Sapulpa, Oklahoma and the End of the Ride 850 miles down. 1790 miles more to get to Los Angeles and the western terminus of Route 66. 1290 miles more if I only go to see the Grand Canyon. That’s the miles, but then there’s the mountains. Flagstaff is over 6000′ higher than Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Santa… Continue reading

Tulsa, Oklahoma to Sapulpa, Oklahoma Hot and humid today. With a south wind that I had to pedal against for the first 10 miles. Then a couple short steep climbs after I crossed the Arkansas River west of Jenks. Then a couple more miles pedaling into that south wind. And I was finished. When I… Continue reading

Chelsea, Oklahoma to Tulsa, Oklahoma It must have rained pretty heavy last night. I slept through it, though, so didn’t know how hard it rained until after I started out. There were deep puddles everywhere and a thin fog laid over the grasslands all the way to the horizon. It would take hours for the… Continue reading

Miami, Oklahoma to Chelsea, Oklahoma Riding east to west on the 430 miles of US 66 through Oklahoma is a long slow climb. You start out at the Kansas border at 750 above sea level. By the time you cross into Texas you’re above 2500 feet. There are some rolling hills here and there along… Continue reading

Webb City, Missouri to Miami, Oklahoma I was flying today! Maybe it was the new tires. Or maybe it was my bike was tuned and everything was working flawlessly. Or maybe it was the flat terrain. Or the calm winds. Or the wide shoulders on the highway. Or the four big slices of pizza I… Continue reading

Near Halltown, Missouri to Webb City, Missouri I think it’s fair to say that today I left the hills of southwest Missouri behind and moved into the flatter farm land that Kansas and Oklahoma are known for. The first twenty miles today had a couple river and stream crossings followed by steep climbs up and… Continue reading

Marshfield, Missouri to Hood’s Motel Near Halltown, Missouri A good ride today. Weather was near perfect. Generally downhill, too. Just one or two long climbs and a lot of small rolling hills. Almost 48 miles total. 42 miles on the route. 5 miles off route in Springfield to a bike shop that was closed. Made… Continue reading

Lebanon, Missouri to Marshfield, Missouri Whatever I did while tinkering around with the bike last night must have worked. I rode up and down hills all morning and not once did the rear derailleur ghost shift on me. There’s still a minor issue with two of the eleven gear combinations not always shifting smoothly when… Continue reading

Casconade Campground, Missouri to Lebanon, Missouri Not a very good day. Got a late start from camp. And only went 20 miles to and through Lebanon. But worse, my bike is crippled. Not out-of-commission crippled, but frustrated-it’s-not-working-properly crippled. But I need to start at the beginning. I didn’t have a chance to write up or… Continue reading

Rolla, Missouri to Casconade Campground near Hazelgreen, Missouri A 45+ mile day. Several steep climbs I walked up. Several steep descents I rode down. There were a lot of miles away from I-44 and on a rural highway. A pretty good day all in all. I was making pretty good time despite the couple long… Continue reading