Crop dusting planes

Total Trip Distance: 1765.39

OK Art

ERIC:

Day20 - (5/13/03) Today was a better day riding than I thought it would be.  I was expecting a lot of wind and rain.  It was overcast most of the day, but no rain.  The wind was in our face for a while, but not as bad as I expected.  The air was hot and thick today.  Oklahoma has been a nice state to ride in.

Well, this is it.  After 1765 miles and 20 days of riding, I must return to my other life.  This trip has been great.

What follows are some of the things I will miss the most:

*Watching the landscape slowly change each day.
*Being outside all day.
*Slowly riding through towns and on old roads that are off the beaten path.
*Taking pictures all day.
*Seeing things to take pictures of all day.
*Hanging out with Dad.
*Eating Mom's snacks and lunch.
*Seeing the flowers.
*Smelling the earth.
*Hearing the birds.
*Watching the clouds pass by.
*The feel at the end of the day of accomplishment.
*The feel of a nice warm shower at the end of the day.
*The glass of wine and appetizers in the room before dinner.
*The good sleep each night after a day full of fresh air and exercise.

Cordell, OK to Chickasha, OK 78 miles.  The route starts at 1550 feet and at 1150 feet.

Baled hay

Day Twenty - 5/13/2003

Birds

TOM:

Day 20 – Cordell, OK to Chickasha, OK 78 miles. The route started at 1550 feet and ended at 1150 feet.  This was a mostly flat trip with many up and down rolling hills.  We find the the rolling hills take more energy than the long gradual descents or ascents that we travelled in the southwest.  Therefore, the following days will be adjusted to account for the difference.  The sky was overcast this morning when we departed Cordell and there was a 40% chance of rain.  I felt confident to face the possiblility of rain with my bike poncho.  The poncho was given to me by Joan Perris, one of  the people with whom I play bridge, before leaving on the trip. Luck was still with us and we had no rain.  The first 42 miles was in an easterly direction and went faster than we had planned. We covered the distance in 3 hours for an average speed of 14 mph.   We then turned south for a 16 mile stretch to face the wind. We were immediately challenged by a long uphill pull against the wind.  The first 5 miles were very slow.  We stopped for lunch when Lucille passed us and stopped  about one mile ahead of  us.  We were ready for lunch.  The next 11 miles went faster than expected.  We completed the 16 mile southern stretch in 1 hour and 22 minutes for an average of  11.7 mph.  The remainder of the trip was in an eastern or northeast direction and we had some wind to help us along.  Most of the roads were very good today.  There were about 15 miles of highway that had a narrow shoulder for bikes.  The drivers were very good to give us as much space as they could. The biggest changes today were more trees, hotter temperatures, higher humidity, and more creeks.  There were still many ranches and grain farms.  The farmers are busy making and hauling hay and we saw some plowing.  There are more small towns as well as more houses along the road.  The temperature at the start was 67 degrees and at the end of the day it was 84 degrees.  Another good day to bike across the country.

Creek

Trees

Lunch stop

Lucille:

May 13 - Tuesday - I can't believe we've been on the road 3 weeks now and have covered more than 1700 miles.  Today was such a pleasant surprise.  I was nervous about today for the guys because rain was predicted, the wind was not going to be in their favor, and one of the roads (281) that we planned to go on was shown on the Oklahoma map in gray instead of red, indicating a paved road that was not maintained by the state.  We didn't know if it would be a bad road for biking.  It didn't rain, and Highway 281 was a great road for biking, smooth with a wide shoulder.  The day was fun for me because there were several little towns to explore before getting to Chickasha.  We changed our route slightly for the next 2 days because we want a shorter day tomorrow so that we can drive up to Tulsa to spend the night with my niece Maureen and her family after Tom does his biking for the day.  We plan to meet in Tecumseh at a Pizza Hut and then drive to Tulsa. The day was spent looking around and shopping in Cordell, Binger, Gracemont, and Anadarko.  I forgot my nightgown in the motel in Shamrock.  I found a Dollar Store in Cordell where I bought a nightgown, a 19-ounce jar of peanuts, and two  3-to-2 prong adaptors for a total cost of $6 and a few cents. The highlight of the day was the great antique shop I found in Gracemont.  I spent quite a while talking to the very gracious owners of the shop.  I mentioned my observation that so many of the small towns had few remaining businesses. The  shop owner told me that Walmart was the reason.  Walmart arrives at one of the bigger towns in the area, and the small businesses cannot compete.  After spending some time in the shop, I decided to make a small purchase.  When I went to pay, the lovely lady I enjoyed talking to told me that she was going to give me the object as a gift to remember my trip.  What a nice thing to do!  I had so many stops to make today that I passed Eric and Tom twice.  The first time I was able to pull off onto a wide spot in the road, and we had our lunch together.  Today was Eric's last biking day with us.  He needs to get back to work.  I hate to see him leave.  It has been so much fun sharing this trip with him.  Tonight we are staying at a Days Inn in Chickasha, OK.  We ate at Jake's Rib restaurant.