33 or 6454

Route 66 westbound, ends at the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards near the Santa Monica pier.  That’s 33 miles from my home.  I’ll be departing from my home, en-route to the Santa Monica pier, but I’m opting for a different route … a “long-cut” along Route 66.  You’re welcome to ride along, vicariously, with me.

Route 66 westbound, originates in Chicago near the shore of Lake Michigan.  To begin my long-cut to the Santa Monica pier, I’ve first got to get to Chicago.  A 6-7 day motorcycle ride on the interstates should do the 2,030 mile trick.

A few years back, I drove a car the entire length of Route 66 in the westbound direction.  During that trip I noticed that the Route had been redirected, or realigned, many times since its commissioning in 1926.  I was only experiencing the final alignment of the Route, as it was at the time of its decommissioning in 1985.

Curiosity about the older, historic, “Grapes of Wrath” alignments of the Route, finally got the better of me.  Managing temptation by giving into it, my plan is to ride it all.  That includes all historic alignments, nooks, tourist traps, forgotten spots and the final alignment.

I’ve charted the course based on GPS tracks from River Pilot and also from James McCool.  It should be said that this is not a “follow the pointer” kind of journey.  In order to cover the many historic-alignment branches, in addition to the “consensus final alignment”,  a whole lotta backtracking is necessary, making this a 6,454 mile jaunt.  See the trip stats if you’re interested in those sorts of things.

Thanks for joining me.  The kickstand goes up June 5th.

Trip Stats:

• Outbound (Long Beach CA to Chicago IL): 2,030 miles
• Rt. 66 Final Alignment: 2,314.9 miles
• Rt. 66 Historic Alignments: 1,054.6 miles
• Rt. 66 Total All Alignments: 3,369.5 miles
• Backtracking Required (est.): 1,054.6 miles
• Inbound total: 4,424.1 miles
• Trip total: 6,454.1 miles
• States Outbound: CA, NV, AZ, UT, CO, NE, IA, IL
• States Inbound: IL, MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA
• Tanks of Gas: 31
• Number of Days in the Saddle:  22
• Number of Memories Created: infinite