Getting ready for Freewheel

My buddy Glenn, his brother, and I are joining about 800 other folks this year to do our first Freewheel. The Oklahoma Freewheel is an annual supported across-the-state bike tour, and this will be our first one. We’ve been getting our bikes and camping gear ready for months, and frankly I’m more than ready to get started. So, early Saturday morning we’ll load up the truck and head for the Texas border near Hugo Oklahoma. We'll camp overnight and Sunday morning we'll head out on our seven day trek north to Kansas. Hopefully I’ll be back in a week with pictures and some good stories to tell.

Check out their website: www.okfreewheel.com


Early morning ride


I didn’t commute by bike to work this week as usual because I wanted to be fresh for the Freewheel, but I did want to get a couple of rides in. So Monday I did an easy 30 miles out and back on the highway. The wind was up as usual, and a crosswind at that. Then, Wednesday I made an early morning 18 mile loop north and east, up the highway and back on some nice, smooth blacktop county roads. I really enjoyed the ride through the fields and past quiet farmhouses. I watched hawks perched on the power lines watching for breakfast. I was amused by the tiny but brave dachshund that charged from his yard and then trotted back to the house with his head held high after he “chased me away”. I even stopped and took a couple pictures of a nice 80 acre pasture that was posted for sale. All in all, it was a good morning.


Tour de Meers

A couple of week-ends ago a few of us rode the annual Tour de Meers. It’s held every year about this time in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The community of Meers sits just outside the refuge and consists of a few houses and dilapidated old store and restaurant where you can get a buffalo burger as big as a dinner plate.

We did the 30 mile loop which went out into the country through the wheat fields, then down the backside of Lake Latonka, and then circling around the mountains through the refuge and back to Meers. Lots of fun, some hills and lots of wind.