Our club has a annual ride to Norman, OK to take in the Medievel Faire every Spring. It's a good as any excuse to challenge oneself on 43 miles of non-stop hills between Shawnee and Norman, via back roads. The other reason is culinary......Norman is a college town, (home of Oklahoma University), and culinary delights are everywhere. We had three vegetarians in our group, so it was decided (by them I'm sure) that we would eat at "The Earth Cafe", a 100% vegetarian cafe just a stones throw from the University. We gathered at the Bike Shoppe in Shawnee for our start at 8am. The group that was there was split between the regular Saturday breakfast group and our Norman riders.
As you can see, the morning was a bit foggy....even in town. After we left and got out in the country, the stuff thickened.......
There were eleven of us altogether, and we would stretch out and separate from time to time depending on the terrain, but then find a place to stop and regroup. The Stella Store was one of those places......
As were places that were just a crossroads in the wilderness. Sometimes we needed to ask directions from a friendly "local" ..... even a fur coat wearing helpful, friendly four legged one.....
Actually, this one was far more interested in just going for a fast romp rather than helping us out. He was getting a bit impatient here. All the way over and back were non-stop hills like this one.......
You can just barely make out the tiny rider just starting up, AND, you can see the top of the next hill beyond. This is soooo typical of this part of Oklahoma. Anyway, we did make it on into downtown Oklahoma, past the University.....
and....on down the street a bit where we found our cafe......
We set up two big tables together outside so we could all not only enjoy the beautiful Spring weather, but also keep our eyes on our bikes as well. Now, I'll have to admit, I'm not a vegetarian, but this food was GOOD. Everything fresh, and the selction was quite different than I expected. Prices were very reasonable. I suppose this has to do with it being a college town, and students not having a whole lot of money. A fact evident in that the young men all looked like they picked their clothes out of the dumpster behind the Goodwill Store, and the girls, ever thrifty, bought new, mismatched clothes, but only had enough money to buy enough to cover half of themselves at a time. The scenery did make it difficult to concentrate on eating.
After lunch, it was a zip through traffic..... literally, and about a mile or so later, we were at the park where the Medievel Faire was located. Our bikes making much better time through the bumper-to-bumper traffic than the cars.
The traffic and how easily we wove our way through and around it reminded me of Santa Fe, where we encountered the same situation. At the Faire....we locked our bikes up to a convenient bike stand, and went our separate ways to enjoy what there was to see. And there was certainly more to see than we had time. There were certainly "characters", like these three entertainers.....
And these....all were excellent, and performed a variety of music, but mostly of the "folk" style.
There were working blacksmiths........
And young dragons with pet "humans" under their talons...... Actually, this little fellow was really cute, as his eyes would follow you, his head would turn, and his movements made him look very real....... I'm talking about the dragon...... the big dummy just stood there.
This fellow had one of the most enviable jobs....seems as literally ALL the girls wanted hugs...
And....there was one for the guys too, as Mother Earth was there in all her splendour.......
AND....she accepted hugs too.......
There were the King and his court......
Certainly, an interesting day, and leaving there full of fair maidens dancing in my grog filled head, made for a slow and agonizing trip back. I was so very tired when I got back to Shawnee after another 43 miles of tough hills. They hadn't seemed to get any easier whiles't I partied at the Faire. But, I did finish up....tired, dehydrated, a bit sunburned, and glad to be back. It was a fun ride, and I'd probably do it again...... but not tomorrow.
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