D+12 OKC to Amarillo, Texas

Leg Mileage = 276.7 Cumulative miles = 2624.5

Another INCREDIBLE ride today. Beginning to learn how to cherry-pick the Mother Road, because you simple can't do it all on one run. Stopped at the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Clinton OK, to help celebrate their 15th anniversary. They broke ground for this on the first HOG Mother Road Tour in 1995, and some of the riders who where there that day are with us on this tour!

From the sublime to the ridiculous: most who are making a living off of 66 have a gimmick and a darn good one! Witness Erick Oklahoma, the home of Roger (King of the Road) Miller and Sheb (Purple People Eater) Wooly. Currently holding forth in the self-proclaimed Red Neck Capitol are the Mediocre Music Makers. They flag you down, greet you, entertain you (former studio musicians from LA), and then wish you well along your way! Picture offered without further comment!

D+11 Layover in OKC

Breakfast downtown at the convention center (second "Mapping the Mother Road" presentation from "Sheriff" Michael Wallis). Then visited the site of the Oklahoma City bombing: stunning and touching.

In the evening some of us headed over to the old OKC Stockyards for supper and then up to the State Fair...yee haw!

D+10 Tulsa, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City

Leg Mileage = 178.3 Cumulative Mileage = 2312.8

Group picture day at the Cyrus Avery Bridge in Tulsa...where east meets west!

An incredible ride today! Getting the hang of this pace and I like it!

But hot and tired by the time we hit OKC which will be a 2 day layover.

D+9 Springfield, Missouri to Tulsa, Oklahoma

Leg mileage = 219.5 Cumulative mileage 2134.5

Storm front passed in the night and today started out beautiful and got better! Really was in three states today: Missouri, Kansas (cutting the corner at Galena), and Oklahoma.

Some surprises today, case in point being the 9 Foot Road sections that are still preserved in Oklahoma. This was the original paved road sections in this part of what became Rt 66 and are 9 feet wide (and not in the best of condition!) Needless to say, my riding skills are getting a workout, but stayed shiny side up throughout.

And there are delays you don't usually have to deal with on the interstate!

Arrived in Tulsa in time to check out the local dealership's reception and get my bearings.

D+8 Fenton, Missouri to Springfield, Missouri

Leg Mileage = 223.9 Cumulative mileage 1915.0

Getting the feel for the Mother Road now. Rt 66 is remarkably intact, but it takes a few new navigation skills, though the various state associations have done a good job of marking the route.

Stopped at Merrimac Cave (Jessie James hideout!) and checked out some of the older (30's vintage) parts of the road like the Devil's Elbow.

Drove into a significant rain storm in the afternoon! Suited up in Rolla, unsuited a few miles later, the suited back up for real just past Ft Leonard Wood. Took to the superslab for the run into Springfield, since I wanted to meet up with relatives for supper.

D+7 - Rejoining the Tour

Evansville, Indiana to Fenton, Missouri - Leg mileage = 237.6 cumulative miles 1691.1

Left Evansville about 7:40 and headed west on Indiana 62 and then north on Indiana 69 until I had to get on I-64 west. Cool and cloudy in the morning, but by the time I took a break in O'Fallon, Illinois around 10:30, the day was clearing and getting warm. Shed the jacket and ride!

Now the Route 66 fun begins! Headed north to Collinsville, Illinois (Giant ketchup bottle!). Finally got onto historic 66 and followed a 50's alignment.

This led to a stop at Cahokia Mounds. This is the site of the largest known prehistoric community in North America and the largest earthen mound in the Americas. This is the Monk's Mound and from the top you can see downtown St Louis and the Arch.

Finally started to see other Mother Road riders in Mitchell Illinois. HOG arranged for us to be able to cross the Mississippi on the old Point of Rocks bridge.

This bridge is normally closed to traffic, but we were allowed to cross! Don't know if you can tell from this picture, but the bridge turns 22 degrees in the middle. A real adventure!

Worked my way through St Louis to the Arch and then on to Fenton (with a stop at Ted Drewes for a concrete!)

D+6 On the Road at Last!

Tinley Park, Illinois to Evansville, Indiana Leg = 288.3 miles, cummuative 1423.5

After a HOG rider's breakfast this morning, I packed up and headed out. This is a day early, and I am doing a side trip to Evansville, Indiana for some business. Left Tinley Park just after noon and arrived Evansville around 5:30 pm. Stayed at the Aztar Casino on the Ohio River.

Monday (D+7) was spent on business with a short side trip down to Henderson, Kentucky.

D+3 to D+5 Hanging Out in Chicago

Quiet days...Got the bike serviced, visited with family and friends, and met some new friends during the HOG registration events. Ready to hit the road!

D+2 Chicago Already!

Canton Ohio to Tinley Park Illinois, Leg = 398 mi, cumulative mileage 1018.5

Left Canton around 8:30. Beautiful, fall-like day, and needed to put the liner in my jacket. Blew down US 30, a beautiful four lane divided highway. Stops in Mansfield and Van Wert, Ohio and Plymouth, Indiana. Miles and miles of woodland and farms.

Besides making Chicago a day earlier than I expected, a highlight of the day was stopping for lunch at Balyeat's Coffee Shop in downtown Van Wert, Ohio. One of my "goals" on this trip is to try to avoid chains and find local cuisine.

Home run first time out. This place has been open for 75 years: a classic coffee shop with counter and rows of four-tops.

Here's a shot of the Pearl outside Balyeat's. It pays to get off the interstates!

Arrived in Tinley Park, Illinois around 7:15 CDT. Uneventful trip except for driving down US 30 westbound at sunset! Here's our arrival shot! Folks at the Holiday Inn were able to put me up two days early. I was the first to arrive.

D+1 - Canton Ohio Already! - 620.5 miles

D-Day Burke to York PA: 129.5 mi leg/ 210.5 mi cummulative
Ran up to York PA (the bike's birthplace) and bunked at my nephew's place at York College.

D+1 York PA to Canton OH: 410 mi leg/ 620.5 mi cummulative
Started at HD plant tour then headed west on US 30 which follows the old Lincoln Highway. Great little towns with town squares like Gettysburg! Quick tour of the battlefield then into the mountains. Past Chambersburg road gets nice and twisty, but westerly winds really kicked up in Laurel Highlands. GIANT ALERT - Pied Piper along road, windmills dotting landscape! And why is the Applacian section of 30 guarded by large ceramic elephants?

Lunch stop in Greensburg, then through the Pittsburgh area, West Virginia and after a few misqueues got to Canton OH around 8 pm. Could not believe that I knocked off so much distance.

D-Day

45 minutes left before my planned departure time. May start a bit later but today is the day.
Final preps and packing, loaded the bike. Off to York in a few.

D-1: And Early Start -- 88 miles Sunday 9/5

Some good friends invited me down to their place on the Northern Neck on Saturday...good friends, good food and incredible weather. On the return Sunday, I stopped at the George Washington Birthplace National Monument. Decided this was an auspicious time and place to start the cross county trip by officially punching the button on the Trip 1 odometer!

Final packing and preparations Sunday night. Tomorrow is D-Day!

D-3 and Counting

I love it when a plan comes together! Wrapping things up at home, the bike's serviced, and I've done a trial pack out. This darn thing might just work! I'll start updating things more regularly now, but in the meantime here's a thought. The words have often been attributed to Nelson Mandela, but the orignal source is Marianne Williamson from "A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles" Getting ready to fly free!