A day off usually means some random or forgotten thoughts here -
1 - We've seen very few bicyclists. (Forgive me if I've mentioned this before.) The first person we saw on a bicycle was the "retired cowboy" in Jefferson, TX. The next one was a kid in Seminole, OK. We have not seen any other touring cyclists.
2 - We get lots of funny looks as we walk places. And we see very few people walking.
3- We started seeing these places in southern Oklahoma called vapor lounges. I finally asked someone about it and she said they're stores that sell e-cigarettes and the stuff used in them. I had never heard of "vaping". Huh. See how I am.
I forgot to tell you that we woke up to a flat yesterday before the doctor appointment. Yup, #5. We're thinking that us having to "jump" off the road several times to avoid trucks the day before might have had something to do with it. (The road bed was concrete but the shoulder had eroded away, leaving a drop off of 2"-4".) We were thankful that God let us get into Ark City without having to fix a flat on the road.
Oh, and then as we were getting on the bike we couldn't figure out why it wouldn't freely roll. Stop. The brake was fine but the tire wasn't completely seated. Ok, deflate, reseat, inflate. Remount and pedal. What's that grinding? Stop. Just the pump that was off center and rubbing on the small ring. Try again. We rolled into the clinic just on time.
Our list for today:
1- Sleep in - check
2- Clean bike - check
3- Adjust the shifting - check
4- Wal-Mart - check
5- Lunch (Pizza Hut buffet!) - check. (How many Pizza Huts have you seen with an oil well pump/drill/thingy right behind it? Or whatever they're called.)
6- Walk to post office (4.5 miles round trip) to mail home three pounds of unused, unneeded items. Yay, three pounds lighter! (I wanted to throw in the tent and sleeping bags - another 12 pounds - but Gerry wouldn't go for it. Rats!) - check
7- Take a nap - nope, then we won't sleep tonight.
8- Dinner and pack for tomorrow's ride - check
8- Dinner and pack for tomorrow's ride - check
This is the Butler County courthouse here in El Dorado (EL-de-RAY-doh). I think it's a very stately building.
El Dorado has one of the largest oil refineries in the plains states and Rocky Mountain region. The population is a little over 13,000.
Tomorrow will be another long day on some sketchy roads so we would appreciate your prayer once again. We do thank God every day for you who are praying.
Pat
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