Well, what can I tell you apart from as it is..my apologies for having not posted for a few days, but there has been just so much going on....
Let me try to summarize... we rolled into the town of Weatherford the other night...the home of Tom Stafford...if any of you could not find out what Tom Stafford was famous for..he was the the fastest man in Space on Apollo 10...
That night we stayed in the Old Route 66 RV park just off Route 66 and Interstate 40, owned by a lovely older lady who blessed us with her kind words for our journey..It is so nice to meet people with true spiritual values..it reminds me how wonderful people truly are down at heart..when all is falling around you, and the fast pace of our city lives is grinding you down, you get to see the true fabric of our society...
Chris is still amazed at how popular the RV world is, that virtually every park we pull into is full or near full..So, its Friday night...a night of relaxation after the horrible day in the wind and rain and broken gears on my bike...we still made the mileage after the gears were fixed, but it meant for a late night....
A member of the Oklahoma Team in Training, Scott Lambert, had been in constant communication with us over the past few days, advising us on routes and weather...finally was able to meet up with us...Scott had been organising the ride for us from Weatherford into Oklahoma City for the Saturday entry into the city...
Scott trundled in with his beautiful young daughter at about 8.30 that night ..we chatted..what a wonderful man he was, on the phone..but in person he was was even more terrific... it was a pleasure to meet you Scott..I know you are reading this..!
Later that night..my beautiful wife and two children arived from Oklahoma City to spend the night with me in the RV..Ohh what a relief..my son saw me and hugged me, and would not let go..he just held me tight and did not want to let go..it felt wonderful to be truly loved and held by my son.
Scott had left, but we had decided upon the plan for tomorrow morning, at least it would allow us a late morning start...We had agreed that we would set off at about 11.30 am the next morning for a 40 mile ride into El Reno Oklahoma, before picking up the rest of riders from the Oklahoma chapter of the Team in Training ...I though Scott was taking me on a murderous ride....the weather was cold, the wind was harsh and the hills were steep...there was one hill called " backwards hill " Scott explained that in the 1930's the cars had to drive backwards in reverse up the hill because it was so steep...can you imagine how my thighs were burning going up the hill...at least for that hill..the wind was with us...some relief...
We finally made El reno after trudging through the winds, hills and a lot of hard work...it goes to show how bad things were, we managed about 13 mph...at EL Reno..we were met by a pack of Cycle hounds..the Oklahoma Team in Training Group..and what a site it was...I was for the first time riding amongst a group of real cyclists...they were all wonderful, at some point I was able to move up and down the group talking to most of the riders..I can't tell you how great it felt to have all these cyclists here for me, to help me, to give me encouragement ..to be with me to ride me into Oklahoma city...
Ten miles into the Journey...the whole group are picked up by the Oklahoma State Police and Sheriff's office..we had a motorcade to open a path right into downtown Oklahoma...for 20 miles the Police motorcade allowed us to ride through the city..it was fantastic.. at one point my wife who was following the motorcade pulled up close to the cycle group..and my son was looking out of the window...I called to him..." Briton...Briton..." I shouted....he saw me...for the first time I believe it dawned upon him that daddy was cycling ...he understood...he had been fascinated with seeing all the bikes go past him..and then to see his daddy in the group..he started to shout back at me...." Daddy, Daddy.....Daddy...."
The press were there, taking photo's ..the local TV were filming the ride into the city..I felt like a superstar..the other riders courteously let me take the head of the ride position as we entered the city...we were almost there...the police were wonderful, the Oklahoma Team in Training riders were brilliant..we rode into brick town, the historic part of Oklahoma City...we were here...we were actually here in front of people waiting for us to arrive cheering us on....it was fantastic..a great moment....
The people from Oklahoma have taken me to their heart..they have mine, they owe me nothing, I owe them everything...John and Lisa Brooks, Allen and Susan Coles, thank you ..Angie..thanks for putting this together..without all your help Oklahoma would have been just another city..now it's a second home...thank you all for being there for me....
The day ended...the three days of windy rainy hard cycling headwinds had come to an end...I relaxed in bed with my wife and two babies for the first time in 14 days..it was heaven to have my family around me once more......
I had 1400 more miles to go......
Today, Sunday 2nd May..we set out for our new destination of Henryetta, Oklahoma...we are here, sitting in the Henryetta RV park...Once again the people here are wonderful and helpful, and dedicated to helping others.. Once they found out what we were doing..they returned our check and gave our night at the park to the charity...as a way of a gift to others...thank you.....
Not only did they return the check, the spent time hooking up the RV and making sure we were settled in for the night..what a fantastic feeling it was to have people like these just lend a helping hand....I wish life was always full of people like this..
However..today I did not cover my 100 miles...we only covered 70 miles ..not that I was disappointed, we had a late start, we almost made it...the light was with us...but one of those things happened...a blown tire...a major blown tire...however this time..it was not mine...but a stranded housewife and her young son on the shoulder of I-40....the rim just completely destroyed...I cycled past..and thought to myself.." maybe she does not even have a cell phone.." I turned around....and asked if I could help..! She did not know what to do apart from phone her husband, who was at Church over 100 miles away at Fort Smith..Well, Tony knew what to do..I was able to change her tire for her....much to my support another gentleman stopped to assist me, and between the two of us, we had the wheel off and her new wheel on pretty quickly...she thanked us both and heard the story of our ride..she was amazed that I should have been cycling across country and even stopped to help her....What else would I or could I have done..thats just what needed to be done.
The other guy was a Firefighter, a brave proffession and just as passionate in helping others..he gave me a lift up the road to Chris waiting in the RV...I was way behind schedule and it was getting cold and dark...all was well though...we were only 20 miles outside of Henryetta ...tomorrow we head for Fort Smith 130 miles away....
The extra distance to Fort smith will make up for the missing miles today..well that's it.....the last three days..exciting, wonderful refreshing and the start of a new chapter.....I am coming home......
For the record..when we arrived at Bricktown we had achieved 1380 miles ..with the 75 miles today it brings up 1455 miles total...17 days of cycling....
Tony,
Just wanted to let you know that the whole Cramblit family is thinking of you as you make your way across country. It's an amazing feat that is being accomplished by such an amazing man. What you're doing will make a difference in many lives for many years to come. We are grateful that people like yourself care enough to make a difference. Without efforts such as yours, Caitlin may not be with us today. We wish you all the luck the rest of the way home and look forward to celebrating your return.
Tim, Cheryl, Caitlin & Callie Cramblit
Posted by: Tim Cramblit | May 03, 2004 at 12:34 PM
Tony -
My most exciting ride to date was joining you and other Team in Training members on your ride from El Reno to OKC. I had decided last year to embark on the TNT ride in Tahoe this summer because my mother was fighting CLL. She passed away in January - giving this ride a very different meaning.
I enjoyed meeting and visiting with your family and Chris as well, what an inspiration you are to all. My best wishes to you on this journey -
God Speed,
Carol
Posted by: Carol Gaddis | May 04, 2004 at 02:17 PM
I can't tell you how great it felt to have all these cyclists here for me, to help me, to give me encouragement ..to be with me to ride me into Oklahoma city.
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we had the wheel off and her new wheel on pretty quickly...she thanked us both and heard the story of our ride..she was amazed that I should have been cycling across country and even stopped to help her....What else would I or could I have done..thats just what needed to be done.
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