Our Nation’s Birthday on the Mother Road

Biking by the Round BarnTurned out I had a free morning this Fourth of July. Jackie had most of her morning planned with errands to run, visits to make, etc. I, on the other hand, had not a care in the world.

It had been a while since I rolled out the bike for a solo pleasure cruise. It was a beautiful Oklahoma morning and the weather forecast was favorable, so this seemed like the perfect time. After checking the tire pressure I rolled the BMW out of the garage and saddled up. I honestly had no idea where I was headed as I pulled out of the driveway.

After a few minutes I was rolling down I-44 westbound out of Tulsa. I decided to take a tour down Route 66. I exited to Southwest Boulevard and took the “authentic” pre-1973 route of the Mother Road toward Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Just past Sapulpa there is a very old stretch of 66 that includes a one-lane girder bridge paved with red bricks. I was happy to see the rusty bridge is still there, even if it is looking pretty crusty.

1925 Frisco Overpass over Route 66I’d always wondered how old this few miles of the old road really was. Just then I rounded the bend and found my answer in the form of this familiar old railroad underpass. How I overlooked this in previous years is beyond me. The date 1925 on the overpass would indicate the road must be pretty close to that same age!

I bumped along over the aging concrete until it spit me out on the current alignment of 66 near the junction of Oklahoma State Highway 33 outside of Kellyville. I continued on through Bristow and passed a group of baggers outside of Depew. As I approached Stroud I remembered reading there had been a fire at the Rock Cafe. I decided that would make a good place to stretch my legs and have a shot of water while I surveyed the damage.

Ruins of the Rock CafeWhen I got to Stroud I could see the debris in front of the Rock Cafe from a few blocks away. This was no kitchen fire. As I pulled up I could see the historic 1939 roadhouse was in ruins. The fire had completely destroyed the structure and reinforcements had been erected in an attempt to save the native rock walls. While I was gawking the baggers I had passed earlier came pulling up, also looking wide-eyed. Turns out they had no idea there had been a fire and were stopping at the “Rock” for lunch.

I snapped a few more photos of the devastation before continuing west.

Davenport's brick-paved main streetIn Davenport a sign touts their historic brick-paved downtown. Apparently the entire stretch through the business district is listed as a historic site. Good thing because there’s not much else in downtown Davenport. The Oklahoma sun beat down on block after block of empty storefronts. Rumbling along over the red bricks made me glad we don’t pave roads that way any longer.

At this point I decided to continue on to Pop’s in Arcadia for lunch and fuel. The rest of the ride was uneventful (except for nearly hitting the biggest snapping turtle I have ever seen). As I lugged my way back toward Tulsa the heat of the day was catching up to me. Puffy clouds floated over the wide open spaces between each small town.

As I came back through Sapulpa I decided to leave 66 and take OK-97 north where I could catch Avery Drive. That seemed like a fitting finale for my ride- Avery Drive is named for the man known as the father of the Mother Road, Cyrus Avery.

It all seemed like the perfect way to spend a Fourth of July morning.

Can’t Afford to Drive? Ride.

It’s sad that it takes $5 gas to force most Americans to consider being efficient. As Winston Churchill put it: “Americans will always do the right thing. When they absolutely have to.”

Gas is really pretty cheap. But I’ve always kept the price of gasoline in perspective. Consider the fact that you can walk into most any convenience store in this country and drop a buck on a liter of water. Until recently, gas was cheaper than water.

So with the threat of $5 a gallon looming on our dashboard horizon, we collectively pause to consider the options. Apparently many people are considering two wheels instead of four…

Survey shows gas prices cause more people to consider motorcycles
Powersports Business
Friday June 27, 2008

More than one-quarter of U.S. consumers are considering purchasing a motorcycle or scooter, according to a survey released by Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Eighteen percent are thinking of buying a motorcycle while 14 percent are contemplating motor scooters. The survey also revealed that men are more apt to make the switch with most of them being between the ages of 18-34. In 2007, consumers said they would reduce driving when gas hit $3.50 per gallon. That has proven true as year-to-date 20 billion fewer miles have been traveled compared to the same period last year, stated the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The survey was a random, nationwide telephone survey from June 5-8, 2008. Interviews were conducted with 884 adults, ages 18 years or older, who drive a vehicle and whose household owns at least one vehicle.

This is an excellent time to mention Ride to Work Day is July 16, 2008.

Riding my BMW R1150R near Keatonville
Rex rides his BMW for work and play.
Around here motorcycles are typically considered recreational vehicles. But consider the efficiency with which they can move people from point A to point B with no appreciable wear and tear on our roads, using very little fuel and requiring no modification to existing infrastructure. The reduction in traffic congestion alone would seem to have far-reaching economic repercussions. Not to mention less parking space, reduced consumption of foreign oil and fewer carbon emissions.

The practical side of scooters and motorcycles was overlooked while we were filling our SUVs. Maybe now we’ll reconsider.

Resources for the potential motorcyclist…

Local Grocery Now Open

Jackie and I finally found time to drop by the Blue Jackalope today. It’s a local grocery store near Newblock Park and the brainchild of my friend, Scott Smith. The official opening was May 29th, but we’ve been busy with this and that, so this was our first chance to see it “in action.”

Scott’s loaded the shelves with an eclectic mix of local produce, canned goods, cold drinks and Mexican candy. To satisfy those looking for instant gratification there’s also high-octane coffee and light fare to nosh on. Future plans include more prepared meals and gospel karaoke on Sunday mornings.

The Blue Jackalope is located at 306 S. Phoenix, which is just west of downtown on Charles Page Boulevard. For hours and more info visit www.bluejackalope.com.

Food for Thought: Corn

Or, what does ethanol have to do with carpaccio?

Rising fuel prices have focused more attention on ethanol lately. Consumers have discovered the trade-off in power between a gallon of gasoline and a gallon of E85, which essentially balances the price difference. And then there’s the corrosion issues the futurists from the Corn Belt neglected to tell us about. Yet government mandates in the Energy Act of 2005 require that a certain portion of our automotive fuel supply be spiked with the stuff. Some experts warn that current production capacity can’t even supply these mandated quantities.

Miles of open ranch land in OklahomaImporting ethanol is not an option because of protectionist tariffs. So the net result has been an increase in commodity prices as the demand for corn increases. Biofuel makers bid against food suppliers and drive up the price. Food or fuel, the critics ask. But using corn as a fuel is not a new idea- we’ve been doing it for years with cows. And they don’t run on the stuff much better than our cars do.

Gas, Grass or ..
About a zillion years ago cows grazed in pastures and ate grass. Then came McDonald’s and everyone decided it was a good idea to eat hamburgers four times a day. This increased demand for beef required a factory approach to raising cattle. And grazing in picturesque pastures had nothing to do with it.

Ranchers found that feeding cattle a corn diet caused them to fatten up more quickly and gave the beef a marbled appearance. Since they aren’t built to eat corn they convert the sugars to fat, and it also gives them gas. Now if your child was eating a diet that had such an effect we would call him… well, an average American, but we’d also consider it unhealthy. And the same goes for the cows- it’s not good for them.

This factory farming approach requires huge amounts of antibiotics to fight disease- 70% of all the antibiotics our country consumes is used on cows. Fear of raw or undercooked meat has not been exaggerated. The incidence of foodborn disease, such as E.colli or Campylobacter, in feedlot beef is 300 times more likely than in pasture-fed beef. Add to this the practice of grinding up beef from hundreds of cows at one time for hamburger and it pretty much guarantees you a bacterium-laden burger.

Fuel for Thought
Ironically, it takes someone threatening our cars to wake up many Americans. If the price of gas continues to rise, and the use of ethanol remains fashionable, the food-or-fuel or fuel-for-food debate will rage on. Eventually the beef industry will weigh in with a Toby Keith song playing in the background. But maybe there’s another way.

Instead of raising corn to feed to cows, maybe we could raise corn and feed it to people? And maybe the cows could eat grass like they used to? Sure, we would see the end of 59 cent hamburgers. But imagine ordering a steak cooked “rare.” Imagine buying a pound of hamburger that came from one cow. Maybe even one day saying, “Pass the carpaccio, please.”

Ref: Wikipedia- Cattle Feeding

Reclamation Party

Last week the demolition of homes along Skelly Drive began in earnest. These were the first houses in the Patrick Henry area to come down to make way for I-44’s expansion. Each evening a hardy few gather to glean plants, fixtures and lumber from the area. It all has an uncanny party atmosphere about it.

Wandering around the rubble I was struck by the sheer waste. With copper and aluminum prices soaring, the valuable scrap being hauled to the landfill was the first thing that caught my attention. Copper wiring, plumbing and air conditioner units had barely been touched. There is literally tons of building materials, doors, windows and fixtures, well worth salvaging, being wasted.

Most of these are duplexes that appear to have been abandoned in a Pompeian manner. Many still had various artifacts of life still present- cookware, cleaning supplies, even furniture. Some yards are well manicured and landscaped. We rescued several loads of plants.

A neighbor stopped by while we were digging up some particularly lush monkey grass. He had asked the workers if he could salvage a ceiling fan from a house soon to be razed. Not no, but hell no was their response. The foreman explained the Oklahoma Department of Transportation requires anyone on the premises to have insurance. So the ceiling fan left in a dump truck with the wood, bricks and porcelain that had once been a home.

The heavy machinery is parked for Memorial Day weekend, so I bet the reclamation party will continue. Party on.