Oklahoma Freewheel anyone???

[Tri Girl]

Hey, is anyone else out there participating in the Oklahoma FreeWheel in June this year (www.okfreewheel.com)? It'll be my first multi-day tour, and I'm very excited about it. After reading online journals all winter about bike touring (www.crazyguyonabike.com), I'm itching to do some touring myself. It'll be a much different pace than I'm used to- as I'm always about getting the miles in as quickly as possible. This will be more of a leisurely stop and smell the roses kind of tour. I'm looking forward to seeing parts of OK that I've never seen before (at least by bicycle).
I was just wondering if any other TE women were planning on attending.

[Tuckervill]

Hey, I know someone who did both OF and RAGBRAI last year. He said the OF was way way different from Iowa, because there were lots of miles with no services, no towns all decked out and waiting for you to pass through, just not the same atmosphere.

I'd just be prepared to carry yourself along without any help for many miles. I think they went west to east last year, through the panhandle, so this year might be different. I'd check it out carefully, though.

*Okay, I was wrong, they went south to north. It doesn't change his perspective, though. Also, I think RAGBRAI attracts many more riders, and Freewheel has only about 1000. That could contribute to a lonely feeling.

Karen

[Tri Girl]

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, I'd heard that before about the lonely stretches. I've been talking to a woman who's done it for the last dozen years and she does tell of lonely times and sometimes lots of miles without services, but I'm OK with that. Big rides like RAGBRAI are scary to me because in large groups, people ride stupidly. It's why I refuse to do HHH- just too many people. I'm a triathlete by sport, so riding alone is sort of comforting to me. They have a baggage truck, but I think I'm going to do it self-contained. I'll lug all my gear around with me and enjoy the rest stops when they come every 20-30 miles or so. My Camelbak and panniers will hold all the snacks and water I'll need. I'll just think of the few rest stops as a welcome opportunity to see other humans. Otherwise, it'll be lots of alone time with my brain.

Again, thanks for info, tho, Karen. It's always nice to hear from people who've done it before. I appreciate you posting!