Route 66 Bicycle Tour – Getting To Illinois

25 Jan Route 66 Bicycle Tour – Getting To Illinois

It winds from Chicago to LA
More than two thousand miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route sixty six
Now you go through Saint Looey
Joplin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty
You see Amarillo
Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona
Don’t forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino
Won’t you get hip to this timely tip
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route sixty six

Whether you’ve heard it from Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stone or even Depeche Mode, the lyrics to this song has inspired generations to go out and visit to see for themselves all the towns mentioned here.

Of course, the intention of these words is to experience these cities behind the steering wheel of your car, but when Adventure Cycling Association released their map set for this route in 2015, it has captured the imaginations of all the folks who enjoy taking things a little slower on a bicycle. I was very excited to see that a map set was made available to us, the ones who wanted to see The Mother Road.

There’s so many historical context and past nostalgia that I wanted to witness with my very own eyes so when Adventure Cycling offered me an opportunity to lead this tour in 2018 with one of my favorite tour leaders, I couldn’t pass this up. This was going to be one of the first van-supported Route 66 tour.

It took us almost 2 months to finish this trip, but the fun actually started a few days before the trip commenced. It was epic and unforgettable! I tried to document (poorly at that) various moments. Click on the above video to watch the first of a collection of footages I took during the journey.

Unfortunately, my frequency in pulling out the camera towards the end of the trip was almost non-existent, so you’ll see many gaps in the days where no footage was taken. I’m not going to dwell on it and hope that you will still enjoy my little trip down my memory lane. Hopefully, this gives you a general idea of how the trip went. I’ll fill-in the blanks in areas that require more explanation. Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.