Many of the campgrounds and RV parks out here have storm shelters for their campers. It looks small, but I'm sure it leads to an underground room. I wish I had thought to look inside to see how many people would fit. Curiously enough, the shelter was not on the map of the campground.
Day One was about the headwind. Day Two was about the headwind and the hills. Today was about the crosswind.
At first thought it might seem to be a neutral situation, since the wind is neither in your face nor at your back, but a strong crosswind is no friend of cyclists, especially fully loaded touring cyclists with panniers that act like sails to catch the wind. I read somewhere that crosswinds over 30 mph are considered unsafe for biking because control and stability are compromised. Let's just say I was compromised today.
The wind picked up early this morning and was soon gusting to 40+ mph out of the south. Most of my riding today was to the east. I can't say that it was blowing me sideways all that much, but it definitely affected my speed. On flat, level, smooth pavement with no wind I could probably tool along fully loaded at about 15 mph. I struggled to maintain 10 mph on the flat. There were two short sections of 2 miles each where I rode directly into the wind, and I was happy when I surged to 6 mph. It was into the strong headwind that handling of my bike became squirrelly at those low speeds. Enough of my whining.
But before I finish whining let me point out that I was not done with the hills either.
Ran across an installation of Giants, an homage to Route 66 Muffler Men and Uniroyal gals. They were 18'-25' tall fiberglass statues along the route advertising available services. The three figures in this installation are 18' tall cutouts painted in 2019.
When I reached the Giants, I knew I had missed the turn north to Calumet, which at one time was on the Mother Road, but was abandoned by the highway when it was moved to take the more direct route from El Reno to Bridgeport. From home to Calumet and back was about as far as I ever rode a bike from my house, about an 85 mile round trip. I was now on my old stomping grounds, being stomped by the crosswind.
I went off the route 2 miles north to visit Fort Reno (explaining 2 of the miles I had to ride back south into the wind), about 6 miles west of El Reno. Fort Reno was established in 1874 as a U.S. Army cavalry post for the purposes of pacifying an Indian uprising, protecting and controlling the Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho reservation, and controlling Boomer and Sooner activity in the land rush to open the Unassigned Lands for settlement. It was finally abandoned by the Army in 1949. Today, Fort Reno's original 9,500 or so acres host three notable facilities: the Fort Reno Historic Site, the USDA Grazinglands Research Laboratory, and the Fort Reno Federal Correctional Institution.
There are several old officer's quarters buildings in various states of renovation at one end of the fort's parade grounds. One of them houses the U.S. Cavalry Association Museum.
Fort Reno was used during World War II as an internment camp for German and Italian prisoners of war, primarily soldiers from Rommel's Afrika Korps. The German prisoners built the chapel in 1944. The soldiers didn't just sit in camp but were hired out to local farmers to help relieve the labor shortage during the war. More than one fell in love with the farmer's daughter and ended up staying in Oklahoma after the war.
A notable part of the old fort is the post cemetery, where soldiers, family members and some Native Americans are buried, with the earliest grave dating back to the establishment of the fort in 1874.
Behind and outside the original wall of the cemetery are the graves of 70 Italian and German POWs. Over 1300 Germans and a few Italians were brought to Fort Reno, but only one German POW died while at Fort Reno. the rest of those buried here died in other POW camps in Oklahoma and Texas.
An abandoned Phillips Petroleum gas plant. When I first went to work for Phillips in 1978 I was sent of Oklahoma City, where I was a wellsite geologist who sat gas wells drilled in this area.
Bill ShaneyfeltYup, they sting like a bee!
https://entomologytoday.org/2025/04/17/painful-fascinating-stings-harvester-ants/ Reply to this comment 1 week ago
Finally, I reached the end of another tough day at the Lake Overholser Bridge. The bridge opened for traffic in 1925, one year before Route 66 was designated, and is part of the original route.
The Lake Overholser Bridge crosses the Canadian River where it flows into Lake Overholser, which was completed in 1918 as part of Oklahoma City's water supply. This is the end of Phase One of my ride across Oklahoma on Route 66. Carol showed up about two minutes after I arrived to pick me up.
I had planned to stay home for Easter weekend before striking out the following Monday for Joplin, but while I was gone a good friend here in Oklahoma City died. His funeral is scheduled for the Friday after Easter, so I will probably delay the start of Phase Two until the following week
Stay tuned.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km) Total: 159 miles (256 km)
