Photos by Mike Flenniken

The ride will be held in conjunction with the Jones Old Timers Celebration held the first Saturday each October that does not conflict with the OU vs. Texas football game. This year that will be Saturday, October 6th since the game is scheduled for the 13th.

The ride will offer three routes - A 24 mile fairly flat beginners route, 48 miles of challenging hills, and a very challenging 64 mile course. The 48 and 64 mile routes will take riders through Luther, Harrah, Choctaw, and Spencer before returning to the Start/Finish at the high school in Jones. The area has long been popular with cyclists for the low traffic, good roads, scenic views, and challenging hills.

The partnership between OBC and the town of Jones is seen as another step in the process of improving relationships between cyclists and the citizens of eastern Oklahoma county.

The Relationship Hasn't Always Been So Smooth!

A Little History... Labor Day, 2007 - Jones, Oklahoma - East-Side Sak-N-Go

Bicycles blocked customer’s access to the gas pumps and to the entrances of the Sak-N-Go convenience store and the adjoining Subway Deli. Rather than wait in line to use the restroom, a couple of unidentified cyclists went so far as to enter a metal building used to smoke meats for the deli and urinated on the walls. The problem was sufficient to cause the manager to call the police and put out the word that cyclists would no longer be welcome and could no longer have access to the store’s restrooms, water and ice.

The buzz on the cycling groups was to boycott Jones businesses and hire a lawyer to force access to the store but a group of central Oklahoma cyclists took positive action. They worked directly with the owner and management of the Sak-N-Go. The plan was to do whatever it took to alleviate the burden caused by the high bicyclist traffic in the area. They gathered support from Team Bike Buddies members and the OKC Velo Club and offered to provide material and labor to install a bike rack at the edge of the parking lot, signage for the front of the building to direct cyclists to use the rack and ask cyclists to adhere to a “Cyclist’s Code of Conduct”, and a picnic table anchored under the shade of a large tree so cyclists would be less inclined to collect around the front door of the building.

Finished 2007 Jones Sak-N-Go project.

The owner, manager and employees of the Sak-N-Go were very hospitable and enthusiastic about working with the group to remedy the situation. They gave the go-ahead to proceed with construction. The project was fully funded in less than one day and construction was completed within several weeks. The owner, managers and employees of the Sak-N-Go repeatedly expressed their appreciation and thanks.

Two Years Ago... Jones Police Issued Multiple Citations to Cyclists

It seemed to come from nowhere... One weekend a couple of years ago, Jones police officers began issuing multiple citations to cyclists for failure to stop at stop signs. The knee-jerk reaction from the cycling community was the same as in 2007. There was outrage, anger and talk of boycotting the businesses in Jones.

The same group of cyclists who solved the problem with the Sak-N-Go saw the incident as an opportunity to develop a relationship of open communications. They contacted the Chief of Police in Jones and discovered that the citations were in direct response to an outlandish cycling incident. A group of about 30 cyclists had not only run a 4-way stop sign in Jones, but one of the riders blocked traffic in the intersection until all the riders had passed. Needless to say, the motorists who had been blocked called the Jones police department and gave them an earful!

Lessons to be Learned

It would have been easy to blame the problems between the citizens of Jones and cyclists on unreasonable prejudice against cyclists. However, a little open-minded investigation found that not to be the case. By making an effort to improve communications and educating cyclists and non-cyclists alike, the relationship has been enhanced.

Studies show that as the number of cyclists increases, the accident rate decreases. We believe that decrease is a direct result of a higher percentage of motorists having an awareness of cyclists spawned by not only seeing more cyclists on the road but by the increased likelihood that the motorist is a cyclist, knows a cyclist, or has a family member who is a cyclist. Prejudice is born of ignorance and ignorance is defeated by getting to know each other.

The first-ever OBC Hogback Attack Bike Ride to be held on October 6th, 2012 represents another step in improving the relationship between cyclists and the citizens of eastern Oklahoma county.