FreeWheel 2009 Day 4: Cheyenne to Thomas
I've officially reached that point where one passes from normalcy and reality, into the place where one doesn't know what day it is, what town they're in, or what town they started the day in.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, it is just part of the FreeWheel experience. Fortunately, I have Lisa, Spencer, and Paul here to help me out.
It is Wednesday, Day Four of FreeWheel, and we are in Thomas. We had an excellent ride today, even though the winds were not as great a factor as we had hoped. Don't get me wrong, the winds helped, but we had looked for strong southwest winds to carry us along. Instead, it was more of an east-northeast wind. Still, I had my best ride of the week, finishing 65 miles in three hours, twenty-four minutes. That's an average of 19mph, and I only made one stop, fill my water bottles and get a candy bar.
As we arrived in town, we noticed ominous storm clouds off to the west. By the time we were out of the showers and ready for lunch, the rain started. I heard that most of the field was still out on the road. Spencer said he saw scores of riders being shuttled in. It is no fun riding in a thunderstorm. I'm just glad we made it in before the nasty stuff.
I was fortunate to find a new friend to ride with. Joy is a staff member at First Methodist Church in Tulsa. We played cat and mouse on the road for a while—she would pass me on the flats, but I would pass her on the climbs. We eventually just gave that up, and started riding together. She's a great lady, a triathlete who recently qualified for an ironman. Her husband has finished the Ironman in Hawaii, and they do many of these events together. She has a passion for people, believing that before you can find spiritual fulfillment, you have to have some element of physical fulfillment too. All I know is that she is a great cyclist, and together we set a blistering pace. Thanks Joy!
I didn't take very many pictures today, mainly because western Oklahoma pretty much looks exactly the same. How many pictures can you take of wheat fields and blue skies? So I tried to take a few shots of some good people, and press on with my ride.
Tomorrow we will head north, to the great city of Fairview. There is a winery there, so our afternoon plans are already set.
Here is a link to my Garmin stats and a map for the day. And here are a few pics. Enjoy!
Butler was the designated lunch stop for the day—these two riders found a perfect spot.
My buddy Montie Scott, a regular reader of this blog, and a committed bike commuter from OKC.
This is my friend Jennifer. I first met her on FreeWheel in 2001, when she was just a kid. Now she is grown,
and traveling the world. She came back from the UK just to ride across Oklahoma.
My riding buddy for the day, Joy. Remarkable cyclist.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, it is just part of the FreeWheel experience. Fortunately, I have Lisa, Spencer, and Paul here to help me out.
It is Wednesday, Day Four of FreeWheel, and we are in Thomas. We had an excellent ride today, even though the winds were not as great a factor as we had hoped. Don't get me wrong, the winds helped, but we had looked for strong southwest winds to carry us along. Instead, it was more of an east-northeast wind. Still, I had my best ride of the week, finishing 65 miles in three hours, twenty-four minutes. That's an average of 19mph, and I only made one stop, fill my water bottles and get a candy bar.
As we arrived in town, we noticed ominous storm clouds off to the west. By the time we were out of the showers and ready for lunch, the rain started. I heard that most of the field was still out on the road. Spencer said he saw scores of riders being shuttled in. It is no fun riding in a thunderstorm. I'm just glad we made it in before the nasty stuff.
I was fortunate to find a new friend to ride with. Joy is a staff member at First Methodist Church in Tulsa. We played cat and mouse on the road for a while—she would pass me on the flats, but I would pass her on the climbs. We eventually just gave that up, and started riding together. She's a great lady, a triathlete who recently qualified for an ironman. Her husband has finished the Ironman in Hawaii, and they do many of these events together. She has a passion for people, believing that before you can find spiritual fulfillment, you have to have some element of physical fulfillment too. All I know is that she is a great cyclist, and together we set a blistering pace. Thanks Joy!
I didn't take very many pictures today, mainly because western Oklahoma pretty much looks exactly the same. How many pictures can you take of wheat fields and blue skies? So I tried to take a few shots of some good people, and press on with my ride.
Tomorrow we will head north, to the great city of Fairview. There is a winery there, so our afternoon plans are already set.
Here is a link to my Garmin stats and a map for the day. And here are a few pics. Enjoy!
Butler was the designated lunch stop for the day—these two riders found a perfect spot.
My buddy Montie Scott, a regular reader of this blog, and a committed bike commuter from OKC.
This is my friend Jennifer. I first met her on FreeWheel in 2001, when she was just a kid. Now she is grown,
and traveling the world. She came back from the UK just to ride across Oklahoma.
My riding buddy for the day, Joy. Remarkable cyclist.
Hey, did you hear about the 2 cyclcists that were killed in Tulsa Tuesday night. The third guy made it out alive. Really bad deal. Woman who hit them has been charged with two counts of manslaughter. Suspicions are that she was drinking.
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