Get Your (Bike) Kicks on Route 66

Not the same thing as the local I-66, but the old road immortalized in the famous song.

The Adventure Cycling Association has been mapping out a bike route from Chicago to Los Angeles, including sections of the old Route 66. Unfortunately there is a 144-mile gap in the route in California where the road has not been maintained and conditions are hazardous for cyclists. The alternative is to ride on the shoulder of I-40 between Needles and Barstow in California, but that is currently prohibited. (Apparently western interstates often have very wide shoulders and cycling is permitted on some of those roads. People have mentioned cyclists riding on western interstates before, either on this forum or another bike website.)

The Adventure Cycling Association has been asking cyclists across the country to write to Caltran to revise their policy on I-40 and bikes, but the ACA deadline is today, Feb. 1. Even if you don’t manage to send a message in the next 30 minutes, there may be other ways to provide input on the policy in the future.

I don’t know if I would personally ever ride this bike Route 66 but I think it’s a neat idea as an option for long-distance riders out there.

http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/route-66-needs-you