Finally about 9:30 I decided it was now or never. The storms seemed to be breaking up, and the rain became less intense. I thought, even if I only make it as far as Bristow (about 20 miles) I will at least be that much farther down the road.
The Rock Cafe in Stroud. An homage to the Cars animated movie. The Sally Carrera character in the movie came from Dawn Welch, the owner of the Rock Cafe.
As I left Stroud I followed a turn that promised to take me onto a couple miles of Old U.S. Highway 66. The road was gated off and practically non-existent beyond the gate. I looked at the map again, and it showed a road. I switched to satellite view and saw the problem. Someone built a large new high school where the road used to push through, and the street maps have not been updated. I rode around the school hoping to pick up the old road on the other side.
After about 10 miles the rain started to let up, and by the time I got to Bristow it stopped. After another look at the hourly weather forecast I decided to press on to Sapulpa, another 25 miles. As long as the forecast didn’t change I thought I could beat the storms there. The rain jacket came off, but I left the rain pants and shoe covers on just in case, as they would be a bit of a hassle to don quickly on the roadside if the storms caught up with me.
Bill ShaneyfeltA very common and useful plant. Yarrow. Was known as staunchweed long ago because it was used to staunch the flow of blood from injuries. Quite aromatic. Pinch a bit of the leaves and sniff. I like it.
I finally found a few miles of the old road between Kellyville and Sapulpa. It was marked as a bike trail on my route, but it was a trafficked road, and rough as a corncob in places, but a welcome change from the shoulder of the highway.
I made it to Sapulpa ahead of the storms and found my way to a motel just past Sapulpa in Glenpool.
The weather radar an hour after I arrived in Glenpool. The storms were hot on my tail. I hope I’m as lucky tomorrow, but I’m not holding my breath. The forecast is still for up to 6” of rain in the next 24-36 hours.
