Published: July 27, 2008 10:55 am      

Riders endure

Nearly 400 bicyclists set out on annual Dehydrator bicycle ride

DUNCAN — The early morning and mid-afternoon hours Saturday witnessed an unusual sight as nearly 400 bicyclists whizzed through the streets.

They had come from near and far, with one goal in mind — make it through the course they had chosen to participate in for the Dehydrator, a bicycle ride and race combination that raises funds for the middle school and high school band.

Among the racers was Viki Gallentine of Oklahoma City. Spurred on by her boyfriend Jeff to participate in the fundraiser, she borrowed everything from the bike she rode to the clothes on her back, ready for a 10 mile run around Duncan. What she got was a different story.

Exuberant after finishing the race, Gallentine described her training: There simply was none. An office worker, she had not physically prepared for the 10 mile trek.

At 8 a.m., when she joined the rest of the crowd, Jeff was by her side. He was already set for a longer gallivant — the 60 mile course — and they rode together for about two blocks before he was off and Gallentine was on her own.

“I’m just cruising along in the crowd and I get out on to (U.S. Highway) 81,” Gallentine began, describing the moment when she realized she was no longer on the 10 mile course.

A little tense, she kept on riding, unable to check her distance because the tachometer she was using wasn’t functioning. Relief came when one of the rehydration stations set up along the route came into view.

“I finally get to the first rest stop and I ask how far it is,” she explained, her brown eyes opening wide as she relived the moment she was told it was the nine and 1/2 mile mark. Along the way, Gallentine had missed the mark and wound up on the 25 mile course.

The 49-year-old grandmother decided there was no other choice than to just keep on going and finish what she had started.

“There was a couple of times I thought about getting in the wagon,” she said, referencing the SAG wagons that picked up injured or tired riders. “But it wasn’t an option to quit.”

After realizing she was essentially stuck, Gallentine made up her mind to leave the stress behind and enjoy the remaining miles of her ride. She found encouragement at the second rest stop, and around the corner, a surprise.

“It was really going pretty good until we turned and then there were three hills,” she said. And though the sight was one of those, ‘You have to be kidding me moments,’ Gallentine proudly exclaimed, “I never got off and pushed. I didn’t quit.”

The finish line came with a perk of its own — a much needed massage and the realization that perhaps, just maybe, she could do it again.