Holdenville to Moore, OK

Hilly riding on US 270

Last night big storms moved through Holdenville and this morning I woke to light rain. I looked at the weather radar on my computer and read what the NWS meteorologists had to say, then I put on my GoreTex jacket and headed over to McDs for breakfast. since the Holdenville McDs is inside the Walmart, I also checked their electronics section before heading back to my room.

I worked on yesterday's web page and then, about 9:30 AM, the rain stopped and I packed up my stuff. The sun was shining brightly and it was clear to the west as I rode out of Holdenville. It was still dark and stormy to the east, but that weather was moving east. A pretty morning since I was riding west.

I used my GPS to find my way out of town - one of its most useful features - and headed for Seminole on US 270. On US 270 shoulder was wide, if sometimes dirty, and the traffic was light to moderate. I did have to spend some time time dodging truck tire wires and other debris and, with wet patches on the sometimes dark pavement, that could be difficult. About half way to Seminole, after riding through a wet section of dark colored shoulder, I had my second flat on my front tire as a result of piece of wet glass ;-{. I patched it in about ten minutes, but decided that I need thicker rubber on my front wheel. I'll switched to my spare tire, the Vittoria Randoneur Pro that I used on my front wheel for my fall tour, when I'm at Jim Foreman's house.

Leaving Holdenville

It was lunch time when I reached Seminole and I was looking for good place to eat. When I rode by the "Union Bus Station Cafe." it looked promising so I turned around and rode my bike into the covered area between the cafe and the old bus station. It was a slightly seedy area, but I could park my bike right next to a window and sit on the other side of the glass, so I went in. There were lots of folks inside and the feel of the place was great. So was the food, and the price. A great place for lunch!

A small part - one window out of six, of my lunch stop in Seminole

After lunch I rode on through Seminole - not great pavement, and several blocks of brick streets in the old town - and continued on 270, now also OK 9 towards Norman. There is a big lake due east of Jim Foreman's house, so coming in from the east you can go above the lake or below it. Above is shorter, and I'd done below before, so I was tempted to go above. Jim said 'Don't do it!." The hills are both much steeper and much more frequent above the lake. Then, 15 miles after leaving Seminole, just after I exited to OK 9 to go under the lake, Jim showed up with his van to give my a ride into Moore ;-}.

OK 9 - Nice, but note the truck tire debris

Now I'm taking a rest/visit day in Moore. I switched my front tire and cleaned my chain this morning and, last night and today, Jim and I have been / are doing a lot of visiting folks in OKC. It has turned out to e another rainy day here, but the forecast is good for tomorrow when I 'll be riding north and west, heading for Kansas.

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