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 bright morning sun to evaporate all that water. In those hours, the humidity must have been hovering near 100%. At least it seemed that way. Because when I stopped to take in the view, or just catch my breath, my glasses would fog up!

Today’s ride, though long, was pretty uninteresting. I rode the wide shoulder of Route 66 for a way, then took to the shoulder of busy Highway 266 when the shoulder on US 66 gave out. There were a few miles of back roads that were pleasant to ride, but those were too few to offset the rest of the day’s miles. High humidity, high temperatures, and high traffic volume made most of the ride just plain work. And as I neared Tulsa, the roadways became more urban and industrialized. By noon, I had gone almost 40 miles and was pretty played out. So, when I spotted a picnic table under a shade tree beside a manufacturing plant in east Tulsa, I took it as a sign to stop. So, I did. And ate a chicken salad sandwich I purchased for lunch from a gas station convenience store, then laid down on the table’s bench and took a 20-minute nap. Which was nice.

But I still had another eleven or twelve miles to go. Since I wanted to avoid the crowds and traffic from the big classic car parade tomorrow, last night I booked a room in the Doubletree hotel which was beyond the west end of the parade’s route. Which meant those eleven or twelve miles I still had to ride to get to the hotel were through Tulsa proper. And for those not familiar, riding east to west through Tulsa on Historic Route 66 means you’re riding uphill most of the way. Fortunately, Route 66 through Tulsa has a nice bike lane, so the traffic wasn’t too much of a problem (though I did almost get hit by a car making a right turn across the bike lane.) But between the long uphill ride and the early afternoon heat, I was done in once more. So, I stopped again. This time at an ice cream shop. Where I had a double scoop rainbow sherbet cone. Which hit the spot.

Anyway, finally ended my day’s ride around 2:30 PM. Checked into the hotel, sat down in the comfy chair in my room, took off my boots, turned up the air conditioning, and fell asleep.

Tomorrow’s ride won’t be quite as long, though it might be as hot (or hotter.) I’ll see how it goes.