Bethany, OK to Cordell, OK

Today begins week 3 of my journey and shows me on schedule to be in LA by the end of May.    Today’s efforts show me making just over 89 miles to the wonderful town of Cordell and it was a struggle.   My friends from the Bethany fire station warned me about Route 66 and its bad stretches.    For this reason I went out Rte 66 for 10 miles and then cut down on 81S to 152W.    152W is a straight shot to Amarillo.   The problem was 81S was directly into the wind.   I know I promised not to talk about it but see the story on wind below.   By noon I had 50 miles with my lowest average of my journey of just 9.6.   I was able to bring it back up to 10.0 by the day’s end when the wind broke but it wasn’t easy.

The problem was the lack of cities between Bethany and Cordell.   I decided that I would take the challenge which would rack up about 90 miles.   The challenge was that after “Binger”, “Cordell” was 36 miles away.   This was 36 miles in the afternoon in 90 degree temperatures.    Turns out I drank more than 128 ounces of Gatorade on the trip.

Should make it to Texas tomorrow.   Haven’t done my mapping yet so this remains to be seen.

Pictures:

1. This is the Meeks/152 Diner in Binger.   I was really disappointed in this diner and this is most likely due to my expectations.   I was looking for pasta and the only thing they had was burgers and related food.   I settled for a Taco Salad which was okay but nothing spectacular hence the disappointment.  I did think the interior was nice which is why I snapped a quick shot.   The one interesting thing, from my perspective, was when they asked what I wanted to drink nothing looked good and I decided on the Pepsi which had free refills.   I don’t usually drink cokes but I figured I could use the sugar and didn’t know what the downside might be.   I had three helpings of the Pepsi and is proud of it.
2. Much of this trip provided views of Wind Turbines, hundreds of Wind Turbines.   It looked like there was a 5-mile strip through Oklahoma that had the Wind Turbines sprinkled all around.   Tried to get a better picture to give the feeling of turbines everywhere but this is the best I could do.
3. Fire Stations and the associated departments always have neat patches.   Here is the Bethany Fire Department’s emblem that was posted in the fire station.

Stories:

1. Belated Mother’s Day – While I was riding on Mother’s Day I passed a liquor store.   Out front they had one of the temporary message boards that had this message, “Buy your Mom some Wine for Mother’s Day, after all your the one that drove her to it”.   Figured this was worth mentioning.
2. Picture Not Taken – One of the problems I have is knowing when to stop and take a picture and when to keep going.   Once I make up my mind I often regret not making the stop.   Two days ago I was traveling in the morning and there was a cardboard sign posted that had “UFO” written on it with an arrow.   I turned my head to see a homemade UFO that looked pretty interesting and included aliens climbing around.   It might not have made you a believer but this is a picture I wish I had taken.
3. Picture Not Taken – This morning I was going through the town of Yukon.   As I approached the town there was a cool welcome sign that struck me as showing the “quality” of the town and included a full size bull.   As I went through the town it had all of the stores, facades, and businesses that support the Route 66 and “out West” motifs.   I failed in getting the picture but should you ever get to Oklahoma this would be a good town to visit.
4. You’ve heard my stories about the turtles and Armadillos that commit suicide by car.   Snakes are the same but I haven’t brought it up to you since the “dead animal idea” is played out.   Today I was riding along and looked down to see a 4 foot snake about a foot away from my bike wheel.   I’m clueless as to the type of snake it was but figured it was 4 foot long since he suns himself on the side of the road – his family will survive.
5. Many Indian tribes were moved to Oklahoma.    There were signs along the road that mentioned the Fox, SCA,  Wyandotte, Cherokee, Seneca, and several others.   I think it would be real interesting to take on a project to interview the tribal chiefs to understand their perspective on their history and what they are doing to promote their respective tribes.   While I didn’t go on an of the reservations, the area that indicated association with an “Indian Nation” seemed to be really nice.
6. “Paint Your Wagon” – When I was much younger I got an album for the Rock Opera “Paint Your Wagon.   I think it was about a Wagon Train going through Oklahoma.   One of the songs on the album went something like this, “… the rain is Tess, the fire Job, and they call the wind Myriah.”   It dawned on me that rain, fire, and wind would have had a dramatic impact on early settlers for obvious reasons.   For this reason I have recanted my promise not to talk about the wind.   If the settlers thought it important then so must I.   My promise is I will not whine about the wind.   I will use it as a challenge that I will deal with as needed.
7. MG (Miracle Go) is doing well.   She hasn’t had any problems since she had a flat tire.  I do need to oil her chain since I do have a rattle that I can’t seem to get rid of.   I no longer take the packs off.   I pretty much know where things are and just unzip that compartment to get what I need.

That wraps up today’s report.    LA is two weeks away, and counting.

Wishing you a spectacular day!