route 66

[bobbirob22]

thanks fred you answered my next question already i was curious if adventure cycling knew about the problem but it seems that you do so all is good.

ROBERT JENKINS

[whittierider]

I plan on going in the winter months something between october and march... can you tell me what to expect in the winter time in areas like arizona

Flagstaff, AZ and the area around it get deep snow in the winter.  Maybe fall would be better.

[bobbirob22]

thanks whittierider

ROBERT JENKINS

[MrBent]

I've ridden sections of 66 from north of Prescott,AZ (west of Flagstaff) all the way to Adelanto, CA, where I peeled off the route, which, I think, turns into massive interstate.

There is much fantastic cycling here.  You'll need to study the maps and see where you'll need to leave the old route, but Ashfork to Kingman, AZ, is great.  Then you'll want to the climb over to Oatman, which is one of the best stretches of road I had the privalege to ride on my cross country trek last year.  In California, you'll play tag with Interstate 40, but when you leave it, as in the drop to Amboy, you'll have a blast.  One section to keep in mind: From Ludlow to Barstow, Route 66 parallels Hwy 40, which seems nice at first, but the pavement is unspeakably bad--like, OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE PAVEMENT CAN GET THIS BAD!  The last two times I've ridden this section (once east bound, once west)I defied the law and used the shoulder of Hwy 40--wide, smooth, quick. You can get off at Newberry Springs and check out the classic Baghdad Cafe.  From there, Route 66 has good to excellent pavement.

I crossed the Mojave in early November, which was great.  Winter is generally excellent, although you could face some occasionally fierce headwinds as you go west.  If you are unlucky, you could hit winds that are almost impossible to ride against.  The desert can be a harsh mistress.  Fall, however, is probably the best time to go east to west.  Personally, I would never do it in winter--too freakin' hot!

Go for it, and have a blast.

Cheers,

Scott

[bobbirob22]

thanks for your post it helps a lot to know what highways to look for. your the second person ive had tell me that it would be a better journey in fall so i think thats when im going to plan my tour for. ill be leaving from kentucky and heading to southern california then go to norther cali and the back to kentucky so its going to take a while. i have no time limits or certain mileage to do day by day, ill just bike untill im tired then find a spot to camp. itll be a fully self supported trip and i plan on spending only 20 dollars a day for food. im hoping that there are plenty of places to stealth camp along 66 because thats what ill be doing the majority of the trip but ill have an extra bankroll for campgrounds and motels if needed. thanks again for your reply any imformation is helpfull and much appreciated..

ROBERT JENKINS

[jebrowm]

Bobbirob
If you travel Oklahoma in the winter you could be dealing with snow, ice, and freezing rain along with high winds. It is possible that your route through OK., TX., N.M. (I think that is correct for New Mexico, and AZ.godd get delayed for 3 -- 5  days waiting for weather to improve.
Weather coverage by a weather radio is like any portable radio.  It differs by location.
www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm is the NOAA website with same radio codes for specific area messaging encoding, S.A.M.E..  This will give you emergency alerts as well as on going weather broadcasts.  This site has S.A.M.E codes for all states. Local radio stations weather reports can be up-to-the-minute and with others you would get just as much detaile information by looking at the sky.  I live in Northern OK. so i am not familiar with radio stations along Route66, sorry.
travelok.com is a good site for traveling in Oklahoma. www.historic66.com is an excelent site for route 66.  Oklahoma has more preservedsections of route 66 thasn any other state.
Agaain, Bobbirob I am not trying to change your mind just providing useful information to help you prepare.
I hope you will post the adventures you encounter on your journey.  Would love to hear about them.
P.S. If you have any questions please ask and I will do my best to answer the,

[bobbirob22]

thanks for your post and for the links, lot of usefull imformation. seems that the winter months may not be the best time to travel that route, i ve had some tell me it would be better in the fall months. i have not yet decided to take route 66 and the more i learn about it the more i want to plan my route in another direction. i was just curious about route 66. i think it would be better to take a different route. anyways i have a whole year to plan so i have no specific route in mind. if any of you know of a better route that would get me from kentucky to anywhere california coast please let me know.

ROBERT JENKINS

[MrBent]

Uh, the last part of  my previous post, I meant SUMMER! Doh!

Have a great ride.

Scott

[Westinghouse]

You'll get your kicks on route 66. Martin Milner and George Maharris.

Sorry, I don't know this route for cycling. I have been on it in a motor vehicle. Parts of it were like a roller coaster. If you are not going up, you are going down, and vice versa. It is quite historical. There are plenty of 50s decorated places.

I was just reading about  the weather systems you might encounter on an August run across Texas and places. It is on this thread. That's right, and I got caught out in some really bad storms. It was really a life or death predicament, seriously. You might be able to see them coming your way from quite a distance, but out there you are on flat or rolling ground with no shelter to be had anywhere, with this monstrous, killer storm bearing down on you. Thinking about it is one thing, but when it is right dead on top of you with sixty mph-90-100 mph winds, and countless bolts of lightning slamming to earth all around you, and wind driving at you horizontally across the ground at a stinging velocity, it is a whole other matter. Why am I still alive. My only guess is, because I did a whole lot of praying.

This message was edited by Westinghouse on 1-1-09 @ 11:15 AM