Overnight thunderstorms woke us up at about 2AM with frequent lightning strikes and booming thunder. I rolled over and got back to sleep but the ladies were up longer. It wasn't a very good dinner and the limited nutrition made the tank run empty early. On our way out of town we saw a big glass structure with no signage at all and couldn't figure out what it was. As we got closer we saw gas pumps and pulled in. It was Pop's on 66. All about soda. They claim 700 different sodas. In front we were approached by a man who asked about what we were up to. We told him about the ride and the fundraiser and he told us the story about his best friend, Happy. It was about 11:00AM and he ahead just put his best friend and canine, Happy, to sleep. Happy suffered Lymphoma. The man introduced himself as John and told us with deep grief about Happy's passing. He said he couldn't go home and chose instead to ride his motorcycle to Tulsa on 66. He insisted on giving us a $20 cash donation in Happy's memory. We rode off to our next destination which turned out to be an excellent lunch at Boundry BBQ. It was awesome. We continued after lunch and I felt a big auger low coming on. We stopped outside of Wellston where the 66 crosses 44. The next 15 miles were the scariest, sketchiest stretch of highway we've ridden. I think we found a little crystal meth highway and too many drivers were giving us no room at all on the two lane no shoulder road. I was yelling and shaking my fist at every other car. That does a lot of good, you know. We got to Chandler and magically the whole atmosphere changed. People began waiting for us and giving us a wide berth. The terrain was big rollers, which are very tough on the heavily loaded bikes. Several times we would have a car come from behind on the hill and pace us up and over the top so we were protected from behind. We made it to Stroud and were spent from the work into the wind the day before and the big rollers all day. We found a place to spend the night, had burritos and margaritas across the street, and hit the sack. Tomorrow we've got about 50 miles to the front door of our hotel and a day off on Sunday. YAY! We're about 1/4 of the way and the scenery has improved immensely since we are off of I-40 frontage roads.
Pop's 66
The Big Round Barn in Arcadia, OK
On the road
Chandler's bad ass bike shop
An inflatable business
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