Route 66 was fun through Illinois as it is mostly intact allowing you to stay off the interstate. I met two Aussies touring route 66 who were in the Simpson Desert last year and saw my group crossing Australia. Checked out my abs brakes (which allow you to maneuver during hard braking!) when I glanced over at a tourist place that was closed and the woman in front of me decided to stop in the road.
Missouri and Oklahoma route 66 is mostly gone with side trips from the interstate thru a few sections and museums and tourist stops. At the state line for Oklahoma, route 44 turns in to a toll road, so I headed for secondary roads. My trusty Harley Owners Group Atlas is small, very hard to read with my old eyes and this trip is without a GPS. The atlas has very few secondary roads, so I headed east looking for a road south. Found one, took it to the end and went west, looking for another south road. Worked fine yesterday zigging east and west then south until I found a tourist info center with maps. Camped at a primitive site (no cell coverage, no Internet, no showers) along the Illinois river last night bathing in the river, then zigged and zagged on scenic roads today including the best four hours of riding I have ever had. Route 259 is two lanes, 65 mph with turn after turn wrapping up over the Ozarts and thru three river valleys. Had on and off sprinkles all afternoon which kept it cool until mother nature suddenly opened (Hurricane Alex outer bands) up made the ride difficult due to lousy visibility and the grease Texas uses to pave with. Had a lot of abs braking action and had several stops as visibility was zero due to heavy rain and the fog from my wet clothing. Stopped in Palestine Texas, going to head on over to Austin for 8 days tomorrow.
YOU DA MAN
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