Bixby Bicycles owner to compete in Tulsa Tough for a good cause.

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,
By STEPHANIE ANDRE World Correspondent

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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TULSA TOUGH

It's great to be in Tulsa Oklahoma and to have the opportunity to be part of this event. LEGENDS will have a tent and we'll be competing in the race. If you haven't been part of this amazing event, you've missed one of the nations top cycling events.  Be sure to download the 2013 Tulsa Tough Tour Tracker App, it's your guide to all of the events, and go to www.tulsatough.com for more details.  See you June 7, 8, and 9 in downtown Tulsa.

TULSA TOUGH - History/Wikipedia

Saint Francis Tulsa Tough Ride and Race is a three-day cycling festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It features non-competitive riding through scenic areas around the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and professional level races. It is held each year on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the second weekend in June.

Saint Francis Tulsa Tough attracts professional and amateur racers from across the country racing criterium style races on three different venues in the streets of Downtown Tulsa and along the Arkansas River. Prize money rivals the largest purses in the nation. The quality of the venues and the top level race operation already has professional teams making Tulsa an important stop on their annual racing schedules.

In 2008, Tulsa Tough's women's pro races were selected by USA Cycling to be on the prestigious National Racing Calendar. Based on voting by racers, race officials, and announcers, Tulsa Tough was ranked in the top 10 out of 30 NRC races in only its third year. With this proven success, the men's and women's races were again on the National Racing Calendar for 2009 and after the event were ranked in the top four among all NRC events. Top professional cycling teams plan their domestic racing schedules around NRC events, assuring a high level of national attention on the hosting events.

Saint Francis Tulsa Tough offers two days of tour rides with 50 km, 100 km, 200KM, and 100 mi options each day covering nearly 400 miles of Northeast Oklahoma hills and scenery. All routes feature aid stations  and rolling support for riders of all sizes and abilities. The tour rides are expected to grow to well over 5,000 riders as cycling enthusiasts discover the challenging, epic riding available in Oklahoma's Green Country.
Saint Francis Tulsa Tough has received national attention from major cycling publications and continues to be a topic on cycling forums and in the media.

Saint Francis Tulsa Tough is jointly promoted by the Tulsa Sports Commission and Tulsa Wheelmen and is supported by corporate sponsorship. Guidance for the event comes from an executive committee made up of several Tulsa area cyclists and business people.

Thanks Wikipedia. Read more at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Tough