Goin' To Oklahoma

April 30, 2025

Then Back to Kansas

Some dude decided he wanted his toast extra crispy this morning. As a result, smoke started billowing out of the toaster, which set off the smoke alarm in the motel, which set off a small panic. People were shouting. A couple of them dialed 9-1-1.

Those of us who were in the breakfast nook at the time and watched the dude pull the blackened square out of the toaster knew what happened, but hotel staff required everybody to exit the building anyway. Several sleepy-eyed guests joined the scene a bit later.

Soon, we heard the siren of a fire engine and saw firemen storming the building in full firefighting gear. Within two minutes, they declared the building safe to re-enter.

Thank you, first responders. (If I ever get arrested, I hope it comes at the hands of the Liberal Police. For some reason, I think he or she would cut me some slack.)

Okay, I did not ride all this way just to make dumb jokes about the town's name, though that was a consideration. I mean, me bein' a liberal in a city called Liberal, which isn't really all that liberal, is some pretty funny stuff, right? No? Okay, how about this one: I think it's only a matter of time before the President issues an Executive Order to officially change the name from "Liberal, Kansas" to "Conservative, Kansas." He's changed names before, I guess he could do it again.

Those jokes are more proof that, of all the Cycleblaze cowboy comedians who are touring in Kansas right now, I am one of the funniest.

To repeat, jokin' about the town's name wasn't the main reason for including Liberal in my tour. No, the main reason was its proximity to Oklahoma--another state in which I've never ridden a bike. Another big reason is that Dorothy Gale's childhood home is here. I have some explorin' to do.

************

Meanwhile on the cow front: I was pleased to see quite a few of them in the three miles between my motel and the Oklahoma state line.

Black, brown and tan cows coexist peacefully.

This cow told me that "Home, Home on the Range" is the official state song of Kansas.

I found that statement to be strange because Kansas is never mentioned in the lyrics, and the dude who originally performed the song--Gene "The Singin' Cowboy" Autry--never lived here. Nevertheless, I've learned not to question the knowledge of cows.

From there, it was only about a half mile to a new cyclin' state for me.

Thumbs up to a successful 3-mile ride to a new cycling state.

Look at the immediate change in road surface.

This is not the first time I've shamelessly ridden just far enough into another state to claim I've toured there. I rode about five yards into Vermont before turning back in 2014, and even less than that in 2019 when I entered and exited Oregon. At least today I experienced about a quarter mile of Oklahoma.

I was pretty surprised to see a marijuana shop. I have to assume it's legal in Oklahoma and not in Kansas--kind of like how fireworks aren't legal in my home state of Minnesota, but as soon as you cross the border into Wisconsin, there are fireworks shops waiting for that lucrative Minnesota business.

G-2 suddenly felt a case of glaucoma coming on. Come to think of it, I was feeling some aching in my joints.

Hey folks, please don't call the cops. I was just kidding. Neither one of us use that stuff anymore. But if you do call the cops, make sure to call the Liberal Police Department. They're sure to be more tolerant.

I returned to Liberal and rode extensively throughout the city. It was a nice enough town, certainly nicer than Dodge City, but nothing picture-worthy stood out. At least not until I got to my final destination of the day--Dorothy Gail's house. I took several pictures there.

Left to Right: Son of Bing Bong, The Cowardly Lion, Dorothy & Toto, The Scarecrow, and The Tin Man

The last time I saw this house, it had been lifted up by a tornado and was flying through the air.

A Cloning Operation

G-2 has been my cartoon alter-ego, friend, adversary, and touring companion for almost nine years. He has been taken out of his map case hundreds of times to pose for pictures and has gamely played the buffoon for many of them. Often, winds have blown him out of his poses, or out of my fingers, or off of picnic tables into dirt, mud, and snow. It's a miracle that he never got blown into a river or some other place from which he couldn't be retrieved.

Today, when he posed in Dorothy's picnic basket, I realized he was literally falling apart. Despite being repaired by many strips of Scotch Tape over the years, he is fraying at the edges, fading, and getting pretty grimy. It's hard, but I have to accept that it's time for him to retire.

But there is good news! G-2 will live to tour indefinitely because I cloned him.

I thought about naming the clone G-3, but then I realized he has the exact same genetic DNA as the original G-2. In other words, he IS G-2--and always will be.

************

Oh wait! I have one more thing to share before I go. In case you aren't familiar with the official state song of Kansas, I found a rare version of it on Youtube. It was just posted by a goofball you might recognize, and it seems he dropped his phone at the end of the performance.

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Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 134 miles (216 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	13
Comment on this entry	Comment	11

Steve Miller/GrampiesTold you it was deer or antelope "playin".
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1 day ago

Andrea BrownWait, I thought the song that goes, "I'm as corny as Kansas in August, I'm as high as a flag on the Fourth of July" was the state song. But I guess you have to go to Oklahoma to get high so never mind
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1 day ago

Gregory GarceauTo Steve Miller/GrampiesI guess I have to admit, you were right.
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16 hours ago

Gregory GarceauTo Andrea BrownAndrea, I'm starting to think you are even more of a pop culture sponge than I am. I never heard of that song before, so I Googled it. It's a cute song and it made me wonder if it was written about me. HAH!
Reply to this comment
16 hours ago

Nancy GrahamI for one am so pleased that there is a cloned G2, and NOT a G3 taking his place. G2 is too faithful of a companion to be replaced by any other alter ego drawing! So there.
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16 hours ago

marilyn swettWe always had the "rule" that we needed to ride 10 miles in a state in order to claim that we'd toured there. (although we cheated in West Virginia when did less than that - it was WAY too hilly to do more!)
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15 hours ago

Gregory GarceauTo Nancy GrahamNancy, thanks for recognizing the importance of G-2. I am so glad I didn't go the G-3 route.
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5 hours ago

Gregory GarceauTo marilyn swettI should have known you and Don would have more disciplined rules than mine about that.
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5 hours ago

Jeff LeeI'm enjoying (sorry: Enjoyin') reading your journal while I'm basically housebound for a while.

Today's was an entertaining entry, but I'm not sure I believe you when you say you didn't include Liberal on the route just for the jokes 😉
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5 hours ago

Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeYeah, you got me on that one, Jeff. The jokes were a bigger part than I let on.
Hey, I was going to send a get-well message on your journal, but I thought I'd wait until after your surgery. Then I got caught up in my own journal and forgot. I sincerely hope the recovery is going well.
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5 hours ago

Jeff LeeTo Gregory GarceauThanks. It's going well so far, and I've actually started thinking about maybe doing some sort of Fall tour. Not to Canada, though - it would be too cold, and now Canada hates us.

I'm thinking of going west instead, and knocking off one of the last seven states I haven't toured in: Oklahoma. But I guess I won't glean too much info about OK from this journal? You'll be in Kansas the rest of the trip?
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5 hours ago