Ride motorcycling’s most iconic road – Route 66
The ultimate ride of a lifetime from Chicago to Los Angeles on the best-known road on Earth. It’s why bucket lists were invented
There’s a hypnotic, melodic roar as sixteen thunderous V-twins fire-up in the parking lot of Eagle Rider’s
Chicago HQ. It vibrates through the tarmac with a thumping insistence that will be our soundtrack for the next 2800 miles.
As we head out on to the freeway in convoy I realise this is it – we really are about to ride across America on the legendary Route 66. Santa Monica, California here we come, baby!
Call it a mid-life crisis if you like, but riding April 18 2018 from Chicago to Los Angeles along the length of Route 66, the Mother Road, has to be on every biker’s bucket list. There was only one bike for the trip. It had to be a HarleyDavidson Electra Glide Ultra. Comfort, sat nav, luggage space and a big stereo were all on the list and it ticks all of those boxes and more. We’re doing this epic trip with Eagle Rider, who offer a turn-key solution to a ride you’ll never forget. That means accommodation, your bike, maps and fuel are all sorted, plus Dan Johnson – or DJ as he’s known to all – our guide. For the ultimate experience, go guided. DJ is the link between the dream you hold in your mind’s eye, and living it without trying to navigate the many broken sections of this legendary road.
The start of the adventure
From Chicago to Springfield we ride through any-town America on to the oldest part of Route 66. A red brick two-mile section, the equivalent of our old cobbled streets, tests the Harley’s air suspension, and conjures images of step-sided pick-ups full of families in search of the American Dream, and a new life in California back in the 1930s.
Route 66 was built to enable the great migration West, it’s the road that opened up America, and that sense of history is palpable.
Day 2: Deliverance country
We cross the Mississippi River and into the state of Missouri, past where Deliverance was filmed ‘squealing like a piggy’.
The 340 miles since Chicago have been mostly straight, but this is where Route 66 starts to get interesting. We hit a section called the Devil’s Elbow and four of us take off to make the most of the glorious, sweeping blacktop as the flatlands give way to hills. Despite a 319-mile day in the saddle, we’re all invigorated by the emerging sinuous tarmac.
Day 3: Cops and bobbers
Our casual attitude to the speed limit results in the arrival of Deputy Sheriff A. Brown. He piles out of his four-wheel drive, a keen finger
‘13 days, eight states, three time zones, and 2800 miles of Route 66’
tapping his Colt 44, blue lights flashing, sirens screaming, blood pressure rising.
He’s way more aggressive than any cop I’ve ever met, but DJ talks him round, and after half-an-hour he leaves us with a police escort to the Kansas county line, saying: “You can go as fast as you like in California, or Arizona, but don’t do it in my county.” It’s just one more example of the value of a native guide.
Day 4: The way to Amarillo
Texas rain is unlike any I’ve ever seen before. But everything’s bigger in Texas. The trucks, the roads, the bugs, the cowboy hats – everything’s on steroids. But we’re not staying, we pass through Amarillo (we know the way) and into New Mexico for a day off the bikes in the stunning town of Santa Fe.
The landscape is truly awe-inspiring. We’re tired after back-to-back 200 to 300-mile days, but that’s the reality of Route 66 – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Day 9: Canyon hopping
Many 66-devotees are really targeting one place. We hit it on day nine as we ride from Gallup, New Mexico, into Arizona: destination Grand Canyon. Arriving at sunset with a group of mates, realising how far you’ve come to get here, feels life-affirmingly special. There’s no doubt that this is one of the seminal moments. It’s hot now, really hot. Some riders are struggling in the heat as we head to Las Vegas
‘Riding from Chicago to LA changes you’
for a well-earned night out on the town. The next day we plunge into the Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree National Park – a serene, other-worldly place. It’s a true motorcycling heaven that sees my inner peace arrive unexpectedly on a Harley in the middle of the Mojave.
Day 12: The end is nigh
Long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans, water and sun cream are all you need to ride here. But our arrival in Cal-i-forn-i-a, means we’re only 24 hours from the end. I wrote in my journal that day: “The emotion you feel when making a journey from one point to another is something that’s hard to describe. But it’s why we ride motorcycles, not drive cars. “Riding from Chicago to Los Angeles over 13 days changes you. Eight states, three-time zones, torrential rain, unbearable heat, 300-mile days, aching neck muscles, near misses, scrapes and breakdowns. The rider you were at the beginning isn’t the same person you’ve become at the end.”