Tulsa Cyclists Gearing Up For Cyclocross Racing

Tulsa Tough is putting on its fall bicycle race series, and right now bicyclists are warming up to race on a track built inside Cain's Ballroom.

The wooden track of the Disco Drome is similar to a roller derby - just imagine two bicyclists going around it for the fastest time.

Friday’s Disco Drome leads up to Saturday's bicycle race, where Tulsa Tough has turned a city park into an off-road race course.

Cyclists are swapping out their road bikes for something that can get them over the river and through the woods of Owen Park.

Race Director Malcolm McCollam said, "We've got creek crossings, we've got stairs, we've got barricades, no telling what people are going to encounter out there."

McCollam created the Tulsa Tough road races a decade ago. Now he's taking the road races you might remember from the Friday night Blue Dome District race, off-road to Tulsa's oldest park.

11/19/2015 Related Story: Tulsa Cycling Community Gears Up For Big Weekend

Chad Coccaro is excited to see what Tulsa Tough can bring to Cyclocross racing in Oklahoma.

"Just riding over here and seeing all this, pulling in right over there, seeing the big Hurtland banner and all the Tulsa Tough banners just made me think back to Tulsa Tough Friday night," he said.

Coccaro is getting a feel for the course before he races on Saturday.

He said, "It's a really fun course, and these killed me going up, down, up and down, but luckily we have a nice little recovery section over there to kind of help it out. This is great."

Cyclocross is what road bikers do in the winter time, and McCollam said this part of cycling is growing alongside other adventure races.

"I think, what you're seeing in the United States with the advent and the popularity of things like the Tough Mudder and the Warrior Dash, it was pretty natural that people would start giving Cyclocross more attention,” he said.

Disco Drome kicks off at Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Cain's. The Cyclocross at Owen Park starts Saturday at 10 a.m.