"Oh, and when we rode all day in superhero costumes?" said Chris Schroeder, 18, from Bixby.

Caleb Clark, 16, laughed.

"Oh yeah, that was awesome!" the Bartlesville teen said, remembering the day he wore a Batman suit intended for a 7-year-old.

"They were tighter than these bike shorts, if you can believe it," Schroeder later said about his Superman suit.

The group of bicycling teens -- who refer to themselves as "Team Murder" -- had just completed the final leg of the 28th Oklahoma FreeWheel with about 800 other cyclists. They are just one example of those who leave the weeklong bike tour each year with new friends and unforgettable memories.

Saturday's route -- 43 miles from Grove to Baxter Springs -- was the shortest leg of the 400-mile tour.

Light rain early Saturday caused some flat tires and heavier braking for many cyclists, but most continued to their final destination.

"I counted 16 flats," Clark said. That number included his own.

Ranging in age from 16 to 18, the boys came up with the name "Team Murder" during an Ultimate Frisbee match at one of the FreeWheel campsites. Throughout the week, they spent almost every day riding and camping together.

"Whoever got in first would find a place for us to set up," Clark said. "If there wasn't room, we made room."

Not surprisingly, the group said it also spent a lot of time pulling practical jokes and pranks along the way.

The word "pranks" alone makes them chuckle.

"We streaked at the campsite last night," one of them said of their Grove stay.

T.J. Johnson, 16, of Tulsa added: "I was not a part of this."

Later, Schroeder and Tim Welch, 17, from Bartlesville went skinny-dipping in the lake.

Other antics included a cap gun that they bought at a Dollar General to shoot at some of the other FreeWheelers on the road.

"We spent a lot of time at Dollar General," Clark said.

After spending seven days together, all of the team's members will return to the Tulsa area, except for Oliver Haley, 16, who came with his parents from Springdale, Ark. Although most FreeWheelers say they see one another only once a year, Haley said he doesn't plan to lose touch with the rest of the group.

"I'll definitely keep in touch with them," he said.

At that, they reminded one another they still hadn't exchanged e-mail addresses.

Asked whether Team Murder would return next year to ride in FreeWheel 2007, they didn't hesitate.

"Oh yeah," they said, in perfect unison.

Sara Ganus 581-8300
sara.ganus@tulsaworld.com