June 6, 1982

By J.B. CARLILE
Of the World Staff

Gathering while the sun was still orange and hazy, about 100 bike riders began to board two buses at 6:30 a.m. Saturday in Tulsa. Two hours and dozens of reunions later, they left for Guthrie - the kickoff site for FreeWheel '82 - the Cherokee Trip.

Bike club members from Bartlesville, Tulsa and surrounding areas had an excuse other than meetings for their Saturday get-together, the excuse they've been organizing for months: this year's 500-mile bike ride across the eastern half of Oklahoma. Most of the bus riders had participated in past FreeWheels, and each reunion of bike buddies began with an old FreeWheel story.

Most of Saturday's stories - told as the cloudy sky slowly broke up - dealt with the weather.

But a month of heavy rain and a chilly morning didn't dampen their spirits. Whole families of bike riders still turned out early Saturday morning, young and old, experienced and novice riders.

Most brought fancy 10-speed (on more) bicycles, and some added to the image with close-fitting caps similar to those worn by the hard-core bike riders in the movie "Breaking Away." The ghosts of FreeWheels past were evident in official T-shirts from previous bike rides, and in the warm welcomes and cheerful smiles. Through most of these people had been up since before dawn and were facing a week of long days and camping on the ground, they were expecting to have fun.

The two-hour charter bus ride was over quickly, and the riders were reunited with their bikes, which had been packed in their original boxes and carefully stowed in the bus baggage compartments.

"Gee, we could have slept in until 10 a.m. and gotten here at noon,"one woman said.

That was exactly what hundreds of other people did. Biker riders arrived in cars, with friends and on other buses all through the sunny day. Guthrie residents welcomed them with custom T-shirts, drinks and other needs at the high school.

Most riders quickly pitched their tents up the hill on the Guthrie Bluejay football field, and took to their bicycles again to tour the state's first capital.

The took advantage of one on their few chances to all be together at the campgrounds, outdoing each other's tales of no hot water in the showers last year, and preparing for more legends to begin at 7 a.m. Sunday.

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