Day 2 - Lake Durant, Durant, OK to Tulsa, OK - 183.6 miles

So, unless 185 mile days become a regular occurrence, I'm going to refer to yesterday as my "crazy day".  But, I'm ok with that. :)

I woke up just as the sun was starting to come up.  Can't say I slept too well, but it wasn't terrible either.  The tent, pad, and sleeping bag (when it cooled off enough to get in it) actually did well.  It's just been a little while since I've camped.  At one point, I heard coyotes baying in the night.

After getting up and packing up camp, I headed out of the park.  When I got to the gate, I was greeted by a couple guys waiting for the gate to open so they could go fishing.  We talked for a minute as I climbed over the gate and then I was off.  It was a cool 70 degrees - not bad for a bike ride. :)

(just starting out)

As I mentioned in my post about Day 1, I didn't have much by way of supplies, so I rode to the nearest country store (17 miles away) to pick up breakfast.  Pop-tarts and orange juice.  It was awesome!  I also picked up some granola bars for the road and filled up the water bottles with water and ice.

A side story about water and ice.  I don't usually bother with ice when I ride around Dallas.  I don't know why, I just don't and I'm fine.  But, at the end of Day 1 in my tent I was craving ice cold water.  So, I made it a point on Day 2 to put ice in my bottles.  It was nice taking a swig and getting cold water.  I know, I know, d'uh!  But like I said, I don't usually bother and I'm fine.

The roads were really pretty.  I know some people think of this area as "fly over country", but there is a real beauty out there.  The roads were lined with farm fields and hay fields part of the time and then with trees other times.  Other times still there were (small) rollers.  Pictures really don't do it justice.

 
Along the way, I thought it might be neat to shoot some video as I was riding.  I'm not thrilled with how it came out, but I'll try to do better in the future.

I had originally planned to ride from Lake Durant to a park outside of Henryetta, OK and then to Tulsa today (Monday).  About 125 miles.  But, around 85 miles in, I was feeling good and the thought of going all the way to Tulsa started to appeal to me.  I don't know why, but it did.

I got to Henryetta, ate some McDonalds (don't judge), assessed my situation, made sure the hotel I was planning to stay had a room for the night, and pushed on.  I will say the last 10 miles or so I was ready to get off the bike.  Still, it wasn't too bad and I feel pretty good today.  In the past I've ridden 200 miles in a day and felt a lot worse both at the end of the day and the next day.

One note about McDonalds.  I brought my bike inside because I knew I'd be there for a little while.  That, as you might expect, lead to some conversations.  One guy used to ride a old french bike that he couldn't remember the name of.  It's still hanging the garage he said.  He was blown away that my bike had 22 gears.  A lady told me about the time some guy she's never seen before or since rode through town and they fed him and gave him a place to stay.  Everyone was very friendly and wished me well on my way.  I've heard stories like this and it was nice to experience them myself.

On the way into Tulsa, I had planned to ride the trail along Riverside.  Tulsa has miles and miles of these trails and there are places to along the way for all kinds of activities.  I saw beach volley ball courts, frisbee golf targets, areas for food, for food, and a ton of people out enjoying the area.

Riverside also runs along the infamous Cry Baby Hill where on the last day of Tusla Tough cyclists race.  The race is a criterium which is usually a less than 1 mile circuit that racers race around for a set about of time.  Criteriums are great because the speeds are usually fast and spectators can watch the racers come by over and over again.

Well, Cry Baby Hill is a nasty little hill that the racers climb each time around the circuit.  During the races, there are 100's if not 1000's of people that come out to party and watch the racers.  As the day goes on, it becomes a huge party with people crowding into the streets only parting moments before the racers come through.  It's bicycle race meet frat party.  Take a look at this album to get an idea of what it's like before it's gets really wild.

I figured that if I was going to be in the area, I would ride up Cry Baby Hill on my fully loaded bike.  People were cleaning things up and it was pretty quiet.  But the Sound Pony Referees cheered me on as I rode past the lawn that they were relaxing on!

(riding into the area behind the start / finish of Cry Baby Hill)

(the turn onto Cry Baby Hill - I stood up and my rear wheel slipped twice)

It was only a half a mile or so from there to the Best Western where I am staying.  I actually went to the Double Tree next door and tried to check in.  Only after showing them my reservation did we realize that I was at the wrong place - literally next door.  I went to the right place, checked in, got a shower and called Erin.

Some of my friends were up here for the races, so I joined them for dinner at the Tavern and then called it a night.

All in all, not a bad day at all!