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Adventure Cycling Offers Bicycle Route 66 For Cycling Fans of Americana

Written by Anna Schwinn
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adventure cyclist route 66 bicycle maps guide

If you’re looking for an unique cycling adventure steeped in Americana this Spring, check out “Bicycle Route 66.” This route, available through the Adventure Cycling Association in a series of six maps, carves its way through the western United States starting in Chicago, Illinois and winds up in Santa Monica, California by way of a path running on and along the historic Route 66. Learn more about how to get your kicks on Route 66 after the jump.

While no bike route cannot directly follow this historic route due to realignment of the route and road conditions, the “Bicycle Route 66” follows the spirit of the route though hitting the key pass-through towns and experiences of the trip. Adventure Cycling is also an excellent resource for interesting off-bike adventures along the way including everything from wax museums to rope museums.

Get packing: it is recommended that you start the trip in mid-April for best results.

AdventureCycling.org
Anna Schwinn
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JBikes
JBikes
9 years ago

I’ve driven this, not sure I’d be excited to bike a large part of it. But it also may be one of the better ways of getting across some of the more remote western states that force you onto major interstates.

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Bill
Bill
9 years ago

Click through to the link, JBikes – this group has put a huge amount of effort into the route.. it’s not free, but for the amount of work and people involved, it seems reasonable.

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Robert
Robert
9 years ago

I get my kicks on a 66″ fixed.

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ascar larkinyar
ascar larkinyar
9 years ago

i love me riding for days and days on end. i think more intel might be needed for this route. goathead thorns have been a problem in the first three west states. unreliable weather the past two years. and local country dis-concern for road bike riders in hick towns. ghost towns that were thriving a few years ago when you were counting on food or water from them and are still on the map.

there are pitfall for sure that need to be address or at least warned about. forums will help as people do this route more and more(and they will). but sometimes its the adventure that draws us to do these things.

i support the ACA they are a stand up group.

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Matthew
Matthew
9 years ago

@ascar: I look at the Route 66 project much the same way that I look at the first Transamerica expeditions during BikeCentennial. ACA has a good history at http://www.adventurecycling.org/default/assets//File/About_Us/DAmbrosio_Thirty_Years.pdf

Yeah, there are towns that aren’t used to having cyclists on their roads. Same with a lot of places in America. Turns out the best way to fix that is put cyclists on their roads. I just finished the Transamerica this year and was astonished at the positive reception I received. Many towns now recognize the opportunity to cater to cyclists as a means of bringing in needed tourism money.

As for the ghost towns, Transamerica has them too. There’s one segment of Wyoming between Lander and Rawlins where they continually have problems with keeping the map updated to reflect the actual resources in those towns. Mom and Pop restaurants and lodging open, stay open for a year or two, then close. Part of the thrill of riding the Transamerica is never knowing exactly what you’ll find and learning to plan for those surprises. I do imagine that it’ll not be as bad on Route 66 as Transamerica or Northern Tier because the oil/natural gas boom-bust cycle hasn’t reached this far south yet.

Bottom line: I’d ride it if I had an entire summer off again. Looks like a first rate adventure.

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