An Impromptu Ride

On Friday I met up with a rider who's always nice enough to let me know when he's riding. He even has this habit of asking if I want to join (imagine that). So after the "Are we riding?" question, we decided to meet up in an hour. When I get there, his friend's already there waiting. Eventually after getting gas, lunch, and bs-ing with his friend, the other rider rolls in. First time I've not adhered to my 5 minute wait policy in years. If you're not there in 5 minutes, I won't be there either.

Awesome weather for a ride...if you were wearing synthetic gear. I was quite cozy in my Ballistic 5.0 pants with long underwear. That and winter riding gloves (how did I ever live without them!?!), and it's like riding in Florida sunshine even with the gusty gale common in Oklahoma. The windy city sure ain't got nothin' on us. We did a general 100-mile loop starting out in Meers to ride HWY 115 north. We did it just before they closed off HWY 115 to do whatever construction they're now doing. There goes my Meers and Saddle Mountain cemetery plans. 

I don't think my riding buddies had ever been on that road (not really explorers those two, but not everyone can have a job as an explorer like me). First corner comes up; I look in my mirror to see one of guys take it too wide. He reacted fast, straightened out his Harley, and did a little off-roading before rejoining us on the paved street. I'll admit, it was a pretty sweet save.We continued on- enjoying the weather, the scenery, and the ride. I love riding with people who ride to ride not to do moronic stuff. That last curve by Saddle Mountain is a doozy. It has an odd inclination and usually has grit or water on half of a lane. Creeped around that very slowly. Also, that last section (and I fear all of Hwy 115 may have the same fate) is only tightly packed gravel. I wouldn't be doing any track-style riding on it.

As we headed to Apache, I saw a lot of old barns I want to get on film. Some I've ridden by but were always hidden by trees. I love riding because I always notice something new. The Mobetta (mobetta than what, I always ask) building has long been transformed into a tanning salon in Apache. Because here in Oklahoma, we never see the sun... I think I'd rather get skin cancer from the sun than from whatever chemical reaction goes on in one of those weird booths. 

After Apache we went to Medicine Park because I had to go to the Post Office. Don't know why I didn't go in Apache. It's got to be that detour problem I have. While in Medicine Park I managed to convince the guys that they wanted to go hiking with me on Sunday since the others had bailed for the Saturday plans. I think I need to take some classes in guilt-tripping. 

Explore OK trial run

It was a busy day. Especially since someone could not stay away from the car show in Medicine Park. Guilty! But, it was worth the rush because I got to see some sweet rides (go back a post or two). Anyhow, yours truly came up with the idea of doing history tours in Southwest, OK. Yes, sure we may not have as much history (time-wise) as wherever Plymouth Rock is, BUT we have a rich history nonetheless. State history may only be a century, but the Native American history goes back many centuries. And, of course, let's not forget the not so up-and-up history provided by the outlaws, gamblers, and fortune hunters back in the day. Southwest Oklahoma also has a loud military presence which I'm reminded of on a weekly basis when my windows and pictures rattle like in Mary Poppins. Yes, that's  one of two things I remember about the movie. One, Mary Poppins had the coolest bag ever. I mean, who wouldn't want a bag which could carry a motorcycle and apparently not weigh a ton? Two, the family always had to hold the valuables down when artillery was expected. However, they had it down to a science. Fort Sill hasn't given me its schedule. I wonder if they even have one. Maybe they ought to watch Mary Poppins...

 The Loop:

• Huckleberry Barn
• Victory School #43
• Saddle Mountain
• Cooperton
• Babbs Switch School Memorial
• Hobart
• Quart Mountains

Victory School #43

Over the years, I've ridden to many interesting places; Sometimes only to make a mental note to come back to check it out, sometimes with the opportunity to explore and be questioned by the local police. I've received a lot of comments and interest in the wheres (location) and whats (history) so together with Stone Turtle Ranch I decided to try my luck as tour guide. It was the first, of what I hope to be many, what I'm calling Explore Oklahoma tours. 

Our second stop was the old Victory School #43 building. It's interesting that a stretch of road barely 20 miles long had three schools in the early 1900s (Meers School, Victory School, and Saddle Mountain School). Victory School, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society, is believed to have had a teacherage (a house for teachers) when teachers usually lived with families who lived in the area. The one-room school house offered knowledge to the kiddies from 1902 to 1946. Teacherages were usually found in school districts prior to 1915 and at schools with two or more rooms which makes the fact that Victory School #43 had one kind of unique.

Stop four was in Cooperton. I now know, thanks to Hobart's website, that the sign advertising Saturday Nite Dance is a current thing. So if you find yourself in Cooperton on a Saturday night, have no fear! It's kind of sad when a town with a population of 5 (okay, maybe 15) has more to offer folks than Lawton. Funny how the world works. Drove down Main Street...not much to see there but the bank. And we found this gem (see picture below). It looks to be an old church. Love to have additional information should someone possess it! If I stumble across it in my research, I'll post it.

Additional pictures can be found on my Facebook page.

Tucked away in Cooperton, OK

Bye Bye Birdie

May the little bird that met my front tire at 65 mph rest in peace. It certainly took a dive at the wrong time.
Otherwise, it was a lovely afternoon for a ride! Three other riders showed interest in getting out and putting some miles on the bikes. When the time came to meet up, only two other riders showed. The 5 minute wait policy was long up, so we decided to head out. Of course, we took a major detour to our not specified destination of Altus. We rode the lake road to Medicine park a couple of times before riding up Mount Scott where we happened to meet up with our missing rider. Funny how life works out sometimes. Since we had our four and the detours out of our system, we made our way over to Altus via HWY 115 and Hobart. I just hung back and stopped here and there to take some pictures for the blog (have to justify my fuel bill somehow, right?).

Pictures from this ride can be found on WGR's Facebook page.