Buster Brown, the nearly 50-year-old cyclist responded to a
Tulsa Tough challenge with a fundraising goal.
Tulsa World Communities Posted: Thursday, June 5, 2014, 10:21 am,
BIXBY — They say everyone has a price. And for Buster Brown, that price was $2,000.
Brown, a lifelong cyclist and owner of Bixby Bicycles, had put the brakes on racing in extremely competitive levels of cycling.
With him turning 50 years old on the horizon, he was beginning to focus on moving up to a new age category in racing and embracing the more mellow attitudes that come with it. That was until members of his local cycling club, or his “kids” as he calls them, challenged him to participate one more time in a Men’s Category I/II race at the Tulsa Tough cycling event on Friday.
The Category I/II field, which includes mostly 18-to-25-year-olds, is extremely fast and competitive. A large number of zealous cyclists, combined with speeds topping 30 mph, make the race a potentially dangerous feat for Brown.
“If they want me to race in there and risk my life with 150 other riders, then I figured it ought to be for something worthwhile,” Brown said.
He said he would do it under one condition: They must raise $2,000 in cash and/or canned goods to be donated to the Bixby Outreach Center. The nonprofit center assists families with basic needs in times of emergency, offering clothing, school supplies, health care services and a food pantry.
Within a month, the group was able to collect $2,000 in private donations of cash and canned goods, thus ensuring that Brown would be hitting the road as a Category I/II racer once again.
“I think he’s going to do phenomenal,” said Stephen Phillips, a member of Brown’s cycling club. “He’s as good as it gets. Don’t let his age fool you.”
Phillips, along with other members of the Bixby Bicycles club, will be in downtown Tulsa to cheer Brown on during the race Friday night.
They will also be sporting blue T-shirts in a show of solidarity and to raise additional funds for the Bixby Outreach Center.
The shirts, which are priced at $12, will be available at Bixby Bicycles until they sell out.
Brown said he hopes to place in the top 20 on Friday, but he is cautiously optimistic.
“Knock on wood,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve ever hit concrete at 30 mph wearing hardly any clothes, but it hurts.”
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