Correction
This story misspelled the name of rider Hubert Pollok.

PRYOR -- Asked how he would spend the rest of his day, 80-year-old Hubert Polluk had a simple answer.

"Relax, drink beer and eat pretzels -- like everyone else," he said jokingly.

Polluk -- known to most FreeWheelers as "Hubie" -- had just finished the fifth day of the Oklahoma FreeWheel for the 21st time. He is one of many FreeWheel veterans who return to the tour year after year.

Wearing a long-sleeved, green-and-white checked button-down shirt, khaki shorts, sandals and, under his helmet, a faded cap, Polluk is one of the most recognizable participants on FreeWheel.

"I don't like the advertising," he said about cycling suits that include logos. "Even if they paid me, I wouldn't advertise. I advertise myself.

"People notice me; they don't notice that."

But his attire is not the only reason people notice Polluk.

"Why do they know me? That's very simple: Because I'm different," he said.

Polluk was raised in Silesia, a small village in Poland, where he grew up with no electricity or running water.

"The horse, wagon and cow were stable pillars of society," he said.

As a child, Polluk rode a bike to and from school, so bicycling is nothing new to him.

"As a kid, I always bicycled, unless there was a horse and buggy," he said.

Polluk moved to Tulsa in 1951 after he was a prisoner of war during World War II. Seven years later, he became an American citizen.

"I escaped, and I'm still on the run, except this time I'm on a bicycle," he said.

After working several jobs, including picking up pins at a bowling alley for 2 or 3 cents each, working as a sweeper in a machine shop and building sleds, Polluk eventually became a physical technician after attending night classes at the University of Tulsa.

He has five children, 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and he still rides his bike most days.

With a love of storytelling, Polluk never hesitates to find a new listener, a quality that makes him a favorite among many FreeWheelers.

"You can pull up beside him, and he'll start telling stories," said Chuck Haley of Springdale, Ark. "He'll just talk your leg off."

Although some FreeWheel alumni stop participating in the 400-mile trek across Oklahoma in their 70s and 80s, Polluk said he still looks forward to the journey every year.

"It's a sense of accomplishment," he said. "I get to meet some of the old friends and then miss the ones who've fallen out. It's almost a separate entity or community of its own."

His daughter-in-law, Sharon Polluk, said he would not miss FreeWheel for anything.

"He won't go anywhere or schedule a vacation or anything," she said.

Polluk said his good health and early morning regimen keep him going. "I don't prepare at all," he said proudly.

Polluk added that he has been to the doctor only one time since World War II and does not take any medicine. He begins every day with his own set of calisthenics, including pull-ups and push-ups.

"My son can't even do them," he said.

"No, I can't, but I can sure get to camp before you," said Steve Polluk, his 49-year-old son, who also lives in Tulsa.

Over the years, Hubert Polluk said some things have changed for him during FreeWheel.

"Surprisingly, I did the same route three or four times, and I never had to walk, but now I have to sometimes," he said. "The hills have gotten steeper."

After 21 years, Polluk said he does not plan to miss a FreeWheel and that he is ready for the last two days of this year's ride, which will end Saturday in Baxter Springs, Kan.

"I'll do it till I break a leg," he said.

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