While the longhorn cow at the left doesn’t seem to be concerned about all these strange sights coming through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge during the Tour de Meers, her yearling calf isn’t quite as sure that the bicycles and their occupants seem to have raised his suspicions and stopped him from eating the lush green grass for a moment. The count was up by more than 100 riders this year.
MEERS — On a gorgeous sunny morning without a cloud in the sky, 625 cyclists rode through the Wichita Mountains and the Wildlife Refuge in another prosperous turnout in the 29th annual Tour de Meers.
Whether it was the avid riders emulating the Tour de France cyclists while nearing 25 mph heading toward Lake Lawtonka and Mt. Scott or the recreational riders enjoying the surrounding scenery, there were special moments for all cyclists again this year in the four distances — 10, 22, 36 and 60 miles.
Many cyclists stopped to take a brief break and snap a selfie with various wildlife including bison, longhorn, elk and more.
“We encourage them to enjoy the ride,” Tour de Meers race director Cindy Zelbst said. “Since it’s Memorial Day weekend, people make this their destination vacation, go camp in the Refuge and go to the celebration in Medicine Park.”
Here are some of the cyclists’ journeys:
Soap brothers bond over 24 extra miles
Going with the flow, the Soap brothers, Josiah and Nehemiah, started off northbound with the 60-miler cyclists and made their way towards Lake Lawtonka instead of south with the 36-milers, which they intended to ride with.
The brothers made the extra 24 miles seem like a breeze, and now they have a memory to laugh about.
“We got about an hour and a half in and thought we should be done soon. We weren’t,” laughed the younger brother, Nehemiah, 19, after finishing. “But it was a lot of fun. It was nice having my brother, someone who is way more experienced than me out there.”
Josiah, 27, had ridden in the Tour de Meers before with one of his little sisters and another brother last year. Because they were both occupied this year, Josiah completed his fifth Tour de Meers with another sibling, Nehemiah, who he coaxed into riding.
Being from Jenks, the Soap family has made it a tradition to camp out in the Wildlife Refuge the night before the race in order to mitigate the already early wakeup call.
“Camping out in the Refuge again was so great,” Josiah said. “We got here a little earlier to get a good camp spot this year. There was even a turkey gobbling nonstop for us at 4 a.m.”
The Soap brothers are both runners, as Josiah ran collegiately at Oklahoma Baptist while Nehemiah runs for Oklahoma City University.
Thanks to their alternate route, the brothers were extra grateful for the stocked rest stops.
“I like this ride because the volunteers are always super great,” Josiah said. “Everything is stocked super well, and there are plenty of snacks along the way.”
Engaged couple enjoys peace in nature
Jennifer Kim (left) and Aaron Anderson (right) ride southbound on Scenic Highway 115 past Mt. Sheridan, through the Wildlife Refuge during the Tour de Meers. The Noble residents are engaged. While the Soap brothers opted for the long way, engaged couple Jennifer Kim and Aaron Anderson of Noble started off on the right foot in the 36-mile race.
A few miles in southbound on Scenic Route 115 headed towards the Holy City, a soon-to-be married couple stopped for a quick stretch and smiled, grateful for the time with nature they were spending with each other.
“She’s my favorite part of the ride,” Aaron said.
“I would have to say the same,” smiled Aaron's fiancé, Jennifer.
It was their first Tour de Meers as the couple — whose wedding is Oct. 6 in Chickasha — just started getting serious with cycling six months ago.
“We started picking up cycling, and Tour de Meers was on the top of our list because of the scenery,” Kim said. “It really is beautiful.”
The couple drove their route on Friday night and were stopped a couple times by crossing longhorns and bison. Oh, and tarantulas.
“There were lots of them,” Aaron said. “We actually had one eating dinner with us over at Medicine Park. ‘Stay over there!’ I told the tarantula.”
Like most cyclists from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas, Jennifer and Aaron yearn for peaceful moments with nature away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Thirty-six miles through the Wildlife Refuge did the trick.
“From the city, it’s like hell trying to find a place out there to ride peacefully, so this is a nice event we can join in,” Aaron said. “We just love the scenery, and this is a nice, relaxing ride.”
Jennings juggles blisters, flat tire
Stymied by heat blisters on his arm and a front flat tire, David Jennings, 24, was 50 miles into his 60-mile Tour de Meers journey when he about threw in the towel.
“I quit. I was done,” recalled Jennings, an Oklahoma State grad. “It was one of those moments I wanted to cry because it was so hard, but I had set the goal and decided to keep going and going until I achieved it. So today was a big win for me."
About 40 miles in, Jennings — an electrical engineer at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City — slurped down a melting icepop at a rest stop and was feeling great until he looked down and noticed his front tire was flat.
At every rest stop or whenever he saw someone on the side of the road with a pump, Jennings stopped and asked if he could use the pump, forcing him to stop several times on the way home after cruising through the first half of the race.
David’s wife, Caren, his support system, rode behind him to the finish.
“There are times in my life like today when I got a flat tire going up a hill where I ask, ‘Why do I do this? I should just quit,’” Jennings said. “Every time I keep going, finish the race and realize it’s the thrill of it that keeps me going. Then I can’t wait to get back out there.”
Since Jennings took up cycling in college, he’s lost more than 50 pounds. Eventually, Jennings bought a racing bicycle and began riding in organized events for charities and organizations, like the Meers Volunteer Fire Dept.
This fall, Jennings will ride in the Bike for the Light, which is a five-day tour of nearly 500 miles from northern New Mexico riding south to the Texas border. The charity raises money to support missionaries all over the world.
“Biking is huge for me, and it’s a very important part of my life,” Jennings said. “But the New Mexico race is my ultimate goal and what riding in this is for. To be able to have a hobby where I can help people means a lot to me. Not only do I get something out of it — prolonging my life with health benefits — but I can help others as well.”
Jennings spent a lot of the time in the Wichita Mountains growing up and holds the Wildlife Refuge dear.
“I enjoyed the race immensely,” Jennings said. “I love this area so much, and being able to ride my bike through it for the first time was a dream come true. Seeing the mountains behind me and thinking, ‘Hey, I’ve hiked that mountain.’ Taking it all in is best part of the whole race.”
Cyclists take off from the start line at the Meers Volunteer Fire Dept. on Saturday morning for the 29th annual Tour de Meers. The event — whose proceeds go to sustaining the Meers V.F.D. — featured four races of various distances, a 10-, 22-, 36- and 60-mile race. There were 625 registered cyclists.
Miles full of smiles for mom-daughter team
Mile after mile, the mother-daughter bond between Linda Anthony and Misty Loafman grows stronger. On a tandem bike, their smiles grow brighter, too.
The ‘Mom & Me’ team has been riding the same tandem bike for 28 years together. Even though their ride is an older one with a heavier frame — most tandem frames are now lightweight — they are happy to have shared thousands of miles together.
“Many miles and many smiles is our motto,” said Anthony, a Duncan resident who cycles with the Duncan Bike Club. “We enjoy both riding by ourselves and together, but we love being ‘Team Mom & Me.’
“For mom and I, these years of enjoyment have been a bonding time,” Loafman said. “We fall into so many different situations and circumstances. We laugh, we get upset, who’s pedaling, who’s not pedaling.”
Loafman, who attended Midwestern State on a cycling scholarship and became a Collegiate National Champion in 2000, enjoys the challenge with her mom.
“Tandem is a lot of fun, but it’s very different from a single bike. It comes with challenges,” said Loafman, a Lawton resident. “But we’re so in sync together, we just automatically stand up when we need to.”
It may be mother-daughter telepathy.
“After 28 years on that bike, it might be,” said their cycling and running friend, Christopher Lowe, a Lawton resident who completed the 60-mile race with them. “They’re tough ladies. I’ve seen the bike break one day, and they still made it. For us three, it’s all about the comradery.”
The group also runs half marathons together on the side and dubs themselves as ‘Mom & Me, Plus Me.’
Green’s first solo ride reaps success
Biking a race solo for the first time, Michael Green, 50, of Oklahoma City, pushed the pedal to the metal to rake in a PR (personal record) of 3 hours, 35 minutes in the 60-mile race. Earlier this month, Green biked in the Tour de Tulsa 60-miler, clocking 4 hours and 13 minutes.
“Tour de Meers is so much better, and this event is so well-organized,” said Green, who routinely goes on rides of 25-40 miles in Oklahoma City with his wife, Ramona, along the Oklahoma River in the Boathouse District and around Lake Overholser. “The most challenging part is the hills at the end, and I got a cramp on one of them, but the scenery with all the buffalo and wildlife is awesome.”
Ramona chose to forgo the race in favor of an outing with friends to a Justin Timberlake concert in Dallas.
“I kept thinking I need to look back to see if she’s there or not,” Green said. “Then I’d realize, ‘Oh yeah, she’s not here.’ It was alright, but I just like it better when she’s here. It’s kind of our thing. I wanted to do better so she couldn’t say anything. I guess there was motivation to do better than when she’s there.”
Green and his family used to ride around the city in mountain bikes as cyclists would fly by on nicer, racing bikes. Green sought to take the next step, so he bought a nicer bike, a good pair of biking shorts and shoes, racking up a bill that was worth it for his new hobby.
Biking in the Wichita Mountains? Priceless.
Ray hopes to draw up similar event
Amazed at what the Tour de Meers has raised over the years for its volunteer fire department, Doug Ray of the Lakeside City Volunteer Fire Dept. outside of Wichita Falls wants to draw up a similar fundraiser for their V.F.D.
Ray, who cycled in the 22-mile race Saturday, joined the Air Force reserves in 1999 in Montana and now rides with the Shephard Air Force Base cycling team.
“It feels good supporting this, and I like doing it,” Ray said. “I want to plan something like this down at our place. We get some help from the county commissioner who might give money for a set of tires or fuel. Then we have our own fundraiser and grants, but an event like this would really help.”
Numbers aren’t final, but Zelbst believes the event will exceed its fundraising goals of more than $18,000 this year.
“It’s everything to us,” Zelbst said. “Our fundraiser gets us through another year of operation. It’s expensive to keep the trucks operating and keep our guys safe in appropriate firefighting gear. It’s expensive, but needed.”
