My First Freewheel But Not My Last
With much excitement and anticipation, I began the 2002 Freewheel. When we drove into Snyder, all I could see was tents and bikers. This was the beginning of such a great week; lots of riders that were very friendly, and many friendly faces that I have met on previous rides. The first night in a tent was a little different than sleeping in my own bed, but the excitement of the trip made up for the lack of sleep. So Sunday morning it was up at 6:00 am and beginning a regular routine of getting up early and packing to prepare for the day's ride. Each day, the breakfasts served by the hosting communities were terrific. Thinking I would lose weight on the trip was a joke--too much great food. The communities prepared much of the food and it was dynamite. I ate my way across Oklahoma. It was brisket, spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, and much more. Oh yes, let's not forget the pie. Oh my yes, what great pie the towns prepared!
With many riders on the Freewheel, I always felt I was with someone both in front and behind me. Most of the ride I rode alone, except for my friend Melissa; we rode together often. Some of my friends are much faster, and so they would ride into camp early and prepare camp. I did notice some riders going the other way. Later I learned these were the drivers of RV's and other support cars. They would drive to the next town, then ride the day's route half way and then turn around and go back to camp. This allowed them to ride the same number of miles and still support their group. What a great idea.
One of the special times on the trip was when we were almost into Hinton and saw the Red Rock Canyon Park sign. Melissa and I decided in a split second to turn into the park. We found lots of big trees and a swimming pool. They opened the pool especially for our Freewheel group and we went swimming, biking clothes and all. It was so much fun, and very refreshing. After a great swim, we rode through the canyon and saw some other Freewheel riders that we knew and they drove us back to camp. What a great day.
We had several days of hills, and some warm days, then one day we were rained on. I welcomed the rain, and enjoyed each cool drop. When we arrived in Pawnee, the fire department had stored our bags in the firehouse until we could dry out. The sun came out later in the afternoon and our camp was delightful with a cool evening. We hung our wet clothes on our tent with clothespins only to discover that the Tulsa news channel decided to do a special story that evening with live coverage of our tent. Oh well, I don't think my bike shorts have ever been on TV.
As the trip continued everything became routine: packing, breakfast, riding, preparing camp, and then dinner. The trip was very special because of the people, the riding, the terrain, and the atmosphere of our camps. We showered in high school gyms and sometimes we even had hot water. The overall inconvenience of some things was overshadowed by the event and the incredible fun that was enjoyed by all.
The last night of the Freewheel was in Ponca City. I asked my friends, all of which were on their first Freewheel, if they would do this ride again next year. It was a unanimous YES. I felt the same way and will be back for more next year. Thanks to the many support people, the great Girl Scouts for the rest stops, and the superb planning that went into this trip. As a first time Freewheel participant, I thought of some tips that I learned during the Freewheel: 1) Don't pack too much stuff. 2) Wash clothes as you go in the bathroom (saves space) 3) Take a camelback for drinking--I drank a lot more than if I only had a bottle on the bike. 4) Take a Thermarest for sleeping--it was wonderful. 5) Lay your bike down during storms so it won't blow over. 6) Put a plastic bag on your seat in the evening--saves having a wet seat in the morning. 7) Eat a good carbo-loaded breakfast, and not too much food at lunch. A fellow rider and trainer explained to me that the blood that is normally used for digesting a meal is being used for cycling, so if we eat a heavy lunch, we don't digest it until we quit cycling. Also if we add a large dinner, our bodies will have to digest both meals in the evening. So I ate a light lunch, and a big dinner. I found this meal schedule worked for me. 8) Use sunscreen--I got burned the 1st day. 9) Take some sort of cycling cream for a sore butt--bag balm was suggested. 10) Relax , stop frequently, and enjoy the sites.
FreeWheel
Tidbit
So many funny things happened on FreeWheel, that it can take weeks to have these incidents recreated in your mind. One such occasion occurred when OBS member, Esther Goldsmith, decided to ride to town to do a little shopping. Esther always looks so elegant after she's showered off the day's grit and grime. She usually wears a long dress or skirt to glide around camp. This particular day it was a long denim skirt. Now just how do you deal with all that material on a bike? Esther bends over, grabs the back hem and pulls it forward to safety pin to the front waistband. Looks like a giant diaper, but it works. Off she rides to hunt for more sunscreen, while the rest of us vegetate in what little shade we can find while drinking libations to keep hydrated. Sometime later, here comes Esther wielding a shopping bag. She says something about ice cream and everybody better be having some. Ice cream? In this heat? Yup. She pulls out a gallon of ice cream, a sleeve of plastic bowls and a box of plastic spoons. Ice cream? I'm still dumbfounded as she takes out an ice cream scoop and a can of chocolate syrup that she had the store people open before putting the yellow cap back on the can. "Hurry up," Esther says, "It won't take long for this stuff to melt." We snap out of our shocked daze and start dishing up this cool delicious treat while grabbing passer bys to help consume this afternoon delicacy before it melts. Only Esther would have thought to buy a whole gallon and share instead of just an ice cream cone. She's one amazing FreeWheel cyclist!
Oklahoma Bicycle Society:
FreeWheel 2001
created by John Wente
last modified:
February 18, 2007
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com