TULSA, Okla — It was a hot day to be riding a bike for Tulsa Tough, but that didn't stop others from participating in the Townie Ride.
This year they asked participants to do something a little special.
Tulsa Tough organizers asked Townie riders and spectators to wear pink in honor of the victims of the shooting at the Natalie Building on the St. Francis medical campus more than a week ago.
The director of the Tulsa Tough Townie Ride, Dillon Hargrave, estimated about two hundred participants this year.
Hargrave said when the tragic shooting happened, the community started pouring out messages of support for this event to continue.
“St. Francis Tulsa Tough continues to be a beacon of hope for the community and as far as the townie goes, the Tulsa Tough townie presented by Williams was a great opportunity to invite everyone in the community to participate and show their support by wearing pink", Hargrave said.
The Townie course was a 5.8-mile course that went through downtown Tulsa and looped around The Gathering Place.
One rider, Linda Drink, said she wasn't impacted personally by the tragedy but it was important for her to show her support for those that were.
“I think it’s good to always represent your town and so seeing everything going on in the world and to see it happen in Tulsa I think it was good for us to just come out and represent Tulsa", Drink said.
Drink said the atmosphere on the ride was amazing, many of the spectators also joined in wearing pink to show support.
The pink was to honor not only the four people who died when a gunman opened fire on June 1st targeting a doctor there who he apparently blamed for his pain but also for those at Saint Francis still working through the tragedy.
“It just really felt like we were coming together and that we were united in support of our fellow citizens and our overall community of Tulsa", Hargrave said.
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