Day 7 Ride to Kiowa

So here we are at the last day, Saturday, and it should have been like any other "last day ride". But it looked suspicious..40 miles? That seemed long to me. Last day rides are usually about 25-30 miles. Easy. Get into town. Smile. Take your picture. Load up. Go home. But not this day. This was the worst day of riding for the whole week. The route was hilly. Hills? on the last day? My legs were spent. Then add the wind. The wind was gusting so hard that at times your entire bike would be swept over. Forget the shoulder. If you rode there you could easily be pushed off the rode. Better to take half the lane and just be pushed to the shoulder. I would have rode the 70 miles to Alva again rather than those forty.

Got to town. Hung out. Said goodbye to new friends. Still meeting new people on Saturday. Thats the fun part. Sometimes you meet people you don't remember tomorrow. Other times you meet people and you start looking for them when you get to camp. Or they look for you.

Mom and I loaded up and made it to Guthrie by 3:30 or 4:00. FreeWheel 2009 Complete. 417 total miles. No flat tires! Mom might do this again. Bet ya she gets hotels next time!

Day 6 Ride to Alva

70 miles. Enough said. I wasn't looking forward to to the ride but I got out there and got it done.

Camp in Fairview. We watched Speedwheel, impressed as usual. Those guys and gals are animals.

So I'm 16 miles out and made it to a little store before the rainstorm hit. We were packed in there so tight...people just standing in all the aisle waiting for the storm to pass. The gals running the store were great. Word got out that one of them was having a birthday and the entire store full of people sang her "Happy Birthday". Nice!

I stayed in and dry for about an hour and then I was back on the road. The rest of the day was beautiful....I got into camp right as it started to get sunny and hot. No trees in Alva. Not a bit of shade to be found. Mom and I elected to go downtown to town square and shop the shops and stay cool. We found a mexican restaurant and had an early dinner then back to camp for showers and bed. One day to go. Amen. I already started quizzing Mom about how long it will take to get home to Guthrie tomorrow.

Day 5 Ride to Fairview

What a beautiful ride! 53 miles. All smooth road. Hardly any hills. I could tell it was a great day. I was riding fast. The wind cooperated. Very nice. Every day should be this good.

Got up late so Mom said she would take care of the tent by herself. I rolled at 6:08 and made it into camp by 11:35. Wow. That was fun. Best day yet! I saw a deer jump out behind some bikers and I also saw a good looking Mule! I hollered at him and he flicked his ears for me. Gonna try to post some pictures. Check back later.

Speedwheel tonight.

Day 4 Ride to Thomas

Well I made it another day. Mom and I are here in the Thomas Library. Couldn't get a signal in the high school cafeteria. And since it is raining, we have taken cover in the Cloud. Driving town and discovering Thomas. Mom knows where the motel and the laundry mat are. The wheat harvesters appear to be in town, too. Signs are welcoming them as well as us.

Todays Ride: 63 miles with a total trip time of 5:45 (including lunch in Butler and several breaks along the way. My bike computer is still out on the bike in the rain (with a bag over the seat of course) I always cover my seat every night. Today I just got smart and covered it right after I got off it. :). Its 2:14 p.m. and riders are still out on the route. In the rain. Not gonna be a good day for those folks. I'm not looking forward to sleeping in a tent tonight. Oh well. Just as long as it is dry tomorrow morning for our ride to Fairview. Speedwheel is tomorrow night.

Bike was at the shop last night. But it is making all kinds of racket again. It sounds like a time bomb. I hope it doesn't go off.

Still working on photos.

Day 3, Tuesday Ride to Cheyenne

Sitting in Cheyenne Memorial Park next to a power outlet. Nice camp...lots of outlets surrounding the park road, a one way route in and back out. Lots of museums and things here in the park to see. I have chosen not to. I love one-room school houses as much as the next guy but sometimes you just need to know when to say "no".

Another long ride today. 63.32 miles; total on-bike time 4:49 (h:m) Average speed 13.1 mph. Heart Rate Monitor: 5:44 total running time including breaks and lunch. 2861 calories burned.

Seen today: A bride and groom. Today was "crazy day" where costumes are encouraged and voting takes place. Through the years I've seen some interesting costumes. I've even seen a bride before. Of course it was a man with very hairy legs riding a recumbent but I digress. So it was nice to see a pretty lady with a lace tank top (with appropriate coverage), white riding shorts, and a flying veil attached to her helmet. Riding along side her was a man wearing one of those tuxedo t-shirts. Cute. But I get to camp and mom says, "oh-look over there. Its the bride and groom. They are getting married in the Chapel here in the park tonight and word is that they ordered wedding cake for 500 and we are all invited to the reception! " Wow I said. Thats pretty cool. And you know how I love cake! So that really wasn't a costume. The only other crazy day participant I saw was an elderly playboy bunny. Ask me later about that.....

Mom and I took a limo ride out to the Black Kettle National Grasslands/Battlefield Historic Site. The park/museum was nice. Nicer than the limo. But now we can say we rode in a limo on Freewheel.

Luckily the weather has cooperated today..not too hot. Nice breeze once your camped. Not so nice if you are still out there on the road. And some are. Thats probably 9-10 hours on the road. Sad. Sad.

I'll try to post some pictures. If not here, check my Flickr link located to the right under Links I Love.

P.S. The oil has been checked on the Cloud. We are in good shape.

Day 2, Monday Ride to Cordell

Still playing catch up here since we couldn't post yesterday in Apache. Glad to have service here in Cordell.

Day 2 Ride: Departed 6:10 a.m. Apache to Cordell. 66.94 miles. 12.8 mph average speed. Total on-bike time: 5:14 (h:m). Heart rate monitor: total time running: 6:45 (again, including breaks and lunch). 3243 calories estimated burned. More wind. Lots of semis. Sore shoulders. Backside, too. Seen: Wheat fields, stone barns, bumpy roads, farmers. Mom says she spotted a wind farm (suprise suprise) somewhere south of Rocky, Oklahoma on her trip. She was impressed. I sneer. Wind. She met me at mile 46 at Gotebo. Had a drink of cold water. Had some Reese's peanut butter cups (smile!) and hit the road. Riding into the wind. Sneer. Best part: Finishing.

Equipment Issues: Broken tent pole. I broke it this morning. We have a spare tent in case our friends/family join us. But did we put it up? No-we tried using the other tent poles. Just slightly shorter which led to a saggy tent. Who wants a saggy tent? Especially if it's windy? (Sneer). So we kicked back in our camp chairs in the shade and repaired the broken one using dental floss. I won't go into detail but just remember-dental floss! Mom also forgot to put the plug back in the ice chest at Gotebo so the back of the Cloud is soggy. No worries. With heat and wind like we've got it will dry in no time.

Camp talk: People (especially old men) like to camp near the porta-johns-- but be ready for the doors slamming all night long. But who wants to hold onto a porta-john door so it doesn't slam? Ick. Shower truck has not made it to camp yet. Apparently the truck needed a repair and is on its way. I will detail the truck in a future post (tech specs). For now just know this: Leave your modesty at the entrance. It's all about just getting clean. Off to explore...see where dinner/breakfast can be served.

Day 1 -Sunday Ride to Apache

Well no service in Apache but we are back in business here in Cordell.

Day 1 Ride: Departed At 6:48 am. Duncan to Apache. 50.46 miles; 13.9 mph average speed; total on-bike time: 3:38 (h:m). Heart Rate Monitor: 4:39 minutes running (that includes the breaks I took approximately every 10-13 miles), 2382 calories estimated burned. Worst part: last 10 miles into Apache. Wind. Terrible Wind. I had to pedal just to get down the hill. Coasting was not an option. Seen: Jerry Wayne Lane. Any relation? A small dacshund scavenging a huge poly trash cart that he could not have turned over by himself. But it made me laugh. (It was probably the wind-it nearly knocked the rest of us down). I told him he was gonna get in trouble. Mom saw a huge gaggle of geese on S.H. 17 West. They were so thick she had to stop and wait for them to cross. She even blew the horn trying to clear them.

Equipment Concerns: Mom couldn't quit the James Taylor CD. Ran the Cloud on auxillary power till she ran the battery down. No worry. Plenty of helpful people on FreeWheel. She got a jump start in Sterling, Oklahoma from the first person she asked. On start up the Cloud blew a huge ceremonial puff of smoke. The good samaritan said, "Oh my, your vehicle is really smoking," to which Mom replied, "Oh that's normal" :)

Camp in Apache. Good. Mom studied the neighbor's compass and surrounding trees and predicted afternoon shade. Yeah we look dumb setting it up in the hot sun but come late afternoon, we (Mom) looked like a genius. We were in bed by 7:30 p.m. Tired. A little rain fell but nothing to be alarmed about. Right back to sleep.

Day 0. Tents and Tarps!

Sunday evening in Duncan, Oklahoma. Planning on rolling out tomorrow morning-early. Mom and I took a little surveying lesson tonight when we stopped by this monument. Now ya know. Initial Point. Indian Base. Indian Meridian. Check.

Saw the best canvas tents today. An old fashioned chuck wagon group from Loco, Oklahoma was set up just outside the Chisholm Trail center. The ladies were busy preparing dinner and were set up underneath it. They were peeling potatoes, making rolls, and other such goodies. Mom got invited back into the "kitchen" underneath the trees because she was interested in the dutch ovens they had set about...a nice man took the lid off one and showed us the most gorgeous cobbler that was cooking...oh! But back to the tents. Wonderful canvas made right here in Oklahoma according to the lady in charge of the potatoes. Nice rustic cedar posts. She said it only takes three people to set it up. I was impressed. I want one. And I know where to get it. Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Check this out: http://www.edwardscanvas.com/ . Apparently I will need a wagon to store it in and move from site to site. And of course that means what? MULES. You knew I would get back to mules, right? 

Today. We sleep in air conditioned comfort at the Days Inn. We have had some equipment issues: The bike rack needed straightening, Mom assisted. Our AC converter failed to get the job done during the test run so we are uncertain how we will air up our airbed tomorrow night in Apache. Mom said she will bum some electricity somewhere. I leave it in her capable hands. I'm having trouble with my shoes. I switched old cleats from old shoes to new shoes. Need some fine tuning there but it will have to wait until tomorrow when (and if) I roll into camp.

Coming tomorrow (if we can find some way to log on): Details regarding my first day riding...Duncan to Apache. 53 miles.

Remember Fifty-Six. Zip Code 72533

Some folks actually ride their bikes down to the start town of FreeWheel each year. The group I knew of called it PreWheel. My husband did it once. Packed all his junk in a little trailer and headed south. I did not. They had fun...but Sunday will be soon enough for me.

Mom and I departed Guthrie this morning. We loaded up the Cloud (my 4Runner) and rolled south.

I've had to tell Mom about the Cloud. Watch out...sometimes the fuel guage goes wacky...and don't worry about the big cloud of smoke on start up. Disregard the check engine light (and other miscellaneous orange lights on the dash). She's probably wondering if we're gonna make it. I didn't mention to her that I didn't have time to get the new tires I was planning. What she doesn't know can't hurt her. At least not too badly! :)

So we rolled into Tishomingo and had a good visit with Grandma. She's doing well but looking forward to going home soon. I will be glad when she is home again, too. No one can take care of her like my Aunt. They are quite the pair and always have fun stories about the neighborhood activities of which they are close observers.

Fish Tales is a great little place to eat. Just east? of Tishomingo. Open on Friday and Saturday nights only. All you can eat and eat and eat. Ten Bucks. Cheap for the damage you can do. (Not me of course. :). We eat here quite often when we are in Tishomingo. But tonight was special. Mom got in contact with dear friends and we all dined together. Little Sister sat next to me. She even sat on my lap on the drive out there. I feel special cause her Nana thinks she is the cat's meow! So we dined with friend, husband, daughter, son-in-law and the three kids. Mr. C is 13, Little Sister is 6 and the Baby J is still in diapers. Good food. Good Company.

I mentioned my troubles of finding internet service and Mom's dear friend set me up. I am camped out in her office now, the loft of her beautiful home, while I'm sure her and Mom are reminising old times and hopefully making some future plans together. So thanks to Tishomingo friends I am able to post tonight. Till tomorrow.

PS: Who remembers Fifty Six?

"There ain't no telling who you might meet..."

"A movie star or maybe even a Indian Chief." My blog is new and I already have a comment from my good friend Big Dave! I've known Dave since 1993ish..he used to work where I still work and of course there is the softball team he tried to coach where I debuted as 2nd baseman. But anyway...Dave has made me some awesome CD's with some of the best tunes! I even have my own label--Sparky Records! with a little jumping frog logo. Got one for my 30th Birthday; others just cause I brag about how cool they are... So back in 2000 big sister and I plan a trip to California to see our Grandpa. We go to Big Dave's birthday party and I get to bragging about those CD's again...we mention we are planning a road trip and ask him if he would grace us with some traveling music. Only one song did we request: CARWASH! It's a great little CD...and this guy is so nice...he makes two copies (one for my sis to take home with her for memories!) with great cover art and so many cool tunes hand picked by the master. We cruised to Los Angeles in record time...blaring our "Road Trip 2000" tunes. Thanks Dave! P.S. Coworkers who inquired "who sings Rubberband Man?' Yep..Track 2 on Road Trip 2000/Sparky Records/Produced by Big Dave.