Today, All Roads Lead To Tulsa
Since hitting town yesterday, we have see all modes of transportation in use as BMXers of every stripe make their way into Tulsa. There have been scenes reminiscent of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” with bikes, chairs, suitcases and maybe even a rider or two tied to the roof of a moving vehicle, trucking west down I-44. We’ve seen BMXers coolin their heels on the side of the road, as Missouri’s finest writes them a personalized Thanksgiving greeting…we have seen all manners of “golf” and “hockey” equipment bags making there way into Rental trunks..and even a few bands of BMXers braving the mean streets of the East side with their gear bags slung behind their back, messenger style.
All this locomotion sets the stage for what promises to be one of the most well-attended ABA Grands in recent memory. ABA’s Shannon Gillette, who places team trailers and vendor setups on the massive Expo Square layout the way the Air Boss on an aircraft carrier would put planes on his “Ouija Board,” says that this is the most full he has seen the Team/Vendor area in his 15 years at ABA. A very good sign of what’s to come as the weekend steps off tomorrow for the Race Of Champions.
Even people who we might not expect to be here are in full effect. While walking the track yesterday, who emerges from behind the massive pro set but Mike Day. Officially, 365 is still on the disabled list after back surgery earlier in the year, but he has been getting laps at his local track, and said he may even sneak in a few mellow laps in today’s hour-long Elite practice. Mostly, he is here reppin GT, and showing support for his sport. Another injured-reservist, Alise Post, who suffered a season-ending injury hours before getting on an Eastbound plane to Tulsa, is said to be ambulatory, and is likely braving a TSA checkpoint in San Diego as we speak. While her chances of taking the stage on Sunday to receive the ABA #1 Womens Pro plate were dashed by the cast, she will be watching it all unfold, live and in person.
Practice is currently underway, so we thinks it’s time to shuffle on over to Expo Square to see how riders are handling the innovative track design (1000 feet, if you take the “inside” of the decision-maker, and 1050 if you do not, according to track builder, Billy Allen). Right-side of the decision-maker is going to be full of fun & excitement. It is definitely designed to put some stamps in your cred-log. Sunday, we’ll see if it is the key to putting the grey plate on your bars, or if the longer and supposedly-safer (from a strategy POV, if nothing else) outside line, with it’s old school-style, banked-but-flat, 90-degree turn will be the better bet.
More from Tulsa later today. For those of you tweeting about happenings in Tulsa, use hashtag #10ABAGrands in your tweets so they are easily searchable. We will have coverage and interviews from the thick of things here on News, and photos will be posted via BMXNOW.COM.
