The Numbers

I made a few calculations. Over the past 21 years I estimate that I have bicycled about 74,200 miles (calculated by scaling up the number of miles I know I've ridden since January 1, 2008 when I started keeping a detailed record). A rough breakdown of those miles:

• 11,000 miles of group rides, mostly on a couple dozen "state rides" like BRAN across Nebraska, BRAT around Tennessee, XOBA across Ohio, and so forth.
• 6,540 miles of self-supported touring with my brother Ed. We have another 1,000 mile tour planned for September this year. 
• 56,660 miles of solo single-day rides from the house.
• 0 miles solo self-supported touring ... a hole in my resumé.

When I sat down to think about what state ride(s) I might do this year leading up to the planned tour in September, the only one I came up with not too far from home, without doing a repeat, was BAK, Biking Across Kansas. 

As I toyed with the idea of pressing the registration button, two thoughts occurred to me:

• We rode part of this year's BAK route in reverse in 2023 on our coast to coast tour.
• Why not instead plan a short self-supported tour to do on my own, to plug that hole in my resume?

The Decision Point

Indeed. Why not? But what to do?

One of the rejected options for our coast to coast tour in 2023 was Adventure Cycling's Bicycle Route 66 from Santa Monica  to Chicago, then on to the East Coast. Rejected primarily because so much of the route paralleled within sight and earshot of the interstate highway system that replaced Route 66. Two things that happened in 2022 made me reconsider:

• I rode Big BAM across Missouri from Joplin to Eureka, which for the most part followed Route 66. I already had a start on the route.
• The Oklahoma section of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 was designated (something I didn't discover until a few months ago).

So, why not follow Route 66 west to east across Oklahoma, the longest section in any of the states it crosses? Bite off another piece. End at the Big BAM starting point in Joplin to tie these two pieces together. 30 percent of the route down, 70 percent to go. Maybe someday add other bits of Route 66.

I need a plan.

The Plan

I already have Adventure Cycling's 2021 vintage Bicycle Route 66 maps that I bought when planning the coast to coast tour. In 2022 the route USBR 66 OK Eastbound was posted on Ride With GPS by U.S. Bicycle Route System (probably a pen name for Adventure Cycling). To come up with my route I reconciled two significant differences between the routes.

• A road closure and detour west of Oklahoma City added 25-30 miles due to an 18-month bridge reconstruction project. I found that the bridges in question reopened in May 2024 and February 2025. I know for a fact that the road is open because I hosted a French cyclist on WarmShowers last weekend who passed through there heading east to Oklahoma City. 
• USBR 66 follows more closely the original Route 66 roadbed configuration going northeast into Tulsa., but Bicycle Route 66 cuts east across the Arkansas River at Jenks to follow a paved bike path north to downtown Tulsa. I'll take it. Less traffic. More resources.

My wife will drive me to the Texas/Oklahoma border on April 13.  I'll start east either that afternoon or the next morning and plan to take three days to ride home to Oklahoma City. I'll stay home through the Easter weekend, then take off again April 21 to ride five days to Joplin.  Preliminary estimate 430 miles. My wife will pick me up in Joplin, and we will spend the weekend with our daughter and family there. It feels like cheating that I'll spend several days at home in the middle of the tour, and it will end at my daughter's house.  Not sorry!

The Weather

Weather is a major factor in riding through this part of the country at this time of year.

• If Oklahoma has a rainy season it's April to June.
• It's storm season. Oklahoma averages 47 tornadoes in April/May, compared to only 20 for the rest of the year. Tornadoes come with storms. Storms come with rain (and other nasty stuff).
• March and April are the windiest months in Oklahoma. Even though Oklahoma is only the 28th windiest state, Okies sure complain about it a lot, and sing about it, too ("where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain....when the wind comes right after the rain"). Oklahoma City is ranked as the 5th windiest city in the country with a population over 100,000.
• It's spring! If ever there were a time and a place where the expression "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes" had some real meaning, it's here and now in Oklahoma.
  • Looking back at my rides since mid-March the wind has been from the SW, SE, NE, E, W and N at up to 30 mph gusting to 50.  No prevailing wind direction there.
  • A week ago it was 85 degrees here. It was 35 degrees and snowing this morning.  This coming week will be in the 70s and 80s again.  Plan for everything from summer to winter!

Asides

I'll be swimming upstream by riding east. Route 66 was a primary route for those who migrated west. Okies escaping the Dust Bowl for instance. How many people in California, when Route 66 was established 99 years ago, thought, "Cool! Now I can drive to Bloomington!"

Before Route 66 and other numbered highways were adopted by the states, there were auto trails marked by private organizations. The trails that became Route 66 in Oklahoma:

• Joplin to Oklahoma City: St. Louis, Missouri-Las Vegas New Mexico main route of the Ozark Trails network
• Oklahoma City to the Texas state line:  Fort Smith, Arkansas-Amarillo, Texas, Postal Highway

On My Own Again

Support on an organized group ride that I won't have: 

• Tech support. No traveling bike shop. If I break down, I gotta fix it. The only bike shops along the way are in Elk City (only open a few days a week), Oklahoma City, Jenks and Tulsa. Even on tour with Ed, I had a trained bike mechanic riding with me.
• Companionship on the road; moral support
• Safety in numbers
• Someone else hauling my gear
• SAG support
• Overnight arrangement made in advance
• Staffed rest stops

Other support when touring with someone else that I won't have:

• Someone to argue with about what to do when you get to that "road closed" sign.
• Someone to share the load.

Even though I calculate that 76% of my riding over the past two decades was solo, this will be my first solo self-supported multi-day tour. If I don't like the company it will be my fault.