R66...

Fast Eddie

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Background.

Last year, a mate Neil and I decided we would fly to Chicago, pickup 2 Harley’s and ride to LA using as much of the old R66 as we could find. We didn’t want the rigidity and certainty of a guided tour, nor the hassle and faff of being in a large group. We wanted the 'road trip' experience, with just the two of us, able to go with the flow and do it our way, mistakes and all. Except for the first night, we wouldn’t book any hotels, so we had maximum freedom.

And that’s exactly what we did, we would decide where we would ride to the next day and book accordingly day by day, sometimes we would get to a place and search for hotels, Basically, we did little or no planning and made decisions on the fly.



Day 0 - 2:

DAY 0. 9th Aug.
Arrival in Chicago.

We kicked off with a Champagne breakfast in the lounge at Heathrow, had a trouble free flight to Chicago, and a long, but hassle free passage through immigration.

We got a hotel close to Eagle Riders, where we would collect the bikes from. Taxi driver from airport serenaded us with Motown most of the way, and couldn’t get his head around the fact that we had come all the way from England and were going to ride motorbikes all the way to Los Angeles. We had dinner in a rather upmarket looking restaurant. We felt a bit underdressed in our bike gear, but this was America after all so ‘no praablem’! The waiter appeared with a tray loaded with huge sample steaks, Alaskan lobsters, etc and proceeded to explain, in detail, each item on the menu and recommended we had half portions. The steak was to die for and even on half portions, we still couldn’t finish it!
We couldn’t avoid staring as we watched one bloke consume a huge starter, an even huger main course and then the biggest ‘slice’ of cake I’ve ever seen, it was ¼ of a cake in diameter, but a foot high, he polished it all off with no apparent difficulty!
We met Rick, a teamster Union rep from Canada, with whom we had a lively and informative discussion. Rick was also a motorcyclist (Harley) and saluted our travel plans. We had a G&T back at the hotel and I remembered that Americans just cannot be trusted to make a half decent G&T and even I decided to stick to beer only henceforth!



DAY 1. 10th Aug.
Collect bikes and ride Chicago – Springfield, Illinois.

We got to Eaglerider’s depot at 9.30. We were both supposed to have Softails, but they only had one left and tried to ‘upgrade’ me to either a Street or Road Glide, which I didn’t want. They eventually upgraded me brand new Road King, which I was very happy with, although, at the time, I didn’t realise how bloody heavy it was! Both bikes were new 107ci (1753cc) Milwaukee 8 models, which we were pleased about.

The famed ‘American customer service’ was lacking that day, meaning we were there about 4 hours because of inexplicable faffing around. This wasn’t helped by the fact that a large French group were also collecting bikes. They were on a guided tour and faffed incessantly, making us a tad frustrated, but smile as we remembered why we wanted to do it alone.

Chicago was a nightmare to get out of so we had to jump onto the freeway to make up time and got to the hotel at 7 pm. Springfield is a large ish town with some nice architecture. It was Friday night, but surprisingly quiet. Walking downtown, a woman stopped in her car and said “don’t think I’m weird boys (we did) but do you need any help”? We said we’re looking for somewhere to eat, she recommended some places and then said “jump in I’ll take you” so that saved some walking. We had another great steak and a few beers.
Today was my wedding anniversary. I tried to get Brownie points by getting flowers sent to the wife at home, who had forgotten all about it!


Day 2. 11th August.
Springfield, Illinois – Rolla, Missouri.

We had bought some wire and connectors yesterday so set about wiring the bikes for our satnav’s. It was interesting to note how we both quietly enjoyed the excuse for a bit of tinkering! I had a new satnav so was getting to grips with the settings etc. We decided to try and follow the old R66 as much as we could, which took us on some very back road locations, including a stretch of block brick road, which was very quaint, and also very nice… but only for a short period!
Lots of nice houses in this area, many on big plots with several big cars and boats in the driveway, clearly an area with money. It was also clear that a lot of that money went into the many different brands of Churches that we past, most of which were large, relatively new, and rather expensive looking. There’s money in this religion business it seems! We were getting hungry, and challenged by the fact there were more Churches than eateries. We eventually found an old fashioned eating place where the coffee was awful, but the glasses of milk, and the cheese omelettes were huge, and great. We also learned here that Americans serve hash browns in kit form, ie you get a (large) pile of fried, grated potato!
We spent the next few hours going through some interesting countryside but not seeming to make a lot of progress. We later learned that I had my sat nav set so it was taking us on the most back of the back roads! On one of these back roads we had to do a U turn, here I learned how heavy the Road King is, I lost my footing and couldn’t hold it up, so it rested on its (rather well designed) crash bars. I could not pick it up, in fact the two of us only just managed it.
All this took time, so we jumped onto the highway to knock off the last 90 miles or so. We stayed in a simple motel, not possible to walk into town, so it was some beer from the filling station next door and across the road to the ‘Steak and Shake’ for a great burger and chips. It was very hot all day so early to bed.
Really impressed so far with just how friendly everyone is, of course, when they realise we're from England we're a novelty to them. But even before this, when we're just two anonymous bikers, people are really talkative and friendly.
 
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Day 3 - 5:

DAY 3. 12th August.
Rolla, Missouri – Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Made an early start to find the old R66, it is fragmented and difficult to follow at this point so we jumped onto Interstate 44 and went for it. The speed limit is 75mph on most Interstate Highways and a comfortable cruising speed is just below that (because of the buffeting from the screen). Despite this we were constantly being overtaken by mammoth trucks. We stopped in a small town, Claremore, about 25 miles short of Tulsa, found a motel type place with bar and restaurant nearby, perfect. Shortly after we stopped a tremendous thunderstorm started, the rain and wind was unbelievable for 40 mins or so, glad we weren’t still riding. Suitably fed and watered we had another early night.


DAY 4. 13th August.
Tulsa – Clinton, Oklahoma.

The old R66 becomes more defined from now on (so we are told) so with an even earlier start we planned to follow the old road all day. It was raining, and we were able to follow the R66 route for a long way, but the rain became persistent. The landscape and nature of houses etc was now starting to change. There seemed fewer Churches and more eateries, which suited us! There seemed less money around too, a lot of the towns are tiny, houses tiny too, and very rundown with rusting old cars, trucks, and all sorts littering their yards. Into reservation country and what struck me most was how the land is utterly under-utilised and there’s lots of rather new, rather un attractive, casinos dotted around in the middle of nowhere. Such vast expanses of utterly unused land are hard for us to comprehend, especially coming from England.
The rain was still persistent and the old R66 becoming very fragmented and difficult to navigate again, so we jumped onto the I40 to do the last few miles. We hadn’t booked a hotel as we were expecting Clinton to be a ‘happening’ kind of place, and we were wrong, it was very small, and the motels all were very rundown, some looked practically derelict. They weren’t so inviting looking, so we decided to go a bit upmarket and stayed in a Hampton Inn.
In the steakhouse next door we met Mike, a freelancer working in the oil business as a drilling and completion consultant. He was interested in world politics and we had lively discussions on Brexit, Trump etc. Then he got religious and started telling us that only those who believed in the son of God would go to heaven, and he wanted us to believe so he could “talk to Neil and Nigel in heaven”. We parted on good terms, agreeing to finish the conversation in Heaven. Both of us were pretty tired so another early night.


DAY 5.14th August.
Clinton, Oklahoma – Amarillo, Texas.

It was our earliest start yet and a very misty, foggy and quite chilly start. For the only time on the whole trip, I had to stop and put my windproof jacket over my mesh jacket. We started following the old R66 route for several miles heading for Amarillo. It often runs alongside the Interstate Highway but goes through towns which are far more interesting. Inevitably we lost the route again, but we wanted to get west to ‘outrun’ the weather, so we just picked up another back road going west. This took us right out into country away from the Interstate Highway, through lots of oldie worldie small towns straight out of a hundred US tv shows buried in my memory, some were clearly still on the same layout, and with many of the original buildings that they had in the frontier days, take away the cars and tarmac and you’d expect John Wayne to appear any moment. All way more interesting than watching trucks pass us on the Highway!
The weather improved the further west we went and we could see very dark ominous clouds in our mirrors that we were glad to be leaving behind. We were approaching Texas and the terrain was opening up… a lot! We started seeing oil derricks, oil refineries, huge cattle ranches and even a buffalo ranch. At one point we were riding through a wind farm, and we could see windmills as far as the eye could see, in all directions! It started getting really hot as we got to Amarillo, but as it was early, we decided to go to the ‘Cadillac Ranch’. This where some genius had planted a number of 50’s Cadillacs end on in the ground and people come along and paint graffiti on them, only in America guys!
At one of our fuel stops, an old black fella came up to talk to us about the bikes and how he used to go to Sturgis (so many people said that). We shook hands as he left, there was a dull thud, he’d fallen over. He was a pretty big chap ( 20+ stone) and he couldn’t get up. Neil, being a true Gent, happily helped him. Meanwhile, I’m embarrassed to say, I was trying hard to hide the fact that I was laughing so much I was no use to anyone!
We had a terrible time finding our hotel. Amarillo is huge and the traffic is a nightmare and the satnavs got confused and were petty useless, both giving different directions but both sending us in endless circles. By the time we did find it, with some local help, we were soaked with sweat and pretty tired. A shower and change of clothing plus some cold beer sorted that. Our hotel and restaurant was ‘The Big Texan’ and had been exalted somewhat by the Eagle rider blurb. It was very ‘themed’ and it was OK… for one night. Their speciality was a 72oz steak dinner that was free if you ate in within an hour, they had a huge slab of meat on show, which, of course, was the 72oz steak. Seeing that was more than enough for us to decline the challenge. 72oz might not sound that outrageous, but it sure looks it!
It’s still hot, and dry and my nose has burnt and peeled already.

We’ve now done 1100 miles.
 
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Day 6 - 8:

DAY 6. 15th August.
Amarillo, Texas – Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Got away at 8. Started off on the I40 highway for 100 miles and at Tucumcari we took a minor road to Las Vegas (not that Las Vegas) for another 100 miles. Along the way we realised we had gone thru a time zone and had gained an hour. The road was very quiet, almost no traffic, no towns and few buildings. The earth was red and the terrain was flat with scrubby vegetation but gradually flat topped hills appeared and eventually a small mountain range appeared. It looked like a western film set, you could almost see Indians on the top. We past a strange car ‘junk yard’ packed with rusting (very) old cars and trucks from the 1920’s onwards. Once at Las Vegas the sun started to get hot so we took the Interstate Highway to Santa Fe where we found a great hotel.

Up until now, other road users have been unbelievably courteous even when we were stopped where we shouldn’t be, or doing u turns, etc. That stopped in Santa Fe where normal ‘dog eat dog’ traffic rules seem to apply. As we were early we couldn’t get into the rooms so headed for a recommended bar. We got talking to an English man who lived locally and he recommended a restaurant for dinner. It was good, and they brewed their own beer and cider. Hot and tired, we had another reasonably early night. We’ve now done 1500 miles.


DAY 7. 16th August.
Santa Fe – Gallup, New Mexico.

We headed off at 8.00 and picked up a stretch of the old R66. It’s difficult to follow as after a while the signs disappear, and sometimes the road does too. After a while we ended up back on the Interstate Highway. We picked up R66 again all the way into Albuquerque, NM largest city. It was so hot, we had a break in the air conditioned gas station shop. We managed to find our way through the city and onto a good stretch of old R66 through very dramatic and desert like terrain with great big sand stone buttes and mountains in the distance. We saw a few really, really long trains. It was so hot! We got back onto the Interstate Highway where we blasted off the next 100 miles or so. The rain started 30 miles or so from our destination and we got wet. We found rooms in El Rancho hotel, a characterful place (even if the staff were far from it) whose claim to fame was all the film stars who’d stayed there. A few other bikes started to arrive in the evening. We’ve done 1700 miles and are well over halfway.


DAY 8. 17th August.
Santa Fe, New Mexico – Flagstaff, Arizona.

Loading up the bikes in the morning we saw that a lot of other bikes had arrived overnight. We had a brief chat with a Belgian lady who was with a large French group. She had a Softail Heritage at home, and was only of a small build, so respect to her!

We followed old Route 66 for a while and then took the Interstate Highway. We crossed the state border into Arizona and after a while noticed we’d crossed into another time zone and had gained an hour. The terrain was similar to yesterday but becoming even more desert like. The earth looked very sandy, scrubby vegetation but no sign of any form of farming, buildings, telephone wires, signs, or in fact any evidence of human existence at all, apart from the road we were on, as far as the eye could see in all directions, and it was like this for miles and miles of riding. Amazingly, even in this baron expanse, we have seen a few solo cyclists, peddling away in a way that looks so futile given the effort expanded, distance covered, and distance in front of them, still, I guess they were doing what they wanted to do, ‘to each his own’ as thy say.

Mountains started to appear in the distance and gradually fir trees too. We did the last few miles on old R66 just as rain started. Along the way there were poems on signposts at the side the road, each line on a different sign 100 feet or so apart Eg “If daisies are - your favourite flower - keep pushing up - those miles per hour”. Quaint!

We’d not booked anything so had to look for a hotel in Flagstaff. We found a decent motel with pool, laundry facilities and breakfast which was only a short walk into downtown. We decided to stay 2 nights so we can explore the Grand Canyon tomorrow. The coffee on offer so far has been pretty dire, so I was rather pleased to find a Starbucks. Went downtown that evening, had a couple of beers and a lovely big steak. Moved on to a very lively Irish bar where we met a small group of locals, I drank too much Guinness here, which wasn’t a patch on the Guinness in Ireland. We a lively evening with quite a bit of banter before walking back to the hotel.

Now covered 1900 miles.
 
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Day 9 - 11:

DAY 9. 18th August.
Off to the Grand Canyon today.

Did the 90 miles or so to the Grand Canyon. Roads more mountainous and at least had some bends. A cop car came flying past as further up the road a woman had managed to drive her car into a deep ditch, she was unhurt and the car undamaged, but I’ve no idea how she got there, or how she was getting that car out of there. Some strange ‘towns’ as we approached the Canyon area. Newly built wooden houses in open fields… no roads or streets, just houses in fields.

At the Canyon, it was extremely busy and difficult to park. We found another parked Harley and squeezed in to share its space, not so easy with these big bikes! It also was very hot so we divested ourselves of as much motorcycling gear as we could. The spectacle of the Canyon is truly breath taking and it’s difficult to get it into perspective it’s so huge. As it was a Saturday in August it was just heaving with people so we decided to move on. As we were leaving the other Harley riders were too, Kevin and Cath from Swindon of all places! We got back on the bikes and continued riding round the rim stopping at various viewing places. We saw the Belgian / French contingent again, having huge row about (of all things) where to have their lunchtime picnic… yet more evidence that doing it our way was best! Sat looking across the Canyon we could clearly see a dark rainstorm, and it was coming our way. We passed through some minor thunderstorms as we returned to Flagstaff for cold beers and to do some laundry. Went downtown for eats and some beers and back for an early night. Both are very tired. Nose has burnt and peeled again. Now done 2100 miles.


DAY 10. 19th August.
Flagstaff – Kingman, Arizona.

Today and are expecting to be able to ride a more significant part of old R66 route. After the initial 50 miles or so on the Interstate Highway we turned off onto, for once, a clearly marked old R66 stretch and managed to follow this for the rest of the day. It was getting very hot again, but for once the grass was green with lots of wild flowers growing by the roadside. There were also cattle and horses grazing. This didn’t last, however and basically became desert. The small towns we past through were all super quaint and shrines to old R66, with all sorts of memorabilia, old cars and tourists taking photos, all very American. We stopped at one building, miles from anywhere, with an old hot rod, gas station furniture etc and I’m really not sure if it’s all romantic nostalgia, or just old junk! I guess the answer is in the eye of the beholder. We got chatting to an Italian couple who were also travelling from Chicago to LA. Just before we left, the French contingent with ‘Belgian Lady’ arrived en mass. We arrived at our very R66 themed hotel in Kingman shortly after midday and were lucky to be able to check in immediately. I wanted to do a trip to a desert town called Lake Havusa City to see London Bridge, it was 45 degrees on route, thats bloody hot in my book. I had to stop and put my gloves on to cool down (protection from the baking sun)! I also had to stop and take a picture of the bike on a road with desert in the background, the road was called… London Bridge Road! Neil had declined the extra ride and elected to explore the hotel, and bar. He got chatting (or rather listening) to the only one other customer, a Harley owning truck driver. He was very impressed with our trip going all the way from east to west on Harley’s. He did not own a passport so had never been out of the States, not even to Canada. He had never heard of the EU, or Brexit, and thought Britain was overrun with Syrian refugees. Putting him right was difficult. He then started getting all religious so Neil took his leave.

The R66 West from Flagstaff was definitely what we thought was the best of the R66 experience. It got even better too.

Now done 2300 miles.


DAY 11. 20th August.
Kingman, Arizona – Barstow, California.

We got on the road early to try and cover some distance before the worst of the heat. Our route took us through part of the Mojave Desert and we expect to see a lot more of the old R66. After some ‘normal’ riding, the roads quite suddenly become very twisty, steep, mountain passes with very dramatic scenery all around, really fabulous. We saw one rusty old car that had clearly overshot a bend at some point and rolled downhill and just been left. Then we came into Oatman which is all old buildings and memorabilia, wild donkeys left over from the mining period and is very characterful with lots of souvenir shops etc. Again we briefly came across the argumentative French / Belgian contingent. Oatman looks like a Disney cowboy film set, but it’s real. Parts of it were actually used for the film ‘How the West Was Won’.

After some more thoroughly enjoyable mountain roads we hit the Interstate for a while. We tried 3 times to get off onto the old R66 only to find the road closed. We went past the ‘road closed’ signs at one point and ended up in Essex, a virtually derelict, yet still habited ‘one horse town’ in the middle of nowhere. We were fascinated to think who lives here? And even more so, why?? We had to return to the Highway however and eventually got onto the old R66, which basically just headed off into the desert… and Neil was running very low on fuel. In hindsight this was a bit silly of us really, and it later transpired that we were both running ‘what if’ scenarios in our heads in the event of him running dry. So we were both rather chuffed to come across Roys Motel, café and gas station in the middle of the desert. It was being overrun by a rather excitable French family who looked like they’d just began their vacation, some were also taking pictures of the place, and our bikes, and even us. One of the teenage girls looked at Neil's bike and said "Wow, that's so big, I love it" to which he raised an eyebrow and said "you should see his, its even bigger" So she strolled over to me and said "Oh yours is huge, its beautiful, do you mind if I take a picture". Oh how we chortled at this later !

We had been riding through the desert nearly all day, the heat really is something, and it just radiates up from the road and it’s like someone is holding a hot hair dryer in front of your face. I'm very pleased I invested in a good mesh jacket and decent 'wicking' under clothes, they definitely paid off!
It was therefore absolutely delightful to sit in the air conditioned little shop and have some cold drinks. We started to hit some mountains once back on the interstate Highway and got to our hotel shortly after 3.
Have now done 2500 miles.
 
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Day 12 - end:

DAY 12. 21st August.
Barstow – Santa Monica, California.

Now have just over 100 miles to Santa Monica Pier (the supposed End of Route 66). LA is a bit of a nightmare with traffic and the old R66 has been consumed by city streets long ago. So we planned a route to take us around LA so as to avoid the worst of the traffic. We’d booked a hotel in Woodland Hills, just north of Santa Monica and Malibu for 2 nights. It was pretty much an ‘all freeway’ journey going through hilly and increasingly habited terrain. Very few Churches now, loads of Cafes (inc Starbucks) and gyms everywhere. The density, speed and aggression of the traffic increased very quickly but it was a straightforward journey and we were at the hotel by late morning. Luckily we could get into the rooms immediately. We decided to go down to Santa Monica Pier to ‘formally’ complete the route, register our arrival and get our R66 completion certificate (well, you have to, don’t you) and this was easily done. After some time mooching about the pier we headed back to the hotel and found a twisty, hilly Canyon road and it was fun to be able to throw the old Harley around a bit. And quite surprising too to be honest as they were really quite impressive. Cold beers awaited us at the hotel followed by dinner and an early night. Even through sun block and a scarf, my nose has burnt and peeled again.
2700 miles done.


DAY 13. 22nd August.
Pacific Highway run.

Planned to do a run up Highway 1 today the Pacific Highway road (with hindsight, this is the day I shudda gone on to see Ken, kicking myself that I didn't). It turns out Highway 1 is similar to old R66 in that it turns into new freeway in many places and it’s difficult to find the old highway after that. We did a reasonable run before being routed onto the freeway and we just got tired of it and turned around. We just about managed to find our way back onto Highway 1. We found a seafood restaurant (not as easy as you might think considering we were on the Pacific Highway) and had a slap up lunch overlooking the beach and beautiful blue sea, to celebrate our achievement. We were also joined by large group of very exotic super cars that had turned up for some reason or another too. We got chatting to two Scottish ladies next to us at lunch, one of which was just dying to steer the conversation around to telling us that her husband was in the band ‘The Marmalades’ back in the ‘70s. Oh the Glamour of LA! Back to the hotel to repack in preparation of handing bikes back tomorrow. Neil got stuck into the cold beers, whilst I went for another ride to explore the Malibu Canyon road.


DAY 14. 23rd August.
Returning our trusty steeds.

Returning the bikes was a tad sad, I’d gotten to quite like the Harley. Unlike the collection day, returning was hassle free thankfully. Neil got a taxi back into Santa Monica where he’s spending a couple of days with some nephews who flew in to meet him. I picked up a bright yellow Mustang convertible and awaited the arrival of wife and kids and a very different type of holiday for the next 10 days!

Closing notes:

We had a fantastic trip, so thank you all for having us!

We had no major problems and, most importantly, no fall outs between us which I'm sure many of you know, is easy to do ‘on the road’ .... as the French contingent showed us!

It’s been really interesting too. Fascinating to see the landscape, and culture, and people, change as distance is covered.

Another noteworthy point is the very high number of Stars and Stripe flags being proudly flown, some of them freakin' huge too. I thought it really nice to see such unashamed national pride.

The expanse of unused land mass will stay with me forever I think.

People have been fabulous, everywhere. Open, friendly and helpful even before they discovered we were English! Once that happens, we were often treated like minor celebrities!

I’ll definitely want to ride in the USA again. Just gotta choose some similar long, iconic type of route.

Only one negative point… even on small portions, I still managed to gain at least half a stone!
 
I'd suggest a ride from Vancouver BC to San Diego, California. Much of the old Highway 99 still exists. There are a lot of ex-pat Brits in this stretch of the US, many of us having emigrated back in the 1960s to work in the US aircraft industry. I came out in 1968 to work at Boeing. I got laid off briefly (1971-74) but came back and worked there for 29 years in total. I retired in 1998 and moved to Anacortes the following year. I'll only leave here if I'm wearing a wooden overcoat.
 
Good for u Nigel , u got the bug now I bet, catch u at the Ace in few weeks all being well , amazing Americans for sure
Day 12 - end:

DAY 12. 21st August.
Barstow – Santa Monica, California.

Now have just over 100 miles to Santa Monica Pier (the supposed End of Route 66). LA is a bit of a nightmare with traffic and the old R66 has been consumed by city streets long ago. So we planned a route to take us around LA so as to avoid the worst of the traffic. We’d booked a hotel in Woodland Hills, just north of Santa Monica and Malibu for 2 nights. It was pretty much an ‘all freeway’ journey going through hilly and increasingly habited terrain. Very few Churches now, loads of Cafes (inc Starbucks) and gyms everywhere. The density, speed and aggression of the traffic increased very quickly but it was a straightforward journey and we were at the hotel by late morning. Luckily we could get into the rooms immediately. We decided to go down to Santa Monica Pier to ‘formally’ complete the route, register our arrival and get our R66 completion certificate (well, you have to, don’t you) and this was easily done. After some time mooching about the pier we headed back to the hotel and found a twisty, hilly Canyon road and it was fun to be able to throw the old Harley around a bit. And quite surprising too to be honest as they were really quite impressive. Cold beers awaited us at the hotel followed by dinner and an early night. Even through sun block and a scarf, my nose has burnt and peeled again.
2700 miles done.


DAY 13. 22nd August.
Pacific Highway run.

Planned to do a run up Highway 1 today the Pacific Highway road (with hindsight, this is the day I shudda gone on to see Ken, kicking myself that I didn't). It turns out Highway 1 is similar to old R66 in that it turns into new freeway in many places and it’s difficult to find the old highway after that. We did a reasonable run before being routed onto the freeway and we just got tired of it and turned around. We just about managed to find our way back onto Highway 1. We found a seafood restaurant (not as easy as you might think considering we were on the Pacific Highway) and had a slap up lunch overlooking the beach and beautiful blue sea, to celebrate our achievement. We were also joined by large group of very exotic super cars that had turned up for some reason or another too. We got chatting to two Scottish ladies next to us at lunch, one of which was just dying to steer the conversation around to telling us that her husband was in the band ‘The Marmalades’ back in the ‘70s. Oh the Glamour of LA! Back to the hotel to repack in preparation of handing bikes back tomorrow. Neil got stuck into the cold beers, whilst I went for another ride to explore the Malibu Canyon road.


DAY 14. 23rd August.
Returning our trusty steeds.

Returning the bikes was a tad sad, I’d gotten to quite like the Harley. Unlike the collection day, returning was hassle free thankfully. Neil got a taxi back into Santa Monica where he’s spending a couple of days with some nephews who flew in to meet him. I picked up a bright yellow Mustang convertible and awaited the arrival of wife and kids and a very different type of holiday for the next 10 days!

Closing notes:

We had a fantastic trip, so thank you all for having us!

We had no major problems and, most importantly, no fall outs between us which I'm sure many of you know, is easy to do ‘on the road’ .... as the French contingent showed us!

It’s been really interesting too. Fascinating to see the landscape, and culture, and people, change as distance is covered.

Another noteworthy point is the very high number of Stars and Stripe flags being proudly flown, some of them freakin' huge too. I thought it really nice to see such unashamed national pride.

The expanse of unused land mass will stay with me forever I think.

People have been fabulous, everywhere. Open, friendly and helpful even before they discovered we were English! Once that happens, we were often treated like minor celebrities!

I’ll definitely want to ride in the USA again. Just gotta choose some similar long, iconic type of route.

Only one negative point… even on small portions, I still managed to gain at least half a stone!
d
 
Nigel,

Great review of your trip.
Certainly seems like a fantastic experience.

As far as your rental bikes - you mentioned Eaglerider’s depot in Chicago where you started but where did you drop off the bikes in Santa Monica?
Do those two shops have have some form of agreement on rentals?

Can you explain a bit on how the rental/drop off agreement works?
 
Drop off was also at Eagle riders, their depot there is close to LA airport.

Eagle riders have a massive network it seems, and are happy to accommodate one way trips. Some of their depots are big dedicated affairs, some are just a counter in a HD dealership.

I first came across them whilst in North Carolina and have since used them in El Paso and most recently Chicago and LA.

The disorganisation at Chicago is the only negative experience I’ve had with them thus far.
 
Drop off was also at Eagle riders, their depot there is close to LA airport.

Eagle riders have a massive network it seems, and are happy to accommodate one way trips. Some of their depots are big dedicated affairs, some are just a counter in a HD dealership.

I first came across them whilst in North Carolina and have since used them in El Paso and most recently Chicago and LA.

The disorganisation at Chicago is the only negative experience I’ve had with them thus far.

Great info to have just in case....

Thank you.
 
Along the way there were poems on signposts at the side the road, each line on a different sign 100 feet or so apart Eg “If daisies are - your favourite flower - keep pushing up - those miles per hour”.
Back in the '50s these were common across the states. Usually the last sign was "Barbasol". They are a shaving cream manufacturer and were responsible for putting up the signs.
Thanks for posting your experience, glad you had a good time.
 
Fast Eddie is the Master Blaster ! You have a wonderful way with words .
 
Great narrative, Nigel. I really enjoyed it. See you next trip:)

Ken
 
Ha! Thanks for the kind words guys, I can’t take all the credit, the ‘blog’ was a joint effort between my riding buddy and myself. I’ll not be giving up the day job just yet...!
 
Some pics for y’all. I took way too many, I’ll just post a selection:


R66... R66... R66... R66... R66... R66... R66... R66... R66... R66...
 
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