"It's such an absolute change from normal life," said Christine Hirrill of Tulsa. "You're not at work. You're not at home."

The annual bicycle ride across Oklahoma began Sunday as riders biked 53 miles from Hugo to Atoka.

About 900 bicyclists are expected to continue the ride Monday with a grueling 80-mile leg from Atoka to Wilburton.

Hirrill and her husband, John, have been riding in FreeWheel for several years and wanted to include their 14-month-old daughter, Claire.

Claire rides in a trailer towed by one of her parents' bicycles. It converts to a stroller for regular use. Her parents pulled her for part of Sunday's ride.

"We started training in spring to get her used to the trailer and get us used to pulling her," Christine Hirrill said. "It's a lot of work."

The family will continue to make FreeWheel a tradition, she said.

"We fully anticipate this will continue to be a family sport," she said.

Several cyclists include their families in the ride as a way to see loved ones who live out of state.

Robert Freeman of Guthrie and his wife, Gayla, brought their granddaughter Chloe along.

Chloe, 5, has been participating in FreeWheel since she was born. She rode around the Atoka campsite with her purple Disney bicycle, complete with training wheels and handlebar streamers, while her grandparents got the tent ready.

"Now she's getting to the point where she's starting to ride her bike," Robert Freeman said. "That makes it a little bit more special."

The ride gives them a chance to have a good time with Chloe, who lives in Texas, Freeman said.

"It helps get everybody together," he said.

Ellen Proctor, interim director of FreeWheel, said the ride is a popular vacation opportunity.

"They're visiting small-town Oklahoma and it's good, clean fun," she said. "The campsites are always well set up, and there's not boisterous crowds or anything like that.

"FreeWheel is a unique opportunity for parents to get their kids out of the house," Proctor said.

"It gives them time to be totally away from the television sets and videos and all that," she said.

Host towns usually have good opportunities for camping, swimming and other summer activities.

FreeWheel also is a relatively inexpensive vacation and can provide a time for families to bond, Proctor said.

"There's every kind of family out here," she said.

FreeWheel continues through Saturday, ending at Baxter Springs, Kan.

Shannon Muchmore 581-8400
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com