#9: Route 66 (Tulsa to Sapulpa)
Cycling along the Californian coast for 500 miles sounded dreamy. Wake up, spend a few hours on a bike and check in to the next hostel by the early afternoon. Spend the rest of the day at the beach, chatting with locals about the best eatery to "get my carbs in". Sweet dreams as the Pacific ocean, my only constant in the trip, laps away. Repeat for nine days and bob's your uncle.
Flights were booked in blissful ignorance: Tulsa to San Francisco for $150 via Denver. A direct (!!!) flight from LA to Tulsa for $149. Glorious. And then the wheels started coming off.
Bike hire companies don't take well to returning bikes to a City 500 miles away. Nor is San Francisco known for it's affordability. The bike I'll spend 7 hours a day on remains an open question.
The hostels I envisaged staying in only exist at either end of my trip, leaving 8 nights of financially expensive motels or emotionally expensive couch surfing. Hosts won't take kindly to me collapsing in a sweaty mess upon arrival only to frantically wake later with the chilling realisation i need to "get my carbs in". It sounds way too much like the capitalist grind that the couch surfing philosophy seeks to subvert.
Camping is an option, but what I would save in dollars and emotional energy, I would have to pay in weather angst and carrying an extra 15 kilos of camping gear on any incline. Not to mention the possibility of getting soaked early on and spending the next week alternating between soggy lycra and a damp sleeping bag.
Sleeping rough is increasingly appealing. It's cheap, you don't need to talk to anyone, and you don't need to carry anything to do it. Experiencing the bottom rung of American society is all part of cultural exchange, right? I'm too bloody soft. As an undergrad I'd wear t-shirts on nights out in December to save the £1 cloak room fee. I now own multiple scarves ffs.
This introduction was a long way of saying, most of my blog posts will now involve training rides one way or another. My worries about choice of bike and accommodation are dwarfed by the reality of pedaling all day for over a week. Saturday's 40 miler was at such a tepid pace that Strava's artificial intelligence engine classified the ride as a run (it was done on my colleague's step son's mountain bike in my defence).
This blog post rates the Route 66 section from Tulsa to Sapulpa.
Date of creation: 1926
Connecting Chicago and Los Angeles via Route 66 was not the vision of politicians in the cities at either end, but from two entrepreneurs hailing from fly-over country. John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri and Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma lobbied the American Association of State Highway Officials to create Route 66 to create a national thoroughfare for rural and urban communities without prior access.
The idea turned into reality as public highway legislation first appearing in 1916 was later expanded by Congress. Route 66 received its numerical designation in 1926 and was signed into law in 1927. The route is an amalgamation of the Lone Star Route (Chicago - Lousiana), the National Old Trails Road (St. Louis to Los Angeles) and the Postal Highway (Oklahoma City - Amarillo).
Traffic grew as Avery promoted the highway, including an advertisement inviting Americans to take US 66 to the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Farming families fled the 1930s Dust Bowl in the hope of finding agricultural jobs in California.
Truckers and migrants passing through provided an economic lifeline to small towns during the Great Depression, as small mom-and-pop businesses opened service stations and restaurants. Vacationers heading to California after World War 2 gave rise to more exotic roadside attractions, often involving native American themes.
Although Route 66 was the first highway to be fully paved in 1938, newly opened highways constructed with more sophisticated engineering began to replace sections of the route. Often this came at the expense of small towns; the Turner Turnpike bypassed every town for 88 miles between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
New Mexico valiantly passed legislation in 1963 to ban bypasses around cities for fear of losing business and tax revenues. Threats about losing federal highway funds led New Mexico to rescind this legislation two years later.
The more modern I-40 had replaced most of the original US 66, save for a 40-mile stretch at the Texas-New Mexico border. Locals referred to this section as "Slaughter Lane". The city of San Jon delayed construction as they insisted the I-40 should skirmish the city rather than skirting it.
Motorists could not easily exit the new interstate highways apart from via ramps at interchanges, which were planned to be served by national chain restaurants. Local businesses, supported by the US Highway 66 Association, launched lawsuits to prevent this and largely succeeded. They failed to prevent de-certification in 1985, as multiple interstate routes replaced US 66.
A number of states now have Route 66 associations, with Missouri declaring the US 66 a "historic state route" despite signs being repeatedly stolen by souvenir hunters. A National Route 66 Preservation Bill provided $10 million of federal funding in 1999, signed in by the notoriously globalist President Clinton.
Beyond the B&G, the coffee was diabolical. I've not drank coffee that weak since re-using coffee grounds during undergrad. Even worse, the good people of the US of A still haven't worked out that fresh milk is a key component of coffee, instead they offer chemically enhanced creamer.
There was a deeper problem. The chef clearly does not enjoy breakfast. The formulation "there are two types of people in this world, those who X and those who don't X" assigns cosmic significance to a truism. This logic leads to dating apps saturated with singles searching for fellow "cat persons" or "coffee persons". In spite of my frustrated cynicism after years of reading such profiles, presumably as the cat people couple off and I who rejects such binaries was left alone (do I put too much of myself into these blog posts?), this truism is important when X = "enjoys breakfast".
Some people genuinely don't enjoy breakfast. Embracing JSM's defence of eccentrics, I accept these people whole-heartedly. However, they should not make breakfast. Ever. Prosperity Cafe in Sapulpa's chef, the father of the Chinese family who runs it, is one such person.
Scrambled eggs are the litmus test. The recipe "heat eggs while scrambling" belies untold nuance. My brother believes in going big on butter. Some unhinged creatures add a dash of milk. Those who can afford to fold in smoked salmon.
My personal belief is what's good enough for an unborn chick is good enough for me; love and patience is all scrambled eggs need. Put the heat on low and slumberously stir every now and then. Anything faster than eight minutes is a travesty.
Mr Prosperity Cafe cooked an omlette and then broke it up into little pieces. A crime against scrambled eggs. European breakfasts elevate food beyond mere sustenances. Think crunchy croissants, crispy black puddings and weird German cucumber slices.
Next up was a brief interaction with some fund raising cheerleaders but the person in loco parentus was giving my lanky lycra clad body evils so I left.
My third interaction was with an out-of-place hipster coffee shop. Finally someone who might welcome my lanky lycra clad body. The owner ran a coffee truck in Tulsa that was doing well and decided Sapulpa needed a place for young people to hang out. When I asked how it was going, he winced. His coffee shop is essentially a not-for-profit youth centre disguised as a business venture.
Gma has intervened with a technique video. My aim for the next one is to have an appreciably different style.
Flights were booked in blissful ignorance: Tulsa to San Francisco for $150 via Denver. A direct (!!!) flight from LA to Tulsa for $149. Glorious. And then the wheels started coming off.
Bike hire companies don't take well to returning bikes to a City 500 miles away. Nor is San Francisco known for it's affordability. The bike I'll spend 7 hours a day on remains an open question.
The hostels I envisaged staying in only exist at either end of my trip, leaving 8 nights of financially expensive motels or emotionally expensive couch surfing. Hosts won't take kindly to me collapsing in a sweaty mess upon arrival only to frantically wake later with the chilling realisation i need to "get my carbs in". It sounds way too much like the capitalist grind that the couch surfing philosophy seeks to subvert.
Camping is an option, but what I would save in dollars and emotional energy, I would have to pay in weather angst and carrying an extra 15 kilos of camping gear on any incline. Not to mention the possibility of getting soaked early on and spending the next week alternating between soggy lycra and a damp sleeping bag.
Sleeping rough is increasingly appealing. It's cheap, you don't need to talk to anyone, and you don't need to carry anything to do it. Experiencing the bottom rung of American society is all part of cultural exchange, right? I'm too bloody soft. As an undergrad I'd wear t-shirts on nights out in December to save the £1 cloak room fee. I now own multiple scarves ffs.
This introduction was a long way of saying, most of my blog posts will now involve training rides one way or another. My worries about choice of bike and accommodation are dwarfed by the reality of pedaling all day for over a week. Saturday's 40 miler was at such a tepid pace that Strava's artificial intelligence engine classified the ride as a run (it was done on my colleague's step son's mountain bike in my defence).
This blog post rates the Route 66 section from Tulsa to Sapulpa.
Date of creation: 1926
Connecting Chicago and Los Angeles via Route 66 was not the vision of politicians in the cities at either end, but from two entrepreneurs hailing from fly-over country. John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri and Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma lobbied the American Association of State Highway Officials to create Route 66 to create a national thoroughfare for rural and urban communities without prior access.The idea turned into reality as public highway legislation first appearing in 1916 was later expanded by Congress. Route 66 received its numerical designation in 1926 and was signed into law in 1927. The route is an amalgamation of the Lone Star Route (Chicago - Lousiana), the National Old Trails Road (St. Louis to Los Angeles) and the Postal Highway (Oklahoma City - Amarillo).
Traffic grew as Avery promoted the highway, including an advertisement inviting Americans to take US 66 to the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Farming families fled the 1930s Dust Bowl in the hope of finding agricultural jobs in California.
Truckers and migrants passing through provided an economic lifeline to small towns during the Great Depression, as small mom-and-pop businesses opened service stations and restaurants. Vacationers heading to California after World War 2 gave rise to more exotic roadside attractions, often involving native American themes.
Although Route 66 was the first highway to be fully paved in 1938, newly opened highways constructed with more sophisticated engineering began to replace sections of the route. Often this came at the expense of small towns; the Turner Turnpike bypassed every town for 88 miles between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
New Mexico valiantly passed legislation in 1963 to ban bypasses around cities for fear of losing business and tax revenues. Threats about losing federal highway funds led New Mexico to rescind this legislation two years later.
The more modern I-40 had replaced most of the original US 66, save for a 40-mile stretch at the Texas-New Mexico border. Locals referred to this section as "Slaughter Lane". The city of San Jon delayed construction as they insisted the I-40 should skirmish the city rather than skirting it.
Motorists could not easily exit the new interstate highways apart from via ramps at interchanges, which were planned to be served by national chain restaurants. Local businesses, supported by the US Highway 66 Association, launched lawsuits to prevent this and largely succeeded. They failed to prevent de-certification in 1985, as multiple interstate routes replaced US 66.
A number of states now have Route 66 associations, with Missouri declaring the US 66 a "historic state route" despite signs being repeatedly stolen by souvenir hunters. A National Route 66 Preservation Bill provided $10 million of federal funding in 1999, signed in by the notoriously globalist President Clinton.
Historical significance: 68
Route 66 tells the story of the small businesses from rural areas who were granted access to the star spangled prosperity of the post-year wars. Only to later find out that just as central government giveth, central government can taketh away. The dream of two entreprenuers from the mid-West was realised and then swept aside by a series of Infrastructure Acts. Remnants of Route 66 live on while a constellation of actors contest the cultural, historical, business and mythical aspects of the Mother Road.European-ness: 1.1
At Prosperity Cafe in Sapulpa, I ordered the Sapulpa Breakfast consisting of corn beef hash, homefires, eggs and, most importantly, a breakfast item that is positively un-European in the best possible way, biscuits and gravy. The dish is a Southern staple that is best understood as dipping scones in sausage gravy. Glorious. How has the North of England still not clocked that gravy works at breakfast time too?Beyond the B&G, the coffee was diabolical. I've not drank coffee that weak since re-using coffee grounds during undergrad. Even worse, the good people of the US of A still haven't worked out that fresh milk is a key component of coffee, instead they offer chemically enhanced creamer.
There was a deeper problem. The chef clearly does not enjoy breakfast. The formulation "there are two types of people in this world, those who X and those who don't X" assigns cosmic significance to a truism. This logic leads to dating apps saturated with singles searching for fellow "cat persons" or "coffee persons". In spite of my frustrated cynicism after years of reading such profiles, presumably as the cat people couple off and I who rejects such binaries was left alone (do I put too much of myself into these blog posts?), this truism is important when X = "enjoys breakfast".
Some people genuinely don't enjoy breakfast. Embracing JSM's defence of eccentrics, I accept these people whole-heartedly. However, they should not make breakfast. Ever. Prosperity Cafe in Sapulpa's chef, the father of the Chinese family who runs it, is one such person.
Scrambled eggs are the litmus test. The recipe "heat eggs while scrambling" belies untold nuance. My brother believes in going big on butter. Some unhinged creatures add a dash of milk. Those who can afford to fold in smoked salmon.
My personal belief is what's good enough for an unborn chick is good enough for me; love and patience is all scrambled eggs need. Put the heat on low and slumberously stir every now and then. Anything faster than eight minutes is a travesty.
Mr Prosperity Cafe cooked an omlette and then broke it up into little pieces. A crime against scrambled eggs. European breakfasts elevate food beyond mere sustenances. Think crunchy croissants, crispy black puddings and weird German cucumber slices.
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| Where is the love? |
Cowboy hats: 0
Alas.Collective consciousness: 9
If I had to see Sapulpa's main street every day, I would buy make American great again cap. I went into a mechanic's shop and asked the guy if there a good local place for breakfast. His eyes darted across my lanky lycra clad body, one part fury and one part fear, before he spat out a "what?". I drew for my most disarming British accent and asked the question again making clear I wasn't from here. He said there was a McDonald's down the street. I thanked him and left.Next up was a brief interaction with some fund raising cheerleaders but the person in loco parentus was giving my lanky lycra clad body evils so I left.
My third interaction was with an out-of-place hipster coffee shop. Finally someone who might welcome my lanky lycra clad body. The owner ran a coffee truck in Tulsa that was doing well and decided Sapulpa needed a place for young people to hang out. When I asked how it was going, he winced. His coffee shop is essentially a not-for-profit youth centre disguised as a business venture.
Wokeness: 46
White post-industrial poverty is still poverty.Overall
Don't do Route 66 if you cycle as slowly as I do. It's really boring most of the time and the excitement comes from big cars intimidating you by driving too close. Sapulpa is just sad.
Notes from an artist
My passable praying hands are not the result of artistic progression, but the old adage that a broken block is right twice a day. Somehow I've managed to make water colours paint like a drying felt tip pen, the material of choice for seven year olds everywhere. Fuck.Gma has intervened with a technique video. My aim for the next one is to have an appreciably different style.
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