What to do in Tulsa in the snow? Race bikes.

Daniel and Tara took me in for a few days. Daniel is a top mechanic at Spoke House, a great bike shop in the city. Tara is a coffee expert and goes to grad school, I got a lesson in coffee roasting. There was a cyclocross race today. People were simultaneously excited to ride the snowy course, and dreading how many layers they needed to wear. Temperature didn’t rise close to freezing all day. My toes would have been cold if I could feel them.

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Ride to Daniel and Tara’s apartment. The bike path hadn’t yet been plowed.

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Cold water.

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No snow under the covered bridge.

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Tulsa.

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Bikes everywhere, all so light.

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Mass start. Can you pump your legs fast enough to warm up?

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Across the frozen canal.

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Daniel, getting past the barriers.

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At the end of a race. Easier to collapse than to climb the hill again.

Thanks guys for the shelter from the storm! Tulsa is not a bad place to be stuck.

Stranded in Tulsa, OK.

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View from Tulsa truck stop. Winter snow storm descended today. I got a ride into town for a one-day opportunity to see a friend. That worked well, but the plan for leaving was to grab another ride out this morning before the storm landed. Got up early, got out to a good spot, waited, nothing. A few people stopped but no room for the bike. Suggestion was made to go to the nearby truck stop, probably a good suggestion, but nearly everyone was headed north and east, not south and west. Stood outside all day, watched my water bottles freeze. Cold not too hard to deal with, wore enough clothes and could go inside to warm up, harder was the feeling of powerlessness. Roads no good for biking. Rolled over to a nearby motel right before dark, a trucker very kindly paid for half of my room. Thanks. Will see what tomorrow brings.