Mega Mid South

The Mega Mid South is a beautiful 300-mile route that comprises the outer perimeter of every Mid South course built over the past 13 years. The loop starts and ends at District Bicycles in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and traverses the tribal land of the Quapaw, Kiowa, Osage, Kickapoo, Pawnee, Iowa, Otoe-Missouria and Wichita Nations.

As with any Mid South route, there is much more than meets the eye as the endless red dirt rollers stretch across the Cross Timbers region of Central Oklahoma. The Cross Timbers is one of 12 distinct ecoregions in Oklahoma, stretching across the central and southern parts of the state. Due to the undulating terrain, much of this area has withstood the spread of large-scale mono crop agriculture that has taken over most of the state. You’ll spend your time riding among a mix of prairie and woodland with diverse flora and fauna. Dominated by post oak and blackjack oak trees, interspersed with tallgrass prairies, the Cross Timbers looks and feels very different than much of Oklahoma. The region was traveled in 1832 the famous American author Washington Irving. In his book, A Tour on the Prairies, Irving provides one of the earliest European accounts detailing the Cross Timbers. He called this area a “forest of cast iron,” alluding to the dense, nearly impenetrable thickets of oak and underbrush that he and his party encountered.

Geologically, these often rugged, rolling hills are ancient formations of sandstone, shale, and limestone. The sandstone, which you’ll see as outcroppings or protruding from the steep walls of the sunken roadbed, was formed from compacted sand particles over millions of years. These sediments were transported by rivers and shallow seas that covered this area during the Pennsylvanian period. These sand deposits were buried under additional layers of sediment, eventually forming the Sandstone we can now see after all these years of erosion.

After just a few miles on the route, you may find yourself covered with the characteristic Oklahoma red dirt. This unique pinkish hue is created by the high levels of iron oxide in the soil. You’ll also notice a significant amount of clay in the roadbeds here, especially on the western half of the route. The clay soils are vey fine in texture, causing them to feel smooth and sticky when wet and have a hard, brittle texture when dry. Clay soil can hold an incredible amount of water. It’s heavy and very sticky after a rain. Just ask anyone who has competed in The Mid South on a wet year; they will probably have a story to share!

Culturally, the Cross Timbers region and more widely, the state of Oklahoma, has a rich and sordid past. The Pawnee, Osage, Caddo, Kaw and Wichita people were among the first to live in the region and rely on its resources.

With increased European settlement in the 19th century, the area became a cultural crossroads, including Native American, African American, and European American communities. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native people from their ancestral homes in the southeast to “Indian Territory,” the land area now known as Oklahoma. This legislation resulted in mass suffering and loss of life due to the inhumane treatment during the removal. Even after claiming the treaty land promised to them before the removal, increased pressure from westward expansion dwindled Native land holdings, ultimately leading to allotment and the loss of over 90 million acres of Tribal land. Native American communities have endured significant cultural violence, disruption of life ways, and land loss in the time it took to establish Oklahoma as a state and continuing after statehood into the boarding school era. Even yet, Native communities are an integral part of our economy and community fabric within Oklahoma. Tribal governments and communities employ over 80,000 Oklahomans and contribute $9.2 billion to Oklahoma’s economy yearly. With 39 sovereign tribal nations headquarters within Oklahoma, it’s truly a unique place politically and culturally. We highly recommend a visit to the First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City for a personal, immersive exploration of these histories, told by Native scholars and leaders. It’s well worth a visit!

Come prepared for 300 miles of red dirt, B-road beauty with nearly 19,000 feet of climbing. These roads, though never too far from a friendly small town, feel remote and allow you to be totally immersed in the landscape. As ultra-endurance bikepacking routes go, Mega Mid South is fairly accessible, with multiple lodging and camping options, and C-stores never more than 50 miles apart. However you want to approach the route, you can know you’ll be able to resupply and rest when you need to.

Route Development: The original idea for the creation of this route came from our friend and local legend Dave Easley. During a long, delirious ride in the summer of 2023, he suggested we link together the outer perimeter of all the past Mid South routes. Seth Wood, another local legend and accomplished ultra-endurance competitor, contributed valuable insight on the route by helping us select the best roads to showcase the area. It took us a few months to ground truth the route, planning around Mid South 2024, but we finally pieced it all together and took two trips on the route in the fall and spring of 2024. You can watch the video series following the crew here.

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Terms of Use: As with each bikepacking route guide published on BIKEPACKING.com, should you choose to cycle this route, do so at your own risk. Prior to setting out check current local weather, conditions, and land/road closures. While riding, obey all public and private land use restrictions and rules, carry proper safety and navigational equipment, and of course, follow the #leavenotrace guidelines. The information found herein is simply a planning resource to be used as a point of inspiration in conjunction with your own due-diligence. In spite of the fact that this route, associated GPS track (GPX and maps), and all route guidelines were prepared under diligent research by the specified contributor and/or contributors, the accuracy of such and judgement of the author is not guaranteed. BIKEPACKING.com LLC, its partners, associates, and contributors are in no way liable for personal injury, damage to personal property, or any other such situation that might happen to individual riders cycling or following this route.

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