4.19.2011 Ride: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

A bit short, but a great night sleep.  Woke up at 4:40, got up about 5:30.  I stepped outside and two whippoorwills were calling back and forth to another.  There was an owl in the distance.  A bit humid which seemed to foretell of a hot day.  But by the time we pushed off at 7:00, the air was much drier and felt cooler.

Ted gets us off to a good start.  The cattle guard is supposed to keep livestock from leaving a pasture but looks as if it also works well on some humans.  He had to unstrap his shoe, pull his foot out and then his sandal.  Rebooted, we were on our way.

A wonderful feeling to the morning with the moon setting in the west and...

...the sun rising in the east.

I thought that this was an interesting contrast of energy technologies.  The dam is about a half mile away and the windmills 3-5 miles away.  The windmills stretched along the ridge to the left and right for perhaps ten miles.

Medicine Park's own bridge to nowhere?  I'm assuming that this old span sitting in a field has some historical significance,  but I haven't found out what it is.

One of our many views of Mount Scott which we would bike ride up later.

My one piece of litter for the day which Ted discovered.  You may have to look closely to see that they are glass frames.

I didn't realize that the Wildlife Refuge included Longhorn Cattle.  But since I missed getting a picture of one when we passed through Texas, I was glad to see them.  This one was eating grass just off the road.

There was a bit of a wind but without the panniers on the back of the bike, the going was much easier.  I hadn't realized how much the bags caught the wind and acted as sails; no wonder I was having such a hard time yesterday.  We were really enjoying the morning and having the road almost entirely to ourselves.

Coming up a long rise, the land opened up into what looked like the plains.  But the hills in the distance were a very dramatic touch.  The small mountains were very craggy with little vegetation.  Very shortly, we came across our first buffalo.  He was about thirty feet off the road. 

Several miles in, we made a stop at the visitor center.  After we came out, Ted and I both looked at each other at the same time perplexed by the wind.  It seemed to be coming from the north, yet the flag that was flying was indicated a westerly wind.  We thought perhaps it was the building.  But, it was definitely cooler and we also wondered if it just seemed that way since we had stopped.  A bit more riding and it definitely wasn't our imagination; the wind was now coming out of the northwest and it was markedly cooler.

We thought of riding six miles on the main road and then going down another road for six miles which dropped into a canyon of sorts.  The ranger at the station said it was a very pretty spot.  But the wind was working against us and the outing would basically be an all day affair and, food-wise, we weren't prepared.   So, after a few more miles we headed back.

This building was one of three in basically the middle of no where.  One of the other buildings was a good sized house that was gutted by fire.  The third structure seemed to be a fruit stand or roadside cafe. I believe that these buildings date back to the WPA program of the 1930s

Getting on our bikes after stopping at the buildings, we were shaking our heads in disbelief at the wind which was now blowing from the northeast and pretty much in our faces.  But without our loads, it was easy to find the humor in the situation. And the climb up Mount Scott loomed nearer.

Ted thought it was about 1.5 miles to the top.  Being an old-cut road, the grade was steep the entire way up.  And, since the mount jutted up from its surroundings, we had incredible views the entire way up.  Sometimes the wind played havoc with a smooth ascent.  But at other times, since we circled a couple of times around the mount, I was treated to a little push from behind.

I was almost at the top when I stopped to take this picture.  It was tempting not to stop being so close to the summit but the rock face really called to me.  From top to bottom, it was probably fifteen feet.  It was a very massive looking face and I love the yellow tones.

As might be imagined, it was very windy at the top.  Being lightly dressed, Cliff and I were a bit chilled after working up a sweat coming up. As it turned out, the ride up was actually 2.7 miles.

Top of Mount Scott

The ride down was probably the most diffcult on me because of my handlebar configuration.  My hands pressed hard down against the holds and I had to fight off vertigo at times catching the drop off in my periphery, especially when the wind gusted, pushing me off balance.  I was very glad to get to the bottom.

We headed to the Mexican restaurant in Medicine Park for a late lunch and then back to the cabin, leisurely enjoying the rest of the day.

Eagle at Wichita Mountain Lodge

Today's Ride: 4hrs. 43mins.  40.7 miles.  72-68-75 degrees.  Miles YTD:  2,157.96