Two Lakes Ride

December 3, 2013;

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;

When the City of Oklahoma City rebuilt our cross-town freeway, they also included a beautiful pedestrian bridge in the form of an eagle (artistic license here). I'm sure to satisfy the whim of our many Indian Tribes who have some very beautiful art of their own. I would have liked to get this at night as it changes colors constantly and is just absolutely beautiful. Taken through the windshield and on the fly, but it turned out OK to put on here anyway....

Normally, I don't post these little 32 mile local rides like this on here, but, I complain much about the lack of bike routes and pathways in this State. We do, however, have several, both in Oklahoma City and in Tulsa, and they really are first rate. So, today, I headed out with a mission, to acquaint all of you with at least one of OKC's premier bike path rides. This ride circumnavigates both Lake Hefner, and Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City. Both of these are man built lakes as Oklahoma has no natural lakes in the state. It is a combination of bike path, and marked bike lanes, and is really very nice. I started out at the marina on the east side of Lake Hefner, and it was breezy enough for a few sailboats to be out. It had been very foggy again this morning and was still burning off, but the sun was coming on strong.

There were also a few thousand (here and there) of Canada geese. All bent on keeping the lawns trimmed and well fertilized in the off season.

And....many, many seagulls. Oklahoma City is a long way from the sea, but there are seagulls here.

There were also fast movers ...... A balance I suppose for us slow movers.....

After I got halfway around Lake Hefner, it was time to get off on surface streets and navigate the city roads for a bit. Much was like this ..... four lane car traffic, a skinny bike lane, (right side of the solid white line) but not a terrible amount of traffic, so it was indeed tolerable.

After the short jaunt on Wilshire Road, it was time to get back on the bike path again. And yes, it looks as though it goes up a tiny incline ...... and it actually does. Hey .... something needs to break the monotony. The wind was a headwind at this point, and unlike further east in the State, there is little to break the wind here, so even a little is noticeable.

This is an example of the marked bike lanes, both sign and road markings, very good.

Starting around Lake Overholser.

Time for a selfie ... I had stopped to peel off my tights as it was warming up a bit. Not quite warm enough to take the jacket off quite yet, however. That came later...... sort of an undress as I went sort of ride.

Talk about getting your ducks in a row .... oh wait ....these are geese....

It was also a beautiful day to walk your dog by the lakeside.

AND.... if the geese and seagulls weren't enough water birds, how about some pelicans. There were several large flocks around, but they were a long ways off, and this fellow seemed to want the publicity, so I used him here. He was quite photogenic. Somehow it always surprises me to see pelicans in Oklahoma. I've seen them before, But I would think I would be less surprised to see them in Louisiana. We ARE a bit of a ways from the sea.

 

 

This is one of those big flocks, a combination of seagulls and pelicans.

 

 

This fellow on the trike was not only pickin' 'em up and puttin' 'em down ..... he was talking on the phone at the same time ... Try THAT on your two wheeler.

Some very nice homes along the inlets. What a backyard, eh?

There was some rescue activity, which I believe was actually a training mission. Nobody appeared to be too excited anyway. Nice equipment.

I thought it might be a tad chilly in the water for an afternoon swim, but it didn't seem to bother these guys in the least.

 



 

Loved the logo on the back of the unit.

 

 

 

 

This might be time for another selfie ... but I was setting up the camera to take it and a nice gentleman stopped and offered to take it for me. Another little segment of Route 66 under my spandex! AND, now ..... the jacket's gone too. Aren't those nice trunk bags handy!

I just love these old iron truss bridges. This one had to have been built when trucks were a lot shorter than they are today. Love the patina of rust. Looking at this, you would think it was in the thirties.

Ah yes .... it IS the thirties ..... maybe that's Tom Joad coming the other way, headed west ...... See..... because it was such a LONG tour, (83 years?) this was why I needed to take the touring bike

Did I mention I LOVE old iron truss bridges......

And .... if you have a flat, you can use the handy-dandy call box alongside the trail to call the Auto Club out to fix it for you.....

Finishing up my 32 mile circle, and what better image of all this water and seabirds and all than to finish with a lighthouse and marina.

This wasn't actually the last picture, but it looks like it should be. I took it into the sun and it turned out pretty dark, but such a nice picture to save for the last. I enjoyed the day, the ride was really nice, a thoroughly enjoyable 32 mile easy-does-it kind of ride.

 

 I had been out on the bike the last six days in a row, and was feeling a bit sore in the leg muscles. I felt I'd better get as much in while I can, because in two days time, we are going to drop from the high 60's to the low 20's have a couple inches or so of accumulating ice, and later 4-6 inches of snow on top of that. Ah, yes, Oklahoma in the winter ..... if you don't like the weather, wait around a couple of minutes, it'll change! But TODAY, ..... today was perfect!!!