route 66 coast to coast and back ride

[route66]

I wanted to share a ride me and a friend are about to take. We have been trying to get together and do this for years. June 17th it's going to happen. We are leaving Greenville SC to Chicago to ride route 66. Once in California up hwy 1 then back across top of US. With several iconic stops. We made a site and facebook page so friends riders etc can see what we are doing and where we are going. Most of route is planed but if anybody has suggestions we will listen to them and ideas. If anybody wants to follow us www.route66on2wheels.com or facebook route sixtysix

 

[Steve in Phx]

Cool! Sounds like an epic trip. Screenshot your tentative route and post it so we can be even more envious.

 

[mikerider]

Awesome! Will follow!

 

[stevec677]

If you happen to spend the night in Gallop, NM, The El Rancho Hotel is a great change from the typical chain hotel. Built in 1937. Not much in Gallop, but the hotel has a bar and restaurant on site and a lot of history. Have fun!!!!

 

[steveoreno]

Sounds like fun! Peter Egan wrote a story about doing the exact ride you guys are doing, I think its in "Leanings #1."

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

Very cool, I've been wanting to do that for a few years now. Maybe some day...

You'll be 2 blocks from my house when you come through Normal, Illinois.

 

[majicmaker]

If you enjoyed The Wild Hogs movie and have the time, pay a visit to Madrid, NM. It's less than an hour from Albuquerque. They filmed the whole movie there. It's a nice place to spend an afternoon at the Mineshaft Tavern. It's a rustic artists community with galleries all over the place now and you'll enjoy the Coal Mine Museum too. Maggie's dinner from the movie is a souvenir shop if you want a Wild Hogs tee shirt. I have several and love them.

 

[Mudslide Miller]

I rode most of Rt. 66 on a solo trip back east about 10 years ago, from Kingman, AZ to St. Louis, MO. (Didn't get to do CA or IL). Leave yourself plenty of time because there's only chunks of it still in existence and you have to keep jumping on and off the freeway to catch all the broken up sections still remaining. But I had the time of my life. I loved all the old gas stations, motels, soda shops and other old buildings of that era, both in ruins and some still in use.

When you get to the section between Seligman, AZ and Kingman, AZ at Hackberrry, be sure and stop at the Hackberry General Store. Well worth the visit. Seligman is a very popular town for old car shows so you're likely to see 40's & 50's hot rods tooling around. Post up a SPOT tracker if anyone has one so we can follow along. Enjoy the adventure!!

https://www.hackberrygeneralstore.com/History.html

 

[gapiob]

Nice project!

I ride just a little part of the mother's road (near Flagstaff), and, even if it was on an HD Electra glide, I have a very good souvenir!

 

[SacramentoMike]

Stop in at Winslow Arizona and take a pic of yourself standing on the corner.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Have a great trip!

Greenville, huh? Where the heck is that?

 

[griff]

Stop in at Winslow Arizona and take a pic of yourself standing on the corner.

Plan to do that in July on the way to NAFO.

 

[TomInPA]

Don't forget to "slap the bull".

Just curious how you are navigating. Much of the highway from Chicago to Oklahoma City is overlain by interstate freeway, and can be hard to follow. Even west of Oklahoma City, I-40 was laid over much of it. Sounds like a fantastic trip, and one that will require you to take some time. I have followed parts of it, but have not done the homework needed to route this trip.

 

[route66]

Thanks everyone, some of this I did not have or know about. I added them to my route. Thanks

Yea most of 66 is either gone, dead end or major hwy now. They say it's impossible to do without getting lost. So we plan on getting lost, but that makes it fun. We are not die hard on doing all of the old stuff. We have a lot of stops bookmarked and try to stay along it. Books, maps and the river pilot gps software I hope will keep us going. Lets hope we make it safe and able to see all we want. Thanks for all who are following and for friend requests. I think it will be interesting!

 

[FJR-Pilot]

Curious. How do you tell your GPS to follow route 66? Ah ha! River Pilot. Cool. Let us know how that product works please!

If the timing works out for you Timber Cove Inn is a great place to stay right on the ocean. It's on Highway 1 about 3 hours north of San Francisco.

Epic trip for sure! Hope you have a great time!

 

[airboss]

Good Luck on your Trip. I've not seriously ridden RT 66 have done a little exploring, and found this site quite useful.

https://www.stjo66.de/

 

[rogdeb]

Sounds like it will be a memorable trip - enjoy, enjoy

We've only done a few sections of 66 through a few States, but, we definitely had our photo's taken on a corner in Winslow, AZ

 

[Uncle Hud]

Sounds like a blast! Post a couple of the photos here, if you don't mind. That will make me even MORE jealous,

 

[BikerGeek99]

After SFO in 2009, Sooze and I rode Route 66 from Tulsa to Chicago. There is some really neat stuff along the Route!

In Litchfield, IL, is a little place called the Ariston Cafe. Check it out - it's been in operation since 1924, is family-owned and -operated (we've seen three generations there at one time!), and the food is pretty damn good.

If you're in to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, one of the places Guy visited is in Vinita, OK, and is called Clanton's Cafe. It's pretty cool.

There's the usual stuff - the Blue Whale, World's Largest Totem Pole, the gas stations, etc... They're all cool to visit.

In Cuba, MO, are some cool murals. Also in Cuba is what was the World's Largest Rocking Chair, and although I believe that specific honor has been taken by the town of Casey, IL (which has a bunch of 'World's Largest' stuff, if you're into that kind of thing), the gift shop (at the one in Cuba, MO) has some good Route 66 stuff. Just watch the gravel in the parking lot - it's deceptively deep.

Somewhere out there, there are Route 66 GPS POI listings and routes. I used both in 2009. Take a look around - they're prolly still out there somewhere. I may still have 'em, but that's been a toasted HDD or two since then.