October 20, 2014
Day 42: To Madill
It was still dark at 7 AM. Up at 7:30, on the road at 8:50 after having cereal in the room. I don't want to go 3 miles the wrong way for breakfast.
Today I go south and east to Madill, mostly on US 77 and US 70.
A couple miles south of the motel I crossed the Washita river which flows out of the Arbuckle mountains. Big hills would be a more accurate description, since they rise only about 1000 feet above surrounding terrain.
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Shortly past the river I turned right into Turner Falls Park. Paid the $4.38 fall admission fee. I think it's run by the City of Davis. It's a hugely popular swimming and recreation area during summer. But it was deserted on a 65F weekday morning in late October.
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I exited the park on the one way exit road which climbs steeply to get out of the canyon. I stopped at the nice overlook on the edge of the canyon.
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Then the road continues to climb to cross the eastern flank of the Arbuckle mountains. I was hoping for a great view at the top, but was disappointed.
I continued on US 77 south to Ardmore. Much of it is a divided highway. Heavy traffic, but also a wide shoulder.
Ardmore is another sprawling developer-friendly town. Everything looks new and prosperous along the US 77 corridor. US 77 is 6 lanes, plus 4 lanes of access roads. The design is not friendly to bikes and pedestrians. I didn't get to see the rest of the town. Lunch was at Grandy's, my first time to go to Grandy's in many years.
South of Ardmore I turned east on US 70. It seems kind of silly to backtrack 22 miles east, but my options are limited to get across the Red River into Texas. The most direct route is I-35 which prohibits bikes and would not be pleasant. So I either have to go way east or way west to the next bridge. The route west of I-35 is hillier, longer, and has fewer services-95 miles between motels. So I will go east of I-35 to US 377. It's a familiar route. Navigation will be easy.
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US 70 is surprisingly forested. It goes north of Lake Murray but I never saw the lake through the trees. In 1988 I biked from Denton to Lake Murray and back.
It was very humid, I was in constant sun, and it was 82F. I got sweaty enough that it was difficult to operate my shifters. After 22 easy miles I turned right onto US 377, into the city of Madill. I arrived at 2:30 PM and got an $80 room at American Inn. Very nice.
After an afternoon nap, dinner was a huge chicken fried steak dinner at a nearby greasy spoon restaurant. I watched the Pittsburgh Steelers play on TV. I enjoyed seeing the views of downtown Pittsburgh and thought about how far I have pedaled.
Today was an easy day but I didn't want to go another 30 miles to the next motel in Whitesboro, Texas.
Distance: 50.6 mi. (81 km)
Climbing: 1688 ft. (512 m)
Average Speed: 12.3 mph (19.7 km/h)
Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 2,081 miles (3,349 km)
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