By Kevin McClintock
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. —
Tent nearly erected and nearby bicycle on its side, Steve Hampsey, of Raleigh, N.C., admitted he was “tired out.”
And who could blame him, having pedaled (or “hammered”) some 450-plus miles since last Saturday.
“Some days (were) really tough, and some days weren’t so bad,” Hampsey said, describing the trek that began 15 miles north of the Oklahoma-Texas border. Although he’s a novice bicyclist, pedaling up a two-mile hill beneath the summer sun wasn’t the most difficult aspect of this prestigious event, he said. The worst aspect occurred after the sun went down.
Click here to see video shot at the penultimate stop of 2010 Oklahoma FreeWheel.
“I’m a real light sleeper,” he said, glancing down at the pup tent that had served as his home for the last seven days. “I’ll appreciate my bed tomorrow night” inside a Joplin hotel.
Hampsey and nearly 1,100 bicyclists arrived Friday at the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M campus Friday, where several practice soccer fields had been hurriedly converted into a tent city for sore, exhausted bikers.
Miami was the next-to-last pit-stop for the 2010 Oklahoma FreeWheel, which concludes today at Joplin’s Schifferdecker Park when the bikers from around the nation and the world coast into town. The Oklahoma FreeWheel is an annual event that promotes exercise and introduces its riders to the beauty and attractions of small towns across Oklahoma, according to a release from NEO.
Danny Cossairt joins Hampsey in his anticipation of a real roof over his head. When 1,000 riders put in 60 miles of cycling per day, about the only thing drowning out the nearby chirping of midnight crickets is a “symphony” of snoring.
“When it gets real quiet, and the wind settles down, and you peek your head out and ... oh, my goodness, it sounds like a bunch of bullfrogs.”
Unlike Hampsey, Cossairt has participated in 15 of the 32 Oklahoma FreeWheel events. Last year alone, he put in 6,500 miles of “saddle” time atop his bicycle.
“It’s hard work. This (was) my hammering day, and I’m really tired,” he said, adding that his quad muscles were aching. “What’s neat about this is you have (riders) of all levels. I’m sure you had people who were here at eight o’clock this morning who hammered all the way, and then there’s people who will be here at 6 p.m., and they’re all doing the same thing, (they’re) all biking,” going at their own pace, making their own time.
‘Good moments’
“We had some really good moments,” Cossairt said. “At the top of one of our two-mile climbs ... there was a group of Choctaw ladies giving away free drinks and they were smiling and talking and having a great time and they just made you feel so good.”
You never know what you’ll see along the way.
For example, while gliding through the green-smudged hills surrounding Tahlequah, Cossairt came across a dog lying halfway in the road. Poor thing looked dead, he said. When asked about the dog’s condition, its owner replied: “Oh, he’s just exhausted from chasing bikers all day.”
Pam King, another bicycling veteran, began training for her third FreeWheel back in April, and had accumulated 750 miles on the open road before the start of event a week ago.
“It’s a great way to see Oklahoma,” she said.
She spoke about the sights she spied along the way, including ladies who baked up batches of cookies and handed them out at the side of the road; of kids running themselves ragged, hands drenched from the bottles of cold water; a horse, so disturbed by the hundreds of bikers coasting by its fence, that it never ceased pacing back and forth.
There was even women who cooked up casseroles for the various bikers.
“We get to eat” when on the road, King said with a grin.
Added Cossairt with a chuckle, “A lot of people gain five pounds while they’re biking 500 miles.”
FreeWheel at a glance
“This is the 32nd year that the trip has been organized. Each year, the Oklahoma FreeWheel coordinators select a new route. This year’s ride began in Hugo on June 12 and will end in Joplin today. The FreeWheelers travel an average of 60 miles a day. Other stops along the adventure have included Clayton, Heavener, Muldrow, Tahlequah and Pryor.”
Source: NEO
