Source
r/bicycletouring•
Corigami

My unfortunately short, low cost tour through Oklahoma

The photos

My girlfriend and I were planning to take our first tour across Kansas but the forecast changed at the last minute and we had to move our trip south to avoid snow. I got some wonderful advice and suggestions for destinations from this subreddit and we decided to go from Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge to Caprock Canyons. We were trying to keep costs to a minimum and tried to DIY whatever we could (I fixed up a free trashed bike, made most of the panniers and bags myself, and we made our own cliff bars.) A lot of the tour was fantastic, but the wind (which I stupidly didn't consider when making plans) made nights hellishly cold and physically prevented us from moving forward without walking at some points. Between that and a knee injury, we decided to turn around at the Texas border and hitchhiked part of the way back. At the time it felt like a massive failure, but a lot of the trip was fantastic and we got to meet some wonderful people when we went looking for help. It was also a great test run for a longer trip I'm hoping to take from Jackson Hole to the northwest corner of Washington this summer, but I think my girlfriend might be done with touring.

There's more details in the photo captions and I'm happy to answer any questions about the tour.

Posted Apr 14, 2013, 5:20 PM UTC

2713
dirtisgood•

Congrats on the tour! This wasn't a failure! This was a great attempt.

Upvote for cat litter containers!

11
DaveFromTWJ•

I'm impressed too, you guys rock!

4
C1D3•

Dat Kansas Wind.

3
norleck•

Havent had the luxury of a tour yet but I envy all who do. What would you have done different on the trip to make it better? Do you still feel like it was a failure? How long was the trip?

2
CorigamiOP1988 Trek 520•

The main change I would have made is going later in the year when it will be warm enough to sleep comfortably outside, but even then we would have needed to turn around when my girlfriend's kneecaps started sliding and there's nothing we could have done differently there. I don't see it as a failure now at all. I wanted to see what touring was like, see if my gear would work for long trips, and get my girlfriend into touring. I accomplished two at least. The tour was just 3 nights.

3
norleck•

yeah, cant do much about the knee problem. Nothing like a short trip to work out the kinks in the program.

2
profe55or•

The knee trouble is a common one, especially early in a tour, or if you haven't toured much before. Eventually your muscles develop and it's not a problem (for me, at least), but what worked for me is a strap like this one: http://www.wayandpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mcdavid.png

I used one here and there for years whenever I had knee trouble and it works like magic for me, at least. You should pick one up next time you go out and try again. The other hot tip, which you probably already know, is that hurt knees is a sign of a saddle that's too low. You have to balance that out with overextending your achilles tendon, but you'll eventually find a sweet spot and meanwhile your body will hopefully be adjusting. It's a total bummer to end a trip because of that, better luck next time!

2
Leatherhead_jarneck•

That knee strap really is the closest thing to magic I've encountered in my life. IT band stopped me mid-ride, I put the strap on and immediately rode 41 painless, loaded miles home.

2
SoapOnRopeRaleigh Sojourn•

Your Girlfriend probably has a tight IT band. If thats the case then it is very easy to fix. This site describes the condition and how to fix it. http://cyclingphysio.com/injuries.html

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
CorigamiOP1988 Trek 520•

Thanks! That road is E 1645 Rd, running east out of Headrick. Most of it is blocked off for cars with gates but it's easy to get a bike under them.

2
warmboot•

the wind… made nights hellishly cold and physically prevented us from moving forward without walking at some points.

Well, it is where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. I did my undergrad in Norman, and I can remember well how the wind would have me drop to some lame low gears on flat stretches. It's hard to believe if you haven't been in the situation, though.

2
mnorri•

Great photos. The water tower made me think of the Tripods from the War of the Worlds.

I haven't done much touring, but the rides I remember most are the shitty ones - heavy rain or winds. The rides under blue skies, calm winds and balmy temperatures are best to ride, hardest to remember, damn near impossible to tell stories about.

Thanks for sharing. I wanna go out now!

2
DevouredBuilding custom Disc Trucker•

Hey man, this is pretty badass. I envy your thrift making all your own equipment and such. Nice photoset.

2