Day 27: El Reno, OK to Weatherford, OK

With a strong crosswind for practically all 0f the day, it was a hard day, but it was glorious!

The roads were a HUGE relief from the last couple days. They are narrow, with no shoulders, but there was almost no traffic. I could ride in the middle of the road to reduce the risk of getting blown off the road, and that’s pretty much what I did!

The crosswinds were tough. Going downhill is the worst, because I was too nervous a gust would come from nowhere and make me crash, so I had to brake going downhill. This is not an idle fear. The gusts are powerful, and come without warning. I was actually looking forward to the climbs, because it was just less stressful.

Also, I love my Salsa Cowchipper bars. Instead of riding the hoods when the crosswinds are gusty, I rode in the drops, and the bike was MUCH more stable. I am not sure my back can take this day after day, but it is invaluable at times.

I have a new favorite bridge, but first, I have to explain how I got here.

Shortly after I turned left on US Route 281 (about mile 19.5), into the headwind, I was confronted with “ROAD CLOSED” and “BRIDGE OUT” signs, but there was NO WAY, I was going to turn around, and it wasn’t clear what the detour was anyway, so I just kept going.

Soon I spied a bridge in the distance. It didn’t LOOK closed, or dangerous. When I got closer, I realized it was REALLY LONG. I expected a bridge this long to be proudly named, but the plaque just identified it as “Oklahoma Federal Aid Project 164-H.” I looked it up, and it is the longest bridge in Oklahoma, and almost certainly the longest of its type (a “pony truss” bridge) in the entire country! It is sometimes called the Bridgeport Bridge, and sometimes the Canadian River Bridge.

You can read more about it at this bridge nerd website: https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=oklahoma/us281canadian/

A little while later, I came to the actual closed bridge. There was nobody there, so I squeezed through the barricades. In my head, I had decided that if someone had tried to stop me, I’d have offered to pay the fine if they just let me go, or they’d have to take me and my bicycle to jail.

Later, I met two German bike tourists, Felix and Johann doing Route 66 (from Las Vegas, because that was logistically convenient for traveling with bikes). One of them had three broken spokes, and they were limping along to Oklahoma City.