Mike & Tom's Route 66 Adventure

It's been two years, but I still think back on this trip as one of the best motorcycle trips to date. Can't thank my friend Mike enough for all the work in planning the trip, and the great time we had together for two weeks traversing the route.

People ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, and while hard to pick out a favorite, I think the best part was riding on some of the original pavement (concrete) that hasn't been paved over in almost 100 years. It is truly amazing to ride on that original route. What a great way to see history in our wonderful country.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to travel to Norway and do about 8 days of motorcycle riding in that beautiful country with two of my HS classmates. The scenery and roads were fantastic, more great memories.

This July, I'm riding solo out to Seattle WA to ride with a my buddy Cliff through the Cascades. I'll hit the "Highway to the Sun" on the way there, and detour through Yellowstone on the "Beartooth Highway" on the way back. Riding Hwy 2 all the way out there, taking in more history and a more relaxed route. This trip will also be about two weeks, taking my time to enjoy the trip.

Ride safe!

Mike’s Memory Minute: Looking back at the trip now that it is done, there are countless memories and experiences that will take a long time to unwind, recall, and digest. Truly a trip of a lifetime! First of all, Tom was a fantastic traveling companion, sharing stories and experiences all along the way for 14 days. Thank you Tom! We spent hours upon hours over the course of a year to plan the route, as there are numerous options regarding route, points of interest, and hotels. Not to mention creating the trip first in Google Maps and then translating to our bike GPS. I think we actually spent more time planning and coordinating the trip and identifying all the points of interest than we spent executing it. And all that preparation paid off in our ability to stay on the route, see all the sights we could see, and still have time for R&R at the end of the day. BTW R&R is code for good food, good beer, good bourbon, and good ci**rs. For me, the first leg was actually to get to Chicago. So I rode from Raleigh to Chicago 800 and some miles. So my total riding distance, nearly from coast to coast, was 3551 miles. That sign at the end was one welcome sight! And as you probably know already, the girls joined us in Los Angeles for 5 days of sightseeing before we all flew back, so the whole trip for me was 22 days. The bikes were shipped back and arrived safely.
As I think back on the trip, it was overwhelmingly a lesson in US History that every American should experience, or at minimum appreciate. This is the only country in the world that has anything like Route 66, as we found that most (yes, MOST) of the people we ran into along the way were from other countries. People from all over the world come here to experience Route 66.
I still, even after finishing the trip, can’t believe we did the whole thing! Not sure if we will post much more, but perhaps you may see a few tidbits going forward.

One more thing… we also experienced our very first visit to In and Out Burger!

Once we reached Los Angeles on September 16, our lovely wives flew in for a few days of sightseeing in the LA area. Here are a few sights we experienced. La Brea Tar Pits, Ronald Regan presidential library included a moving exhibit on Auschwitz, Getty Museum, Dinner on Queen Mary, Long Beach aquarium, USS Iowa, tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills

Day 14 - Our final day! Rode from San Bernardino to Santa Monica. Saw the little old lady in Pasadena, and rode by the sign to Beverly Hills. Lots of traffic lights so about 3+ hrs to get to the end! An epic trip for sure! What will be the next adventure??

Can’t believe we did the whole thing!

Day 13 - Needles to San Bernardino CA. Long day of riding today and hot but got through the desert. Stopped at a 66 museum in Vicksburg. Some video along the way, including arrival at the Wigwam motel!