Once again it was pretty cold when we started out this morning.

Groom, TX is very small and there were only two real options for breakfast – Dairy Queen or The Grill, the same restaurant where we had dinner last night. The Grill it was!  Last night the proprietor had recommended the fried biscuit with peanut butter and grape jelly!

This morning I tried it and it was yummy! That was in addition to my regular breakfast. Then it was off to Amarillo.  This part of the country is flat!! There was only 579 feet of climbing in the whole 45 miles we rode today!

But it did get a little windy and that kind of grates on you after a while. There is not much between Groom and Amarillo but after about 20 miles ( of incredibly straight, flat road) we stopped at a wide spot in the road called Conway. We had the requisite Gatorade and then stopped to see the Slug Bug Ranch!!

It is a take off on the Cadillac Ranch which we should pass tomorrow. As you can see -a bunch of VW Beetles sticking out of the ground. After that it was on to Amarillo. Shortly after arriving we found out that two of our riders were dropping out. Randy and Meg from Moscow,ID had rented a small Uhaul to put their bikes and gear in and we’re going to drive back to Idaho.

Really nice people and we were sad to see them leave.  The wind has certainly been demoralizing at times and we are all dreading the three days climbing to Santa Fe but they had reached their limit and decided to pull the plug.   We started with 16 and are now down to 13. Once we saw them off we headed for dinner at a nearby, famous steakhouse. They have a challenge that if you can eat a 72 ounce steaks, baked potato, salad, and three grilled shrimp in an hour it’s free!! Although we have all become eating machines, none of us even thought of doing that. The place even dispatched limos to pick us up! So, the day ended on a high note and the rest of us will carry on. We are expecting rain tonight and possibly tomorrow so hopefully it won’t be to bad.  Tomorrow we ride to Adrian, TX which is the official midpoint of Rte 66. Big milestone!

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Things are starting to change!  It was in the mid 40s when we left this morning and everyone had to dig out the cold weather gear – long fingered gloves, leggings, heavier jackets, etc.

The wind had shifted and was coming out of the northeast for a change – not to mention that we are slowly gaining elevation. We are above 3,000 feet now and will be close to 4,000 feet when we get to Adrian Texas day after tomorrow.  Tomorrow we ride to Amarillo. It should be a little warmer but the wind is shifting so we will likely have a crosswind or headwind for most of the 43 miles.  About 20 miles in to today’s chilly ride we stopped in McLean TX to visit the barbed wire museum!!

And to have some breakfast ( it turned out to be lunch by the time we got there!). The museum was quite interesting and lunch was quite tasty. It warmed up a little after lunch so we were able to shed one layer.  After McLean we had our first taste of riding on the interstate!  There was no other option so we jumped (legally) on the interstate for an 8 mile stretch. It was great. Nice wide shoulders and freshly paved – smooth with very little debris. It was wonderful. We will be riding more interstates as we go west. As we approached Groom,TX, our stop for the day, we had to stop to take pictures of the famous leaning water tower!

It was actually built that way as an attention getter – and it does! We’re inching our way home. We are scheduled to arrive in Santa Monica 4 weeks from today!  Four down – four to go!

Yeah- a new state!! Today was a challenging but fun day. Last night a thunderstorm blew through and rained on us a bit. The wind was still blowing this morning but the sky had cleared – temporarily!  They were predicting more thunderstorms at 3 or 4 this afternoon.  Everyone decided the best strategy was to just ride relatively hard to our next stop, Shamrock, TX, to make sure we got here before any storms hit.

And we’re staying in a motel tonight so that was an even bigger incentive to get going. We took off and fought the wind pretty much the whole day. Even though it was ‘only’ a 37 mile day, the wind made it feel much longer. Even so we managed a few fun stops. We got to Erick, OK about 9:30 am after about 15 miles of beating into the wind and decided it would be a good place to stop for coffee.

We found a little bakery and cafe but when we pulled up, the sign said they didn’t open until 10. As we were about to resign ourselves to yet another service station/ convenience store option, a lady walked up and said, “Y’all come on in.  We’ve got some coffee. “. The 4 of us gladly accepted the hospitality and were soon inside enjoying hot coffee and deciding what kind of cobbler to have!!

Small town America – great! Over the next 30 minutes more members of our group showed up and pretty soon the place was filled with cyclists. The lady was super nice. Our little gang finished up and headed down the road while the rest of the gang lingered a bit longer. Next on the agenda was a place called the Tumbleweed Cafe just 1/2 mile from the Texas State Line.

The place is eclectic to say the least but the proprietor was a hoot. She was really fun to talk to – and the homemade cinnamon rolls were delicious too! ( Yes, we have become eating machines!!!). And then, of course, we had to stop at the Texas State Line for the photo op.

So, we are now officially in Texas!  We are due in to Amarillo on Saturday and then hit Adrian, TX on Sunday which is the official midpoint of Rte 66!!  That will be a big milestone!!

The wind calmed down quite a bit today and it was calm last night so it was much easier to sleep. Today was actually a very pleasant ride. It was 47 miles from campground to campground. The temperature was quite pleasant most of the day and we were primarily on frontage roads so there was very little traffic. The usual crew, Cathy, Kate, Krista, John and myself took off and headed down the road.

People leave camp at various times and string out during the day. Some people ride primarily by themselves and seem to like it that way.  Others ride in twos and threes but our little group tends to head off as a pack as we all tend to ride at the same pace. Sometimes, if conditions warrant, we’ll be chatting amongst ourselves. Other times we’ll just space out a little and be silent for a while. If it’s windy we will often form a little pace line and take turns pulling at the front.

We pulled in to Elk City after about 26 miles and had a great lunch at a little diner – topped off with a piece of homemade pie!! ( we are burning so many calories it doesn’t matter at all!). After that it was a pretty leisurely ride into Sayre, OK. This will be our last night in Oklahoma and will cross over the border into Texas tomorrow – another milestone!!

We survived the night but it was not very restful. The wind howled all night but fortunately we were all anchored down very well. And then about 3 or 4 am the thunder and lightening started – and then the rain!

The rain didn’t last very long but the wind continues to blow!  It has eased up a little but it is still blowing pretty good. The sun has come out so things are good.  Fortunately today is a rest day so we are not riding. Hopefully by tomorrow the wind will calm down a bit. We had a meeting this morning and the group has agreed to rework the schedule a little for the next week or so.  We were staring into 8 straight days of 60+ mile days – the last three of which have between 3,000 to 4,000 feet of climbing up to Santa Fe.

So, we are taking the next three days and breaking it into 4 shorter days in the hope that we will be a little more rested by the time we start into the New Mexico mountains.  There is apparently no way to rework the last three days into Santa Fe because places to camp/stay/eat are so sparce – so we are stuck with those 3 tough days.  There are many factors that can play into how a particular days ride is going – heat, hills, traffic, weather and roads! Lately we have been plagued by bad roads. Sometimes there are no shoulders and sometimes even if there are shoulders there are potholes, ruts and debris that require a lot of concentration to avoid. It can be very exhausting.  That was yet another argument for the shorter rides the next few days.  Once the new plan was agreed upon, we left Dave, the tour leader, to work out the new logistics. A few of us walked into town to go to the local Route 66 Museum

and grab some lunch. Other than that, it’s been a pretty slow day – laundry, bike maintenance, catching up on email, etc.  It’s nice to have a day off but we’ll be ready to rock and roll in the morning!

Tonight will be a test of how well we all anchored our tents down!  It is very windy.

The good news is that we have a rest day tomorrow. The questionable news is there may be thunderstorms and high winds. There is a tornado watch but that is somewhat to the east of us. Today was a 46 mile day and the first 30 miles were quite pleasant.

The temperature was nice and even though the breeze was stiff it was more of a crosswind. We were on a back road so there wasn’t much traffic. We are really in the wide open spaces!

That said, there are still lots of rolling hills so it is still up and down. We did 2,000 feet of climbing today even though it looks flat. We stopped for a leisurely lunch at a diner in Weatherford, OK. After we took off after lunch, the wind had picked up and even though we only had 15 miles left to go to camp, it was a tough 15 miles. Even so we did see a couple of neat things along the way.

I had been fearing the wind in Oklahoma and today my fears were somewhat realized. But we made it to camp and are all anchored in for the night – we hope. If the weather is too nasty tomorrow there is a gas station/ convenience store about a block away that has tables, coffee and wifi!!  We have been pretty lucky weather wise this far so we’ll see what happens tonight and tomorrow. We have one more stop in OK Wednesday night and then it’s in to Texas. We have been riding 8 straight days for a total of 422 miles. But after our rest day tomorrow we will embark on another 8 day streak but this time for 492 miles which will take us to Santa Fe, NM and our next rest day – I’m sure we’ll need it!!

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As I said yesterday, just because it’s a short day doesn’t mean it’s an easy day!! Other than a puncture in my sleeping pad ( which has since been replaced) and my bike computer going on the fritz ( also now replaced) I haven’t had any major mechanical issues – knock on wood. One of our riders, however,   crashed a couple of days ago and bent his rim. He tried to get it fixed at a bike shop yesterday and they made it worse!!  He had three flats between the bike shop and the motel. His wheel was wobbling terribly. We have several knowledgeable ‘bike people’ on the ride and it was determined his wheel was irreparable!! So there we were at 7 pm on Saturday night in Oklahoma City and one guy needs a new wheel before he can continue. And not all bike shops in Oklahoma City are open on Sunday – this being the Bible Belt and all!  After several phone calls a bike shop owner in Stillwater,OK thought she had the right rim and was driving to Oklahoma City today.  So this morning, the majority of the group left while Dave ( tour leader from Maine), Ben ( bike shop owner in Chicago) and John ( nicknamed Sir John because he’s Britsh) stayed behind to await the wheel to fix John’s bike!!  The bottom line is that the wheel is fixed and they are all inbound!!

And that is why Dave ( 20 years experience leading tours) tells us, “Never say it’s an easy day until it’s over!”  All kinds of stuff can go haywire. The last couple of days, particularly yesterday, were exhausting, not because of the distance or the hills but because of the traffic.  They try to route us on less travelled roads but sometimes it’s just not possible. Yesterday was particularly bad as we got closer to Oklahoma City.

We were on busy roads with no shoulder and often if there are shoulders they are filled with debris ( and dead armadillos!). Most of the people were reasonable but there were a few that were just complete idiots – passing too close to us or in some cases even yelling at riders. Even today we had a semi go by us on a back road with no traffic coming the other way so he could have easily have moved over. Instead he waited until he was right behind us, laid on his horn and passed so close he almost blew us off the road!!  You just have to wonder.  But, the large majority of people we encounter are very nice. We even had one Highway Patrol officer pull a lady over after she passed too close to us!!  Tomorrow we head to Clinton, OK ( no political comment!) and then we have a rest day on Tuesday.  Then we have one more night in Oklahoma before we head in to Texas.  The midpoint of the journey is in Adrian,TX which we should get to on Saturday.   Sorry for the wordiness today – it wasn’t a great picture day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!!

Today started off with a beautiful sunrise. It was supposed to be a short day of about 35 miles and camping but things got changed so it became a 56 mile day and we’re staying in a motel.

The weather was quite nice and it was a nice ride into Oklahoma City. Our group of five was back to full strength as Kathy, the tour leaders girlfriend, took a couple days off to visit family in Tulsa but rejoined us at camp last night.  So this morning, Kathy ( retired teacher from Maine), Kate ( broadcast journalist from the UK), Krista ( works in a bike shop in Ohio), John ( personal trainer from New Zealand)  and I took off once again.  We are known as the fast pack as we generally ride faster than most of the group.  Krista is definitely the strongest rider and she rides with us for a while and then she’s off. The remaining four of us ride pretty much the same pace so it’s comfortable. We’ll stop for coffee or “second breakfast” and watch other riders go by but we usually catch them later down the road.  We get along well and have a lot of laughs!

We had a delightful second breakfast at the Pecan Cafe in Wellston, OK.  A few miles down the road we stopped at the famous Round Barn.

It is pretty cool. And from the Round Barn we could see our next stop – Pop’s – which has tons of different types of sodas. There is also a giant soda bottle out front.

We were all expecting a mom and pop kind of thing but it is very modern, very large, and very chaotic. We stopped and sampled a couple of the sodas but then headed down the road.   Tomorrow should be a short day but I have learned not to say ‘easy day’ as many things can go wrong.  Tonight one of the guys is late to the hotel because of a mechanical problem!!  My odometer turned over 1,000 miles today!!  We’re getting there.

Another really pleasant day of riding. It was cold when we started out this morning but warmed up enough after a while to be quite nice but not too hot. Today was a relatively short 45 miles without a lot of big hills so we didn’t feel the need to push it.    After about 19 miles we stopped at some little diner with a bunch of pickup trucks parked in front of it and had some coffee ( or tea in the case of our British lady).  And then we pushed on to a famous place called the Rock Cafe

in Stroud, OK for lunch.  It was a funky little place – and made of rock, of course!  They had signs saying, “BikersWelcome” ( but they really meant motorcycle “bikers”!).

Nonetheless they were very welcoming and the food was great.  Perfect spot for a leisurely lunch.  After lunch we started off for the last 9 miles to camp when Kiwi John ( from New Zealand to distinguish him from the other John in the trip from Britain – nicknamed Sir John!) had a flat.

Bummer!  It didn’t take too long to fix and we were on our way. All in all a really nice day.  Tomorrow was supposed to be a short day but we’ve added 21 miles to push on into Oklahoma City. If we get there in time and feel up to it we may make a detour to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.  It will add about 5 or 6 miles to an already long day.  We’ll see.  It’s hard to believe we have been on the road almost three weeks now. We have travelled about 900 miles and have another 1,600 to go.  We are due to arrive at Santa Monica Pier 5 weeks from today. By the end of next week we will be through Oklahoma and Texas and   into New Mexico.  Then the real fun starts!! Climbing, climbing and more climbing!!  Every day is an adventure!

 Both the geography and weather are changing. It was pretty chilly when we broke camp this morning. We are now starting to pull out the next layer of clothing – at least until the sun is out for a while.  This morning we had breakfast at a little local diner – Dot’s Place.

Our group of 15 cyclists almost filled the place up. Then it was time to hit the road. About 10 miles down the road we encountered the Blue Whale.

It was an attraction at a swimming hole along Rte 66.   Down the road a few more miles we entered Tulsa!

It was a good day for cycling once it warmed up  Just a few hills and sometimes a nice tail wind.  It was a relatively short 48 mile day so we stopped once at a nice coffee house and didn’t feel compelled to push particularly hard today.

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