Erick to Oklahoma City and Stroud, OK

Garmin Stats and Maps

Erick to Foss, OK

Foss to Weatherford, OK (Oklahoma City)

Oklahoma City (Arcadia) to Stroud, OK

I left my little motel in Erick and started riding in a very stiff wind. At times it was a headwind that really slowed me down. The wind was also very loud. I think the winds were howling at 25-35 mph. The highlight of the day was going through the prosperous town of Elk City. This is an oil town with a nice historic area. The neighborhood on Broadway was on a red brick road lined with stately homes. Much of the Oklahoma I've traveled through has been wind-blown and quite poor. In fact, some towns seem almost abandoned. It was nice to see a town that appeared to be growing with lots of successful businesses. 

The other thing that happened is I started to have camera sound issues. The DJI wireless receiver that I am using for sound connected to my action camera started to cut out. I carefully chose this microphone system for this tour and am very disappointed it is giving me problems. There are 2 microphones and each can be used as a separate sound recorder. I'll have to switch to this if I can't figure out why the receiver isn't working. Using a separate sound recorder should work fine but will require an extra step of syncing the sound with the video. This will be a new step for me and, hopefully, it will go smoothly.

Camping at the Foss KOA

I ended the day in Foss to camp at a KOA. I think the KOA is the only thing in Foss. Yesterday was the 1st day of Spring and today the daytime temperatures got over 70 degrees. Night-time temperatures will be in the 40s but this is warm enough to camp. The real challenge was setting up camp in the strong winds.  This KOA has a cafe. I took my laptop inside to escape the winds. I ordered a pull-pork sandwich for dinner instead of trying to use my stove in the wind. As the sun was setting, I put up my tent. This took quite a while fighting with the winds. The site had electricity so I was able to charge up my e-assist batteries.

Video of ride to Foss (KOA)

The winds continued all night and were so loud I was surprised I didn't have more trouble sleeping. The tent material was whipping. I guess my earplugs are really working. I woke up to the tent poles being pushed down over me in the wind. The cafe offered free Keurig coffee and had 2 cups to wake up. The wind was too strong to try and use my stove for breakfast. I decided to find something to eat somewhere on the road. 

Parked outside my breakfast gas station

As I started back out on Route 66, the winds were strong but not quite as strong as yesterday. I found a package of cheese and salami slices at a convenience store 10 miles down the road. I could see some weather was brewing. Tomorrow, I had previously made arrangements to stay with trikers in Oklahoma City. Leroy called me a couple of hours into today's ride. He didn't think where I had planned to camp near Weatherford was safe. He was also concerned enough about the weather he asked if he could pick me up today instead of tomorrow. I was very grateful for his concern and the ride. Leroy drove more than 70 miles to scoop me up off the road to safety. 

Leroy picking up in Weatherford

Leroy is such a nice and generous man. He met me in a parking lot driving a brand-new truck. The truck bed was 8 ft long with plenty of room for the trike and trailer.  Leroy had brought a water bottle full of fresh iced tea. It was delicious. Soon we were speeding to Oklahoma City and to Leroy and Pat's very comfortable home. The timing was perfect. A big storm came the 2nd day I was in Oklahoma City. There was lots of rain and a series of tornado warnings.

Foss to Weatherford ride video

Pat and Leroy's trikes

Fender mount repair

I had been having issues with my fenders since the tour started. The fender attachment on the Scorpion trikes is notoriously terrible. With the new frame, I thought they had made improvements. Instead, I actually think they made it worse. The disc brake rotors are in the way of the fender attachment screws. There are 2 screws for each fender and they are different sizes. Tightening down these fenders is a ridiculously difficult chore. Every time I have had new fenders added to the trike, the mechanic always uses the old screws. These screws have been tightened down so many times they are essentially stripped. I asked Leroy for help getting the screws replaced. Unfortunately, hardware stores don't carry these 2 metric-sized screws. I bought some red Loctite to keep the screws from coming loose. In order to get the screws out of the fender mount, the wheels need to be removed. I was able to get the wheel on one side off. The other side has the dynamo hub in the wheel. I couldn't figure out how to remove it. All I could do is back the screws out as far as the disc brake rotor would allow and, with a toothpick, apply red Loctite to the screws. Hopefully, somewhere on the trip, someone can show me how to get this wheel off.

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Oklahoma City recumbent riders

Fun group

One of the highlights of staying in Oklahoma City was going on a couple of local rides. It was very fun meeting local recumbent riders. On the 2nd ride, I met Andy. He was so much fun. Andy is a long-time mechanic at Pro-Bike bike shop. While I was doing my fender lock-down repair, I made a mess of one of the Avid BB-7 disc brake adjustments. Andy took my trike to the shop overnight and then delivered it to the house in the morning. 

With Andy, Leroy and Pat at POPs

With Andy at POPs

Pat at the Round Barn, Arcadia

Leroy and Andy at the Round Barn

Leroy and Pat were concerned about me getting out of Oklahoma City safely. They drove me to Arcadia and then took me and Andy out for breakfast at POPs on Route 66. This attraction has over 600 varieties of bottled pop. Then I rode with Andy the short distance to the Round Barn which is also very cool. I loved listening to the Round Barn Ramblers quartet playing country folk tunes. I used the music in my video for this ride. Andy rode with me down Route 66 for 25 miles before turning around. He has an e-Tour Easy that is a dream machine. We had a great time riding together. It was cold to start but ended up being a beautiful day.

Video for ride from Arcadia to Stroud

With Andy at a Porche car rally

Parked at the Round Barn

With Andy and his e-Tour Easy on Route 66

I ended the day in Stroud at a very interesting vintage hotel.

Starliner Motel in Stroud