Dear Readers,
After our ride was cancelled yesterday due to storms, everyone was eager to ride today. Cold temps until our sag stop at 78 miles, we had a tail wind of 8 – 10 miles per hour except for about 10 miles where the course turned into the wind. The surroundings could not be more pleasant. Nice, quiet country roads, farmlands reminiscent of Minnesota with very gentle rolling hills, beautiful blue skies with a few scattered wispy clouds and regular songbirds on the wire – without traffic noise, one 
could hear their calls. Speaking of birds, today we saw the scissor-tailed flycatcher, the state bird of Oklahoma. (We’ve also seen the Arizona roadrunner and heard the Texas Northern Mockingbird)
As you can see in one photo, wind turbines dotted the fields; the hundreds of turbines produce enough electricity for 40,000 homes.
We passed the few buildings of Retrop, Oklahoma. Mr. Porter had wanted a town named for himself, but when he learned that there already was a Porter, Oklahoma, he 
just turned his name around for his little hamlet.
We passed Nowhere, Oklahoma (or Now here).
We rode our bikes over the Fort Cobb Dam and saw the Fort Cobb Reservoir. Completed in 1958, the dam created a body of water with 4,000 acres of surface area, and it has been stocked with 8 different fish species.
Our rural ride also took us to a creek side park near Anadarko. Rob stopped to enjoy the park and water – reminding him a little of the streams near his home in Bristol, England. In the water, we saw what may have been a diamond back water snake, along with brown turtles basking on a log.
Our highlight was reaching the mid-point in our bike ride across America.
About 9 miles outside of Chickasha, now on highway road 62, my rear wheel began to feel squishy. My tire had picked up a small thorn and the tip just nicked in the inner-tube, requiring a change in inner-tubes.
We reached the hotel in Chickasha at 3:30 p.m., well after the others – but the goal for several of us was not to race to the hotel today. Everyone was pleased with the interesting route and the exceptional weather. 120 miles done, today. Italian dinner with ice cream dessert – I won’t be losing weight.
Tomorrow, our longest day of the trip at 143 miles. We will start at 6:45 a.m. to give time for the extra miles.
Thank you for your continued interest.
Be well,
Jeff
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