A Rambl'in Man

I had decided that a long ride was in order as I have been decidedly lazy since I started back to work. So, I had a day off mid-week, and decided to take off toward the west ...wasn't it Horace Greeley who said ..."Go West Young Man!".... So, I took him to his word. But first.....east! No sense attacking this thing directly. So, east seven miles before turning north, then finally west toward McLoud and beyond. You see, I had decided to combine my normal ride, with one of a bit longer duration.

The scenery has been very nice since our rains this Spring....

So, after I reached McLoud, I just simply continued on west toward Choctaw, but instead of going quite all the way to Choctaw, I turned instead on Peebly road, and went south across the interstate to 89th street.....(We're within Oklahoma City limits now) The roads in the eastern rural part of Oklahoma County are just terrible. I'd rather be riding singletrack.

 But..... the wildflowers were great

After reaching 89th street, I turned and went back toward the east again. It was getting hot. My beautiful cool early morning temps had turned against me. What was 66 degrees this morning is now close to 90 and not a cloud in the sky. What little water I had left in my water bottles was near boiling by this time, and I thought I had remembered a little country store on down the road. Sure enough, at the corner of 89th and Harrah road, here it was......

These little stores are absolute lifesavers in the summertime .... fresh water, ice, a little friendly conversation, no charge, and a nice goodbye from the proprietor, and I was on my way again feeling much more refreshed. From here east it all looked much more familiar, and finally, I turned south again at Fishmarket Road to make my way toward the Lake road that leads across the dam at Shawnee Twin Lakes. The roads were much improved after I got back in Pottawatomie County (why did I decide to live in a county with such a horribly long name) ..... and my language improved along with them. Until the "Fishmarket Dogs" that is. Dogs to the left of me......dogs to the right of me..... dogs ahead, and dogs behind ....."Back....go home....I'll cut your maleness off .... OK..... you femaleness then....what ever".... anyway ..... three miles of doing battle with loose dogs only to be surprised by three in a pack.....Pit Bull crosses, and hungry by the looks of them. Probably drop-offs by people who feel dogs should be free. The only problem with that is that a domestic dog has NO natural fear of humans, and they can be hard to discourage.

I'm not sure who these creatures were hoping would win........but I have the feeling it didn't really matter to them.....

A meal's a meal....right?   Well, fortunately, it wasn't my turn to feed the birds, and I continued on toward the dam and decided to stop at the City Park for a snack and a bit of rest......

No horse pictures today...... instead, I'll give you a picture of twenty of them, all in one package. Seen as a yard ornament.....

A nicely restored Model "B" John Deere, around a 1937 model. One more stop at the Lake Store to re-ice my bottles ..... it did make it up over 90 degrees by now, and the heat was taking it's toll. Only fifteen more miles to go now, and a lot of it flat to downhill. All the big rollers are behind me now. Finally, down Bethel Road, and making my way back to Garretts Lake road, and home. A nice 67 mile ride in spite of the obstacles, and even though it got a bit hotter than I anticipated, I still enjoyed it. I think maybe the really long rides will wait until Fall now though.