My wife Lynn and I decided that 2019 would be the year we would ride Route 66, as we would both be celebrating our 66th birthdays during that year - yes, I know - old f**ts etc. etc.
We looked at three companies - Eaglerider, Orange+Black, and Complete North America (others are available...) The fact that the latter two get their Harley Davidsons through the first company was food for thought...
So, Eaglerider it was.
We gave a friendly travel agent the dates of the tour (September), and asked for an extra day before the inward date in case of jet lag. I didn’t want to be on a strange bike, in a strange country, on the ‘wrong’ side of the road unless fully awake.
Next morning, a quick look around the hotel, and in for breakfast. No sign of jet lag.
After that, we had the day to ourselves, so asked at reception about getting into the city for a look around. Rail station about a 15 minute walk, train ride half an hour. We should have read up on Chicago before we left home - 100 museums and galleries etc. We found the waterfront on to Lake Michigan, and Millennium Park (opened in 2004 - 4 years late and well over-budget). Lunch in one of hundreds of cafes/restaurants, more wandering in the afternoon (with a tourist map) and back to the hotel for 4pm when we had to register for the coming trip. Everyone was in a room, and I sat down next to Louise, an Australian. We were all given armoured jackets (to keep) which had 2 velcroed patches, one on each sleeve. One was a flag of your home country, the other, an ‘Eaglerider Route 66 tour, September 2019’ patch.
We were a large group - 7 English, 2 Irish, 2 Scots, 2 South Africans, 4 Spaniards and 6 Australians (mostly couples - the Spanish couples were friends, as were the Australian couples). Lynn was happy to see 9 females - she thought she might be the only one!
Richard was the leader (a veteran of 54 RT66 trips by Harley) and Vance (25 trips) to bring up the rear in a van (for our luggage) and a box trailer with a spare bike in it.
That evening, we were asked to assemble in the foyer at 7pm, for a ‘get to know you’ welcome meal (included in the price) at a local hostelry. We walked to the “Bub City” and sat down at long tables. First beer was ‘on the house’, then the food started arriving in large, metal bowls - chicken wings and legs, brisket, ribs, chips, salad, coleslaw, more chicken...you get the idea!
A couple came onto the small stage to sing and play guitars. Silent TV screens showed various baseball/basketball games. There must have been 150 people in there - very noisy! Everyone in our group got on really well, but I couldn’t remember all their names! Like us, Steve and Debra (the S Africans) were the eldest at 66. All the others were 50+, we think. At the end of the night, Vance collected all the bowls of meat, and took them to a local hostel for the homeless...nice one, Vance.
After a good night’s sleep, we went down for breakfast, and sat with a few of the gang, learning a few more names. We saw another Eaglerider group, of about 20 German males with their leaders, about to start the same trip as us. Around 9am, we assembled to walk a couple of blocks to the Eaglerider/ Harley showroom. I had chosen a Road King (798lbs weight - my FJR1300 weighs 650lbs). All the others were on Ultra Glides (900lbs) with a couple of Road Glides/ Street Glides in the mix. All the weight seems to be low down, so no problem.
When we were all ready, Richard gave us some instructions on ‘different’ road rules for the USA (turning right at a red traffic light, for example), and some of his hand signals, high up so the guys at the back could see them.
Right! We are ready for the off! Out of the car park, and away up the highway! It was explained that we couldn’t get 16 bikes into the city centre for a photo at the “Route 66 - Begin” sign - just not practical.
South on the Pontiac Trail, through Joliet, and stopped at Dicks on 66, a small, old fashioned recovery garage. Dick came out to meet us all, with a fridge magnet, pen and key ring each for everyone. He explained to us that he runs the place, with his Dad (called Dick) and his son (also Dick), working for him. What a load of Dicks!
We also stopped at the 20ft Gemini Giant, a fibreglass man with a rocket in his hands, advertising the Launching Pad Diner, then on to a Route 66 Museum in Pontiac.
First night was at the Hilton Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, famous for being Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. His house is in a conservation area - worth a look.
Next day was spent mostly on 2-lane sections of the Mother Road traversing corn fields and small towns that represent the heartland of America.
I must explain that Route 66 was conceived in the ‘20’s when cars were still quite rare, to join up all the small towns into a continuous road, between Chicago and Los Angeles. Many ordinary people looking for a better life, travelled up or down the highway, also bootleggers and bandits, movie stars and hobos, writers and singers, and now tourists drive or ride the ‘Main Street of America’. In the ‘70’s, the road was considered not wide enough, and much of it was either covered over and widened, or a new interstate was built near to it, and the original just left to nature..., or housing built on it. So not too much of the original roadway is left. As we had 2,500 miles to do in a fortnight, we could not hang around, doing 40mph on 2 lane roads...
(Back to the story). We crossed the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River, into Missouri. Built in the 1920’s, the bridge has been by-passed (only 2 lanes) and closed to general traffic. Eaglerider have permission to ride over it. The bridge was going to be scrapped in the ‘80’s, but survived, because the labour cost was more than the scrap value!
The bridge has a 29 degree ‘bend’ in the middle, to miss the ‘chain’ of rocks on the riverbed.
We rode into St. Louis (pronounced “Lewis”), the Gateway to the West, on the shoreline of the Mississippi and home to some of the best live music and BBQ ribs in the country. When we got to the hotel, Richard pointed us in the right direction for both...
Part of Route 66 in Illinois is a 1.4 mile, 2 lane hand-laid brick road, constructed in 1931. The story is that a governor of Illinois had a brickworks...
Day 4 was 300 miles, so up and away early, stopping to see the ‘Famous World’s Largest Rocking Chair’ in Fanning, Missouri. Also, the restored Gay Parita Gas Station, in Parita, now a Museum and gift shop, where petrol is advertised at 15 cents a gallon! Half a dozen classic American cars (in various conditions) adds to the atmosphere. We stay the night in Joplin, which was hit hard in 2011 by a massive tornado, but we don’t have enough time to look around after a long day. 2400 houses, 1000 cars and 161 people were lost.
Next morning (Sunday) our first stop, bright and early, was only round the corner from the hotel. In 1933, criminals Bonnie & Clyde spent some weeks in Joplin, robbing several businesses. Tipped off by a neighbour, the police came round to try and apprehend the pair. They escaped, after shooting and killing 2 policemen, but left most possessions behind, including a camera. The local newspaper developed the film, and police now had visual proof of who the robbers were, which eventually led to their deaths in a hail of bullets in May 1934, as they were driving a stolen Ford car. The house they used in Joplin is now a protected building, still lived in and with a bullet hole still visible. Sunday morning, 9.30am, and 16 H.D’s ‘rumbling’ outside your house!
250 miles today, through Oklahoma State, and to Catoosa, home of the Famous(!) Blue Whale - a concrete monstrosity on the edge of a small lake - one man’s gift to his wife! which became, and still is, a local landmark. (His wife had a plentiful collection of small whale figurines). It was built in the ‘60’s, with a slide and a diving board on its tail and survived until the owner died in 1990. But Route 66 was growing in popularity, and the whale was restored by a grant and donations in 1995.
We stayed the night in Bricktown, Oklahoma City, an old industrial area with a canal to transport goods, now converted into a leisure area full of bars, restaurants and shops.
Next morning, from Oklahoma City, we travelled across some of the cattle trails which were used in the 1860’s to drive herds from Texas to the railheads at Abilene, Kansas. Through the Yukon, and El Reno, to a Route 66 Museum at Clinton, where we had about an hour. We also stopped at a Devils Rope Museum in McLean, Texas. Opened in 1991, it is a museum dedicated to barbed wire, with the largest collection of published material concerning barbed wire....the wire was originally manufactured (late 1860’s) to keep cattle on your own land in the Great Plains of America. More than 2000 types and variations have been found by collectors...we stopped at this museum for around 15 minutes...then we’re off to the Texas panhandle.
Tonight’s stop was in Amarillo (yes, we know the way...!) Along the road were advertising hoardings saying “Eat free at the Big Texan Steak Ranch, Amarillo“.
When we arrived at the hotel for the night, Richard told us that he had ordered stretch limos to take us to the Big Texan for a meal. Free food, so we thought....The limos arrived, (with bull horns on the bonnet and drivers with fringed jackets and wide brimmed hats!) It turns out that the steaks were free, but only if you could eat 72oz (with all the trimmings) in an hour - if you ‘failed’, you pay $72! You also have to sit at a raised table, with spotlights on you.... They say 8000 people have successfully completed the challenge since it started in 1962!
Next morning, our first stop on the outskirts of Amarillo, was Cadillac Ranch, a row of 10, 1948-1963 Cadillacs half buried (boot lids in the air) in 1974 as a public art installation. They are visible from the Interstate 40 highway, with a large lay-by for all to stop in. You are encouraged to spray paint any of the cars, which have lost all their windows, interiors and trim parts. Richard kindly supplied some rattle cans...
We stopped at the mid-way point of Route 66 in Adrian, Texas, for lunch, and photos. Then on to the ghost town of Glen Rio, where you can stand with one foot in Texas and one in New Mexico. On again, to the land of the Comanche Indians, with mountains, cactus and pines, and up to Santa Fe, capital of New Mexico, an old and ‘pretty’ city - 2 nights here, I.e. a rest day (or ride-out?). We have friends in Colorado, who suggested we should meet up, so they said they would drive down (only about 350 miles!) for the weekend. Neither of them had been to Santa Fe (Pete is English, Joyce is from Colorado), so something new for us all. We arranged to meet for an evening meal and a catch-up and arranged to meet next morning in the grassed Town Square, at 10am. When we got to the square, there were plenty of people waiting around, plus some fire-fighters walking up and down a 4-stepped ramp. Peter and Joyce arrived, and we watched more people, then fire engines arrive in the square, including a black painted one. Little did we realise, it was 11th of September, and a memorial service to those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers attacks in New York in 2001. We left the square after speeches, flag lowering and salutes, feeling suitably impressed by the ‘celebration’, and spent the rest of the day walking out to the local hills, looking down on the city. The blend of cultures in the 400 year old city, is evident in the architectural style of the buildings in the capital. (Spanish explorers arrived in the 15th century).
Next morning, Peter and Joyce came to see us all depart from our hotel - a lovely sound of 16 Harleys setting off together! Out through Albuquerque, crossing the Rio Grande, heading west into open country and the Navajo wilderness, along the Cibola National Forest, to Gallup - an old railroad town and Indian stronghold.
Day 10 (I think) was a 280-miler, with spectacular scenery and iconic Route 66 stops. We crossed into Arizona and rode to the Petrified Forest National Park. Fossilised trees alive 200 million years ago!, unearthed by erosion - fascinating!
On westwards, to the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. All the wigwams (rooms and facilities) were concrete..., then onwards to “Stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona” - such a fine sight to see! (Including a girl (mannequin) in a flat-bed Ford)...
This evening, we were due to watch the sun go down over the south rim of the Grand Canyon. However, we were stopped for over an hour by a 3 car accident on a single carriageway road in the middle of nowhere, blocking all the road, with no diversions...and the sun wouldn’t wait for us...
Another big day started early with a one mile ride to a heliport, for a trip over the Grand Canyon. Wow! About a half hour trip with colours, depths, Colorado River as far as you could see. One of ‘our’ ladies didn’t want to fly, so when the rest of us (including her husband) were organised into the (bubble-front) helicopters, leader Richard took her on his bike to the rim of the Canyon (a mile deep!) so she didn’t ‘miss out’....nice touch, that!
Onwards through Williams, Arizona and on to Seligman, Hackberry, Kingman and Oatman before arriving at our Laughlin hotel on the shores (and midges) of the Colorado River.
Seligman is the birthplace of Historic Route 66 - after the road was by-passed by Interstate 40 in 1978, the livelihood of the businesses disappeared, people moved away, and buildings were abandoned. In 1987, Angelo (Angel) Delgadillo, a barber, arranged a meeting of representatives from Route 66 towns in Arizona, to organise a group to make old Route 66 a “historic “ highway. Their success led all the other states on the route following suit, and the rest is history. (I met and shook hands with Angel in his barber shop - he no longer works - he’s 93! but is still an active ambassador for the Mother Road).
Oatman is a small town in Mojave County, Arizona which began as a small mining camp after 2 miners struck gold, in 1915. When the gold ran out, the miners left, and left their donkeys behind, and their descendants roam the main streets to this day.
From our night in Laughlin, we do a 130 mile run through the (hot) Mojave Desert, and ride across the Hoover Dam into Nevada ( a detour from Route 66, but included in our tour) and into Las Vegas, stopping in the air-conditioned, massive, Las Vegas Harley Davidson showroom. We stayed the night in the Golden Nugget Hotel in downtown Vegas. After a change of (sweaty) clothes, we took a hop-on, hop-off bus down the Strip with Steve and Debra, the 2 South Africans (who hadn’t been to Las Vegas before). We had our evening meal in the Venetian Hotel. Loads of things to see and do for free along the Strip, but back to the hotel, and to bed just before midnight.
Day 13 was another 250+ mile journey, and into California, our last (of 8) states on the Mother Road (9 if you include the detour to Nevada [ Las Vegas ]. Through more Mojave Desert with Joshua trees, cactus, volcanic rock and sand (not on the road, thank goodness). Coming to Oro Grande, we reached and stopped at Elmer Long’s Bottle Tree Ranch. Elmer died aged 72, in summer 2019, but his son re-opened the ‘ranch’ in his Dad’s memory, “just walk right in”. It is 2 acres of ‘art’ sculptures, made from welded pipes, and bottles hung on, plus other pieces (junk?) - created by the long-time desert dweller as unique as his ‘ranch’... (Google it!)
This was our last night ‘on the road’. We stayed in Victorville, California, and had a meal all together at our hotel. As the meal was finishing, one of our ‘gang’ caught everyone’s attention, and spoke on behalf of us all, saying what a great time we had all had, a wonderful experience, helped along by Richard and Vance, keeping us on the ‘straight and narrow’, and on time. We raised a toast to them both and handed in envelopes with a ‘thank you’ inside, to both of them. Richard then stood up and thanked us all. He then said he had a crash helmet with all our names in. When our name was called, we were to pick a ‘gift’ which he had been collecting along the way - badges, t-shirts, scarfs, posters - one item for each of us. A lovely touch, I thought.
Our last day together started with a 60 mile ride over the Crest Highway, through the mountainous terrain of Angeles National Forest - considered to be one of the top bike rides in Southern California, descending from 2300 mtrs to the Los Angeles Basin, through San Bernardino, towards the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Pier, 2800 miles after the start in Chicago. Joy in the sunshine at the elation of completing the trip, but with the sadness of it coming to an end. After a group picture under the “Route 66 -End” sign, we had a suitable (non-alcoholic) refreshment, then we all rode to Eaglerider’s depot to hand back the bikes and jump into 2 minibuses (driven by Richard and Vance) to our last hotel. For this last night together, a party had been organised at a small garage in L A - South Bay Customs. They had cleared (and cleaned) the workshop floor, put up a few trestle tables and benches, booked a 3-piece band, and put a bar in the corner. The only ramp in the workshop had a hot-rod on it, raised up, and 2 custom painted Harleys, below. Hot food was served during the evening, and a good time was had by all (including the German group who we had seen at our hotel in Chicago).
The next morning, after breakfast, we packed our bags for the last time and, after hugs all round, headed off to the airport in the hotel’s shuttle bus, with plenty of memories fresh in our minds. We were so lucky - only 10 minutes of rain for the whole of the trip! Some of the ‘gang’ stayed on in America for a more restful holiday...
Homeward journey was boring after such a ‘buzz’ - I can’t get comfortable/ sleep on a ‘plane but arrived back at Heathrow still ‘buzzing’.
Summing up - just Do It ! Eaglerider were excellent - no problems at all. Our good travel agent answered any/all our questions and made for a smooth trip and transfers.
Would we do it again? Yes, but Eaglerider do other trips, mostly in the USA (but to other parts of the world) so, who knows?
On our last day, we rode on the Angeles Crest Highway (as already mentioned). The road surface was smooth, with plenty of swooping turns. Richard said that those who wanted to, could follow him a little bit quicker than we had been going to get a real ‘feel’ for the great highway. The hill side was to our left, with a drop to the right. We were told to watch out for rocks on the road, as there was no barrier to stop them falling, and the rock surface was ‘brittle’. We were riding behind one of the Spanish couples, and, coming into a right hand bend, I saw 2 rocks, about 4inch diameter (larger than a tennis ball) in front of me. I moved the bike to avoid them both, but not quick enough...BANG! - the front wheel hit one of them, and the handlebars shuddered and juddered. Off the throttle and slowed to about 20mph, gathering my wits, and the now steady bars, and accelerated - gently, but something wasn’t right. Wobbly still, but soft. Front wheel puncture!...pulled into the next lay-by on our side (only a short distance) and stopped. We both got off, and, yes, a puncture. A couple of others waved as they went past thinking we had stopped for a ‘photo opportunity’. Gerald (Irish) stopped, so we asked him to tell the others at the next coffee stop. When I looked again at the front wheel, I saw a large dent in one side of the front wheel rim. Vance came up in the van and trailer, so I waved him into the lay-by and told him what had happened. He calmly parked up, and dropped the tailboard of the trailer, while I paddled the Road King back to it. We got a Road Glide out of the trailer, and Vance told us to set off. We said we would help him put the Road King in the trailer, but he said he had done it before, so carry on, and wait for him at the next stop, and asked if we were OK. “Yes, fine.” After explaining to all, at the next stop, Vance soon arrived as if nothing had happened! So, we all set off again, down through L A, towards the coast and that “Route 66 - Ends” sign on the pier.
