FreeWheel Day 4: Henryetta to Drumright
If you like to climb hills, today was the day for you.
Within the first five miles, we did two monster climbs, one with a 10% grade, and another with a 12%. It was a great way to start the day. Not that it was a surprise. Anyone who has ever been to Henryetta knows that there are a lot of hills. After those two climbs, the route leveled out, and it was pretty flat for the next several miles. With a brisk south wind, it made for an exhilarating ride. That is, until we hit Bristow. The road between Bristow and Shamrock is just one big climb after another. None of them were as steep as the two leaving Henryetta—I don't think there was one steeper than 5%. But they just kept coming, and each one seemed harder than the last. To complicate matters, we were headed northwest, and there was a westerly component to the wind, which made it a little more difficult. Once we hit the town of Shamrock, however, we turned to the north, and the wind made the last few hills leading into Drumright a lot more easy to take.
Drumright is an oil town, and a nice town too. Although there are not a lot of things to do here, the townsfolk make up for it by rolling out the red carpet for us. We have stayed here three of the last six years, and if it were up to them, we would come here every year. First Baptist Church opens up their new fellowship hall for the ones who like to indoor camp. The ladies bake cookies, and serve kool-aid, and they don't charge a penny. It is a great gesture. A town this small doubles in population for 24 hours when we are here, and it is a pleasure to spend a few bucks here, because they make it so obvious that it is appreciated.
Here is a link to my Garmin site with all the charts and graphs and stats for the day. The ride was just over 70 miles, and I finished in 4.5 hours, for an average of 15.7 mph. The best part is that I burned over 5,000 calories.
Check out some pics from last night and today.
The kids came down to Henryetta and we did Taco Tuesday on Freewheel!
I SMELL A GOLDEN CHILD AWARD!
Dripping Springs State Park
This is my new friend Hank. He is a student at Metro Christian Academy. He's also an Eagle Scout,
like me. We rode together for a few miles on Tuesday and Wednesday, and he told me that he missed the
ride last year because he went to Philmont with his scout troop. I told him that I went to Philmont when
I was his age, in 1981. I told him that I never felt closer to God than when I was at Philmont. I don't
know if it was the mountains, or the fact that we had no television, or radio to distract us. Then he said,
"and you didn't have to worry about cell phones or ipods distracting you." I replied to him, "It was 1981,
you little punk, we didn't have cell phones or ipods." Then I kicked him off his bike and into a ditch, and
left him for dead. Okay, I made that last part up. Hank is a good kid.
The United Methodist Church in Bristow provided us with a free lunch. Thanks ladies!
The two favorite words a cyclist can hear: FREE and LUNCH. Screw the bikes, they've got FOOD!
This is Tracy, from Springfield, Missouri. He is riding Freewheel for the first time, and it is his goal to ride
across all of the states that border Missouri. He and his wife are taking a tandem tour later in the year.
When I told him my name, he said he had read my blog. I'm famous!
We ate with some friends at Joseph's Steak House, then went next door to the Tidal School Winery. It
was a really nice evening.
Tomorrow it is off to Perry, about 65 miles away. Although it will be hilly getting out of Drumright, things should even out quite a bit from here.
Within the first five miles, we did two monster climbs, one with a 10% grade, and another with a 12%. It was a great way to start the day. Not that it was a surprise. Anyone who has ever been to Henryetta knows that there are a lot of hills. After those two climbs, the route leveled out, and it was pretty flat for the next several miles. With a brisk south wind, it made for an exhilarating ride. That is, until we hit Bristow. The road between Bristow and Shamrock is just one big climb after another. None of them were as steep as the two leaving Henryetta—I don't think there was one steeper than 5%. But they just kept coming, and each one seemed harder than the last. To complicate matters, we were headed northwest, and there was a westerly component to the wind, which made it a little more difficult. Once we hit the town of Shamrock, however, we turned to the north, and the wind made the last few hills leading into Drumright a lot more easy to take.
Drumright is an oil town, and a nice town too. Although there are not a lot of things to do here, the townsfolk make up for it by rolling out the red carpet for us. We have stayed here three of the last six years, and if it were up to them, we would come here every year. First Baptist Church opens up their new fellowship hall for the ones who like to indoor camp. The ladies bake cookies, and serve kool-aid, and they don't charge a penny. It is a great gesture. A town this small doubles in population for 24 hours when we are here, and it is a pleasure to spend a few bucks here, because they make it so obvious that it is appreciated.
Here is a link to my Garmin site with all the charts and graphs and stats for the day. The ride was just over 70 miles, and I finished in 4.5 hours, for an average of 15.7 mph. The best part is that I burned over 5,000 calories.
Check out some pics from last night and today.
The kids came down to Henryetta and we did Taco Tuesday on Freewheel!
I SMELL A GOLDEN CHILD AWARD!
Dripping Springs State Park
This is my new friend Hank. He is a student at Metro Christian Academy. He's also an Eagle Scout,
like me. We rode together for a few miles on Tuesday and Wednesday, and he told me that he missed the
ride last year because he went to Philmont with his scout troop. I told him that I went to Philmont when
I was his age, in 1981. I told him that I never felt closer to God than when I was at Philmont. I don't
know if it was the mountains, or the fact that we had no television, or radio to distract us. Then he said,
"and you didn't have to worry about cell phones or ipods distracting you." I replied to him, "It was 1981,
you little punk, we didn't have cell phones or ipods." Then I kicked him off his bike and into a ditch, and
left him for dead. Okay, I made that last part up. Hank is a good kid.
The United Methodist Church in Bristow provided us with a free lunch. Thanks ladies!
The two favorite words a cyclist can hear: FREE and LUNCH. Screw the bikes, they've got FOOD!
This is Tracy, from Springfield, Missouri. He is riding Freewheel for the first time, and it is his goal to ride
across all of the states that border Missouri. He and his wife are taking a tandem tour later in the year.
When I told him my name, he said he had read my blog. I'm famous!
We ate with some friends at Joseph's Steak House, then went next door to the Tidal School Winery. It
was a really nice evening.
Tomorrow it is off to Perry, about 65 miles away. Although it will be hilly getting out of Drumright, things should even out quite a bit from here.
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