Elk City

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DAY 13

Storm's a brewin...but we were ahead of it

ROUTE: Pampa TX to Elk City OK	DISTANCE: 97 Miles	WINDS: NE 5-10 Quartering headwinds all day
WEATHER: Rain showers at departure, overcast the rest of the day	TERRAIN: Flat to gently rolling	TOTAL CLIMBING: 2100 feet

DAILY DOINGS:

Today's route took us into our 5th state...Oklahoma. When we got there, of course we had to take the obligatory state line photo. Here the leaders today (Jeff, David, and Scott) pose at the welcome sign. This is the only state sign I've seen without bullet holes in it. I'm glad to see such a nice marker for us to document our entry.

We departed Pampa under the threat of rain showers and possible thunderstorms and the radar on the Weather Channel didn't look too promising but it didn't show any severe stuff so we pressed on our journey without delay. As it turned out, we never had more than sprinkles a time or two all day and we even had periods of sunshine...well, short periods. But it turned out to be a pretty good day all around after we got down the road a few miles. I guess any day would be a good day if you used yesterday as a base line. The navigation was pretty easy today and the only problem I heard of was when Doug saw the sign that pointed to "Miami" he had delusions of sun and beach and wanted to turn. Good thing there was someone riding with him to explain this Miami wasn't in Florida and the only water he'd see today would be falling on his head. Klaus also had visions of home today when he passed the Berlin sign...luckily, he remembered he had another two weeks to ride before he wandered home.

Just as the last riders were getting into the first SAG, the skies begin to threaten behind us but everyone but Paula made it through unscathed. As I was watching her ride by, the rain shower was following her traveling about the same speed as she was. She was about a quarter mile from clear skies but she pedaled about 2 miles before she got out of the shower. I think it was what she had said about Grey County's rough shoulder just a few minutes before that caused the skies to retaliate.

The terrain was pretty gentle most of the day but it did start to roll a bit after the first SAG at 33 miles. It continued to roll most of the way to Elk City but the overall terrain dropped about 1000 feet in the process. We had a shoulder the entire day while we were in Texas but the surface was a little rough until we got near the first SAG and into Wheeler CO...bravo to Wheeler CO...smooth as silk and clean shoulders. About the same time the riders got to the smooth part, the sun popped out too. Spirits were lifted as everyone contemplated putting their rain gear into the van. When we got to Oklahoma, we lost our wide shoulder of the last 2 days. The road surface was excellent and the lanes were wide in spite of not having a designated shoulder...traffic was very light to moderate until we got pretty close to town and even then it was an easy entry into town.

Elk City is a pretty happening place. There are several historical museums on the route to the motel and the most interesting one was the Route 66 museum complete with gift shop and memorabilia from a time past when Route 66 was the main route between L.A. and Chicago. If you ever come through here, it's a must see.

Even though we are now on clean roads, we still had a couple flats today...Jenny and Flat Stanley even had a flat before starting this morning in the motel room. Stanley's went flat while he was carrying it down the stairs..."It was fine when I started down the steps," He told me as Jim was helping him change his tube. Those little flat gremlins got him again...that's at least 10 and he's in the running for flat king but it's a close race. Most of the flats today were actually caused yesterday or the day before and they are finally starting to take affect. There was nothing to pick up today to cause flats, but I dug out little slivers of glass, sharp stones, and tiny wires out of several tires today that were barely detectable upon even the most careful inspection that they picked up over the last few days. I think we've gotten most of the problems taken care of though...we'll see if Stanley has any more tonight. If he can make it through just one night without a motel flat, we may be over the hump. For those of you who'd care to know the count, I'll provide the stats below.

Tomorrow we ride to Chickasha...127 miles. Winds look like they may again be a challenge but it doesn't matter...we'll ride. See you then.

DAILY DISCERNING DIALOGUE:

-"Big Macs on the hoof!" Heard while riding past one of the many feed lots today.

-"Our misery is the locals jubilation." Acknowledging the fact that the panhandle is getting much needed rain.

-"There's no sun...are we going east?" Mitch is still gun shy about going in the wrong direction after his little miscue in Albuquerque.

-"If someone lit a match here there's enough methane in the air to blow up the entire Texas panhandle." Also heard while riding past the feedlots.

-"We were doing back flips when the sun came out...the cows were looking as us funny."

TODAY'S EPIPHANY: We always love it when one of our international riders makes a discovery in our country. Today Rachel, our rider from Great Britain, had her first Hostess Twinkee. She was so excited and told me it was absolutely delicious. I explained to her that Twinkees had a shelf life of 100 years and Jenny added that they were proclaimed by the Food and Drug Administration the only food that would survive a nuclear holocaust After thinking about it for a second, Rachel indicated she'd probably never have to eat again in her lifetime. She might just be right.

FLAT STATS:

David 10
Stanley 9
Alabama Joe 9
Jeff, Jenny, Klaus, Andrew 7
Flats today haven't been recorded.

DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS
Gene was celebrating his last day with us when we heard his last words..."Hey Mike, watch this!!!"	It didn't take long this morning for Paula to realize she had a screw loose.
Ever wonder where all your old tires go to die? They are used to hold down tarps on silage piles. Wonder if there's any bicycle tires in there anywhere?	I think Scott and Doug believe Team Alabama when they say the hail was bigger than marble size yesterday.
Mike couldn't understand why anyone didn't go by him today, but his helmet mounted sign warning was clear...	Jay was so happy this morning that even his bagels were smiling.