We did the route I loosely refer to as “Upper Center Creek”, from Fir Road back to my house. I like this route because it was the very first route I did in a kayak. It’s about 5 miles and has some nice rapids and passes the old lakeside park. The only part I tend not to like is the Dyno factory, and the pipes of water (?) that drain directly into the creek…which I find fairly disturbing. Each year the river changes a little bit because of floods – sometimes clearing out debris, sometimes creating new obstacles. This year there seemed to be a lot more obstacles than in previous years, but it was fun nonetheless.

We stopped to release a sea turtle that was snagged on someones trot line, so if nothing else we accomplished a good deed.

As lame as it may sound, the fact that I am at a point where I need more cards it exciting to me. I feel like this trivial process makes this particular hobby just a little more legit than previous ventures. Plus, not only am I ordering more, but my first order was twice the quantity of all the abandoned projects of the past.

One thing I was proud of this year was that we didn’t get passed by nearly as many people as in years past. While we certainly weren’t leading the pack, we definitely held our own. I completed the route in 5h 35m, which is almost an hour faster than last year and a good 2 hours faster than my first attempt.

Spirits were high and the temps were low at 6:30am!

About 10 miles in…this isn’t so bad! Nice and flat!

This is the point of no return for the 110 mile route. There are always several groups of people stopped here debating which way to go. It is never a debate for me!

After the lunch stop is when things start getting tough.

Here we are near the halfway point of the ride, and the longest hill of the ride. It seems to go on forever. As has been the case in past years, Oklahoma drivers are the worst in terms of bikers. It doesn’t seem to matter how large the vehicle or what they are towing (boats, horse trailers, etc) they don’t slow down or pull into the other lane.

Looking back about 2/3 of the way up the hill. All…most….there…

This stretch along Bethel Road in Newton County is always tough for me. It’s long, has no shade, and the road is horribly rough for road bikes with 120psi tires. At this point I have about 60 miles under my belt and it’s starting to get very hot outside.

The last rest stop is always nice. There are no major hills left and we’re almost done!

Once again, we completed the Tornado Alley bike ride. I felt so miserable it was difficult to muster a smile, but deep down I was glad to have participated!

Here are a few photos from this years excellent Independence Day weekend at the lake.

We started off with a cruise around the lake.

Here is Jimmy doing his impression of GOB Bluth.

We spent a few hours at Silver Dollar City, which was relatively uncrowded.

Here are the girls watching a movie with Nana.

The girls had tons of fun with each other.

Sunday night we went for a cruise around the lake and watched a fireworks show!

The Tour de Lakes was different than other rides I have done in that it was almost entirely through developed areas. But traffic really wasn’t a problem and the volunteers and LSPD did a nice job of watching out for the bikers. Probably the only thing I didn’t particularly care for was the rest stops, or lack of – only 1 on the 32 mi and 4 for the 65 mile route. Things I liked about this ride were the areas around the lakes, the ice cream at the finish line, and the goodie bags (complete with cool t-shirt, nice biking socks, water bottle, headband, and a few other things). It was by far the best goodie bag I’ve ever received at a cycling event.

This was Ian and Cara’s first official ride event and I think they both enjoyed it. While it was not my first ride, it was my first ride on my new road bike, and not to my surprise it worked great! We only rode the 32mi route, so it served as a nice warm-up for some of the other upcoming rides, such as Tornado Alley, Maple Leaf, and whatever else I may end up riding.

First I set it out in the room and let Emma check it out on her own terms. She seems interested.

Then I sat her in the pack and Steph strapped her in place. She’s a little unsure but isn’t trying to squirm her way out – so far so good!

Finally I hoisted her up and we went for a stroll around the barn and garden. While next week will be the real test, I am certainly excited that she seems to be diggin’ the back pack so far!

This particular specimen was cool because it was a partial double rainbow. One side appeared to end near the big Bur Oak tree out in my field, and the other side (pictured) ended in the front yard of the trailer house across the street from me. I checked and there was no pot of gold or any Leprechauns under the Bur Oak so it must have been at the trailer. Dang the luck!

I tried to take some pics of her out in the field of tall grass but she wasn’t really diggin’ the grass gettin’ all up in her grill. But we still had a good time anyway!