Shamrock, TX to Elk City, OK 05-01-2026 Day 21

We had a good rest. The hotel staff was responsive to my request to fix some WIFI problems I had last night, which made it possible for me to get to bed early. We were on the road by 7:30 to another cool breezy morning.

The ride wasn’t too bad against the wind as we came to the town of Texola 15 miles down the road. As you can guess from the name, it sat just beyond the Texas border in Oklahoma.

As we were going through “town” a pack of about dozen dogs came barking out from one of the old homes. Some were still juveniles, but most were acting like juvenile delinquents. I got out my pepper spray in case any got too aggressive. They went away from me and swarmed Ron like a pack of bees, rather than dogs. I was afraid he might crash with all the crowd around him. My only regret is that I couldn’t get the GoPro going to capture the insanity, which luckily was just a comedy. The dogs eventually lost interest and never bothered me.

Seven miles further we entered the quaint town of Erick, OK. Before we got to the main cross streets, I got to talk to Sam of Sam’s town. (BTW -click on any image to get a better view of all pictures!) Samuel Hagen, an artist and cancer survivor has spent 30 years building a refuge for bicyclists. I told him that if we didn’t have previous arrangements in Elk City, I would have sampled his hospitality!

Ron had ridden ahead and I lost sight of him. I texted him to find where he was and then found him sitting in front of The Main Street Bakery and Cafe. It was time for SECOND BREAKFAST – my first of the entire trip!

The staff was friendly, the conversation pleasant – everything I looked forward to but had yet to find in one of the small towns along the Mother Road. We learned that the owners were fielding calls during our breakfast concerning Meals on Wheels deliveries. They work with the community to deliver meals to various people within a 2 mile radius of their business. That is something we have found in most of these towns. Everyone knows everyone and they work to support each other.

After eating, we turned the corner on Route 66, aka Roger Miller Boulevard, and saw these 2 murals on the wall of the building. I may not know any Sheb Wooley songs, but I’ve got a mental jukebox full of Roger Miller. As I started singing “Dang Me”, Ron seemed to be getting farther and farther ahead of me down the road leaving town.

The wind and the terrain didn’t seem as bad today. The pavement was fair and avoiding stops for flats really made for a good day. Our next stop was in Sayre, OK. It was a town of significant size. While there were a few business that had lost the battle to the interstate, there was still a lot of life to it. In one of my alternate routes, this was going to be an endpoint for the day.

We were feeling pretty good with only another 15 miles to Elk City. Things got better as we went. The wind seemed to be dying down and when we hit smooth pavement outside of town, it was heaven. It was almost heaven for a group of wild turkeys that were trying to cross the road ahead of us.

As we headed down Route 66 into town, we finally made a formal stop as tourists to spend time at the National Route 66 Museum.

There was short movie that told the entire history of the Mother Road from Its birth in Chicago, to its completion in LA. It covered how it served a critical need to connect towns across the country, how those towns thrived and how they struggled to survive with the arrival of the interstate. We have witnessed evidence of it all along the way.

A Mexican dinner from a Food Truck, beer from a grocery store, and a final ice cream run from a massive ice cream and dairy store called Braum’s completed our evening.

It’s been a good day. Reasonable distance, tolerable wind, and no flats. The Ride stats are here. The 3D video is here.

The Not So Lone Rider