I had a great time at Tulsa Tough! Other than my friend getting hurt it was a great time and I raced pretty well 2/3 days. The Brady Village crit was a 6 turn crit in an L shape with a slight uphill and downhill section. Again the race was totally full but my teammate Roy was able to get into the 3 field with a few riders not showing up I guess. I talked to Roy about how important it was going to be to be near the front. We did a great job in the race to the start line with Roy right on the line and my behind him. At the word go Roy shot off like a bat out of hell leading the field for a lap. Then coming into the start finish a rider shot up the side and Roy went to follow but a rider jumped sideways into him (happened a lot last weekend...) and into his rear wheel and derailleur cable. His cable got pulled out of whack and he had to go into the pit. He didn't get a good release back into the race and he spent most of the race trying to get back up to me. I was able to stay very near the front and went for one prime winning it by a big margin. The rest of the primes were much bigger and I wanted to go for them but I decided it would have taken too much energy to go for, hurting my chances at a good finish. The race stayed together pretty well with only a few small breaks trying to go away. Near the end of the race Roy made it up to me for a moment but was then separated from me again. All I was hoping for was to stay near the sharp end going down the last hill into the final turn. I thought I was in a good spot but looking at it now I was too far back. But being so oxygen starved isn't good for thinking clear. I was able to sprint for 15th place and took home some good money to split with Roy.
Cry baby hill on it's own isn't much of a hill really and I think if it was done as the first race of the weekend it wouldn't be as big a deal. But I put it in the same category as Snake Alley and Shlitz Park. It is a climb with a decent and go again. This climb is a big ring ordeal for about 20 seconds. The great thing about cry baby is the party on the hill. I thought snake had a good atmosphere but this was amazing. There are films all over about this thing. Like I said the hill is short but it is violent. You come off the start finish stretch and turn right up a steep ramp for about one block, then you turn right again and into the party. This thing is CRAZY!!! The sound is unreal and is the closest thing us wanna-bes will ever get to feeling like we are riding the Tour. The second half of the climb is not as steep as the first but after a while it still hurts. There is a nice downhill section right after followed by another slight uphill, although if you are following a few riders the second uphill is almost completely coast-able. Then after another right turn there is a steep downhill followed by a final right turn that is more than 90*. For most of the race I felt great and was having no problems. Then that changed and I just got pissed. Not really sure why, I just didn't want to race anymore. So I quit. I don't remember another time I just decided that fast but I really have no regret about it which is also funny since I always hate quitting. I did have a great time though, and my power numbers are saying that I am still on my way up. I am taking a couple days easy and then I race in O'Fallon IL this weekend before heading up to Wisconsin next Thursday. Things are looking bright.
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