2024 Route 66 East - Day3

 Oklahoma City

Canadian River Bridge aka. Pony Bridge

We rolled out of the hotel under cloudy skies. The forecast called for unfavorable winds and a 40 % chance of medium intensity rain in the morning.

Forecast update: Rain

We felt the first few sprinkles of rain about 10 miles into the ride. By the time we entered Weatherford, it was steady and light, but the heavy cross-wind made each drop feel larger than it was!

SAG stop #1 Lucilles Original Roadhouse

The original roadhouse was built in 1924. Its now a maintained landmark (history) and was our first stop of the day. The rain had let up and Conner assured us the rain was behind us. We reloaded and headed back out. 

Rain gear stop

A few miles past the SAG, the wind stopped, then became a tailwind. The dark clouds that were way behind us were now catching up, and I was surfing on the leading edge of the storm. High hopes to ride the wave were dashed when the downpour began, temperature dropped, and headwinds returned. I was happy I had the rainlegs in the saddle bag and gloves and watch cap in the handlebar bag. The rain continued for the next 20 miles before letting up.

Rain clears a few miles from SAG#2

The only item of gear I wished I had was my wool base layer, I forgot to put it in the saddlebag. I was wet and cold, and Conner was happy to grab my duffle out of the trailer and I put the base layer on right away.

We are in the oil patch!

There were quite a few fracking operations, oil service businesses, and refineries along the way. Old tanks in the foreground and methane venting from a refinery in the distance.

Route 66 cutout statues

We were near the Ft. Reno Museum ( the last horse Calvary outpost from WWII), it was 1.5 miles off route. On a nicer day, maybe it would be worth a visit, but today I settled for a photo of the statues!

Culvert dated 1928!

Some of the culverts have a date stamp that reveals when the road was put in place. I had probably stopped at a dozen looking for the date. Lon told me earlier in the morning, that if there is a date it should be right on top. The cue sheet said there was one in the next 2 miles so I kept my eyes peeled and found this one!

Best cue of the day: “Mile 58   Prison on right …do not pick up hitchhikers”

Club Fed with a volleyball court!

We stopped for a photo of the El Reno Federal Correctional Facility, and did not pick up any hitchhikers!

El Reno Park

Craig & Craig at Sids Diner

We had 20 miles to go and were getting a bit hungry, Craig (from Alabama) rolled up when I was snapping a photo of the culvert. We rode together for the rest of the day. We saw Sids Diner and Craig’s (from Michigan) bike was parked out front. It was packed and I had a great burger, tots, and Oreo milkshake!

Pedestrian underpass in El Reno

I spotted this pedestrian underpass in town after lunch. This one was built in 1936, but today it’s sealed off and not in use. We had a presentation tonight after dinner from Jim Ross, a Route 66 historian. He said there are only a few of these underpasses that haven’t been removed, and we’ve seen two of them (Sayre and El Reno). Traffic was so heavy that hundreds of these were built in towns along Route 66 so pedestrians could cross the heavy traffic safely.

Route 66 and Lake Overholser

Part of the original 1926 route!

Just a few miles from the finish, Craig and I rolled over the Lake Overholser bridge (1924) in route to our hotel in the Oklahoma City suburb of Bethany.

Clean the bike, body, and kit. Enjoy a PacTour pizza party followed by a historical presentation by Jim Ross (www.jimross66.com). Update the blog! Time to get some rest, tomorrow is a 90 mile day, with 40% chance of rain and crosswinds. Breakfast at 0600, load and depart 0645, see you then!

Steve

Day 4