Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain (Ponca City, OK)

Oklahoma has quickly earned its way to the top of my favorite states list. The kindess we've received from strangers here, the beautiful countryside, cooler temperatures, and gentle sloping hills have been downright rejuvenating. We left the Church of Christ in Bartlesville a little regretfully, after an extra hour of sleep, delicious breakfast and leftover snacks packed into our Camelbaks and jersey pockets. The ride today was really scenic, as we took a lot of back roads out of town. Someone from Bartlesville's local bike shop kindly planned the route out for us and took Lindsay on a ride yesterday to mark all the turns with washable spray paint, saving us a lot of headache. We were lucky again in that we avoided rain for most of the day, and were only caught by two or three showers. The heavy rains Oklahoma has received recently have meant cooler temperatures for us (low 80's instead of 100+) and a much greener landscape than is usual for this time of year. Unfortunately, they have also meant devastating flooding for many local farmers.

We arrived by midafternoon at our host site in Ponca City, First Lutheran Church and School. Our hosts here have been amazingly generous as well, welcoming us with a marquee and volunteers, and posting signs to direct us around the church. We're sleeping tonight in their beautiful sanctuary, which won't be the first time I've fallen asleep in a church pew. They also prepared us an awesome lasagna dinner (we're getting the recipe for that vegetarian lasagna), and we had the opportunity to give another presentation about our trip (great job Ryan and Risa!).

PS - Check out yesterday's journal below.

Bike odometer: 1671 miles










Group with the awesome volunteers at Adams Blvd Church of Christ











We saw a lot of the results of torrential rains on Oklahoma as we rode today. One volunteer at First Lutheran told us that Ponca City has had 36" (a yard!) of rain since January, more than their yearly average. Flooding has destroyed crops and led to several deaths in southern Oklahoma.










We also rode by a lot of ranches, which looked kind of like I imagined from picture books: big iron gates with the name of the ranch over the top, men on horseback, cattle, goats.










Lee Anne and Jen on the road, storms in the background. It's cool being in such wide-open country because you can see where rain is falling from miles away.













Our welcome to First Lutheran













Risa looks very scholarly reading a book in the church narthex

Some much needed R&R (Bartlesville, OK)

**New Journal!**
Today is listed as a Build Day on our calendar, but unfortunately we had some communication problems with the Bartlesville chapter of Habitat for Humanity and we weren't able to schedule any work. In the long run, however, having an extra day of rest and time to catch up on much-needed bike maintenence will help us out a lot, and we've had more time to appreciate Bartlesville, too. After an awesome breakfast provided by the church, Jochem and I headed over to the local bike shop where I bought new tires and a tailight for extra visibility in the rain. All of our tires are pretty worn out and I've had about six flats recently, so I'm pretty excited about my shiny new tires. I also bought some arm warmers and leg warmers off of Mike (Lizzie, I wish I'd kept the ones you bought me!), so now I'm feeling extra-prepared for our big climbs to come.

This afternoon, pastor Dave and his wife, Shirley, drove several of us out to a local tourist attraction called Woolaroc. Woolaroc is the 1920's/30's country home of Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips 66, converted into a wildlife preserve and museum full of cultural artifacts from the American West. The museum was really cool, and as a local Habitat volunteer who visited us put it, a great introduction to the culture of the rest of our route. Thanks so much Mr. and Mrs. Hammonds!

For dinner we had this really great hickory smoked brisket prepared by a family that used to operate a restaurant, and it's a shame that they don't anymore. I feel like I spend half of my journals talking about food, but it's really been a major treat of this trip, and we're constantly hungry!

Here's another "gem" from the Woolaroc museum--shrunken heads. Real ones--South American, early 20th c. Yeah...












The other pic-a-tures:













Welcome marquee that we rode up to yesterday at Adams Blvd. Church of Christ










Frank Phillips' lodge at Woolaroc...those are 10' 9" longhorns













Mike at the Woolaroc museum










Dinner number two at Adams Blvd: smoked brisket, beans, potato salad, fruit salad, and cake galore










Kim reads about Bike and Build on the front page of The Examiner-Enterprise (check it out)










Some of the wonderful volunteers who cooked and cleaned for us

Incredible hosts (Bartlesville, OK)

Hello from the Adams Boulevard Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK! We've met some incredible hosts here, and I'll write more about it soon. Here are some pictures from parts of the day when it wasn't raining or flash flooding!

**New!**
We left First United Methodist in Grove, OK this morning a little reluctantly, given how comfortable we were and the rain in the forecast. Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the day, and we had a nice ride over long, rolling hills. When we were stopped for lunch, a PT Cruiser pulled up next to us and an enthusiastic lady jumped out, explaining that she was a reporter from a local newspaper. After interviewing us and taking some pictures, she went on her way and we went on ours. We've heard rumor that our Bike and Build team has had way more media coverage than any of the others on the road this summer, and I have to admit we're pretty proud. We're even planning some pranks on the other teams to gloat about our coolness...like sending them care packages filled with discarded flat tubes or something.

Anyhow, Liz and I were about ten miles from Bartlesville when our luck ran out and it started pouring down rain. This area of Oklahoma has experienced a lot of flash flooding recently, and when we hit town water was gushing down the road like a river. We might have gotten there faster if we had paddles, but we finally made it, laughing, to the Church of Christ, where we were welcomed by a huge marquee reading "Welcome Bike and Build, God Bless." We were ushered into their gym, where we were welcomed by volunteers and fed cookies and drinks. An entire team of people, organized by Pastor Dave Hammonds, have been working hard to provide us hospitality here, and even made up a menu for our two-day stay! Tonight we had a taco bake dinner with green beans, chips and cake that was divine. Pastor Dave even arranged for us to use wireless in the church office, and we've set up a temporary office in here. Late tonight we went out for Kim's 22nd birthday--happy birthday Kim!

Bike odometer: 1599 miles













All I know about Oklahoma comes from the lyrics of "Oklahoma" and the first few chapters of The Grapes of Wrath. But apparently it's not all plains and winds. Oklahoma has swamps, too, and lots of other cool stuff.










Vandy and Andy on the road. The roads here aren't much different from anywhere else except that they're unbelievably straight. I'd like to think we're saving on mileage by avoiding twists and turns around hills.










By the road










Steer and me

Three State Day! (Grove, OK)

Hello from Grove, Oklahoma! We were all pretty excited to hit two state lines today, since we rode in Missouri for twenty miles or so before hitting Oklahoma. We also rode together as one big pack for most of the day, since it was just a measly 58 miles, which was pretty cool at times. Unfortunately, the rain picked up pretty heavy again today, and it's looking like more tomorrow. I'm sure we'll miss the cooler weather and clouds once we hit Arizona, but for now I'd like my shoes to dry out. Fortunately, we have a really great host site here in Grove, the First United Methodist, which has set us up in their very comfortable fellowship hall and cooked us spaghetti, bread, cookies and ice cream (not cooked). We joined their youth group meeting tonight and Ryan gave a great presentation about Bike and Build, challenging the community here to start their own Habitat chapter or find other ways to address housing needs. Afterwards we had another affordable housing curriculum meeting among ourselves, learning about the history of HUD (the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development) and public housing in the US. Now it's way past my bedtime and I'm going to hit the hay.

Bike odometer: 1522 miles











The ladies at the Show Me State (mmmm hm...)










The gents










Lunch stop in Missouri









Apparently Missouri ran out of numbers one day; we were riding on Hwy Zero (MO-0)










Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain










Grove First United Methodist Church youth group and us

Last Day in Arkansas (Rogers, AR)

Hello from the Iron Horse coffeeshop in dowtown Rogers, Arkansas! We all made it safely to the Rogers Activity Center, kind of like a YMCA, after a bit of bike trouble along the way. Our bikes are starting to get some serious miles on them, and a lot of people have been getting flats from their worn-out tires and today two chains broke to boot. I was lucky, though, and had one of the best days of riding in awhile. The Ozarks are possibly the prettiest territory we've biked through so far, definitely rivaling the countryside around Maryville, TN and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I rode with Anita today and we kept stopping to take pictures, visit gift shops, chat with people and mail letters home. Almost everyone we've met in Arkansas has been really friendly, and drivers are careful and courteous, too. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know the first thing about this state before biking in, but I've been very impressed so far! Tomorrow we'll actually hit two state lines, as we'll be biking in Missouri for a few miles before hitting Oklahoma. We've picked up our pace a lot recently, and it's exciting to get more states under our belt!

Bike odometer: 1464 miles










Anita in the Ozarks










Anita and me, pointing to our bulging calf muscles










Windy road through these hills













I took these pictures about fifteen minutes apart, during and right after a rainstorm blew through













I love seeing blasted rock on both sides of the road: a sign that we're at the top of a hill and they've kindly made it a little less steep for us










Downtown Rogers...aw, one happy family

Maryville article

Here's a nice article that was published in the Maryville, TN newspaper recently!

http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/LIFE/70619020

And another from Blount County:

http://www.blounttoday.com/blnt/home/article/0,2355,BLNT_18867_5594686,00.html

Sun and Ozarks (Harrison, AR)

Ozarks in the early morning













Chris C and Emily B










Roadside










Taking it in (Vandy, Anita, Ryan, Liz)













11% grade...I finally got up the nerve to hit 40mph (Ryan, Liz, Anita)










Buffalo River










River and crew (Ryan, me, Anita, Liz)













Anita is tuckered out in the trailer at lunch

Bike odometer: 1383 miles

Rain and Ozarks (Mountain View, AR)

Finally came across Waldenburg, Population 80 (rainy)









Armadillo country now (playing dead??)










Somehow seems to capture everyone's personality... (Zach, Molly P, Andy, Yvonne, Tony, Mary Olive)













Lee Anne shows off her hat from the Dollar General

*Post to come! Check for new posts below! (Going back to Sewanee)

Bike odometer: 1303 miles

Arkansas (Waldenburg, AR)

Walkin with my feet ten feet off the Beale










Taking pictures of the Mississippi










Buckle up?













Ryan chalking the turn onto a gravel road (says "yeah, really!")










Arriving at Lake Poinsett State Park

*Post to come! Check for new posts below! (Going back to Sewanee)

Bike odometer: 1267 miles

Walking in Memphis (Memphis, TN)

No journal today, but here are some pictures from our day off in Memphis:










On top of the Peabody Hotel, looking out over the Mississippi to Arkansas (Liz, Anita, Jochem)










Ducks at the Peabody (Me, Anita, Liz)










Downtown Memphis (the nice touristy part)










Moon Pie sundaes at the Center for Southern Folklore (Liz and me)










Most importantly, Andrew was walking in Memphis today, too. Saying goodbye at our host church, Georgetown UM.