Rose Pedals . . .: A Rainy Welcome from Oklahoma

Day 14
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Shamrock, TX to Weatherford, OK
105 miles
2,726 feet of climbing

Well, our luck for dodging the rain ran out on us as we left Shamrock this morning (apropos, I suppose). Today's riding conditions were the polar opposite of yesterday's optimal conditions. We rode in a steady rain - complete with a stiff headwind - for the first 56 miles of today's ride. Fortunately, I had my very fashionable rain gear, which helped to keep me (and my shoes) dry. Fortunately, the temperature was in the 60s, so the chill factor was minimal. But it was sort of a slow, unpleasant slog as we made our way east. We unceremoniously crossed over into Oklahoma at mile 15 (I say unceremoniously, because there was no "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign or any other indication of crossing state lines, save for the notation on our route sheet). Once the rain let up, at about the mid-point of today's route, we had blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the ride. The headwind persisted, but at a lesser velocity than it was during the rainy morning. Despite the rain, it was a great day on the bike. We again rode most of our route on historical (and bumpy) Route 66, and got to visit two Route 66 museums. The PAC Tour crew took great care of us, even improvising an extra rest stop in the morning and providing hot cocoa for those who were chilly. Today was the official "half way" point of our journey across the country, so, the crew provided a 'half point" celebration at our lunch stop. By the time we arrived at our hotel in Weatherford, we were warm and dry, but our bikes were quite dirty. We had to spend some time cleaning our bikes of all the dirt and grit that accumulates during a rainy ride. The forecast looks good for tomorrow's ride to Purcell, OK. But when you're riding your bike across the country, every day is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get.