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Pampa TX to Clinton OK – 123.63 miles – 3772 ft climbing

Today was a race against the clock. Figuring the worst case scenario based on the weather forecast and road conditions, I was calculating a close call with the amount of daylight I had to work with and the number of miles I had to travel. Based on the results today, I figured that I averaged 3.5 mph faster on better than expected road for 75 miles. This translated to about 2 hours saved in riding time. Add to that the half hour head start in a pre-dawn departure through the residential streets of Pampa and I arrived at the Clinton motel almost exactly two and a half hours before sunset.

Last night as an emergency scenario, I created an alternate route that would shave 9 miles off of the route segment from Elk City to Clinton. The risk was that I could not be certain of the road conditions or even if they were all paved. I made the last minute decision based on the roads already traveled and input from Karen who talked to some of the locals at Elk City’s National Route 66 Museum.

Keeping up my energy level today was a primary concern. Yesterday, I experimented with dismounting for a few minutes every hour to see how that affected my riding. For that stage, it also helped my sanity from driving on a divided highway and fighting the dryness in my eyes. For today it was more about saddle soreness prevention and stamina. I planned stops every 10 miles to consume half a Cliff bar and take in sufficient fluids. I pretty much stuck to the plan. I made 9 such stops over the 123 mile route instead of 11. The skipped ones were due to the better road conditions in the middle segment.

I also replenished fluids at the midway point of Sweetwater, OK. Karen picked up some Gatorade at the Walmart in Pampa so I could top off my hydration backpack.

While completing my ride in Texas, I passed through a couple of immense cattle stockyards that were stuck in the midst of many free ranging cattle. I have never seen so many cattle packed in such a confined space before.

There are two impressions in Oklahoma that stick in my mind while riding the road. The first was all of the caterpillars scurrying along the shoulder. I was amazed to see them move so fast. The other was ot din of chirping of crickets whenever I crossed over a creek bridge. I am certainly no longer in the desert. There are no more dried creeks. BTW, did you know that the Rule of Thumb for the day was: To estimate the temperature outdoors in degrees Fahrenheit, count the number of times a lone cricket chirps in 15 seconds and add 37. That post helped jog my memory to add these little observations that would otherwise be quickly forgotten.

Since there was no need for road repairs today, everything timed out according to plan. The wind fulfilled the worst case scenario with 20 mph headwinds over the last 30 miles. Because of the wind, I never really got any momentum from one descent to the next climb over this remarkably hilly route. I grossly underestimated the amount of climbing required today. Without the shortcut and better road conditions, I would have been riding past sunset.

Phew! This stage was the 800 pound gorilla hanging around my neck. I still have almost 300 miles over the next 3 days. There is also a chance for rain each of those days. But my credo has been ‘one stage at a time’. Let’s get through tomorrow’s stage before worrying about the next.

That doesn’t mean that I can ignore strategic planning. For example, I spent an hour yesterday tuning both bicycles since I had a short 67 mile day. Today I dialed it way back over the last 30 miles to conserve energy and my knees – which are both being iced. It also gave me some time to take a few photos along Historic Route 66 parts.

About a quarter of this stretch was on macadamized surface again. This photo tries to capture just how rough it is.

Oh and this one is for Susan: Today was the first day of riding that I did not shed any layers during the ride...just another bit of trivia.