March 7, 2008 Vinita, OK
Sitting snug and warm in my Vinita, OK Holiday Inn, I can see snow flurries starting to drift into the parking lot. I must be living right, because aside from strong winds in the afternoon, I pedaled in sunny to partly cloudy conditions all day. The temps never got above 46 degrees, but the direct sunlight had me riding with my outer jacket open and I was able to take the inner linings out of my gloves. Practically topical!
Today's route was entirely on Route 66. Most of this was on modern roadways with wide dual lanes, a wide shoulder and a smooth road surface. Occasionally I was able to get off onto "Old Highway 66". These sections of road are remainders of the original Route 66 of legend and TV lore. The road surface isn't as well cared for as the newer sections, but the scenery and sense of history makes up for it. An example is the Rainbow Curve Bridge just outside Baxter Springs, KS. It's the last bridge of it's type in the country. Can't you just see the Corvette with George Maharis and Martin Milner, top down, speeding around the curve and crossing the bridge?
There was also a new baseball stadium along Old 66 - Field of Dreams. Life imitating art, I guess.
I stopped at a restored 1930's Philips 66 station in Baxter Springs where the ladies on the staff were very interested in the ride. They may even send in some money to Behind the Scenes!!! I learned some trivia about Philips 66 in the station. I had assumed that the name came from some association between Oklahoma based Philips and Route 66. Apparently not. The story is that early in the history of the company, the Philips brothers were driving on Route 66, testing a new octane formulation and trying to come up with a name for the retail arm of their company. The car got up to 66 mph and they realized they had the name.
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Crossing into Oklahoma I saw miles of the Oklahoma state tree (telephone poles) stretching out in front of me. Pedaling along at about 18 - 19 mph, I entered Commerce, OK. Those of you who are baseball, and especially Yankee fans, should recognize the name of this town.
The rest of the day passed easily as the course took me through Miami, Afton and finally into Vinita. The last 10 or 12 miles was less than fun, though. My route had turned due West, and the 25 mph wind was out of the North West. The flat, exposed topography left me at the mercy of this wind and I saw my speed drop to 8 - 10 mph. A couple of violent gusts actually slid the bike sideways. I learned that no matter how much you curse and swear at the wind, it doesn't do any good except make the throat sore.
Once in my hotel room, watching the Weather Channel showed that I've been lucky so far. The snow storms are mostly East of here in Arkansas, TN, and up through the Ohio Valley. The flurries outside are easier to deal with than a foot of snow! The forecast is for a warming trend over the weekend, so it should be smoother sailing from here on out.
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