This entire trip has conditioned my body for senior citizenship. I wake up between 5 and 6 am each day without an alarm, and sit down to dinner at 5:30 or 6 pm. In between, I only talk about the weather and the state of the local roads.
But, this morning, before I roused myself out of bed, I was awakened as my motel was tossed by the gale force winds and driving rain outside. Great. I couldn't wait to pay aggregate penance for all of my life's sins by trudging yet another day across this crucible of a state. I donned my rain gear, slugged down some treats from the inexcusably familiar Holiday Inn Express breakfast buffet, and hit the road.
Yet, undoubtedly to spite my preparation, the weather promptly took a left toward wonderful. The sun came out and the wind took a moment to catch its breath. What a respite! And so it was that today evolved into a beautiful ride across the Osage Indian Reservation into Bartlesville, OK. The best miles of our route crossed reassuringly bucolic lands by way of single lane roads canopied by autumnally radiant leaves.
Today's 72 miles were a catharsis and an impressionable reminder of why I am doing all this.
having lived in oklahoma for several years, I can say that it will sometimes surprise you with its beauty. its a barren land and for those of us accustomed to varied terrain its oddly calming.
just the idea that the world can be flat all the way to the horizon is weird for those of us who live surrounded by bodies of water and mountains.
Posted by: ryan king | October 06, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Just discovered your beautiful pictures on Posterous. (You were featured on the Posterous front page.) And realized you were bike touring across America. All the more reason to check out your blog. Awesome stuff, keep it coming!
Posted by: twitter.com/ilyasally | October 08, 2009 at 11:18 PM