June 7, 1982

By J.B. CARLILE
Of the World Staff

TONKAWA - Caution: Bicycle Tour, Bicycles on Roadway.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation signs posted along U.S. 77 from Guthrie to Tonkawa warn motorist of the slow-moving bicyclist ahead. But even the warning doesn't prepare drivers for the hundreds of of bicycles spread through 65 miles of highway.

The riders pedal slowly, often two or three abreast, taking up one land of the lonesome highway. Truck drivers and other motorists patiently wait for a hilltop to safely pass the crowd, or turn off before the pace gets too frustration.

The bikers are accompanied by an ambulance, repair vans, a National Guard truck, Tulsa World pickups, an MK&O bus, and lots of family and friends in other cars.

Also along for the fun is Chuck Quinton, who drives the Oklahoma department of transportation pickup with three giant jugs of ice water. Quinton was assigned by his boss Charles V. Robertson, of the Tulsa division of the Department of Transportation.

Quinton helped other department of transportation make the route with red spray-painted arrows on the pavement. His job now is to join the crew of say wagons. Friendly farmers like Hump Halsey (he and his wife Eddie Lou live at Wildcat Curve, near Mulhall) offer well water and garden hoses to help refill the water jugs along the route.

With the help of the standard equipment first-aid kit, Quinton also solves minor crises by passing out bandage strips.

"I wanted to come last year, but they already had somebody else to work," Quinton said Sunday.

Through he didn't predict a week of 20-hour days trying to keep track of bicycler, he knew he'd help bring up the rear and keep the yellow strobe light going to warn the truckers.

"I started to get the last-minute jitters about coming out here, but I knew I'd have fun," Quinton said. "I wanted to bring my family and ride next year."

Between FreeWheels, Quinton works with one of the sign crew for the highway department Division Eight in northeastern Oklahoma. He's one of the few on this 500-mile trip that is used to being outside all day long. He and his dog Smokey, that is.

Riding peacefully in the back of the pickup, Smokey barely notices the crowds of bikers at the shady hilltops Quinton chooses for his rest and water stops. But the bikers notice him and some envy his mode of transpiration.

"I don't know how I got talked into this," said one of the biking "groupies." Driving along behind (and in front of ) bike-riding friends, she was from nearby Ceres, location of one of the more popular (it was free) tea and lemonade stands.

Stopping for lunch at Boy Scout hamburger stands and restaurants in Perry, another rider explained why she was having an early lunch at 11 a.m.

"You get smarter as you go alone and don't pass these up," Sandy Spiker said.

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