Route 66 westbound in 2021 - bad idea?

[Shaun Ivory]

I can't stop thinking about Route 66.

I did a solo self-supported TransAm in 2019, and I was planning to take it easy in 2020 and do some fun things with my wife, but the pandemic kept us homebound.

I have been in wait-and-see mode this year, but it looks increasingly likely that the pandemic won't subside until it is too late for international travel with my wife.

So I started thinking about an east-to-west Route 66 on the ACA route.

I can think of a few reasons why this might not be a good idea - mainly the fact that some essential stops might be closed, especially in the desert.

But I was curious what others think?

[John Nelson]

Anybody who can definitively answer this question has a better crystal ball than I do. Plan to start in Chicago August (which I think is the perfect time for this route). I'll give you a 63% chance of success. Hopefully there will be enough vaccines out there by then to open things up quite a bit. Cross your fingers.

[staehpj1]

Anybody who can definitively answer this question has a better crystal ball than I do. Plan to start in Chicago August (which I think is the perfect time for this route). I'll give you a 63% chance of success. Hopefully there will be enough vaccines out there by then to open things up quite a bit. Cross your fingers.

It is hard to say what services will or won't be open.  I have been holed up so I have no first hand info.  Some listed services may never reopen.  The addenda for the maps will eventually catch up, but not immediately if no one is riding the route and reporting changes.  You could give it a shot and bail if it doesn't go well.

Maybe there will be someone posting a cgoab.com journal or folks going the opposite direction that you can compare notes with.  It doesn't look like anyone posted a journal for the route this year, but folks seem to do the route and various times of year so checking in at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/categories/?o=1mr&category_id=376&doctype=journal might show someone doing it later this year.  If that link doesn't take you to Rt 66 journals you can get to them from the base page on cgoab.com and going to Journals / Routes / North America / United States / Adventure Cycling Association routes / Route 66 /