The Twenty-Sixth
Alfalfa Bill Century Bicycle Ride
The ride was held on October 20, 2012, 9:00 A.M., Pennington Park,
Tishomingo, OK. We had a good ride. The 2013 ride will be on October 19th. Put it on your calendar.
Click to see 2012 ride photos. If you see a photo of yourself, send us the photo number, and we'll add your name and ride distance. franmorrell@tishomingo.com
The 2012 Alfalfa Bill Century Ride-Something special.
This is the ride you get lots of personal attention. No matter how long it takes you our sag riders will stay out there with you---with water, drink supplements, fruit, Alfalfa Bill power cookies, repair support, and encouragement. We have riders that come back year after year from Arkansas, Texas, and all over Oklahoma just to ride in the Alfalfa Bill Century ride.
There are again five route options: All five rides are on paved, rural, lightly traveled roads. [See the area map at the bottom of the page.] Abundant rest stops and sag wagons will be available on all the routes.
Ten-Mile Fun Ride:
This scenic ride is on a level, blacktopped, tree-lined road out to the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge and the Cumberland Pool of Lake Texoma. There are beautiful woodlands and a nice view of the lake area. In addition, there are historical markers indicating the sites of an early Chickasaw school and the cemetery of early settlers. You can also walk or ride on the Craven Nature Trail. The Refuge headquarters is located on the historic Washita Farms site. That area has an arboretum, a visitors' center, and a bird observation tower. Its most recent attraction is a museum that depicts sharecropper life on the Washita Farms. Bicycle riders frequently see deer, wild turkeys, raccoons, cottontails, and all kinds of song and shore birds on this ride. Even if you are planning on riding one of the longer rides this beautiful area is worth a visit while you are in town.
Twenty-Mile Ride:
This ride provides a great variety of scenery for a relatively short ride. Riders head north out of Tishomingo on Hwy. 377 and turn east at Blue River Road. At the entrance to the Blue River Public Hunting and Fishing Area the ride turns south onto Bullard Chapel road. This region was an area of dairy farming in the 1940s and 1950s, and you'll still see a few holsteins. At Hwy. 78, the ride turns back west toward Tishomingo and Pennington Park. [The Blue River Public Hunting and Fishing Area is a beautiful location to visit, and the road into the area is only a couple of miles but you do need to have an Oklahoma hunting or fishing license to enter it.]
Thirty-Mile Ride:
This scenic ride heads north out of Tishomingo on Hwy. 377. At Hwy. 7 you will head east through rugged, boulder-strewn country until you cross Blue River and head into forest and pastureland. When you turn south on Wiley Road you will ride through another rugged, granite region to what once was the Chickasaw freedmen community of Sardis. You will continue on south on Hwy. 48A [crossing again Blue River] to Milburn, and then west on Hwy. 78 into Tishomingo.
Forty-Six Mile Ride:
The forty-six mile riders will head north out of Tishomingo on Hwy. 377 and will turn east on Hwy. 7. This is the same route taken by the thirty-mile riders and the century riders. After the thirty milers turn south the forty-six milers will continue on east. They get to enjoy a nice long coast down the "Bromide Hill" and across the valley to the old pre-Civil War Chickasaw community of Wapanucka. From Wapanucka, the ride heads south on Hwy. 48 to Coleman and then turns west on 48A to the hamlet of Fillmore and on to Sardis at Wiley Corner. (Sardis is where several descendants of Chickasaw freedmen still own their tribal allotments.) From here the ride continues on south, again crossing Blue River several miles south of where riders crossed it on Hwy. 7. In the community of Milburn, the ride turns west on Hwy. 78 and then heads back to Tishomingo. Along the way it passes the historic Condon Grove Cemetery.
The Century Ride:
This year we are going to take you where you have never gone before:
A large part of this century route this year we have never before used. We think you will find it fun and challenging.
[Note: This is a change from the ride we had posted earlier. The more she thought about the more Fran thought this ride would be a safer ride.]
The century riders will follow the same route out of Tishomingo as the thirty mile riders. After they finish that small eastern loop, they'll head west out of Tishomingo on Hwy. 22 to Ravia where it becomes Hwy.1. It then proceeds on west through the Washita River bottomlands to the hamlet of Russett and on to the junction with Hwy. 199. Riding through Mannsville the ride turns north on Hwy. 177 at Dickson. The ride north takes you again across the Washita River and through a series of small escarpments that are part of the eastern edge of the Arbuckles. The ride enters the Chickasaw National Recreation area from the south and meanders through the park on north along the eastern edge of the city of Sulphur, still on Hwy. 177. On your right as you enter Sulphur you will see the large, turreted hotel under construction by the Chickasaw Nation. Its design has been strongly influenced by late 19th century Oklahoma architecture. At the junction with Hwy. 7, the ride heads back east, passing the Oklahoma School for the Deaf before leaving town. East of Sulphur there are a number of small but challenging hills. When the ride gets to Hwy. 1 it turns back south, through Mill Creek, and on south to Ravia. There the ride turns back east on Hwy. 22, and back to Tishomingo and Pennington Park.
This bicycle ride has always been the “Alfalfa Bill Century Ride” with a full 100-mile ride for those who want to accomplish that bicycling milestone, whether for the first or the 100th time. The ride is not a race so the only prize is a sense of achievement [and your picture posted on this website for the next year].
Alfalfa Bill "Power" Cookies:
As always, our famous, homemade, Alfalfa Bill "power" cookies will be served at all the rest stops along with fruit, water, and pickles. If you have never tasted these "alfalfa bill" ride cookies you don't know how good a cookie can taste, or how much fun a bicycle ride can be.
Power Cookie Recipe-for making your own.
The Tee Shirt:
Another Alfalfa Bill Ride tradition that makes this ride just a little different is a quality, long-sleeved, tee shirt. It will be provided to all pre-registered riders and is available on a first-come, first-served basis the morning of the ride. [We'll even mail you your shirt free if you register and then can't make the ride.
We told you that we try to make this an extra-special ride.
Monies from this ride go to support Tishomingo Development Team's after school tutoring program and summer children's camp.
To pre-register, mail the registration form below with a $25.00 check or money order
by October 6, 2012 to : Fran Morrell, Tishomingo Development Team, 106 So. Byrd,
Tishomingo, Oklahoma 73460. For more information call: (580) 371-3358 (Ask for Fran)
or e-mail her:
franmorrell@tishomingo.com After Oct. 6 registration is $30.00.
Registration Form
Name (Print)____________________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________________________
City______________________________________________________________________________
State_____________________________________________________________________________
Zip_______________
T-Shirt Size: [Circle one] S M L XL XXL
Telephone E-Mail_____________________________
Route [Circle One] 10 mile ride 20 mile ride 30 mile ride 46 mile ride Century Ride 
Mail Registration to: Fran Morrell, 106 South Byrd, Tishomingo, OK 73460. Make your check payable to the: Tishomingo Development Team
(580)371-3358 franmorrell@tishomingo.com
Disclaimer: Neither the Tishomingo Development Team nor any other individual or organization assumes any responsibility for any damages, injury or other problems which arise directly or indirectly from anyone's participation in this event.
Rider's Signature___________________________________________
If Under 18, Parent/Guardian's Signature__________________________________________
Maps of the Ride Area
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