Freewheel 05 part 2

Ok Freewheel 2005 pg 2

Hills, Hills and More Hills

Page 2

McAlester To Ponca City

Wednesday was hot with NO wind for our 58 mile ride to Wetumka. The breeze on previous days had kept me cool but it felt stifling with no wind at all. Lunch in Stuart was spaghetti. I turned down the spaghetti and just had salad with bread sticks, lemonade and chocolate cake. It is possible to survive on FreeWheel without eating spaghetti, although this year it was a challenge. Every place we went either had spaghetti or BBQ.

We spotted a small patch of shade that appeared to be the perfect spot to take a rest break. Two young men agreed to share their shade with us. They were waiting for their grandpa to catch up. They told us that he had had a quadruple by-pass the previous summer and it about killed him to be unable to ride FreeWheel. This year he was riding with two sons and three grandsons. As we stood there talking, here came Grandpa cycling up the hill. The boys invited him into the shade but he declined with, “I think I’ll keep on chugging.” A few minutes later here came the dads of the boys we were standing with.

John Wente, who was driving on Wednesday, set us up on the baseball field in Wetumka. The luggage truck was originally supposed to set up nearby but then they moved it to the school, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves with nice shower and bathroom facilities. Only one other group was camped in our area. We enjoyed dinner at the Living Waters Church where a variety of items were on the menu. Tuna casserole was a nice change from the ever present spaghetti. When we returned from eating, there was a band playing on the football field next to the baseball field. Before the night was over, we enjoyed three bands and a fireworks display at the end of the evening. “Awesome Possum” from Wetumka was a very good country western band. The second band was called “The Homesteaders”. Diana became a celebrity again as she was chosen to get on stage as they sang, “Elvira”. The last band was a young group from Tulsa but I didn’t catch their name. They had some teenage groupies that screamed their approval after every song.

It had been such a quiet windless day that the guys didn’t cinch down the hurricane straps on our tents. In the middle of the night the wind came up and we woke up to the sound of Johnnie hammering in tent stakes. Jim jumped up to do the same. Then the rain hit. It stormed all night and finally started slacking off about 6:00 a.m.

Thursday, Jim and I both drove to Drumright. We had both been over that route several years ago and remembered the countless hills after hills after hills. It was our anniversary and we wanted to visit the Tidal School Winery since it hadn’t been open on our last trip through Drumright. Tod and Susan followed us and we stopped along the way for breakfast. This was the only “real” breakfast we had all week.

We were able to find the same spot Chris had found when we camped in 2003 and been protected from the storms we experienced on that visit. We had lots of green grass and the shade of a multi storied building. A breeze was even flowing through this campsite. Another group shared our patch of grass. A woman from Siloam Springs set up four tents as we set up our five.

Tidal School was built in the 1920's during Oklahoma's original oil boom, by John D. Rockefeller's oil company and later acquired by J. Paul Getty. This 8,000 sq. ft. historic school building has been restored and transformed into Oklahoma's premier winery and vineyard.

The Tidal School building was originally constructed to serve the educational needs of Rockefeller's local workforce. Tidal School Vineyards and Winery owners have accomplished a half-million dollar renovation of the historic Tidal School building, located two miles south of Drumright on Highway 16. We enjoyed their wine and tour and even got our picture taken. We stuck one bottle in the cooler to be enjoyed as our companions rolled into camp. As we got back to our tents, there was Mike looking like he’d just gotten in. He rehydrated with a beer while we sipped our wine. The other group of campers was also enjoying some adult beverages. We struck up a conversation and met Norm and Shirley Youngberg. They mentioned that their friend John Rogers had picked up Wilton after his spill on Honobia Hill. John took him to the local doctor and suggested they wash Wilton off with a garden hose before applying dressings to his wounds. What a small world the FreeWheel society is! You can always meet someone who knows someone.

Jim was interviewed by Karen Geyer for the Cushing paper, Cimarron Valley People. After everyone in our group got in and got showered we drove back out to Joseph’s, a dinner club right next to the Tidal School Winery.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, lightening and thunder rolled into Drumright. It rained. It blew. At one point it sounded like lightening hit the dumpsters standing next to our camp spots. I think everyone sat up in bed when that one hit. By morning, the rain was gone.

Friday morning was cloudy and cool for our 79 mile ride to Ponca City. It remained relatively cool until 1:00 but then we had enough wind to keep us comfortable. Friday had a 100 mile option which Johnnie and Mike rode. As we came into Ponca, we were directed on a bike path. At a curve in the path sat a woman and a girl. The girl held up a sign that in part read, “Are you still singing Courtney?” We had been riding into town with Don and his daughter Courtney. They were very close behind us. I wondered if that sign was for her.

Our last two miles into Ponca City were on rough brick streets. A sadist must have arranged this route. After 75 miles the last thing we needed was rough streets.

Hallelujah! Hot, private showers awaited us in Ponca City. WhooHoo! What a treat! We drove to Chili’s for dinner. We saw Don, Courtney and Gary Pershall along with Don’s wife and other daughter. The family had driven to Ponca City to surprise their FreeWheelin members. Courtney was excited to take a private shower in their motel room. Our waitress was very good natured as we teased her and each other on our last night of FreeWheel 2005. It was hard to believe that our adventure was almost over.

Wed thru Saturday pic's

Now some pictures from Johnnie

For the END of the story