-utilized.

It's a lot of hard work but well worth helping put a great face on Tulsa for all of our visitors.  I got great help from the Ponderinc family as well as the cannon_fodders who spent their entire Sunday and most of Friday helping me out.  Thanks to CF I did not have to spend much time on CBH at all.  To be quite honest, that has gone from some light-hearted debauchery amongst cycling enthusiasts, but now it seems it's a lot of people who aren't even aware there is a bike race going on.  CF is much better versed in what all happened up there yesterday. 

Any feedback on we did with the hydration stations, rider feeds, VIP etc. , public or private is much appreciated.

Poplin tweeted that bikers were mad about the lack of medical support. It seemed fine on Sunday.

[Conan71]

Poplin tweeted that bikers were mad about the lack of medical support. It seemed fine on Sunday.

I heard some complaints about rest stop #2 on Saturday and rough roads on the new routes, but no complaints on medical.  Was this out on the Fondo course the complaints came from or in the race venues?

I know rider safety is a huge priority since the event is run by cyclists, if there is a lapse it needs to be identified and corrected before next year.  PM me with better details.

[carltonplace]

I love this event, and it just keeps getting better!  By far the coolest event in town, and something we can really be proud of. (I'm also proud to have posted the first mention of Tulsa Tough on the TN forum.  Just sayin'... 11 years ago, I told ya so!)

We've hosted cyclists for the past several years, and it's fun to hear them talk about it.  Everyone who comes always wants to come back.  They tell their fellow cyclists it's the best race of the year.  They love the crazy fans and the crowds that come out for every race.  They love the after-parties on Sunday night.  And they love the real money that's up for grabs.  Especially among the women, it's known for great prize money and primes.  They also talk about the support from the community and how well they're treated in Tulsa.

As a bicycling advocate and commuter, I've seen other tangible benefits of TT.  Greater respect for cyclists; more support for bike infrastructure; kinder drivers; and an awareness that being a bike-friendly city has an economic payoff.  We have a long ways to go, but this event has transformed Tulsa and people's perceptions of the city.

I'm interested in hosting cyclists next year. Do I just reach out to Malcolm?

[carltonplace]

I served as food & beverage director for the event for the first time this year.  I was responsible for coordinating all the VIP and rider hospitality areas as well as all the event hydration needs other than the Fondo rest stops.  I do believe the water monsters were well-received and by Sunday very well-utilized.

It's a lot of hard work but well worth helping put a great face on Tulsa for all of our visitors.  I got great help from the Ponderinc family as well as the cannon_fodders who spent their entire Sunday and most of Friday helping me out.  Thanks to CF I did not have to spend much time on CBH at all.  To be quite honest, that has gone from some light-hearted debauchery amongst cycling enthusiasts, but now it seems it's a lot of people who aren't even aware there is a bike race going on.  CF is much better versed in what all happened up there yesterday. 

Any feedback on we did with the hydration stations, rider feeds, VIP etc. , public or private is much appreciated.

The water station on Jackson was great, I heard it was empty by around 3PM so it was definitely a good idea.
I watched nearly every race and had a great time on CBH but you are right...lots of people are there just for the party. The new stage and the bands there were a big distraction from the races.

[hello]

"The new stage and the bands there were a big distraction from the races."

I agree. And the stage taking away so much space made it extremely crowded. The water stations were a great addition!

[cannon_fodder]

(prescript: I checked the water monsters near the end of the Women's P1 race (per the photos below last check was just before 4pm), one had ~2' of water left and one had ~1' of water left.  It wasn't worth trying to refill them in that chaos at that point. At the end of the day I released the valves on them around 7PM and the north side was basically dry, but the south-side still had some water to drain. Very well utilized, and if they were utilized even more we had a plan in place to refill them (though getting more ice up the hill was a lost cause by 2pm). )

I will attest that the crowd on Cry Baby Hill has shifted away from being mostly cycling fans. And that's OK, there are still plenty people to explain whats going on and get more people interested in cycling. It still amazes me that such a drunken mob scene can be so well behaved visa vis the race. There was only one crowd cause crash that I'm aware of (one is too many, but one can be a careless sober person in grandmas front yard).  BUT...

There is one primary rule: DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE BIKE RACE.

In my humble opinion, there are now too many people there just to party and it is risking that one rule. Not people there to party AND watch an awesome cycling event. People smoking with their back turned standing right next to the track. People setting coolers on the track. People setting up tents and choking any space people have to move around. Side parties playing music trying to drown out the band playing on the stage. People constantly trying to high-five or otherwise touch the racers in the front pack or main pack. Core "do not do" type of things.

I went hoarse yelling at people to get off the track. There are orange lines. Guys in striped shirts with whistles. Marshall's with flags. A pace car. A motorcycle. And a hundred bikes coming at you. YOU STILL DON'T GET THE HINT? It was great at 11 Am, it was a madhouse at 1 PM, and by 3PM it was chaos. Much of the crowd is still helping to enforce the rules. The crowd policed itself well. But its getting nerve racking.

I love Cry Baby Hill. It is the capstone for Tulsa Tough and the racers LOVE IT. They're rock stars. The crowd is creative, fun loving, and or the most part, really into cheering the race. I in no way want to destroy the party I've been going to for many years.

But I'm starting to share fears that it has the potential to get out of control. I don't think barriers are the answer - they just create more choke points and concentrate the party (the party pretty much ended where the barriers started). Get rid of the tents right along the side of the road (not the ones 10' from the curb), they caused choke points along half the hill and concentrated the crowd as well as forcing people to try to move about ON the track in short sprints between races.  Spreading the mob out is the way to go - make it easier to move about and get off the track and people will do so. Keep the party going on down the backside of the hill so the mob isn't so concentrated. It wouldn't take away the festive atmosphere, it would expand it further along the track.

Mad props to the Sound Pony team, police, and private security who all acted professionally and responsibly in controlling such a mob scene. It would be easy for an overzealous and nervous officer to spark a riot or an incident, but every TPD officer was fantastic from start to finish. They didn't sweat the small stuff, kept the racers safe, and when it was time to shut down the party did so with tact and good humor (I heard one say to a guy still lingering after the first pass of officers, "Alright man, its 7 O'clock, after a long day you might want to go home and have a beer.").  

Of course, mad props to the other staff and volunteers who worked their butts off. Conan is a true barbarian. I couldn't believe he was standing by Sunday night. And kudos to all the racers!

A good time was had by all.

[cannon_fodder]

Here is a photo progression of the scene on CBH this year. I tried to take a picture at the start of each race from the same spot. That became impossible. But here's ~12 hours on CBH:

~6:30AM




8:15, race 1, lap 1


Race 2


9:20


10:45




11:11


1:11




2:15 (water now causing auto focus issues)




3:45 (this was around the last water check time)




7 PM

[PonderInc]

I'm interested in hosting cyclists next year. Do I just reach out to Malcolm?

The Tulsa Tough website has a place for volunteers, and a way to add your name to the list for host housing.  TT will "match" you with cyclists based on your location and number of spare beds, etc.  You give them a spare key and access to kitchen, laundry, bathroom, place to sleep, secure place for their bikes, and they do the rest.  In the old days, when none of the restaurants or food trucks were open after the last races on Fri/Sat, we used to do huge cookouts at midnight for our kids and their buddies.  In recent years, they have a lot more options downtown.  We still stock up on beer and snacks and cook a meal, but that's gravy.

The first couple years, we did the official method of signing up.  A few years ago, one of the women's teams just called "dibs" on us for the next year, so we don't even sign up any more, we just coordinate with the team manager.  We've gone from hosting a couple cyclists each year to a team of six.

[PonderInc]

Cannon: Just FYI, in talking to our women's pro team, they all said the crowd gave them plenty of room to race on CBH.  (Their only complaint was that they didn't get sprayed with enough water!)

A few years ago, some of our friends who are pro men complained about not having room to pass on the hill, but it sounds like painting the stripes on the street and stepped up action by the Soundpony gang has helped.

That said, I've been a corner marshal down on Galveston the past couple years, so I haven't seen the mob lately.

Aside from CBH and the assortment of drunks who come just to party, I can attest that the crowds everywhere else are becoming more aware of the importance of rider safety.  As a corner marshal, I've noticed that if I'm yelling at someone to get off the course, other bystanders will start yelling at them, too.  This is actually incredibly helpful, and it communicates a shared culture of protecting the cyclists.  There are always some douchebags or clueless idiots around, but overall, I feel like people are getting better at watching for corner marshals, waiting for appropriate breaks, and crossing safely.

When I first started as a corner marshal about 6 years ago, it was total chaos and obliviousness.  We've gotten better by adding more corner marshals and barricades in critical locations, and the general public has learned how the system works.

[cannon_fodder]

It all worked out just fine, and I'm damn glad the riders loved it! Maybe I was more nervous because I was more sober...

[Bamboo World]

There are always some douchebags or clueless idiots around, but overall, I feel like people are getting better at watching for corner marshals, waiting for appropriate breaks, and crossing safely.

When I first started as a corner marshal about 6 years ago, it was total chaos and obliviousness.

From someone who lives in the neighborhood:  It seems as though the crowds have gotten better about not leaving trash and respecting private property, at least on my street.  I'm pleased to report no vandalism at my place this year, and I found only one cigarette butt on the public sidewalk in front of my house.

[davideinstein]

I heard some complaints about rest stop #2 on Saturday and rough roads on the new routes, but no complaints on medical.  Was this out on the Fondo course the complaints came from or in the race venues?

I know rider safety is a huge priority since the event is run by cyclists, if there is a lapse it needs to be identified and corrected before next year.  PM me with better details.

He tweeted and then couldn't get specific. He's kind of a sports hack at times.