{"id":63029,"date":"2026-10-08T04:46:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"urn:motra-oct3:MOTRA:29"},"modified":"2026-10-09T21:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T21:28:02","slug":"motra-motra-april-2006-route-66-the-mother-road-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/?p=63029","title":{"rendered":"Route 66 \u2014 America\u2019s Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published in Motorcycles On the Road Again, April 2006.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was just a trickle … at first …<\/p>\n

As the first automobiles and motorcycles gained favor with Americans, driving could be a real challenge. Roads, as we know them today, were non-existent. The dirt roads, even the plank roads that were adequate for horses, carriages and pedestrians just were not able to support automobile traffic.<\/p>\n

The number of cars increased rapidly in the first quarter of the 1900’s. States, counties and the federal government grappled with the challenge of creating roads to support the ever-increasing automobile traffic. And something new, Americans were developing a desire to travel. Suddenly the automobile made it possible to see more of the world via road trips!<\/p>\n

In the early 1920’s, as first talks of a national highway system began, a visionary in Oklahoma, Cyrus Avery, began to promote the idea of a national highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. Avery formed the U.S. Highway 66 Association to promote complete paving of the highway from end to end.<\/p>\n

The “Bunion Derby” was the first attempt at publicity for the highway. A footrace from Los Angeles to New York City. The path from Los Angeles to Chicago would be on Route 66. The Association arranged for dignitaries, like Will Rogers, to meet the runners (and the public) at stops along the way. The rest is history.<\/p>\n

A bit of trivia \u2014 the Bunion Run was won by Andy Payne.<\/p>\n

Route 66, over 2,400 miles in length runs through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Route 66 ends at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California.<\/p>\n

In 1938 Route 66 became the first fully paved highway in the national highway system. With better and more reliable cars, Americans began to take vacations “all the way to California”. And it wasn’t just tourists, commercially the Route was a huge success as truckers, sales people and others discovered how easy it was to travel between Chicago and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Route 66, also known as the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America”, became the connection to a new life for many people during the depression and the Dust Bowl years and ultimately it became a part of the heart and soul of America.<\/p>\n

This Highway is a part of some of the world’s best known literature including The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck in which he wrote “…and they come in 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads, 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.”<\/p>\n

As Route 66 traffic increased so did a lot of “mom and pop” businesses along the way: Motels, drive-ins, service station (back when the word “service” meant you actually received some) restaurants, museums, roadside attractions, souvenir shops and trading posts. Many of these places reflected the art deco style of the period with the use of glass brick, rounded corners and “modern” design concepts.<\/p>\n

As the Commander of the WWII forces in Europe, General Eisenhower had been impressed with the high-speed autobahns of Germany. As President, Eisenhower was the driving force behind the National Defense Highway System \u2014 what we know as “Interstates”. As the interstate highway was developed, many towns along the way were bypassed causing businesses on Route 66 to lose much of the traffic that had been their lifeblood. Service stations, fast food restaurants and chain motels sprung up around the exits along the Interstate and the businesses on the smaller highways fell into very hard times.<\/p>\n

In 1984 the last active section of Route 66 was officially decommissioned and Route 66 totally disappeared from the map.<\/p>\n

Fans of Route 66 began to realize that an entire era, a major portion of U.S. history was in danger of being totally lost to future generations.<\/p>\n

In Seligman, AZ, the town barber, Angel Delgadillo, began moves in 1987 to have his section of the old Route 66 alignment turned into an historic highway. Through his efforts that part of Route 66 was re-designated “Historic Route 66”. Delgadillo’s success was the spark needed to ignite the interest of other groups and individuals who began to work to preserve additional sections of the old road and restore many of the historical buildings along the route.<\/p>\n

Today, almost 80% of the original pavement remains and can be driven. All along the way associations have formed to protect and preserve segments of the highway. And now, eighty years after its birth, people from across America and around the world are once again traveling Route 66 and experiencing a living part of our history.<\/p>\n

New Mexico has the largest portion of the original highway remaining and has become somewhat the focal point for much of the Historic Route 66 activities. The interest has been so great that in 1992 the Route 66 Magazine was founded in Williams, AZ. This magazine is the premier source for history, tales and other interesting tidbits about Route 66, both past and present. You can visit their website at www.Route66Magazine.com<\/p>\n

Historic Route 66 today is especially popular with motorcycle enthusiasts. During the summer there are several motorcycle rallies held along Route 66 as well as an event for motorcyclists who want to ride Route 66.<\/p>\n

The Mother road is a favorite among classic and vintage automobiles groups. During the good weather months there is hardly a weekend when a car group is not having a show or a ride along a section of Route 66. Visit the Historic Route 66 website at www.Historic66.com for events and other information.<\/p>\n

We hope you enjoy the photography of Route 66 as it looks today. Special thanks to Jerry Eisen for providing his outstanding photos. Jerry has made several trips on Route 66.<\/p>\n

The task of preserving Route 66 is not complete; it really has only just begun. This started as a grass roots movement and it needs the support of many people to succeed. Get involved.<\/p>\n

The Weather<\/p>\n

Riding the entire length of Historic Route 66 involves a diverse range of temperature and climate conditions. The best time to travel 66 by motorcycle is in May and in September.<\/p>\n

Even during May and September be prepared to handle both cold and hot riding conditions. Layering clothing is the best way to keep warm and to be able to “peel off” what isn’t needed as the weather improves. Raingear on this trip is also a must.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Originally published in Motorcycles On the Road Again, April 2006. It was just a trickle … at first … As the first automobiles and motorcycles gained favor with Americans, driving could be a real challenge. Roads, as we know them today, were non-existent. The dirt roads, even the plank roads that were adequate for horses, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[134,159],"class_list":["post-63029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-motra-april-2006","tag-s074"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63029"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":900306,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63029\/revisions\/900306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/900710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}