Our 2005 Route

Route miles  -  436

 

Hills, Hills and More Hills

June 2005

  Paris to McAlester 

 

                                                                     By Laurie Allshouse

    After riding in FreeWheel for several years, it begins to feel like a family reunion.  I recognize people that I never knew their names.  Virginia from Sulpher made it again this year, as did Mary Ann from Kansas.  Sandy with a bike like mine remembered that I’m Laurie with a bike like yours.  I hadn’t seen Joe “Santa Clause” for quite some time and we both live in Oklahoma City.  “Butterman” rode his recumbent with a loaded trailer dragging behind.  Jerry brought the triple and it was a chick magnet as always.  Mickey and his mom were missed, as was “Naked Man”.  Scott failed his stress test but arrived in Paris, Texas to see us off on our journey across the state of Oklahoma.  We welcomed new friends, like Don’s daughter, Courtney and Mike rhymes with bike.  Kurt brought Mary on her first FreeWheel and she climbed Honobia Mountain and then at the end of the week completed her first century ride.

      Johnnie and Diana Lerma and Mike Britten rode with us down to Paris, TX.  Jan Chumard and John Hamlin had to cancel in the eleventh hour because of health issues.  Dannie Lamb and John Wente, having already arranged transportation to Texas, threw their bags on our trailer each day in exchange for taking a day of driving to one night’s camp. 

     The week did not start well when Diana’s brand new tire was rubbed raw by a bungee cord holding it to the trailer.  First night in camp, Johnnie was hunting for a new tire to put on her bike.  I started out with brand new tires on Sunday morning and rode a total of 7.8 miles before I ran over a piece of glass that slashed my tire.  Thankfully, Jim had a folding tire in his bag that got me into camp at Antlers, where he tracked down a new tire for me.  That’s twice now that our folding tire saved my skin.  I don’t get flat tires.  I just ruin the tire instead of just the tube.

     Diana earned the name Beetle Bailey as we all tried to gather for pictures at the Texas border.  What was holding up Diana?  She was enthralled by a white moth with black spots.  Several times during the week, she became fascinated with bugs and reminded us why Mike called her Beetle Bailey.

     Our first day into Antlers was 51 miles with plenty of heat.  Expert tarp erectors Johnnie and Jim fashioned our own shade.  With partly cloudy skies we enjoyed a nice breeze until our stomachs started demanding food.  We walked about a mile downtown to High Street Pizza.  They were PACKED and we were assured the pizza was worth it by patrons leaving the establishment.  We were all served our meals except for poor Mike.  He waited and waited and waited.  Other friends who arrived after us were being served but still Mike had not seen his pizza.  Finally it arrived and they refunded his money.  Seems the order had been lost amongst the hubbub.

     As we sat around camp exchanging stories, I remembered seeing a Victorian house for sale.  It looked to have been a beauty in its prime but must have been vacant for quite some time.  Why wouldn’t someone buy it and fix it up?  I deduced that it must be haunted.  It had a sad, eerie feel.  Not far up the road, bushes and trees obscured our view on the west side of the road.  We could hear noises that sounded like a long train of railroad cars clanking and shifting as they sped down the track.  Strangely enough, we couldn’t hear a train engine.  Was it a ghost?  I thought I saw a train car but shouldn’t I have been able to hear a locomotive?  This was a very strange area.

     The women’s shower and bathroom facility was actually the men’s shower but a sign had been posted over the original.  We were camped on the football field near the door to the bathroom.  About 9:00 I sauntered over to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.  I opened the door and a hairy face appeared around the end of the shower and yelled, “If you are a woman, you better get out!”  I was stunned.  I backed out the door and made sure it still said “Women’s showers”.  I yelled for Jim as I walked toward our tents, “There’s a man in the women’s shower!”

     Jim went to assess the situation and ran into Lynette and Barbi with Barbi’s 16 year old daughter coming out after the shock of finding men in what we thought was a female domain.  Jim went in and was told that Libby had told the men to use that facility since the men’s showers had been closed over at the swimming pool.  I conducted my business at the porta potties for the remainder of our stay in Antlers.  After the co-ed showers in Apache last year, the line has become fuzzy between gender facilities.  You never knew what you would find when you opened a bathroom door.

     Monday was the ride to Talihina.  I moaned as I learned it was supposed to be another hot day.  Jim suggested I ride 30 miles in the cool morning to the Y, where a decision had to be made by riders to go over Honobia Hill or around on a shorter route.  Jim left the van at the Y, and joined Mike and Johnnie for the climb in the Kiamichi Mountains.  I drove the van into Talihina and searched for a shady spot to erect tents.  When the guys finally made it into camp, Jim was yelling for pickles and Gatorade.  Mike was overheated and looking very flushed.  After reviving the weary, we ate dinner at Kiamichi Kitchen.  Word filtered through camp that Wilton Berry had blown a back tire coming off Honobia Hill.  He was sporting a major case of road rash.  Although he wanted to finish FreeWheel, he decided discretion was the better part of valor and called his wife to come get him.  A week later he found out he had broken two ribs when his body hit the guard rail. 
    Talihina was under threat of tornado until 11:00 p.m.  We experienced a little wind and a little rain but the storms pretty much bypassed our location.

    Tuesday morning was cool as we rode over more mountains to Red Oak.  Many stops were made to catch our breath.  As we left one cooling off, resting area, we overheard a man ask, “Do you want to rest?”  His wife replied, “When I stop and get off my bike, it’s a pretty good indication that I want to rest.”

    We busted out laughing and a guy at the back of our group commented, “And the week is just beginning.”  I laughed about that exchange several times during the day.

    After Red Oak the hills became more manageable.  We stopped in Wilburton at “Breezes” for lunch.  I don’t know what got into John Wente and Jim but they both had fried shrimp and French fries for lunch.  NOT a good choice when you are going to continue biking in the heat.  We arrived in McAlester after riding 62 miles.

    We drove to showers in McAlester instead of riding the shuttle bus.  At least the men’s were men’s and the women’s were meant for women.  Diana and I ended up going to the showers together.  There were only four other women with us as we changed clothes after showering.  Somehow I ended up telling the story about “. . . it’s a pretty good indication that I want to rest.”  Diana commented, “At least someone was bitchier than me today.”  Everyone laughed and started telling tales of their male companions and the lack of understanding when they wanted to take a break.  At one point one of the women said, “Can I make a confession?  I’m the woman that said that to my husband. . . . . . . And you did quote me correctly.”  We all laughed again over the perfect line.  What are the odds of 1000 people on a ride and I relate the story of one of them in her presence?  What a hoot!

    As we returned to the tent area, Jim was being interviewed by the local McAlester paper.  They took his picture as he put up the tent.  Jim was quoted as saying, “There weren’t any hills after Red Oak.  Then we were on a county road that was rough, rough, rough.  We crossed a county line and it became smooth as glass.”

     After dinner at Western Sizzlin, we found a dance area just outside our tent area.  Indian girls of all ages in bright costumes were dancing.  I took the opportunity to reorganize our suitcases when I heard the call for women from the audience to come forward.  Diana tried to get me to go but I was on a mission of my own.  Pretty soon I heard women yelling a clicking sound.  Each guest had to replicate the yell.  Diana did pretty well as the men in our group snapped her picture. 

     As I was straightening the tent, I checked my water level in my camelback.  All of a sudden water was leaking out of the bottom of my backpack.  I threw it out of the tent but my sheet got wet before it flew outside.  The hose at the bottom had come loose from the bladder.  Jim fixed the bladder and I hung my sheet on the top of our tent in the breeze.  Diana called me a bed wetter.

     As night fell, we discovered a VERY BRIGHT light above our camp spot.  About 9:00 John Wente, the Lermas and Jim and I moved our tents to the other end of the building, away from the glaring light.

 

     Pictures from Paris to McAlester

 

 

 

Now some pictures from Johnnie

Click thumbnail for larger view of photo. Captions below

Here is an article from the McAlester Newspaper about us.

FreeWheelers take to road

By TERESA ATKERSON

Family Editor

    There were three-wheelers, traditional bicycles and bicycles built for two when the Oklahoma FreeWheelers came into McAlester Tuesday.

    The nearly 900 campers and their support crews camped at Chadick Park which quickly blossomed into a tent city. Tents of all sizes were rapidly put up as the riders pulled in after a 60-mile trip from Talihina.  Jim and Laura Allshouse, Oklahoma City, said the trip in from Talihina wasn't that bad. "There weren't any hills after Red Oak," Jim Allshouse said. The route from Talihina took the group out of Wilburton and onto State Highway 2. "Then we took a county road that was rough, rough, rough," said Laura Allshouse. "And then it was smooth, smooth, smooth - just like riding on glass."  They agreed they probably picked up at least three miles when they got on the better road. They are members of the Oklahoma Bicycle Society in Oklahoma City. Other members of the society on this ride were Dan Wilson and his daughter, Courtney, also of Oklahoma City. This is Wilson's fifth time while Courtney was on her first FreeWheel trip. "It's fun," she said. Her father added it was a good father and daughter trip - just right for Father's Day.  Mary Ellen and Bill Blessing, members of the Tulsa Bicycle Club, said they have also enjoyed the ride. This is their third time with previous rides in 2000 and 2002. Actually, this is Mary Ellen Blessing's third time to try and finish the ride. In 2000, she joined the ride part way through. In 2002, she broke her arm in Kingfisher. "I think I can do it this time," she grinned.  Another rider, Paul Rigsby, Tulsa, is among the older riders at the age of 71. "It's been tough," he said. "But the hills are behind us now." This is his ninth FreeWheel ride.  Rigsby said FreeWheel offers training in preparation for the 60 to 70 mile rides made each day during the trip. In March, the riders start out doing five miles on a Saturday and Sunday. The length of each ride increases by five miles each trip until the riders are up to doing 70 miles at one time.

The FreeWheelers began their 7-day trek Sunday in Paris, Texas. They have already traveled through Antlers and Talihina. Today, they are headed to Drumright. The next legs of the trip after that are to Ponca City and the final destination of Caldwell, Kan.

Contact Teresa Atkerson at family@mcalesternews.com.

 

 Story continued on page 2

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Created by Jim Allshouse
last modified March 04, 2008
jim0740@cox.net