McBRAAM Stage 17: McAlester, OK to Ft. Smith, AR..."I knew we had to leave Oklahoma Sooner or later."

1,742,9 miles ridden.
67,432 feet climbed.

I'm thankful to finally be out of OK. It seems I've been riding in it forever. It was characterized by endless rollers and endless wind. Not much to see either. Today was the best though, an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect temps, somewhat flatter roads, the softest winds in a week, blue sky...pretty much cycling nirvana.

I have seen more (dead) armadillos in OK than I ever imagined I would. I'd think it would be the natural mascot of any and every enterprise needing one. What would be cooler than the Anadarko Armadillos!

In case you're wondering, I'm feeling pretty good these days. It takes the first hour or so to get the legs warmed up, the neck and back loose, the heart rate settled in, and I'm good for the duration. I haven't been experiencing any drop off of energy throughout the rides, which suggests my fueling program is on the mark.

Today's picture has a story behind it. When we were young kids, Pops would give us the old "Pete & Repeat (Re-Pete)" riddle. He would start with, "Hey Leslie, Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence, Pete fell off, who was left?" Naturally, I would reply, "Repeat." And he would, and I'd answer the same way, and he would start over again. This would go on until I would get so frustrated I would storm off. I eventually figured it out and the little routine became a shared memory of the past. (At least until my little sister, Lisa, was old enough to fall for it, but too young to understand it. I finally got my revenge, at her expense, of course.)

So, when we saw a local restaurant named RePete's Place, we just had to go.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1233735019
https://www.relive.cc/view/1233735019

Hotel: GuestHouse Inn, 4 of 5 stars (another surprise find among the non-chains).
Restaurant: RePete's 3 of 5 stars (nice local comfort food stop).

State Road Cycling Friendly Rankings after 5 states complete:

1. New Mexico
2. Arizona
3. California
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma

SAGMan with a place to his liking.