This post is merely an article I wrote for our cycling newsletter Wheel Issues. It attempts to comically describe my three-day ride with four Red Dirt Pedalers bicycle club members to the start of FreeWheel, Oklahoma's cross-state bicycle ride. I had not earned enough vacation days to ride FreeWheel but helped out by driving a RDP car back to Stillwater.
FreeWheel 2001
Bill Burke, Jennifer Holle, Mike Kelly, Terry Raymond, and Susan Walker left on PreWheel from Bill's house at 8 AM Wed, June 6. 'Twas a HOT but fun-filled three days of riding. Our route took us east on Hwy 51, south on Hwy 108 through Ripley east on Hwy 33 through Cushing, south on 99 through Drumright, Prague, Seminole, Bowlegs, Byng, Ada, and Pontotoc to Tishamingo where we picked up Hwys 78 and 22 to Durant (Doo-rant) and 70 into Hugo. We cycled just a click short of 270 miles, including our ride to the TX border Sat. morning.
Wednesday, Day 1: Stillwater to Prague (66.5 mi.)
Bill cycled & Terry drove the first 33 miles.
Jennifer suffered a flat at about mile 30. We stopped for lunch at the Rock Café on Route 66 in Stroud. Had fun reading the guest book entries of other travelers and cyclists who had passed thru, many on previous PreWheels/FreeWheels or on their way from Chicago to L.A. via Route 66. Here are a couple of the Rock's menu items:
· Fried Squash Sandwich & Side $4.00 (fried squash, pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, on sandwich bread)
· Fried Alligator & Side $4.75 (fresh fried Louisiana alligator)
· Jagersnitzel & Spatzle $6.00 (breaded & fried pork cutlet with creamy bacon, onion, mushroom gravy served with small noodles)
· Zueri Gshnatzlets & Spatzle $5.75 (diced chicken breast in a creamy mushroom, onion, & white wine sauce served with small noodles)
The "sides" included fried green tomatoes, fried eggplant, fried okra, etc. The food was good but I think the café could have been more appropriately named Fatty's Fried & Sides.
Route 99 between Stroud and Seminole is shoulderless for the most part and was a crazy mess of construction as crews were widening it to four lanes. At times we were passed by convoys of long trucks hauling rocks and dirt.
Nonetheless, we saw many snakes, turtles, butterflies and beautiful flowers on the way to Prague. That evening — using the roadside specimens I'd collected — I held a brief butterfly seminar, pointing out markings and names.
We ate dinner at The Fillin' Station, an old gas station converted to a restaurant. It was at the Fillin' Station that Mike Kelly acquired his PW name of Hungry Wolf, which moniker stuck with him until Day 3.
After dinner we returned to our lodging for the night, a Baptist church on the northwest side of town, and waited sleepily for the Wed. night church activities to end and the participants to go home. Once the coast was clear, Jennifer & I set up in the ladies' room lounge because it was carpeted and had a full sized couch. ZZZzzzzzzz by 9:30 pm.
Thursday, Day 2: Prague to Tishamingo (93.2 mi)
Bill cycled & Jennifer drove the van the first 32 miles.
Because the heat had beat us up the day before, (I'd actually sagged in the last 5 miles) we slipped out of town at 6:30 AM after breakfast at the Prague Bakery. The bakery was out of Czech kalatchies, so wanting to eat "ethnic," I breakfasted on little Polish sausages wrapped in yeast bread blankets. It was at the bakery that a stray black lab pup nearly stole Jennifer's heart. Had she been in a car rather than on a bike. . . .
Ten miles out of Ada we had a longish climb, and it, combined with the heat, nearly did Jennifer and me in. We stopped in a sliver of shade about 50 feet from the top and poured our water bottles over ourselves. On this day, I acquired my PW ride name of Cloud Chaser because I chased clouds down the road trying to ride in their shadows. They were usually too fast and fleeting, tho, leaving me at the mercy of the blazing sun. Temps hit 92°F, yet we managed to ride 93.2 miles. Hungry Wolf & Terry toughed it out, riding the extra 6.8 miles to make an even 100. It was HW's first century on his new MTB.
Early on, I cautioned the riders that there'd be a butterfly quiz that evening and advised them to prepare by studying the specimens they saw along the route. (Sadly, Terry gnawed his nails to the quick and developed a bad case of test anxiety. It was at this point that he got his ride name of Test Trembler.)
Nonetheless, that evening I set out the day's specimens on the pool table in the church youth building where we were staying. I asked only one question: Which butterfly was the Questionmark (Polygonnia interrogationis)? [This butterfly has a small gold question mark on its underwing and is orange with black spots and lavender wing margins above.] All aced the test . . .except Bill, who couldn't find the pool table much less the numbered specimens or the tiny question mark ID.
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| Top two images: Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). Note the small question mark on its underwings. Bottom two photos: Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma). Instead of a question mark, its underwings it sports a comma. |
It was this evening that Bill earned his PW name of Chief Spitting Bull when he entertained us with stale stories of past PreWheels and even accompanied himself on the drums.
Friday, Day 3: Tishamingo to Hugo (85.8 mi)
Chief Spitting Bull cycled & Jennifer drove the first 34 miles.
After breakfast in a so-so restaurant that had no bananas, no English muffins (that's a funny one, hon), no tomato juice, and no skimmed milk (to the waitress' knowledge no one had ever asked for — ha, ha — skimmed milk before), we cycled out of town at about 7 AM. This day's route was scenic and undemanding, though we hit a rough shoulder north of Hugo that cost Jennifer a broken spoke and warped wheel.
Not too far out, we passed a LARGE, dead rattlesnake. Jennifer was driving the van, so when I cycled past, I jokingly called out that she should go back and cut off its rattles. Surprisingly, she did, and earned herself the ride name of Dances with Snakes when she found that it wasn't dead and she had to wrestle it down and bite off its tail. It had 14 rattles, which she planned on affixing to her aerobars. We also saw and photographed a big fuzzy tarantula and a small sneaky scorpion.
Fifty-two miles out of Hugo we turned into the wind, and it was here that both Hungry Wolf and Test Trembler earned new names. HW became Climbs Hills Standing and TT became Wind in His Face as he gallantly pulled our scraggly "paceline" (me) into the headwind. Eight miles out, the combination of heat, sore seat, and sore feet did me in and my name was changed to Woman Who Sags Last Miles. Yup. I sagged the last 8 miles into Hugo and lived to tell about it.
In Hugo, we stayed in a big Baptist church two blocks from the campgrounds. That evening, after we got settled and took showers at the middle school, we ate a delicious catfish dinner at the Harvey House across the railroad tracks from the campground. Harmony Mc Daniel, David Kincannon, and David's mother, Glee Kincannon, found us there when they arrived that evening. After dinner, we hit a Laundromat and a Braums, and then those who were camping set up their tents. Harmony put on her mechanic's hat and replaced Jennifer's wheel, and then we all turned in. Glee, Jennifer, Harmony, and I slept in the nursery, I on soft crib mattresses.
Saturday, Day 4: Hugo to TX Border (24 mi)
Bill , Jennifer, David, Glee, Harmony, and I pedaled to Texas after breakfast at Fecos Café just north of the campgrounds. After a photo shoot at the state line, Bill, Glee, Harmony, and I bid David and Jennifer bon voyage. These two Francophiles continued on to Paris, trés oo, la la, while the rest of us Red Dirters re-crossed the Red River and returned our red necks to OK. This 24-miles was Glee's longest ride to date.
We returned to the Harvey House for lunch and then "hung out" at the campsite, talking to riders and waiting for the van to arrive with the Stillwater Red Dirt Pedalers contingent. After spaghetti dinner at the Middle School, I returned to the church where, at 8:30 PM, I caught up with Bill Venable, whose car I drove back to Stillwater early the next morning.
