Dubbed the “Mom Street” by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath and generally known as “Foremost Road USA,” U.S. Route 66 will have a good time its a centesimal anniversary in 2026. No different street in America had such an influence on development, migration, transportation, and fashionable tradition. Throughout the Nice Despair and the horrific Mud Bowl of the Nineteen Thirties, Route 66 was a paved pathway to a greater life, transporting tens of 1000’s of individuals from the heartland to the West.
Proper after WWII, my Uncle Don traveled from California to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, utilizing a lot of Route 66 and driving a kickstart, air-cooled, single-cylinder AJS. As I contemplated my very own journey on the Mom Street, it appeared becoming to aim it on my 1978 Yamaha SR500, which can be an air-cooled, kickstart Single. Over time, I’ve owned a number of Yamahas, however the SR500 has been my most well-liked experience for its mild weight, easy cornering skill, competent disc brakes, and easy however elegant design. I prefer it a lot, I personal two.
For my journey, I selected the one with 30,000 miles on the odometer. Apart from upgraded brake hoses, it was bone inventory. To get it prepared for my Route 66 journey, I gave it an entire engine and chassis overhaul, in addition to a 535cc massive bore equipment, an oil cooler, and a SuperTrapp exhaust. I retained the inventory air field and Okay&N air filter however re-jetted it as required. The brand new chain and sprockets have been one tooth bigger on the countershaft, which lowered cruising rpms and resulted in a principally vibration-free experience.
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The SR500 additionally has a no-frills CDI ignition system with a robust charging system, permitting me to maintain my cellphone and Bluetooth filled with juice, and a centerstand, vital for every day chain lubrication and fixing flat tires (I had one).
Discover out extra concerning the First 100 Miles of Route 66
Since Route 66 begins in Chicago, I transported my bike from my hometown of Merritt Island, Florida, in my Chevy van. The primary day of driving began in Chicago rush-hour site visitors on the Kennedy Expressway, which was present process street building, however after stop-and-go for 2 hours in document warmth, I used to be rewarded with the U.S. 66 “Start” signal on the nook of Adams Road and Michigan Avenue throughout from The Artwork Institute of Chicago. Just some blocks away is the Willis Tower (previously the Sears Tower), and some blocks farther is the well-known Lou Mitchell’s restaurant, which is over 100 years outdated and served a terrific breakfast to begin my journey.
Other than the sweltering temperatures and humidity of August, Chicago’s stunning residential areas and parks made the quick journey to the suburbs fairly nice. The primary 100 miles of Route 66 is called the Heritage Hall, which additionally contains cities alongside the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which linked Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, and Starved Rock State Park. In Cicero, I finished to see certainly one of Al Capone’s homes. In Berwyn, I checked out the world’s largest laundromat, which is over 13,000 sq. toes and even has a chook aviary, and I additionally handed by one of many oldest-operating White Fort eating places.
Touring south, I discovered a neat roadside show within the city of Joliet known as Dick’s on 66, an outdated towing store embellished with a number of classic automobiles and a patch of bricks purportedly from the unique Route 66. Throughout the road is a restored gasoline pump and ice-cream store. Joliet can be the house of the state jail and was featured within the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
In Wilmington, Illinois, I cooled down with a sundae on the Route 66 Creamery and noticed the primary of 5 “giants” I’d see on my journey: a Sinclair dinosaur on the roof of G&D Tire Firm.
For this journey, I attempted to take the oldest sections attainable of Route 66, and Illinois had them clearly marked. Some sections of street seemed extra like deserted driveways, with weeds rising by means of cracks within the concrete. My little SR500 was excellent for this sort of obligation.
In Towanda is Useless Man’s Curve, a pointy curve that caught many drivers unaware and was the positioning of quite a few accidents from the Twenties to the Fifties. There’s even a preserved sequence of Burma Shave indicators that say: Across the curve / lickety-split / stunning automobile / wasn’t it? I had a 25-plus mph headwind for many of that first day, and it felt as if I used to be driving right into a blow drier. My first evening was spent on the Ghost Hole Lodge in Chandlerville, Illinois, the place I fortified myself with a dinner of venison and recent veggies.
On the second day, I finished in Springfield to chill down with an iced tea at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, which additionally has a museum and gaming room. Simply south of Springfield in Carlinville, my enjoyable was interrupted by a flat tire. I had packed instruments, tire irons, a transportable compressor, and a tube patch equipment, however my tube was too badly mangled by the nail. Scott McDaniels of S&S ATV got here to the rescue by delivering a brand new tube (at no cost), an area resident throughout the road introduced me ice water, and the native metropolis corridor allowed me to do the work on the north aspect of their workplace within the shade on the concrete. It simply goes to point out how type strangers might be if you end up in a bind.
The restore set me again virtually 4 hours, and I needed to bypass lots of the Route 66 sights from Carlinville to St. Charles, Missouri, the place I stayed with associates. The next day, I unloaded my baggage and backtracked to Granite Metropolis, Illinois, to see the Outdated Chain of Rocks Bridge. The mile-long bridge was a part of the unique Route 66 from 1936 to 1965 and allowed motor automobiles to cross the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri. It incorporates a 30-degree flip partway by means of. I had gone over this bridge in a automobile as a child earlier than it was decommissioned in 1968. It’s now solely open to foot site visitors and bicycles.
Whereas in St. Louis, I additionally went up into the 630-foot Gateway Arch, which was accomplished in 1965. It’s now a part of the Nationwide Park Service, and with latest reworking and upgrades, it’s a not-to-miss expertise. I additionally visited the Nationwide Museum of Transportation on the west aspect of St. Louis. This can be among the best transportation museums within the nation and has the one remaining GM Aerotrains. It additionally has a operating Chrysler Turbine Automotive just like the one on the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.
After getting my baggage loaded again on the SR500, my subsequent cease was Instances Seaside, Missouri. Route 66 used to cross the Meramec River there, and the remnants of the bridge are nonetheless there, together with a Route 66 State Park. I met some people from Europe driving Route 66 on rented Harleys, and so they have been aghast that I used to be trying to make the identical journey on my vintage bike with no GPS navigation and solely an EZ66 information in my tankbag.
Instances Seaside was the positioning of the second largest EPA Superfund web site as a result of an area contractor spraying dioxin on the grime roads for mud management. All of the buildings have been purchased by the EPA and leveled, and it’s at present thought-about a ghost city. West of Instances Seaside is the Meramec Caverns, the place I bumped into my new European associates once more. My bike would do roughly 100 miles per tank of gas, which coincided with my physique’s want to face up and stretch out a bit and suck down a chilly beverage.
I stayed on the KOA in Springfield, Missouri, that evening and rented a cabin. I had deliberate on renting a primitive campsite, however for less than about $40 extra, I bought an air-conditioned cabin, lights, electrical energy, a mattress, a desk, and a TV. It was a cut price!
Alongside the way in which in Missouri are just a few museums and stops akin to a duplicate Nineteen Thirties Sinclair station known as Gary’s Homosexual Parita in Ash Grove, Missouri, the place the signal reads “Fuel Wars” and advertises gas at 15 cents per gallon. One other signal reads “Kendal, your 2,000 mile oil!” We have now definitely come a good distance!
Shortly after the Sinclair station on the Outdated Route 66 path, I crossed an outdated truss bridge that crossed over Johnson Creek in Spencer, Missouri. Just like the outdated sections of Route 66 in Illinois, this part seemed like an deserted street going into the backwoods. It was stunning.
Kansas solely has a really quick 13-mile part of the Outdated Route 66 path, and if you happen to take that, you might be blessed with crossing one of many few remaining Marsh Arch bridges left within the nation – and the one remaining one on Route 66, this one having been constructed within the early 1900s.
Oklahoma probably has probably the most Route 66 websites of any state. After the street was decommissioned by the federal authorities to be used as a federal freeway, Oklahoma named it State Street 66. It’s simple to comply with, though I did handle to overlook an indication and experience possibly 50 miles astray. The perfect Route 66 Museum is in Clinton, Oklahoma. It covers the preliminary planning and building of the route, together with completely different scenes of Americana, a video of the Mud Bowl, and extra.
There are extra big statues to be seen as you move by means of Oklahoma, together with Buck Atom, the 21-foot-tall area cowboy in Tulsa holding a rocket. Tulsa additionally has a cool park downtown known as the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza that has three tall outdated neon motel indicators relocated there from the early days of Route 66. Additional south is a Route 66 village with an outdated practice, a gasoline station, and an oil derrick.
The final part of Route 66 I rode in Oklahoma was a principally deserted concrete street that paralleled Interstate 40, however you would inform it was a part of the unique route. What number of principally deserted four-lane concrete highways going into nowhere with no site visitors do you see? At one level, I assumed I used to be off-track, however then I noticed the Texas state signal and the acquainted white outlined Route 66 brand painted on the street.
In Texas, a lot of Route 66 is entry highways on both aspect of the interstate, which labored simply advantageous for my trusty mule since I might journey at extra relaxed speeds within the intense warmth. Alongside the way in which, you move by the Leaning (water) Tower of Britten in Groom, Texas, and Amarillo offers you the Cadillac Ranch.
After visiting the Cadillac Ranch, I finished at a KOA, and after I tried to begin my bike once more, it didn’t hearth up. It turned out to be a difficulty with the ignition system, and regardless of having the elements from my different SR500 shipped to me to aim a restore, it didn’t take. I lower my journey quick and loaded the bike at the back of a Penske truck and headed again east.
Regardless of a flat tire, intense warmth and humidity, and an ignition failure, this was probably the most enjoyable I can recall in most of my life. Looking back, I ought to have tried making this journey on a more recent bike, however a part of the enjoyable was driving a kickstart vintage.
If you’re contemplating driving this street, I’d recommend ready till 2026 for the 100-year anniversary since I heard plans in varied cities alongside the way in which for some centennial occasions, so it ought to be even higher.
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