Route 66

[mike72903]

Proposed trip out west sometime this spring/summer to see my daughter in Oregon.  Worthwhile to use the Mother Road in New Mexico and Arizona where available?  Say to Needles, CA before turning north?

[Willow]

Yes.  I-40 into OKC and pick up old 66.  Take your time.  Spend the night in Tucumcari.  West of Needles it does get ugly (not kept up).  My exposure is a few years old.  They may have done better since then. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Yes.  I-40 into OKC and pick up old 66.  Take your time.  Spend the night in Tucumcari.  West of Needles it does get ugly (not kept up).  My exposure is a few years old.  They may have done better since then. 

No it's in even worse shape nowadays. At least the section I was on.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Proposed trip out west sometime this spring/summer to see my daughter in Oregon.  Worthwhile to use the Mother Road in New Mexico and Arizona where available?  Say to Needles, CA before turning north?

I don't know if you were planning to go north thru California. If so I am partial to 395 vs. 99 or heaven forbid 5 or the 101. Keep in mind it gets hotter than hell around these parts in the summer.

[mike72903]

Probably won't make it to Needles, but turn north earlier through Nevada.  Want to hit Death Valley, then Yosimite.  To Medford, OR and meet up with wife for a few days at daughters.  If I get that far, and it's questionable, I really really really want to come back through Idaho and take highway 12 between Lewiston, ID and Lolo, MT.  One of the prettiest drives in the country.  Done it in a car but had to hurry to get a sick wife to civilization.  Gob Smackingly beautiful, wild, remote and curvy as hell.  Deep in a valley between mountains the whole way.  About 200 miles.  Im sure others here have ridden it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Probably won't make it to Needles, but turn north earlier through Nevada.  Want to hit Death Valley, then Yosimite.  To Medford, OR and meet up with wife for a few days at daughters.  If I get that far, and it's questionable, I really really really want to come back through Idaho and take highway 12 between Lewiston, ID and Lolo, MT.  One of the prettiest drives in the country.  Done it in a car but had to hurry to get a sick wife to civilization.  Gob Smackingly beautiful, wild, remote and curvy as hell.  Deep in a valley between mountains the whole way.  About 200 miles.  Im sure others here have ridden it.

If you are going thru Death Valley and Yosemite, I would also recommend checking out Mammoth Lakes. It's very beautiful. Be careful going thru Yosemite, the tourists are very dangerous there. One cut across 3 lanes in front of me to get to a parking spot. One of the few times I've had the front brakes locked up. Everybody turned to see what the commotion was, he had no idea what he had done. Tahoe is pretty cool also.

[Savago]

Just my opinion... but I would skip Death Valley and do the CA-01 (a.k.a. the Pacific route) all the way to the Bay Area through the Big Sur and *then* head to Yosemite.

From there, make a quick stop in Lake Tahoe and next head to Oregon (which can be done through the CA-01 too, with the bonus of visiting the Redwoods National Park in North California, where you can visit the Avenue of Giants).

In Oregon I would try to visit the Crater Lake National Park.

[DirtyDan]

I plan on being in the area in the spring. gonna hit the Laughiin river run then make my way up 395

dan

[Oss]

If you get the chance 120 (going out from the east gate of Yosemite) is a helluva great road   Coming down you will want to pull over a few times to take pics as the drop off on your right side  is most impressive, try to NOT have cars or campers ahead of you so you can really enjoy the views and hang on, its one of those downhills that go forever,  if you have a movie camera on that right crashbar that is even better !

  88/89 into Tahoe from Yosemite is also a very nice ride   You are gonna have a wonderful time.

IMHO the PCH will slow you down to maybe 300 or less miles a day as it is slower than the Blue Ridge and if you hit fog or drizzle it will seem to take forever, if weather is nice it will be very nice indeed to see the ocean for so long

My brother's gal now has a place west of Reno just west of the Calif border, so maybe in a few years I will take 3 weeks or so and ride west again to visit them hunt and ride horses and end up in Seattle to see my son.  Really want to do Glacier-Highway to the Sun while I still have some good vision

Have a great time, post lots of pics and ride reports for those of us who can only dream your experiences now

[mike72903]

Thanks for all the great tips.  So many places to see, so little time   Hope I can actually pull it off. There is some resistance from SHMBO.  Understandable since she believes as long as she is with me, nothing bad can happen to me  

[0leman]

+1 on visiting Crater Lake.  Though if you have visited Daughter before in Medford you may have been there before.  They are getting a lots of snow this year, so it may be July before you can take the loop road.

Hwy 395 is not bad up thru CA, cut over to Susanville to get to Klamath Falls,  prettier drive.  Slower but prettier.   

Enjoy the trip

[DirtyDan]

crater lake.... chec... I mean highly recommended



dan

[mike72903]

Been Giving google maps a workout to see all the recommended roads and destinations.  Thanks. 

[0leman]

I do enjoy Crater Lake, especially during the winter.  I have a picture of Art's and My Valkyries sitting in the parking lot at the rim.  There is a 13' of snow behind the bikes.   Though if you really want to see the lake it's best to wait till after the middle of July when the open the loop road.

They do try to keep the south entrance open year round, it's been close some this winter due to heavy snows.

[Crackerborn]

Been Giving google maps a workout to see all the recommended roads and destinations.  Thanks. 

Once you get a general idea of where, a mapping planner that you can easily edit and save will help with the actual route and some, like Furkot (free online trip planner), have a motorcycle option for gas stops. When I actually plan a trip, I find Google a bit limited.

[Oss]

here is a little clip going east down 120

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFc3xlb_wrg&ebc=ANyPxKqYt7C8pTuV_5WcPeur3TPVSTzVzbxQVHM49-I8aDbOk9nzsZR-AMtJ0WbxzgjXy7gsP8LcynB43MQrOX78-9MUQqE06Q

[Black Pearl's Captain]

I don't care for much of RT66 but if you are going to try and ride (whats left of it) I'd skip all the rest just to do Oatman pass from Kingman to Needles. And if I rode that section on a Valk I wouldn't go that far without doing Amboy Ca. where Joe Boyd the Valk creator often visited.

[DirtyDan]

Amboy Crater

dan

[Wizzard]

Def go to Oatman,, worth the trip
 

[mike72903]

Def go to Oatman,, worth the trip
 

I had never heard of Oatman before but now the road is on the list.  In fact, advice has been so great I'm amending my trip so I have more time from Kingman/Oatman north to Oregon

[art]

Rt 66 out of Needles north gets very bad. I rode it a few years ago going south and had to ride the dirt shoulder it was so bad. I went about 15 miles before I found an entrance to I 40.  I was considering making a hole in the fence to gain entrance to the freeway. There are good parts but not on that part. Amboy is a good ride and there are services there,gas and food. After that its a long trip to 29 Palms.Water and enough gas is a plus in the desert. PLENTY of  COLD WATER. I've done that area about ten times visiting my sister in Bullhead city and yes Oatman is a must.

[mike72903]

Rt 66 out of Needles north gets very bad. I rode it a few years ago going south and had to ride the dirt shoulder it was so bad. I went about 15 miles before I found an entrance to I 40.  I was considering making a hole in the fence to gain entrance to the freeway. There are good parts but not on that part. Amboy is a good ride and there are services there,gas and food. After that its a long trip to 29 Palms.Water and enough gas is a plus in the desert. PLENTY of  COLD WATER. I've done that area about ten times visiting my sister in Bullhead city and yes Oatman is a must.

Once past Oatman I was going to head north toward Death Valley. Proposed at the moment  is from the Needles area, north on US 95, west on 164/I 15 skirting Mohave Preserve, then north on 127. is that reasonable?  Appears the only option other than going to Las Vegas.  I'm assuming the roads through the Mohave Preserve are poor and might not be a good choice.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Rt 66 out of Needles north gets very bad. I rode it a few years ago going south and had to ride the dirt shoulder it was so bad. I went about 15 miles before I found an entrance to I 40.  I was considering making a hole in the fence to gain entrance to the freeway. There are good parts but not on that part. Amboy is a good ride and there are services there,gas and food. After that its a long trip to 29 Palms.Water and enough gas is a plus in the desert. PLENTY of  COLD WATER. I've done that area about ten times visiting my sister in Bullhead city and yes Oatman is a must.

Once past Oatman I was going to head north toward Death Valley. Proposed at the moment  is from the Needles area, north on US 95, west on 164/I 15 skirting Mohave Preserve, then north on 127. is that reasonable?  Appears the only option other than going to Las Vegas.  I'm assuming the roads through the Mohave Preserve are poor and might not be a good choice.

Poor would be an understatement. It's a real shame too, it's a neat landscape. But the potholes are HUGE. I did it last year and I think I saw 4 cars with blow outs and bent rims. Going up to Searchlight across to Nipton, Baker, then thru Death Valley, across to Lone Pine and then up 395 would be my choice. 

[DirtyDan]

lone pine is where I broke my arm last year, fun place to stay....free air show with the F-18s. 395 is a fun road, puts you in the rain shadow of the sierra Nevada. heading that way in a few weeks

dan

[mike72903]

Rt 66 out of Needles north gets very bad. I rode it a few years ago going south and had to ride the dirt shoulder it was so bad. I went about 15 miles before I found an entrance to I 40.  I was considering making a hole in the fence to gain entrance to the freeway. There are good parts but not on that part. Amboy is a good ride and there are services there,gas and food. After that its a long trip to 29 Palms.Water and enough gas is a plus in the desert. PLENTY of  COLD WATER. I've done that area about ten times visiting my sister in Bullhead city and yes Oatman is a must.

Once past Oatman I was going to head north toward Death Valley. Proposed at the moment  is from the Needles area, north on US 95, west on 164/I 15 skirting Mohave Preserve, then north on 127. is that reasonable?  Appears the only option other than going to Las Vegas.  I'm assuming the roads through the Mohave Preserve are poor and might not be a good choice.

Poor would be an understatement. It's a real shame too, it's a neat landscape. But the potholes are HUGE. I did it last year and I think I saw 4 cars with blow outs and bent rims. Going up to Searchlight across to Nipton, Baker, then thru Death Valley, across to Lone Pine and then up 395 would be my choice. 

That's my plan presently.  To Mammoth Lakes then 120 into Yosimite.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Rt 66 out of Needles north gets very bad. I rode it a few years ago going south and had to ride the dirt shoulder it was so bad. I went about 15 miles before I found an entrance to I 40.  I was considering making a hole in the fence to gain entrance to the freeway. There are good parts but not on that part. Amboy is a good ride and there are services there,gas and food. After that its a long trip to 29 Palms.Water and enough gas is a plus in the desert. PLENTY of  COLD WATER. I've done that area about ten times visiting my sister in Bullhead city and yes Oatman is a must.

Once past Oatman I was going to head north toward Death Valley. Proposed at the moment  is from the Needles area, north on US 95, west on 164/I 15 skirting Mohave Preserve, then north on 127. is that reasonable?  Appears the only option other than going to Las Vegas.  I'm assuming the roads through the Mohave Preserve are poor and might not be a good choice.

Poor would be an understatement. It's a real shame too, it's a neat landscape. But the potholes are HUGE. I did it last year and I think I saw 4 cars with blow outs and bent rims. Going up to Searchlight across to Nipton, Baker, then thru Death Valley, across to Lone Pine and then up 395 would be my choice. 

That's my plan presently.  To Mammoth Lakes then 120 into Yosimite.

Now all you have to worry about is the 120*

[DirtyDan]

Make sure Tioga pass is open first. Heck of a drive around the block

dan