Route 66 ride

[Gerald]

I live about about 15 minutes from old route 66 and the old chain of rock bridge that carried route 66 across the Mississippi river. This has been a dream of mine to travel the old route 66 path on a bike. I can ride the stretch near me but only to Chouteau Island then you have to stop because old chain of rock bridge is a walking and biking bridge now. I have a question. Have any of you ever traveled the mother road and if you have I'd like to hear about your trip. I will ride the mother road in it's entirety one day.

 

[Tom MLC]

There are other on this forum who share your dream. Jadesystem lives out here in CA, and he posted a thread a while back. Joe Nardy hails from Chicago. He did a bit of research on the old route.

I can tell you from experience that much of the old road is long gone in California & Arizona. Small towns, no more than historic oasis' exist to tempt tourists. In places, you can still ride the old road, but mostly the condition is poor. Potholes and ruts, and sometimes no pavement remains at all.

Some of the more well known town I have been to are Kingman, Flagstaff, and Winslow AZ, and Needles, and Barstow CA. All of these places are located along Interstate 40. One of the most interesting Route 66 legacies I visited lies inside the Petrified Forest National Park, near Holbrook, AZ. All traces of the road have been removed, and the landscape restored to nature. A monument was erected to mark the location. I think I have a picture somewhere.

If you ever do take up the dream trip, be sure to let us know. I think many folks would be interested in shareing the road with you, at least for a few miles.

 

[willie]

I took part in ths Mother Rod Rally back in, I think, '97. I rode my GS1100G with Plexifairing and Eclipse saddlebags up from NC to meet the others in Chicago. About 2 dozen bikes left together from the start of 66 on the morning of 6/13. Most riders were on Harleys. I had the only Suz. By the second day about 8 riders had decided they'd had enough and returned home. I continued on and rode the length of what was left of 66. One of the highlights was touring the Rte 66 museum. Incredible! After reaching the end in Santa Monica, I rode up the Central Valley and took Rte 50, The Loneliest Hwy in America back across through CO and other roads from there home to NC. A trip I'd love to do again someday.
Willie

 

[mdole]

I went on the Mother Road Rally last year and it's a really well organized and put together event. There are some bits and pieces of route 66 that don't get covered but the event covers the majority of it.

I enjoyed the event but made a few side trips so I wasn't with the group the whole way.

 

[Big T]

A lot of it in NM and AZ is basically a service road along I 40, some of it kinda abandoned looking.

I'm sure there's some books that lay out the entire available route

 

[argonsagas]

I did start on that trip, but never completed it.

Moto-Guzzied from Chicago westwards, but stopped at Oklahoma City and went up to Iowa to spend time with a friend.

That was 30 years ago, and the change of route was worthwhile, but knowing now that it is mostly gone, I rather wish I had completed it.

 

[Odinist]

I live a mile north of a big stretch of original 66... ride on it damn near every day.

 

[jknappsax]

A couple years ago I drove from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in my 1984 Mustang GT convertible. We didn't travel exclusively on 66, but did drive much of it, including many of the old alignments. My wife wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so we detoured there, and then to Vegas for my wife to fly home. I drove most of the rest of the way on 66, across the desert; it was fantastic! I even stopped and visited Renobruce in Washoe Valley, Nevada on the way home. The Canyon/Vegas detour caused me to miss the stretch that included Needles. I plan on doing the trip someday on my GS 1000.

 

[Joe Nardy]

I live about about 15 minutes from old route 66 and the old chain of rock bridge that carried route 66 across the Mississippi river. This has been a dream of mine to travel the old route 66 path on a bike. I can ride the stretch near me but only to Chouteau Island then you have to stop because old chain of rock bridge is a walking and biking bridge now. I have a question. Have any of you ever traveled the mother road and if you have I'd like to hear about your trip. I will ride the mother road in it's entirety one day.

Gerald,

I spoke with my buddy who used to be the Director of AMA Tours (before Rob Dingman became president and started to destroy the organization, but that's another story for another day). Anyway, my buddy ran the Route 66 tour many times. He recommended this book of maps. It is what they gave the tour members on the AMA Tours. He said it is the best book they found. The Amazon reviews are very good too.

Thanks,
Joe