Hinton to Edmond,OK 05-03-2026 Day 23

The weather today looked even better than yesterday. A little warmer, but with the winds pointing more at our backs. We got off to another early start with us on the bikes before 8 AM. We weren’t far into the ride when we came to a long bridge and a sign indicating we were going over the South Canadian River. Both Ron and I were caught off guard. Did we make a wrong turn? Had Canada annexed Oklahoma? In any event, the swallows were out again.

We were once again riding the frontage roads to connect the towns we’d visit today. This meant that we had another day where we would have to deal with some pointless ups and downs. This one went up about 185 feet in less than .75 miles.

Our next major town along the way was going to be El Reno, but there were things to see along the way. Yesterday we saw a deer bound over a fence and continue leaping across a field. I wasn’t able to capture it on camera. Today we once again saw some wild turkeys and a few other unusual sights.

When we did get to El Reno, it was a large (in area) vibrant town.

Shortly after passing a Federal prison, we hit upon a wealth of murals throughout the town.

We took a little rest at a park in the center of town.

As we left the town and made our way down the road, we saw enough building labels to see that we were in Canadian County. According to Wikipedia, the county is named for the Canadian River, which forms part of its southern border. The river may have been named for early European explorers who were fur traders and trappers from New France, or pre-1763 colonial Canada. So there you have it.

On the other hand, we didn’t care why it was called Yukon. We just knew it had a Braum’s dairy store. But, just so you know, “Yukon was founded in the 1890s. The town was named in reference to a gold rush in Yukon Territory, Canada, at the time. Historically, Yukon served as an urban center for area farmers and the site of a milling operation. ” We only cared about the shakes and ice cream.

From Yukon we made our way around and through Oklahoma City. As we entered, we crossed over the Lake Overholser Iron Bridge and onto a nice bike path.

We had missed the burros in Oatman, AZ. My dedicated followers may have found me along the bike trail instead.

We never found a shield for Oklahoma City, but still kept going to a north east suburb. There, some old friends of Ron’s had offered to put us up for the night. It was a delightful visit.

We got some repairs done to our equipment and laundry! I got to practice a little archery (and did not lose any arrows). Ron and Matt got caught up. Megan, McKinley, and McCoy were good company, along with their dog, Indy. We had great food, an amazing fruit flavored smoothy/frosty/slushey??? It was cold and delicious. Ron will get to sleep in area without my snoring. And I will now call it a night after a very good day.

The ride stats are here. The 3D video is here.

The Not So Lone Rider