I think the Tour de Tuscaloosa is my favorite race. One reason is that it is such a lovely setting. It starts at the edge of downtown Tuscaloosa and then hits a dramatic turn into a long downhill with a sharp 90 degree lefthand turn. The very definition of "sketchy." As we made the drive over (ok - that's an entire other post...what should have been about three and a half hours turned into five), we talked about the race. James was very nervous about the Cat 4 race. It was the sketchy course and the prospect of rain that had him in knots.
We got there with time to leisurely get everything together and get him on his trainer set up. Rain was forecasted, but we sure hoped it would hold out until after he raced.
Part of the race is on Jack Warner Parkway, which runs along the Black Warrior River, a river known to attract tornadoes. The air had that heaviness before the race started so I went back and forth about whether to get my camera out. (Of course, I did.)
The juniors had a big field. James is racing against kids who turn 13 or 14 this year. I think this is the age group where you see the greatest spread in ability due to physical development. It's so tough when you just don't have the muscle mass the other guys do. (Zoom in on the thighs of the guy in yellow shoes. Wow. Brody used to be a teammate and has really turned into a great racer - he wins any 13-14 race he enters.) Here James puts on a great attack only to be caught pretty quickly.
The group of race age 13 stayed together for a sprint at the end. The kid on the right is a great sprinter and edged James out just at the finish line.
I don't know how in the world I didn't get a picture of Jim and Sue or Dave and Paula while we were there. Visiting with them is honestly what makes this my favorite race of the year. Jim and Sue "adopted" me when I was in school. Jim took all the calls that would have been to Daddy if he lived in the same city...things like my car won't crank. (No one ever told me I had to add water to the battery.) There were many late viewing of MASH and breakfast at the Waysider. To this day I do miss them both.
Then, there's Dave and Paula. Dave was in admissions at Alabama when I was in high school. He was actually at Charles Henderson our Honors Day. That was when I first met Dave. I've been through births and very sick babies and watching their girls grow up. We've been touch all those years and I so enjoy catching up with them. (He also always has all the scoop on any sport you want to know about.) Any way...they escaped getting their pictures made, but they was a big part of the weekend.
Did I mention the lovely setting? Since we were there last year, they have built amphitheater. I love how you can watch them go down that big hill and come across way down there below.
I started to say something nostalgic about The Tuscaloosa News, but then I saw the flag which said it was a subsidiary of The New York Times. I won't say anything at all.
While we were at lunch (the "we" being Dave, Paula and me) there was a tornado watch issued. Bad weather was all around. It started raining and James had to rush to the van. Poor thing. There was good news, though. The rain stopped and the road dried off before the Cat 4.
James was so nervous. I don't know why. He is only about a third the size of the other guys. He didn't want to start, but he did. He was having a decent race when the tire of a guy in front of him just exploded. Sounded like a .22. His recovery got the back of the pack separated and James was quickly off by himself. Coach Kelli told him to pull out, but he felt good that he started and was hanging onto the pack.
Tough course, but great for spectators. You 13-14s and Cat 4s better lookout next year!
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