So yesterday I took advantage of a trip Ruth was taking to Norman Oklahoma by tagging along and signing up for a RUSA Permanent. Permanents are published courses that can be ridden any day, instead of on an appointed date. There still is a set of control points that the rider needs to pass through within prescribed time limits. These are approved by RUSA (Randoneurs USA) and published on their website. There are many Permanent courses all over the US, so this is a good way to find good cycling routes when you travel. Provided you want to cycle a minimum of 200 kilometers, which is about 125 miles for you silly Americans who aren't metrically minded.
So thanks to Mike Schmit, who developed and published this 200K ride called the "Rollercoaster 202" and originates in Norman, Oklahoma. There is a little pre-planning required to get the paperwork set up, and once you set a date, usually you are locked into it no matter what the weather. This wasn't an issure for me because I only had the one day available to do this ride anyway.
Wednesday, January 20 was forecasted to be in the upper 40s, so I packed accordingly. Unfortunately, I did not note the overnight low that was forecast. I started the ride at about 7 am when it was 25 degrees. It did not get above the freezing point until about 11am, and my feet were not dressed for sub-freezing weather-I was thinking 40s. Lesson learned, the hard way. I made an unscheduled stop at a small cafe in Wanette because the pain in my toes was interfering with my ability to pedal, which was kind of slow anyway. This place was interesting, I was the only customer there without a bib overalls and a beard down to at least the third button down from the collar. A TV was set up on one table showing a re-run of "Pawn Stars" that was the focus of everyone's attention. Despite my being a little out of the ordinary, I was welcomed and treated with the most friendly manner. Oklahomans are really nice people.
Anyway, after my toes started really hurting as an indication that blood was circulating through them, I set off again. Within the hour, the temp warmed up enough to allow a normal bicycle riding mode and I was treated to this highlight of the ride, an old railroad bridge that had been converted to part of the road system, albeit a narrow part.
This was at about 11 am at mile 46. Things smoothed out a a more normal ride after that, with the average speed picking up from about 12 to 16-17 that I would normally do. There was even a total of about 4 miles of gravel roads on this ride, mostly hard-packed through cattle grazing lands.
The roads were in good shape, and the drivers were amazingly courteous. Often they would hang back about 20 ft waiting for a clear section of road to pass me, always staying at least 3 feet away. What is is about Michigan drivers who seem to think only cars belong on roads?
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