Our Progress

I have a laptop with me on the trip which should allow me to make updates (where we can get wifi / lan access) on our progress and load photos for you to look at.

Watch this space ! First entries have been made and further entries will show the latest entry at the top. Keep dropping by for updates.

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Friday 29th August - Day 27, overnight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Followinf breakfast, I made some time to upload some more photos and text from the trip. at around 11am Doug called and we headed out to get some merchandise first from Miller Park and then on to the Summerfest grounds for the HD events for the day. On arrival we saw an amazing display of Police Motorcycle precision riding. An obstacle course as tight as I have ever seen was negotiated against the clock with penalties for touching cones, missing gates or putting feet down. These officers were fast and the way the slung the 900lb motorcycles around beneath them was a sight to behold.

A short stop for a snack lunch and then on to the discovery centre for a look at the current HD prototypes and a glimpse of upcoming models.

Another beautiful day made the lakeside walk to the main showgrounds very pleasant. Several stages offered a variety of rock music to suit most tastes and

Thursday 28th August - Day 26, overnight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Breakfast at Dennys with Greg, Sandy, John and Julie got the day off to a fun start.  Billand I rode out to Milwaukee HD where we met up with Doug. We shuffled around the dealership for a short while and then hit the road for Holy Hill, a short, pretty ride leading to a fine church high on a hill. After exploring for a while we set out for some lunch at Sloppy Joes, a fine bar and eatery not so far from Holy Hill. The bar staff were fun and the food very good.

By the time we had finished our late lunch it was time to get to Miller Park, the Milwaukee baseball stadium. The parking lot was host to Harley Owners Group 25th Anniversary celebrations. As we turned into the parking lot the sight was quite stunning, 100's of thousands of bikes seemed to completely fill the entire area. Doug spotted a place which would just squeeze in 3 bikes right near the entrance and so we dived in quickly.

By now we were ready for a drink but the queues were enourmous ! We lined up and got into the HOG entrance and then looked for a suitable watering hole. Of course the prices were hugely inflated but you have to drink so we dug deep and forked out $2.75 for the smallest bottle of water  I ever saw !

It looked a bit like we might see some rain so we ducked into the beer tent, found a table with sufficient spare seats and watched the comedian. Rain never came and the time was moving closer to the Kid Rock concert start time. Bill and I decided to have a go at pushing through the crowd to get a better view. After initial "inching" we got to a clear spot and luckily found what seemed like the last two seats available in the entire place.  After a brief welcome from some of the senior team at HOG and Willie G Davidson from HD, the Kid came on.

I have to say that prior to the event I had little experience of Kid Rock's work, but I was quickly impressed with his energy, antics and talent. Some of the lyrics were not "grandmother friendly" but since my grandmother was not with me I relaxed and enjoyed a great show. 

Wednesday 27th August - Day 25, overnight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Being updated

Tuesday 26th August - Day 24, overnight in Waukon, Iowa

Being updated

Monday 25th August - Day 23, overnight in Spirit Lake, Iowa

A relatively uneventful day with no specifically planned tours or sights en-route. The ride to Milwaukee from this point is just mileage to get us to the Harley party at the right time. Today we stopped in Souix Falls for lunch at Chilli's followed by a short ride off route to the local Harley Dealership.

After lunch we hit the road out of South Dakota into Minnesota and then onto Route 9 East in Iowa to the hotel in Spirit Lake. During the last few miles of the ride today I hit a bird which broke the wind guard at the bottom of the nose fairing. The bikes are taking a hammering but besides needing a clean they seem to be doing well.

Sunday 24th August - Day 22, overnight in Platte, South Dakota

Starting out around 7am this morning, we had just a few things to see on this part of the ride to Milwaukee. I had not heard or read much about the Badlands of South Dakota but I soon knew much more about it. The road towards the national park gave hints (on the horizon) of what would follow. The strangley peaking rock formations reminded me of the giant turmite mounds I had seen on Discovery Channel programmes back home.

Saturday 23rd August - Day 21, overnight in Lead, South Dakota

Today was a sightseeing day to rival that of any so far. Setting out just after 8am, the plan was to visit the town of Custer, to go to Crazy Horse and to visit the National Monument, Mount Rushmore. Custer town was pretty cute and on the way there we stopped at Boondocks for fuel. This 60's style diner seemed to be a magnet for passing classic cars (on the way to the rally in Deadwood/Lead). We got to see some great classics beautifully restored and maintained American motors.

Friday 22nd August - Day 20, overnight in Lead, South Dakota

Thursday 21st August - Day 19, overnight in Red Lodge, Montana.

Yellowstone National Park and Beartooth Pass. Being updated !

 

Wednesday 20th August - Day 18, overnight in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Grand Tetons - Having ridden the short distance from Idaho Falls to the Tetons area, we checked our luggage into the hotel to lighten the load for an afternoon ride in the mountain region. Once again it was clear that this afternoon was to be another gobsmacking day. The national park admission fee ($20) covered both the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park for upto 7 days. It was probably the best spent $20 to date ! The ride along the foot of the montains wath breathtaking. Yet another "round every corner.." experience. Towards the end of the day we stopped at Jenny Lake and took the short ferry ride to "The Hidden Falls". The half mile walk up the lower foothills was worth the whines for oxygen from myself and Bill. With Jackson Hole already at over 6,000 feet above sea level the lower oxygen count was quite noticeable.

The walk led us to a beautiful waterfall where we spent a short time before heading back to catch the last ferry across the lake to the bikes.

Tuesday 19th August - Day 17, overnight in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

As planned, Doug set out early to gain some ground as he has some business to tend to in Milwaukee a day earlier than our schedule. Doug will make up the time over the next few days and Bill and I will have a chance to get better acquainted, we will overlap at our stay in Lead where we hope to compare notes on our trip. Setting out from Ely, we hit the road towards Salt Lake City, Utah, passing by the Bonneville Salt Flats and Salt Lake. We stopped briefly to check out the lake and very quickly wished we had not. Apparently, the lake was being dredged.... this was disturbing the sulphur in the lake which was creating a disgusting smell (like rotten eggs!). We didn't stay long. After hitting some traffic on the freeway around Salt Lake City we made good progress to Idaho Falls for our overnight stop.

Monday 18th August - Day 16, overnight in Ely, Nevada.

The road to Ely from Reno is basically a single road (US-50) which seems to go forever. Thankfully the weathermen were wrong on the temperature predicted for the day. The predicted 104 F never materialised but we spent the day riding in the 90's which was hot enough for me ! There were not too many towns en-route and the small town of Austin was scheduled to provide us with Lunch. As we rolled in, it was clear that the restaurant we expected to eat at was closed,

Sunday 17th August - Day 15, overnight in Reno, Nevada.

Once  again leaving the Comfort Inn behind, we hit the road out to Reno via South Lake Tahoe ,this small (but rather commercialised) town on the edge of  Lake Tahoe and surrounded by evergreen forests on the sides of the surrounding hills and mountains .  The views were again spectacular. The temperature was rising and as we hit Reno, it was in the mid 90's F. After checking in, it took all of 20 minutes to walk the strip.     

Saturday 16th August - Day 14, overnight in Fairfield, California.

After riding most of the most of the morning riding in rolling mist (quite cool too !) we finally crept into the San Francisco Bay Area through the remainder of the rush hour traffic. We had planned a couple of hours and ended having a good 90 minutes to scout the area for gifts, mementos and lunch.  We grabbed a bite just across the estuary from Alcatraz and then left for Sonoma. Over the Golden Gate Bridge and towards the Napa Valley was a truly amazing. The usual San Fran fog meant that we could only see the bottom part of the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge but still it was impressive.

Doug had arranged a special tour of the Viansa Winery for us all. And what a great tour. The folks there treated us like VIP's and took us to the inner sanctum of the winery for a personal tasting of their finest wines. It was a very exclusive in a  tasting in a darkened cellar for just the three of us. Some of the wines we tried there were beyond description ! I think I just realised that I am actually a bigger lover of red wine than I ever thought.

Since we were too late to take advantage of the brick oven pizza being prepared onsite, we all grazed on the first class produce being offed at the deli counter.

We were just about an hour from Fairfield which was our overnight destination. A short jaunt through countryside which is very reminiscent of Tuscany took us to our final stop for the day.

Friday 15th August - Day 13, overnight in Monterey, California.

Wow, what a day ! We rode along the pacific coast highway (US-1) all day to get to Monterey, and the views were spectacular. We had the Pacific Ocean to our left all day and mountains to our right most of the way.

Thursday 14th August - Day 12, overnight in Ventura, California.

We did it ! After setting out early in the day to avoid riding in the heat of the day we finally arrived in Santa Monica. Bill was at the Harley Dealership waiting for our arrival. Shortly after arrival we hit the road for Santa Monica Pier to finish the  Route 66 part of the ride.  All three of us did the "tootsie dip" but this time in the Pacific Ocean.

Even though there is a karge part of the roadtrip to go I must convey my most sincere gratitude to my best friend, Doug, who kept me both safe and sane over the past 3 weeks. Firstly I have no doubt that I would have never made it, neither ( I doubt) would have I wanted to! Cheers my Brother !

Wednesday 13th August - Day 11, overnight in Twenty Nine Palms, California.

Since Doug had negotiated a couple hours extra to check out, we slept in a little and hit the Vegas Strip for breakfast at the Harley Cafe. First we checked out the Paris Hotel and the Bellagio across the street. 

We left Vegas around 1:30pm in the heat of the day. The desert road South to Needles to pick up Route 66 in the next town from where we left it the day before. There was not a great deal in Needles and today we split our resources. The time was getting on and it seemed that there would be insufficient time to get to 29 Palms and then on to Joshua Tree National Park so we agreed to split resources at Needles. Doug headed South for the park entrance whilst I set out West on Route 66 to Amboy.

It was kinda lonely riding solo but soon enough I was passing the RoadRunner Cafe and at the Shoe Art Tree". The tree beside Route 66 just before Amboy is loaded with old trainers (sneakers to my US friends!). I had bought a very special pair of well worn trainers all the way from England to toss in the tree, so adding my contribution to this rare artwork.

Roys Cafe was less than 1000 feet from the Shoe Tree and was closed. The sign said it was no longer pumping gas which gave me a slight problem. I was about 60 miles away from Needles with 50 miles to get me to 29 Palms and probably enough fuel to get me 40 miles ! Ouch ! I was planning to refuel at Roy's for the final desert leg to 29 Palms  and these desert roads rarely have gas stations.

Since I had too little fuel to make it back I decided to press on in the faint hope that I could refuel on the way. Well, you guessed it....  the fuel warning light came on (signifying about 20 miles fuel left) and I still had 30 miles to get to 29 Palms ! I slowed the bike down to around 50mph which is probably a little better than 65mph for economy. I coasted in neutral down hills and finally decided to pull into a little pub on the side of the road. There were only 5 guys in there, 3 older guys who looked like they had been there since breakfast and two Marines from the nearby training base, playing pool. I asked George (behind the bar) if he had any petrol to get me the final 12 miles. Thank goodness he did ! He sold me a gallon for 4 bucks (cheaper than at the pump). I took advantage of the fact that he also had cold beer behind the counter and necked one back before whooping all the way into  29 Palms. After filling the tank, I found the hotel, checked in and waited for Doug. Tomorrow we finish the Route 66 segment of the roadtrip in Santa Monica where we will meet up with Bill for the long haul home !

Tuesday 12th August - Day 10, overnight in Las Vegas, Nevada

After a short ride through the Old Town, we hit the Nothern Route for the Grand Canyon. This was a scheduled detour from Route 66 as the 7th wonder of the world was so close at hand. North on US-89 took us around the mountain which overshadows Flagstaff.  Once inside the National Park the route took us West along the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.  The first glimpse of The Canyon left me virtually speechless. All I could think of saying was "Oh my God"! (over and over again). As we moved along the rim we kept bumping into a lovely couple we met on the route (Brad and Joanne from Pennsylvania).

I wanted to try to get on a Helicopter flight around the Canyon, but on arrival at the Heliport, it was clear that booking in advance was the only way to get out.

Having failed that task we set out South to rejoin Route 66 (AKA US-40 here). Passing through Seligman proved to be an interesting jaunt. A gift shop with oodles of character and an old Cadillac outside forced the customary dismount and snoop.

There appear to be only a couple of ways into Las Vegas from the South and both invole travelling the Desert Roads through Nevada and the Mojave Desert. This was a real trial. Temperatures well over 100F and machines generating plenty of heat from below made it a long hot ride. As we got closer to Vegas it appeared to get hotter. We stopped briefly at the Hoover Dam to snap some pictures and to benefit from the Air Con in the visitors centre.

As expected, the Las Vegas traffic was a bear. It was around 6pm and we still had commuters on the roads. We hit "The Strip" near the Stratosphere and headed into to town toward the Planet Hollywood Hotel where we were booked.

At check-in, the guy told me there were no non-smoking rooms with 2 beds in ! Yuk ! I accepted but told them that if the room was smelly "I'll be back" (Schwarzenegger?). You guessed it... the room stunk of smoke ! I  called down and after a few back and forth moments, the duty manager offered us a Suite ! We really lucked out... 35th flooer overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, a bar football and pool table, 3 sofas, 2 bathrooms a seperate bedroom and 3 large flatscreen tv''s ! (check the photos)

From the windows of the suite we could see the water fountain show which displays every half hour in front of the Belluigia Hotel.  We plan to have the morning in Vegas, exploring the strip and then setting out around 1pm-1:30pm for Twenty Nine Palms.

Monday 11th August - Day 9 overnight in Flagstaff, Arizona

Before leaving Gallup for the Arizona desert, we took care of rebooking for the night after Vegas. Our first planned stop would be the painted desert and petrified forest. Nothing had prepared us for this. New Mexico had set the standard, and now Arizona was offering up this amazing eye-fest. The view here, left both Doug and I speechless (no mean feat !). The Painted Forest is within a national park boundary and offers visitors the chance to drive/ride all 22 miles of the park. The petrified forest is made up of ancient tree trunks which have been soaking in water for millions of years to the point where rock crystals have replaced all wood fibres. The amazing thing is that these stumps / logs look just like wood. The forest has been left dessimated by souvenir hunters over the years and the main area is now closely guarded by park wardens.

Further down the road we dropped off at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. This place is really just a gift shop but it has a 10 foot Jack Rabbit in the parking lot which everyone seems to clamber onto for a photo. Of course we would not do something quite so ridiculous .... (or would we ? check photos). On the wat there we passed a fellow traveller who's bike had broken down under a bridge. He was calling for help but we bought him a cold water from the gift shop and dropped it back to him.

The next stop was for lunch in the small town of Winslow (made famous by the Eagles song "Take it Easy" which proclaims "..... Standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona". Lunch at the La Posada Hotel was very satisfying. The food great, and the staff very friendly and most accomodating.

The final stop of the day on the way to Flagstaff was at Meteor Crater. Now very commercialised, a fee to get in was a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, once past the barrier, it was great to see and walk around in this huge hole made by a visitor from outer space !

Oh, we almost forget Winona ..... but we didn't. A small town with it's own mention in the "Get your kicks on Route 66" song.

Arrival at the Hampton Inn and Suites provided us with a chance to cool down in the pool after a ride through the desert in the seering heat. We are both looking forward to our excursion to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Check back for our thoughts and pictures.

Sunday 10th August - Day 8 overnight in Gallup, New Mexico.

We were a little late setting out for the day as we decided to change the route and hotels for the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas sidetrips (This, because our experience is leading us to believe that we could not do the planned miles in a long morning). That done, we left just 30 minutes after scheduled time and picked up Route 66 in the town centre.

Our first stop was a Museum and gift shop at Santa Rosa (about 15 miles out of Tucumcari). It so happened that there was a guided motorcycle tour from Norway at the same time. Speaking to a guy who introduced himself only as Bjorn, they were heading the opposite direction. He said that we had some great stuff to come. He was not wrong !

On the way to Albuquerque the countryside opened out to give the most amazing views. Around alnmost every bend and over every hill a new surprise view hit us, some where truly breathtaking.

Despite our first choice of Lunchtime stops in Albuquerque being closed, we quickly substituted it for a real biker bar on the next block. Choppers and stock bikes lined up out front was a dead giveaway - we just hoped that this bar was not frequented by the "Del Fuego's" (See the Wild Hogs movie to get this reference !).

The rest of the day was really about the views. We stopped briefly at the "continental divide". This is the natural boundary where spring waters split some roll out to the East (Atlantic) and others West to the Pacific.

Scenery was absolutely amazing all the way to Gallup and the "El Rancho" hotel, frequented by many actors who filmed out in the mid-west (Ronald Reagan being one).

Saturday 9th August - Day 7 overnight in Tucumcari, New Mexico !

Today was one of the shortest rides planned to date as the bikes had done over 2500 miles and needed an oil change (that's Harleys for you - and since we will be riding through the desert in the next few days, fresh oil is good insurance !). Starting out at 9am, we hit Route 66 in the quiet town of Shamrock, Texas heaqding for Amarillo (yes, the one from the song) and the Harley Davidson dealership who would service the bikes. Before leaving town we took some photos of a classic and well known gas station / diner called "The Drop Inn".

On the way we passed trough the tiny town of McLean and dropped into the museum call "Devils Rope". As well as a section dedicated to Route 66, the museum had the most amazing collection of barbed wire (hence devils rope!). Who would think that you could make an exhibition of such a thing ? It was actually quite fascinating. The route 66 exhibition told much of the tail of how towns along the route simply died within weeks of the completion of the replacement 3 lane highways. McLean was a victim too,  now only 800 people live there and many of the businesses on the main street through the town are derelict and abandoned. A familiar pattern to our journey.

After this, Groom was the next main landmark with a giant white cross and a "leaning" water tower (see photos). I could take photos with the camera which got exposed to the torrential downpour yesterday but the LCD screen won't display so I am using it the old way, sighting through the viewfinder and not able to review until the end of the day.

After a short stop here we pressed on to Amarillo where we had booked the bike in for a service whilst we had lunch. We called the "Big Texan", one of the rides most famous restaurants and they sent a limo to pick us up and drive us the 10 miles to their steakhouse. The restaurant is well know for its free 72oz steak. The conditions are that you must eat the entire meal (including sweet potato, bread, salad and shrimp (prawn) cocktail within ONE HOUR ! Pass this and your name enters their honoured roll, fail and the dinner costs you $70. You don't do it at the table with your friends, you get pride of place at a table of your own, on a rasied platform, front and centre for all to see. They start a large timer and encourage other diners to cheer on the challenger. Neither Doug nor I were up to the challenge so we ordered a modest lunch and had the limo guy, Harold, drive us back to get the bikes. I snapped one challenger on the way out and wished him luck !

Just out of town we made a "must see" stop at cadillac ranch to see the farmer-come-artist work where 10 REAL Cadillacs are buried (almost vertically) upto their windscreens in a field ! Kinda wierd but quite a sight !

Just before leaving Texas we passed through the "ghost town" of Adrian hoping to have a coffee in the "Mid-point Cafe" but we were out of luck, it was closed. We just took a few photos and briefly celebrated that we were now half way along Route 66 (1129 miles) and over 2000 miles from our start point. It was not much below 100 degrees F so we pressed on for our overnight destination in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Once again we could see storms heading our way but this time we were able to check in to our hotel and cover the bikes before they struck. Thunder and lightning accompanied the rain, setting off nearby car alarms and providing quite a show for us.  Doug had some leftovers from lunch, so I popped up the street to Pizza Hut to grab a bite. The waitress told me that they had just sounded the tornado sirens in the North of the town which meant that there had been a touchdown nearby ! The Pizza was too big to eat so I boxed it and headed out. On the way back to the hotel one of two guys sat under a tree by the roadside politely said "Good evening, Sir". I stopped and had a brief chat, the younger guy said he was waiting for a Greyhound bus and the other (with a dog)  sounded a little drunk. I offered them my take out as i knew it was likely to be in the rubbish bin by morning and we have breakfast included in our room rate. They thanked me , accepted my box and shook my hand.  I wished them well and headed back to the room.

Another great day and half way along Route 66. A little saddle soreness and some mild sunburn are not afftecting my morale.  Changing the bike to a touring machine  is proving to be the best thing I did for this trip.......

Friday 8 August - Day 6. Overnight in Shamrock, Texas. Setting out at around 6:30am from Miami, Oklahoma we picked up Route 66 in a couple of blocks and headed out. Within a few minutes our progess was slowed by the end of the prepared roadway where Route 66 very quickly turned into a farm track.

The cows in the nearby fields scattered as the bikes rolled "slowly" down the track. Luckily the track was only a couple miles long as the bikes were really getting punished. We were supposed to carry on but we took the sensible option and turned off. Soon we were on the parallel road making great progress towards Tulsa, our first waypoint. The morning was beautiful. It was sunny and warm. Much of the old Route 66 is impassable in this part of Oklahoma and so travel needs to be on the replacement Interstate 44.

From Tulsa we headed to Stroud for the famous Rock Cafe. Unfortunately, when we arrived there was just a burnt shell of a building. Apparently the cafe had a fire 3 weeks before we arrived which destroyed the place and left us wanting for a coffee. Luckily there was a cute little diner about a mile down the street. We watered and coffee'd and head out for Oklahoma City and lunch.

Would you believe that, on arrival the restaurant which had been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" (a US tv food excellence roadshow), it was closed. I guess it was not going to be our day. Doug spotted a notice to say that "Leo's BBQ" had moved, so determined not to be beat we set out to find it. And what a find, this traditional looking BBQ pit has an industrial feel with corregated steel interior really delivered.

The last leg before days end included two museums. The Oklahoma R66 Museum (in Clinton) and the National Route 66 Museum (in Elk City). We set out in the sunshine but very soon paid for all of our good luck on the road so far. We could see the squall in the distance and the road seemed to be taking us away from it. Soon enough the road swung back, heading straight for it and in minutes we were in it ! It was actually a very short squall (about 5 minutes) but boy, it was heavy. The raindrops were the size of golf balls and there were plenty of them ! There was no point in stopping, we were soaked within seconds. Visibility was down to about 50 feet and our speed was down to about 20mph. We punched through and came into warm sunshine. By the time we got to the Elk city museum we had largely dried out. The only casualty seemed to be my camera which was having trouble displaying on the LCD. I'll try it again tomorrow in the hope that I can continue to use it.

Towards the end of the day today both Doug and I were complaining of that "i don't remember the last 5 miles" syndrome. I guess this was a product of long days of riding, early morning and late nights. This was a danger sign for us both and tomorrow we have a later morning start (9am departure) and a shorter ride (just over 200 miles).  We will get an oil change on the bike at Amarillo (yes, from the song !) at a dealership whilst have some lunch. Let's see how that goes !

Check back soon and thanks for all the kind messages of support in the guestbook. Keep 'em coming... we talk about these messages every day !

Thursday 7 August - Day 5. Pretty much all day was spent in the state of Missouri today. After breakfast we headed downtown to look at the Golden Arch. "The Gateway to the West" did not disappoint, looking magnificent aganst the blue skys over St Louis. We took a few snaps and hit the road for another 380 mile day. 

Once out of town Route 66 took on its familiar guise of two way single lane roads. At many points the road surface turned into gravel which was getting too much for both bikes and riders, so we decided to move along the highway. It seems that this was recommended in many places so we were happy to take that approach.  As we moved West, old 66 was better preserved and made for beautiful riding. There was little traffic and we were able to move quickly along the road.

The visitor centres and museums on this stretch were fun and run by very friendly people. Late in the day, Carthage held the nicest surprise of the day. The town centre was a large square with an enourmous courthouse in the centre with it's fabulous architecture, the edges being lined by modern stores but with an old theme. It was like stepping back in time. Despite seeing some ominous looking skys towards the end of the day we (again !) avoided rain and rode the whole day in +30degree (high 90s F).

From Missouri, we touched on a short section of 66 in Kansas and pressed on into Oklahoma. We are now truly in the midwest ! Ending up in a nice new hotel in Miami (not Florida's Miami, but almost as hot !). We checked in and headed quickly out to dinner at Montana Mikes. Since we have a pool here, it will be rude not to make good use of it, so we'll have a swim and get ready for another day on the road.

Thanks to all of our friends who are leaving messages on the guest book on our site. The encouragement is definitelt helping to push us on ! The days are long and riding for such long periods is hard so we need your continued support. Please keep dropping by !

Wednesday 6 August - Day 4. The first day on Route 66 ! Starting out at 5am at Jackson and Lakeshore in downtown Chicago, we first went to the traditional breakfast stop on North Adams (Lou Mitchells), then out of town just before rush hour. Rte 66 was not well signed on the way out so we ended up with a few detours but we soon sorted out and ended up is the first main attatraction town of Joliet. Whilst in the R66 Welcome Centre, we discovered that we are preceded in our quest by Sir Paul McCartney who was at the centre on Saturday and is doing R66 at the same time as us!

On leaving Joliet we sampled the real Route 66, which runs parallel to the new highway. Stretches of long, single carriageway (2 way) road, occasionally we were on it alone ! It was truly amazing. We went through quaint towns and saw many of the old roadside attractions (old diners, petrol / gas stations, motels etc.).

On some of the backroads, it was clear to see the damage of the tornados reported in the area on Monday. Lunch at the Polka Dot on 66 was a really ace experience. The place is well preserved and is full of relics from the 50's and 6o's. There was something to see around almost every corner, way too much to mention here, but let's just say it has been absolutely unbelievable and much better than I ever expected.

Finally, after a walk along the famous Chain Of Rocks Bridge (it spans the Mississippi River, has a 22 degree bend at one end and has the state line in the middle between Illinois and Missouri) we hit the final stretch to the Hotel in St Louis, after almost 14 hours on the road. The sun was setting on St Louis with the Golden Arch in the background. We hope to get some more photos tomorrow. Check todays new photos and call back to see our next exploits.

Tuesday 5 August - Day 3. Although I could not upload info due to wifi issues in Chicago, I can confirm that a long ride and a crazy 20 minutes in the rush hour traffic in Chicago we have survived ! Over 380 miles  and yet again avoiding the ominous rain clouds which cropped up from time to time. It was truly amazing that we stayed dry the whole day. The highlight / lowlight of the day was the final stretch into downtown Chicago. We hit in the middle of of rush hour and were bombarded by some of the worlds most inconsiderate morons. It is a miracle we made it. We hopped out for dinner at Hackneys ( a place featured on a popular US review show called "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"). they served and enourmaous "brick" of  onion rings for starters followed by one of the tastiest homemade burgers I have ever had.

Monday 4 August - Day 2 and a day in Cleveland Ohio. After a late breakfast we took a short walk to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by the lakeside.  The museum had exhibitions on the history of Rock & Roll from the early blues, through to early R&B, heavy rock and punk. The exhibits celebrate the lives and music careers of Elvis, The Beetles, Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin. Articles of clothing are supplemented by personal letters, payslips and journals, all adding to what looks like the largest collection of Rock & Roll memorabilia anywhere on the planet.

After the museum tour we scooted back to the hotel to put on bike gear and scoot to the local Harley Dealership. Dinner tonight was recommended by a guy at the bar across from the Hotel (thanks Tony), as the best "chicken 'n' ribs" joint in town. The Tick Tock Tavern did not fail to deliver, the place had a great atmosphere and friendly locals topped by great food.

We have covered the bikes for the night and are re-packing for the ride to Chicago tomorrow. We are closely watching the weather as we are seeing reports of tornado's on the ground in the Chicago area and storms heading along our route for tomorrow. We are hoping that they pass through while we sleep. More photos added today.

Sunday 3 August - Day 1 on the road. After breakfast at the Agawam Diner in Rowley at 5 a.m. with Bill and Lindsey, Doug and I hit the road for the first (and longest) leg of our great adventure. Once on the Mass Pike (Massachusetts Turnpike for the uninitiated !) we were glad that we had changed our minds about taking the more Northerly Route to Niagara Falls. We stayed almost dry but could see the storm clouds out to the North.  There were plenty of mist patches around, some making breaks in the rolling Massachusetts hills look truly ethereal.

The whole day was Highway miles, almost all 673 of them ! Regular gas stops (and a fuel scare for me when we went onto reserve tank and the bike lost all power for a few seconds! - Doug's interesting description of this event is that the bike "farts" when down to the last few miles of fuel) at the freeway services got us to a fabulous "Fuddruckers" burger lunch some 380 miles and at about 1:30pm just before Buffalo, NY.

In the afternoon the clouds split and left us with glorious sunshine to guide the rest of the way through New York State, Pennsylvania and on into  Cleveland, Ohio. The last few hours were done in T-Shirt and jeans. Anything more would have caused a meltdown for us old fogeys !

Despite managing the entire journey from Georgetown on maps, I fired up the satnav to make sure we did not end up riding around in search of the hotel. On arrival into the neighbourhood of our hotel in Cleveland, it was obvious that this was a good choice, the neighbourhood was "under repair" and felt a little intimidating. The room is huge and has free WIFI so you get this update.

We had a short ride through the town after we had settled, mainly looking for somewhere to eat. It was balmy and beautiful riding the lake shore in the dark.

No alarm calls in the morning just breakfast and some fun stuff in Cleveland including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Hopefully more tomorrow. Check back !

Saturday 2 August - So today, Doug, Bill and I took a ride to Winthrop to fulfill the little ceremony we had cooked up when planning the trip. We have to dip our feet in the Atlantic Ocean before leaving and then again in the Pacific when we get to the west coast. We also did a final weather check and our trip is very likely to start out in the rain. It looks like the rain is running North and so we have decided to head direct West, bypass Niagara and go straight to Cleveland, Ohio. Both Doug and I have been to Niagara several times before and so we are not too worried. We would rather try to get out of the rain than spend 2-3 days riding in the wet (that really would be miserable !).

The bikes are all packed and ready to go. We are meeting at our local boxcar diner at 5am for a last breakfast before we hit the road. Wish us luck !

Friday 22nd August - Day 20, overnight in.....

Loneliest Road -

Thursday 21st August - Day 19, overnight in Red Lodge, Wyoming.

Loneliest Road -

Wednesday 20th August - Day 18, overnight in Jackson Hole , Wyoming.

Loneliest Road -

Thursday 21st August - Day 19, overnight in Red Lodge, Montana.

Loneliest Road -