Route 66 - 2001

Route 66 - 2001

Bill hanging with da mom

In May, 2001, Bill made yet ANOTHER trip down Route 66. This one, though, was a bit
different. The PLAN was simple - he'd hop on the bike, take a casual trip across
the country in four days (cough), surprise his mom for Mother's Day, then have
a leisurely ride out to Illinois and spend six days riding back down Route 66.

No biggie, right? Well, not exactly accurate. This is a PRIME example of a 40 year old body
with a brain that still thinks like a 18 year old . Back then, 800-900 miles
a day on a bike was no big thing. Today, it's not easy. What STARTED as a
casual trip across country hit the reality check about 100 miles east of El Paso,
when he realized that not only was this NOT a casual ride, it was a race against
the clock to be in Rock Hill, SC by Mother's Day. He DID get there, though, and after
spending Mother's Day with her, left Monday afternoon for IL. He got there Tuesday, and
spent the next five days exploring. Other than averaging 95+ degree days ("I've GOT to stop
timing my trips across the Mohave at 3pm!") , it was a GREAT ride, and he was glad he did it.

Bill started his trip on May 9, 2001, and finished on May 19th, 6073 miles later.

He took this adventure based on a philosphy for living:
Never take a freeway when you can take a highway.
Never take a highway when you can take a state road.
It's not the destination...it's the journey.
Here's some of his favorite memories....
(Scroll down)

Route 66 Scenes

Click on any image to see a larger version


Crossing into MO on what HAD to be the hottest day of the year!	The Blue Whale Water Park in Catoosa, OK. Looks like it'll be open this year!	Bitten, TX looks like it could use a bit of a hand in the engineering department.

The Big Texan in Amarillo, TX...where, if you can actually eat (and keep down) a 72 oz steak (gulp!) then it's yours for free. If not, you pay top $$.	The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX. See those things sticking straight up in the background? Those would be Cadillacs growing in the Texan fertilizer.	Run by midgets, I guess...

The Continental Divide - the halfway point of the U.S.	Somewhere on the road between Chicago and L.A.	The U-Drop Inn, in Shamrock, TX.

Tucumcari Tonite! Home of some legendary parties!	The Blue Swallow Motel - home of the most neon on the planet.	Can you IMAGINE a new motel going up with this name? The lawsuits would last for decades!

Click on any image to see a larger version

Legal Stuff:

All documents, photographs, graphics and web pages copyrighted by Bill Oakes and/or Triton Images, and are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. This includes other web sites that Bill Oakes and/or Triton Images has created. All images used on web pages created by Bill Oakes and/or Triton Images are digitally watermarked, and can easily be tracked. For those of you not familiar with copyright law that means we can pursue infringers for much more than "actual" damages, including attorneys fees. For a simple explanation on the Internet and copyrights, click here .

This page last modified on July 29, 2001