June 6, 1982

By ROB KERBY
Of the World Staff

GUTHRIE _ The sun came out a hordes of bicyclists from across America - and from as far away as South Africa - descended on Oklahoma's territorial capital Saturday in preparation for the Tulsa World's fourth annual bicycle ramble across the state.

Several pedaled in from Tulsa. Two college students bicycled from their homes at Ottumwa, Iowa. Others arrived from as far away as Wyoming and California.

Will Lous, 34, of Johannesburg, South Africa, arrived at Tulsa International Airport Saturday morning, his bicycle is his luggage and his FreeWheel maps in hand.

Riders took advantage of cool weather to explore Logan County during warm-up rides.

More than once, riders scanned the morning's clouds, then the afternoon's blue sky, wondering what would happen if the deluges continue.

No matter what the weather, re ride will kick off at 7 a.m. Sunday in downtown Guthrie and end at 1 p.m. June 12, 500 miles away in Broken Arrow.

Ahead on the week's route, FreeWheel's overnight hosts - chambers of commerce, churches and colleges - took heart at the sight of the sun - but continued preparations to put up hundreds of campers in armories, churches, schools and private homes should the skies open up again.

Contingency plans were made for recruiting church and school buses to help the ride's "sag wagons," ambulances, Highway Patrol troopers and bicycle shop repair vans rescue riders should sever thunderstorms hit in the middle of a day's jaunt.

All week long, weary vacationers will be retrieved by 'sag wagons' - National Guard, state Department of Transportation and Tulsa World trucks and a big Missouri Kansas & Oklahoma tour bus.

In the small towns, months of preparation and thousands of dollars are at stake. Many of the towns have made up FreeWheel souvenirs and printed special T-shirts in honor of the ride. In Guthrie, Tonkawa, Barnsdall, Adair, Jay, Stillwell, Muskogee and Broken Arrow, the task of welcoming and being host to the wandering bicyclist has turned into community efforts. Clubs have sunk their treasuries into special meals, free concerts, raffles and other festivities.

The burnt of bad weather, if it strikes will be borne by the scores of lemonade stands lining the route. For months, Boy Scouts, lake associations, small town chambers of commerce, rural grocery stores and other groups such as cheerleaders and square dance clubs have made plans to serve cold drinks, snacks and meals along the way.

Saturday, conditions were perfect for bicycling. The sun stayed behind the clouds. Temperatures hovered in the 70s.

Hundreds of bicyclists roamed Guthrie's picturesque downtown, took pictures of each other in front of historical markers and tried to find such former boom towns as Cimarron City, population 217, and Pleasant Valley, populations 14. Tonkawa Boy Scouts and chamber of commerce officials prowled the Guthrie campgrounds, greeting anybody with a bike and giving out packets of discount coupons, maps and pamphlets about Tonkawa, Sunday's overnight stop. FreeWheelers crowded around concession stands put up in their honor. Racers sped around corners. Families parked 3-speeds outside restaurants.

"I just hope it doesn't rain," said Guthrie attorney Dale Dewart, the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce FreeWheel Committee chairman. "Our wheat farmers have just about had enough."

Flanked by chamber president Jan Goodyear and chamber executive director Rex Martin, Dewart inspected the campgrounds.

Saturday night, after the chamber raffled off two new 10-speeds, experienced riders polished 18- and 21-speed touring bikes and made up wild tales about the hills ahead.

Sections of the next day's route were chosen by FreeWheel volunteer Arlie Snow, who runs Fay's Bicycle Shop, 3906 E. 51st St., and seldom gets to pedal more than 10 miles of the event. He drives one of the repair trucks.

FreeWheel is no race. It is a lackadaisical wander designed for the person who rides a bicycle only once a year - during FreeWheel.

Several hundred riders arrived early Saturday in a caravan of MK&O buses, trailed by the big red Facet Enterprises semi-truck that carries riders' tents, sleeping bags and clothes between overnight stops.

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