Riders stop to swim, splash and sunbathe in Barren Fork Creek.

"It feels like steam should be coming off my body," she said.

Rollins, a 19-year FreeWheel participant and retired school teacher from Tulsa, decided she wasn't going to make the same mistake this year that she did last time she was in Tahlequah.

"I came through here about eight years ago. I didn't stop, and I regretted it," she said. "This year, I thought, 'I'm doin' it.' "

Wednesday was the the fourth day of the 28th annual Oklahoma FreeWheel cross-state bicycle ride.

About a mile before the day's final rest stop in Welling, groups of families, friends and acquaintances took a detour in the afternoon to swim, splash and sunbathe in Barren Fork Creek, also known as Baron Fork Creek.

"It's just a little slice of heaven," said Jan Self, 55, of Rockwall, Texas, as she admired the small fish swimming around her. "Oh, look at the school!"

Self added that the cold water was one way to soothe a certain sore spot.

"It's the best for what ails your tush," she said.

Cyclists waded in the shallow water to cool down from the 62-mile trek from Warner to Tahlequah, what some consider the hardest day because of its hilly terrain.

Tom Brown, owner of Tom's Bicycles in Tulsa, is one of three mechanics who works on the road during FreeWheel. He has participated in the race every year but three, either helping other cyclists with maintenance or riding himself.

"If we go up this route, it's tradition that we come up here and take a dip," he said. "We like to think it was put here just for us."

Brown said this year's route has been near a place to swim every day, but that isn't always the case.

"We've been very lucky this year," he said.

Scott Freeman, 50, of Midwest City, said he had seen other places to stop for a dip but this river was his first time in the water.

"I actually don't think I got any wetter when I sat down, just different stuff," he said.

Many said they did a U-turn on the bridge after seeing friends taking a dip below.

"The advertising is perfect," said Mike Munn, 36, of Seattle. "Everybody sees it as they go by."

Munn, a first-time FreeWheeler, said he and his friends had planned to stop at the river before making the final trek to the campsite.

"It kind of seems like a waste to just try to get to the next stop when there might not be anything else to do there," he said.

Eric Taron of Stillwater echoed those sentiments.

"Once you get to the camp, all you do is think: Damn, I should have stopped at that bridge," he said.

A few Tahlequah locals also stopped by the river to chat with FreeWheel participants.

"We thought they would be here," said Don Bowman, 67. "This is a very popular swimming hole for Tahlequah and the little towns down here."

Jennifer Blades, 23, a recent University of Oklahoma graduate, spent her time at the river sunbathing along the shoreline. For her, the river was a spot where she could rest and take in what she has experienced during her first FreeWheel.

"You can go across the world and see things, or you can just go to your backyard and take the back roads," she said.

FreeWheel ends Saturday in Baxter Springs, Kan.

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