For four tries now, I have gone out to Muskogee to ride the Flower Power ride, so named because it coincides with their annual azalea festival, only to be discouraged by rain and cold temps. I was hoping this year would be the exception, but alas, it wasn't to be. Rain at the start, off and on drizzle and light rain throughout the ride, never really clearing off, never really raining hard, but not really stopping either. Add to that a chilly wind, and normally, this would be enough to keep me inside. Not to be today however, because if these 400 or so other cyclists can brave this kind of weather how can I not?
Besides, in the line-up, I found this fully loaded tourer, and in conversation found that they had left Pennsylvania en route to the West Coast and thought it would be fun to join our little ride. I believe they were visiting the winsome looking young lady in pink and black in the background, whether a relative, or host I don't know, but they were more or less together. I did notice though, that the young lady was no match for the power of the tandem team. Really a fun couple to talk to, and I kept running across them off and on during the ride.
So, your intrepid biker, joined the crowd and slogged off into the wilderness. Because of the rain, I really didn't take as many photos as usual, and to add continuity to the story, I'll add some from another year, same ride. After leaving, the first exciting thing to happen was a multiple bike crash right in front of me crossing the first set of railroad tracks. The tracks crossed the road at an angle, (one of several like this), and in a tightly packed group, plus the rain, this was a recipe for disaster. Sure enough, right in front of me and a little off to one side, one rider's wheels slipped out from under him, and down he went, taking several others with him. An exciting way to start the ride. Fortunately, I escaped unscathed.
After the initial excitement, we ventured north to downtown Ft. Gibson, OK, site of a frontier fort, and now National Cemetery. The town itself isn't much. Here's a couple of old photos
And, the old fort, now a State Historical Museum.
A couple more angled RR tracks to cross brought us to the Neosho River, and the old bridge that crosses it.
The Neosho River, from the bridge, Couldn't stop long because it's a one lane bridge, and people in cars were waiting patiently at each end waiting to cross.
After Ft. Gibson, we trekked north through hill and dale, up to the dam that backs up Ft. Gibson Reservoir, just downstream from Grand Lake of the Cherokees. Because of all the large rivers and reservoirs in the area, this is a very hilly part of the state.
The trip across the dam was watched diligently by "The Watchers" up on the top of the light fixture, waiting for the possibility of a quick meal, but not with this bunch. The haze, isn't haze, but light rain.
The ridge line on the other side was one that we had to climb over up one of the three Cat 5 climbs of the day. Halfway across the dam, I spied this noisy flock of pelicans in the release water, just having a ball ..... and probably finding lots of dazed fish from the trip through the dam. I don't know why, but I always find it strange to see pelicans and sea gulls, this far from the sea.
So, leaving the river and dam behind, we crawled up the slope on the other side, and topped over the ridge line to begin a series of rollers on to the north.
It was on the hill that I met this delightful young lady Who told me this was her very first organized ride. She said she had only ridden a little bit before, and all of this on the Tulsa bike path. Twenty seven miles was her furthest ride to date, and she had signed up for the 30 mile ride as she didn't think herself capable of doing anything longer. Meet Dayna...... Half Marathon runner, and now bicyclist ...........
She proved to be a lot of fun, and the miles melted away quickly to the next rest stop, where we arrived amid the hardest rain, and coldest wind of the day. I told her that this was where we had to part company as I was going on to do the 70 mile ride, and the 30 mile route turned off here. I suggested that maybe I could drop 20, and she could add 20, and we could do the 50 together. I told her, I needed to dash off to the little house on wheels, and she could think about it while I was gone. If she wasn't there when I returned, I would understand. She was! And so, we left on the 50 mile leg together. She was as much of a chatterbox as was I. We continued through the many, many rolling hills next to the lakeside (which you couldn't see for the hills and trees) on up hwy 80 to the little town of Hulbert. After Hulbert we left on what was to prove the most terrifying and dangerous part of our trip, the northernmost leg, eastward on Hwy 51. No shoulder, narrow, heavily travelled by cars and commercial traffic, it was indeed a harrowing experience. The route across the top of the 70 mile route, by comparison, has few cars. Nerves frazzled, 8 miles up the road, never seeing another bicyclist and beginning to think we had missed a turn somewhere and were hopelessly lost, we found a painted marking on the road indicating a turn ...... off that miserable narrow road. We pulled up for a bit to talk and let our nerves calm down and along came the rest of the little group that we started with, Alice, a lady rider from OKC and a member of the Oklahoma Bicycle Society, who I had met on other rides, our intrepid tandem team from Pennsylvania, as well as their friend, and a couple of others that we seemed to run across from time to time. It was here, while we were chatting that I told them about "The Wormhole"......... a horrible uphill that we would be facing on up the road. One that even I had to walk. Both Dayna and Alice had rather long faces at that time, as we had climbed a bunch by then. But, on we went. Through some simply Idyllic countryside.
It was at this point that Alice became a regular part of our group, and stayed with us until the end, adding to the fun. The miles melted away quickly in spite of the cold and wet day. It was on this stretch that we had several delightful long 40mph downhills, smooth and wonderful. Dayna held back a bit on the downhills because the speed intimidated her a bit. I can understand that, especially on wet roads. Then we turned the corner and down the road a piece, we came to a sign painted on the road that said simply "The Wormhole"..... and I wished I had taken photos from the bottom as what I got doesn't do it justice. It is a brutal 1/2 mile uphill with (fortunately) a short break in the middle that had most riders walking. I myself, had walked that hill a couple of times in the past. Today though, I felt strong, so kept pushing the pedals on up the hill. It was tough..... push down, bike would stop, push down with the other foot, bike would stop ..... and so on, all the way to the top, where I was applauded by several riders waiting at the top. Yes, it was tough....... but it WAS conquerable. Must have been all the touring bike miles I've been putting on lately.
From there, the trip was only about twelve miles longer, and all the tough stuff was now behind us. We all felt pretty good, and chatted away merrily until the last rest stop where we had one of the rest stop crew take our pictures. We Came, We Saw, We Conquered!!!
The Conquerors
Left to right, Alice, Richard, and Dayna
From there, a short but pleasant, even if chilly, ride back to Three Forks Harbor, where we came to an end to our journey, 50.3 miles in the books. We changed clothes into something drier and warmer and went in to partake of their furnished lunch...... bar-b-qued hot dogs, this was definitely a two dog day, chips and lot of free beer and pleasant camaraderie. And so it ends, a day that I thought would hold no promise turned into a delightful day, made possible by good people becoming good friends through the wonderful world of bicycling.
