Rose Pedals . . .: Hello Arkansas!

Day 16

Monday, September 26, 2011
McAlester, Oklahoma to Queen Wilhelmina Lodge, Arkansas
100 miles
7,549 ft. of climbing

These past few days, I learned a couple of things about Oklahoma that contradict my prior assumptions: Oklahoma is neither flat nor boring. Not even close. In fact, Oklahoma is quite mountainous and scenic, and today's ride proved it. I consider today's ride a great accomplishment; we biked the Talimena Scenic Drive - a 50-mile national scenic byway that stretches from Oklahoma to Arkansas, and consists of significant, steep climbing. (Hint: Anytime the word "scenic" is used to describe a road, that road is sure to be extremely hilly.) Ever since Day 1 of the tour, there had been much chatter in our group about the "Talimena" day; that it would be the most difficult day of the tour. (I will admit it was a difficult day of riding due to the degree of climbing and the many sections with steep grades. But, in my opinion, the first day of riding through the desert was far more difficult.) The first 50 miles of today's ride (before we hit the Talimena) consisted of big sweeping rollers - long, but not all that steep. It was a good way to wake up our legs for what was ahead of us in the 2nd half of the ride. We gained a few thousand feet of elevation before we made the turn-off to the Talimena at mile 58. From there, the road immediately climbed steadily and steeply for several miles, reaching grades of 10 to 13%. There were places where the road leveled off, which allowed for some rest for the legs. The scenery was absolutely spectacular. There were many marked vistas just off the road to pull into and take pictures or just take in the scenery (and rest your legs). The traffic was very light - maybe a car or a motorcycle now and then, but for the most part, we had the road to ourselves as we climbed. By the time we reached our lunch stop at mile 70, we had climbed 4,400 feet and still had quite a bit to go. I've noticed I go through the same routine when when the road folds up into a 10% or higher grade and it feels like, all of the sudden, someone has just hitched a trailer to my bike. First, I desperately look down at my rear cassette with faint but fruitless hope that maybe, just maybe, I still have a gear or two that I haven't used yet. Regardless, I just keep the pedals going around, and eventually, I make it up and over that steep section, and I amaze myself. As a reward, I take a bite out of the granola bar I have in my jersey pocket. I repeated this routine numerous times today. : )
We ceremoniously crossed the border into Arkansas at mile 93. (By "ceremonious," I mean I took a picture of the sign that said "Welcome to Arkansas.") Our destination hotel was the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge in the Queen Wilhelmina State Park - a gorgeous lodge located right in the midst of the beautiful views of the Talimena. We all had dinner together in the Lodge's dining room - an "all you can eat buffet" for $10, which included a dessert table. I don't think the Lodge knew what it was getting into when it offered that deal to our group. I believe we did as much damage to their revenue margin as we did to the dessert table. We had another great day. Today's ride was a beautiful ride - one that I will always remember for its majestic views and challenging climbs.