Short day, but lots to see

August 17^th, 2026

El Reno, Oklahoma

Woke at 8:00am today, but no hurry to leave, so went back to bed.  Woke again just after 9:00 am got the morning stuff done.

Packed and started to load the bike.

The lady that had helped me with check in last night was there cleaning the other rooms.

She sat and talked while I loaded the bike and even for a bit after.

Once I was done, I let her have the room to clean and got on the bike to depart.

Rode out of town and started to make my way done the route toward Oklahoma City.

Not many detours this day, much of the route is a single alignment over all the decades.  I a few small adjustments here and there, some I followed, others I did not.

Stopped a at a few of the older gas stations for the first part of the ride, but then just rode past the remaining ones I saw.  Most are not open for any kind of business, and one was actually just a ruin.  Got enough photos of similar places.

I stopped at the Seaba Motorcycle Museum which is right on the route.

The place is another old service station.  The one part is a gift shop with things to buy, and possibly some storage or work space at the back.  The other half of the building is where several dozen old motorcycles are packed into the small space.

Lots of older bikes, mainly 60s era from various makers, though I did see quite a few British makes.  They are packed in a bit tight, so hard to really see some of them, and only about half are marked with a sign with any details.

A few bikes up on shelves or tables, a some hanging from the ceiling.

Lots of motorbike gear laying around as well, helmets, riding suits and jackets, shirts, and tons of spare parts.

A few newer bikes in the mix, one bike still in original shipping crate, and even a few bicycles.

I did not talk much with the guy up front, but I did see some bikes had what might be prices on them, others had sold signs on them, and others had old auction cards with them, so not sure if they sold signs were from when the museum acquired it, or if they actively sell bikes as well. 

Some of the stuff had others names on it, so possible they are just on loan.

Looks like they hold motorcycle part swap meets at the site as well.

Cool place that would not take that long to see if you were in the area.

Just down the road, where the route crosses the Interstate, there is a giant push pin art installation that marks the midpoint of the route in Oklahoma. (There is also a midpoint of the full route I will reach the next time I ride.)

Once I finished up there, I got on the bike and just a short way down the road was an old routing I followed.  This one has 2 different types of concrete that were used in road building at the time and both ended up on this short route.

Oddly this short route also has a sign where a local resident found themselves talking with Paul McCartney, who drove the route in 2008 with his then girlfriend in an old Bronco and had stopped to ask if the road was part of Route 66.

Once back on the main road I stopped again shortly after at the Round Red Barn in Arcadia.

This old round barn is one a few that have survived in the region.

I took a photo from the road, but then saw a sign for parking at the barn and decided to check it out.

The barn was open to visit.  Outside it has lots of old farm implements laying around.

Inside the main level has been turned into a gift shop, but selling donated items like a thrift shop.  The funds help to maintain the building.  They of course ask for donations at the door as well, though not required. (I left the recommended $2).

I walked around a bit and then went outside to walk up the metal stairs to the 2^nd level.  Not sure if the metal replaced older wood stairs, or if the original access would have been ladders, but once up there the room was just a big empty space that can be rented for events, but under the huge dome of the roof.

Makes me wonder if this was always a second level, or if the floor was added later?

Back down the steps and back on the bike to keep going.

Barely a mile down the road and we stopped for lunch at Pops.

This gas station is also a large gift shop, restaurant, and store selling 100s of different kinds of soft drinks from around the world (though mostly small makers here in the US from what I saw).

Parked the bike and covered it, then went in and sat at the counter and ordered food and drink.

While eating I eventually ended up talking with one of the girls working the counter and spent quite a bit of time relating some of my travel stories to her and a few of the others as they had time to linger between tables and such.

When done, I wandered the store a bit, but since I cannot carry anything else on the bike, and carbonated beverages do not like being shaken all day either, I did not plan to buy anything.

I had mainly stopped to eat as I needed food, and I had actually been here before 15 years ago, so had already shopped through all the sodas and even bought some back then.

Back out to the bike and got ready to ride.  Rode over to do a photo with the bike soda bottle sculpture, then hit the road.

Not long after and we came into the Oklahoma City metro area.

Here the road cuts across the north through what at the time would have been small towns, but are now part of the greater city space.

Then it heads directly south.  The original road follows what is a main road in town today, the later 4 lane section became the interstate, which I was not going to follow.

There are some bypasses as well that were part of the original routes, but I ignored them, taking the original 20s route all the way into the center of town near the capitol building, and then the road crosses the south edge of town before going back north a bit to start heading west again.

This was another long, and mostly boring ride through a busy city.  There were not many old buildings or other sites to see, so really not that impressive.

The downtown area does have the government buildings, and the next sections are some much older architectures, but roads were being worked on as well, which made riding a bit more of a challenge.

Finally reached the route that takes you out of town to the west, which was again the main route for nearly all the decades.

This is also running through mostly modern construction in the suburb of Bethany.

I reached the top edge of a big lake on the edge of town and here there is an old bridge that is on the route.  Last time I was here 15 years ago, you could not drive on it, but seems they have updated the road way or something as now they are letting cars across.

I pulled off to take a few photos and then rode across the bridge.

Then a bit of congestion to get back on the 4 lane section as it now takes over the alignment completely.

This runs you through Yukon and eventually out of town till you reach the next town of El Reno.

Here is where I will stay the next 2 nights.

I need another break, and also want to launder the riding jacket and pants.  They are starting to smell quite badly from all the heat and humidity last week.

I had already found a laundromat in town, so made sense to stay here and give myself the extra day to take care of other things.

I found the motel, got checked in and then as I was crazy hot again, I had to sit in the room and cool off for about an hour.

I then got ready, loaded the gear on the bike and only having the helmet for protection, slowly rode the bike over to the laundromat, which is about 5 minutes away.  A bit risky riding without the other gear on, but sometimes you have to do things you prefer not doing.

Reached the place and it was not busy at all, which was nice.

Found a machine big enough to handle the load, and then bought some laundry soap at the vending machine.

Washing took about 25 minutes, and cost me $7 with the soap cost included.

Once done, I loaded the damp clothes on the bike for the ride home. (Cannot dry them in dryer.)

Once back at the motel, I hung them to dry, then secured and covered the bike.

I sat around looking up stuff online and then walked over to the fuel station and store next door.

Bought a hot sandwich and some drinks.  Ate the sandwich there in the station at some tables, and then came back to the room.

I spent some more time online taking care of some business related to my next travel project, and then wrote up this blog.

I am going to wait to put it online though as I am now very tired and ready to sleep.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route: