Route 66

[njwnjwnjw]

Hi Guys ,im brand new on here and need some advice. Me and a mate are wanting to travel from Chicago to Los Angeles on Route 66 next year . Im a young late 50s and hes an old early 40s .
I've ridden a 125cc bike about 5 times 30 years ago and my mate has never . Im really excited about the prospect of doing this trip but we obviously both need bike licences . We've got 2 options here ,,either take the test for X amount of money in the UK £800 with lessons im guessing ?? and hire 2 Harleys in the US for 2 weeks at £ 750.00 per week [£1500 for 2 weeks] OR forget the test and go str8 to the US and hire 2 trikes for £1000 a week each and drive them on our car licences .
Any advice or comments appreciated . Or help with licence info or even if anybody has done the trip.
Cheers guys .
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I wanna do route 66

[bamt]

For your first option (get licensed then hire bikes), I'd check if there are any limitations on how long you have to have held the license before they'll rent you a bike. There may be none, but best to know first.

Then, if you pass your tests (needing to do them in plenty of time in case you need restests) then you should probably get some bikes in the UK to get some more miles in before you go and try to ride a big, heavy bike in abroadland. You'll also discover if biking really is for you - some people really don't get on with it, and it's better to find that now rather than next summer when you've invested a lot into it.

Personally I'd get a license as soon as possible and do it on a bike. More expensive, but isn't the bike part what this dream trip is about? Riding a trike would just be a bit of a cop-out, and not the same adventure.

[njwnjwnjw]

cheers for that Bamt. Was thinking of getting a cheap 125cc first anyway to get aquainted .Good idea about checking how long ive had a licence too. cheers .
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I wanna do route 66

[haroman666]

I would advise getting some experience riding large bikes before you go out there, hand over more than £750 (because the insurance add ons, jacket hire, full-face hire etc will increase the cost) and realise you cant hold up a 300kg bike.

Having ridden for a fair few years before I did it, I was still surprised at how on the ball you have to be doing slow manueovers and being mindful when you park up. I parked up to the side of the road in Malibu in LA and it was on a lateral slant. I leant the bike over onto the stand, got off, did all my photo taking etc and then when I went to stand the bike up, I couldn't. I had to stand next to the bike and push it with a lot of force jsut to stand the bike up also while holding the front brake so it didn't roll down the hill.

Likelihood is you'd be fine though and you learn the most by making mistakes. You realise that there's very good reasons why you don't do things!!

And just to mention about the whole Route 66 thing: It would be nice to say you've done the whole Chicago to LA route, but the reality is, is most of it is generic interstate/highway. There's sparse points where you find the "Historic R66" and even then, they run alongside the interstate or through a town and then you're back on the highway. So not to shit on your dreams, but there may be better options with regards to nice biking roads!
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[Azoth]

Getting a bike licence just in order to take Route 66 by bike seems unusual. Usually, people get bike licences because they are bike hobbyists/enthusiasts. It's definitely worth getting one if you like bikes generally, but I would have thought it's a separate matter from wanting to see America, because biking is surely much more fun in the UK and Europe. America is a vast country with lots to see in it, and Route 66 is legendary. Why not save a lot of money and take this route by car? Perhaps a hired American muscle car from the 60s or 70s? If you were considering a trike you may as well consider a convertible car.
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[Andy_Pagin]

I can't say I'd fancy riding over 2000 miles on a Harley in two weeks.
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[wristjob]

why route 66 as a first ride?
however as with all biker dreamers the 1st thing to do is a cbt.
you might hate it.
if you dont hate it then do your tests.
has it got to be a harley/criuser style bike?
test ride one,seriously.
they are hateful things if you dont love em.
if you dont want to pass your test then forget trikes they are for cripples or knobs,or knobs who want to be cripples.
rent a rag top car and drive.
unless you are just in it to pick up guys in open ass chaps with tassels.

[grr666]

I did it in by car for my honeymoon. 4500 miles over 3 weeks with some extra exploring on the West coast.
Did Chicago to Vegas in a Dodge Charger, Vegas onward in a Mustang. Not sure I'd do it by bike. Yanks have a funny idea
about what constitutes as a bike, haven ridden a Harley briefly (not briefly enough) in the UK the idea of being that
bored for that long does not appeal. 5500 rpm redline
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[njwnjwnjw]

Wow ,theres food for thot ! A 60s car sounds fun but not sure if the challenge is there . The wife is ok bout me going if its hard work n not a holiday ha ha . Year before last me n my mate ,having never sailed before, did a 14 day hands on trip to Grand Canaria from Isle of Wight in November with some more experienced sailors. Boy ,that was harrrrdddd.Crossing the Bay of Biscay in force 8s. So you see soft option are not a choice .

Is Route 66 not what its made out to be then ?
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I wanna do route 66

[bamt]

On Travel Channel (available on Freeview and Freesat) there is a programme called "World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides" on fairly heavy rotation. The presenter, Henry Cole, is a bit like Marmite (except some people allegedly like Marmite). However, it does give some idea of what to expect in various places, and he has done Route 66 a couple of times in it.

It shows his frustration in trying to keep to the route (it sometimes disappears, or sometimes to ride as much as possible of it you have to go a fair way down a dead end then backtrack), and the times when he is envious of his crew in their convertible. But it also shows some really good bits, and some interesting places.

The more recent version of it he does say that there are efforts underway to make it easier to follow as it is now being seen as a historic tourist attraction, rather than simply being abandoned.

[grr666]

Route 66 is what you make it. We booked all our accommodation on the fly rather than trying to hit specific places at
specific times. The idea of keeping to an itinerary kind of ruins the exploration side of it. That way if we found somewhere that
we wanted to explore a bit more there wasn't a mad dash to the next stay. it also meant we chose what we wanted to do
and when. The only thing we HAD to book in advance was a tour of Alcatraz Island for when we got to San Francisco
on our little extra tour up the coast before heading down again to LA. The demand for that is huge and you can rarely just
rock up and get a place on the boat. Well worth the visit though, really glad I got to see the place. Very interesting indeed.
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[Lone-Wolf]

[pinkyfloyd]

Route 66?

https://kindofneworleanian.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/2011-05-31_15-56-43_85.jpg

Looks ghastly.

https://redeye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Alps_Landscape_Twisty_Road_RED8352.jpg

Now we are talking!


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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[grr666]

The best drive on my trip wasn't on R66 at all. Highway one travelling North and South up the west pacific coast.
I did the section between Cambria to San Fran. Taking in amongst other places Carmel, Big sur, Pescadero, and Half moon bay.
R66 is not quite as dull as Pinkys pic but there are lots of sections like that.
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[Alpineandy]

If the section you're planning to ride is one of the long straight bits then you'll need something to keep you awake.
A loud vibrating Harley will do.
Trikes will probably be too comfortable and you'll start dozing off.
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[haroman666]

[Wonko The Sane]

I looked into doing it one summer while at uni, our plan was a 70's muscle car.

Route 66, as others have said, doesn't really exist much in some places, towns were bypassed in creating the interstate, trade dropped off, people left and the town is gone, the road overgrown and not much left or a bridge washed out creating a dead end.

The challenge of Route 66 is the fact it's 2000 from side of country to side of country through small town America, a bit like doing Lands end to John O Groats avoiding motorways but accepting dual carriageways and finding yourself forced onto the M6 Toll.

It may be worth having a think what sides of America you want to see, do you want to roll into a small town and find the only hotel to stay in and inadvertently find out it's rodeo weekend?

What we planned was to start in New York (we'd never been) and head down towards Nashville and some other places before joining Route 66, careful planning with a couple of maps had us following as much as was practical and when meeting the interstate looking to see if there was a country road through a town we could take instead.

Unfortunately we never got to do the trip as one of the chaps got diagnosed with cancer and we didn't want to go without him - he's all clear thankfully but the following summer two of us got married and myself the summer after.
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