I can’t just give Oklahoma a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. I need to break it down, then gather it back together.

Wind

Oklahoma and wind are inseparable. It’s more notable when it doesn’t blow than when it does. I noted early on that this is the windiest time of year in Oklahoma, so why should I be surprised when it lived up to its reputation? I wasn’t. Then why did I make so much note of it when it did blow? Because it was blowing on me! It was personal!

My recommendation for anyone wanting to repeat this tour? Do it at the end of September, one of the calmest months here. An east to west tour might have been more favorable wind wise, but that could only be determined in retrospect. To be honest, Oklahoma promised wind, and Oklahoma delivered. It can’t be faulted.

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Rain

As much as I complained about the rain, it didn’t slow me down. It rained a lot, but it wasn’t windy when it rained.  This is the wettest time of year, and most stations in Oklahoma reported record rainfall for the month of April this year. Once again, rain  promised and rain delivered. I didn’t dissolve. Again, do it at the end of September.

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Storms

It’s the stormiest time of year, and it stormed, but except for the day I rode through Tulsa I wasn’t threatened by lightning. The heaviest storms were at night. I was able to time my riding to avoid the worst of the storms during the day. The nearest reported tornadoes were at least a couple counties away. I saw a lot of trees down and branches littering yards and roads, but nothing fell on me. There was a lot of flooding, but I never had to ride or walk through running water, and I never got turned around by a flooded road. End of September would have been better.

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Hills

There was more climbing in the west, longer hills with generally lower grades, and the wind was in my face. Hills in the east were maybe more numerous but shorter. The steepest hills were in the east. I bailed out and walked on one climb when the grade reached 13%. On another 10% grade I pulled over to let a train of vehicles pass, then walked the rest. Total climbing over 461 miles was between 16,000’ and 17,000’, depending on which app I believe. That’s not bad.

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Temperatures

The temperature ranged from upper 40s one morning to low 80s on the warmest day. It doesn’t get much better than that.

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Roads

There were some stretches of busy two-lane road with no shoulder but most two-lane roads were not very busy. There were some miles of very rough road with crumbling asphalt patches over concrete. West of Oklahoma City a good bit of the route paralleled I-40 on service roads. To the east there was more separation as Route 66 wandered north and south of I-44. There were long stretches of two- and four-lane highway with shoulders, though some of the shoulders were rough and/or intermittent. In general I’d say the road quality was variable but average.

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Traffic

There were a few instances of heavy traffic, depending on time of day and proximity to population centers, but overall traffic was light to moderate.

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People

Almost every driver was courteous enough to slow down when necessary and pull over into the other lane to pass. Most people were friendly and curious about what I was doing. At worst they were indifferent. There was that one jerk at the end of the day in Stroud who hollered epithets at me, but he didn’t spoil things for me.

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Scenery

There are some very scenic parts of Oklahoma, but they’re not necessarily along Route 66. There were some pretty spots and a few nice vistas, but a lot of the route is humdrum scenically.

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Facilities

Plenty of convenience stores along the highway at big travel centers and in the small towns along the way. 👍

The longest stretch without any place to stay (either motel or campground) was 26 miles. I don’t care to wild camp, so this metric is important to me when it comes to deciding how far to ride on a given day, or when to try to push on to the next stopping point. 👍

There are not a lot of campgrounds along the way, or at least it seemed so to me. I stayed at KOAs in western Oklahoma. East of Oklahoma City the parks with campgrounds were all off the route; that ended up not mattering to me since I ended up in motels due to the stormy weather. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but I’d rather not set up and take down a tent in the rain if I can help it. Many RV campgrounds along Route 66 do not allow tent camping, which limited overnight options. 👎

WarmShowers hosts can be found in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas and a few other spots (Claremore, Baxter Springs, Joplin), but they were all either unavailable as I passed through, on tour and unavailable, or unresponsive. I can’t speak to Oklahoma City because I live there and couldn’t have used one. 😐

Bike shops are clustered in the larger metro areas.  Only one shop between the Texas line and Oklahoma City (160+ miles) in Elk City and it open only 3 days a week. No shops between Edmond and Jenks (110 miles). No shops between Tulsa and Joplin (160+ miles). Maybe this is not unusual. two years ago crossing the country I remember very long stretches without a shop. At any rate I’m glad I didn’t need one. 😐

I like to visit breweries along the way at the end of a day of riding. There are breweries in Oklahoma City, Sapulpa, Tulsa, Claremore (taproom for a Tulsa brewery) and Joplin. About average I guess. 😐

Nostalgia

Of course, it’s Route 66! Ruins of abandoned motels and service stations.  Stores and cheap motels  that still survive. “Museums”. Murals. Kitsch. Historical markers. Old neon signs. Bits of century old roadbed. Bypassed bridges. Big Boy.  Betty Boop. Muffler Men. 

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Bottom Line

It was a bike tour successfully planned and executed.   I survived. Almost a credit card camp out the last 6 days. I could have left my tent, sleeping bag, pad, cooking gear and some other stuff home to lighten my load. Every tour has its high and low points and challenges. All in all I’d say my Route 66 tour in Oklahoma had more highs than lows, so I give it a general thumbs up.

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Oklahoma is OK.