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Route 66 by Harley-Davidson

May / June 2005

A 6600 mile coast to coast adventure from Santa Monica to Provincetown,

aboard a Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide, through the heart of America.

All pictures © Richard Sharp 2005

Route 66 looking east from Ocean Boulevard, Santa Monica.

The bike at Malibu Beach, taking a test ride up the coast before setting out across country.

Eccentric roadside art.

Across the Mojave Desert. The classic 'road shot'.

Death Valley. Hot, dusty, and stunningly beautiful (and the valley wasn't bad either....)

Flowers in Death Valley. A 'hundred year event' caused by an exceptionally wet winter germinating dormant seeds.

How did the seeds get there in the first place? Bird crap!

In the middle distance are the salt flats of the dried up lake which marks the lowest point in America, and in the background the snow capped Telescope Peak, at 11047 feet.

Viva Las Vegas.

Riding a big Harley down The Strip is one hell of an experience.

Andrea Pruett, proprietor at the Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs, California.

I enjoyed a few stong coffees and a chat here.

The cafe was the location for the cult film of the same name - definitely worth a watch.

Classic bit of Route 66 neon signage at Roy's Motel in Amboy, California, sadly closed down but owned by a businessman who 'hopes to restore the site to its former glory'. He's got a lot of work to do.

The ghost town of Goffs.

This is what happens when new freeways bypass the old Route 66 towns.

London Bridge, now situated at Lake Havasu City in the middle of the Arizona desert,

and drawing in the tourists just like they hoped it would.

Bike rally at the old wild west frontier town of Oatman.

Hackberry General Store, where I met two blokes from Bradford (UK) and discovered the joys of the 'Polish Dog'.

The Grand Canyon. It's big.

"Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, California on my mind... "

This is the corner referred to in the Eagles song 'Take it easy'.

The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. A pretty wacky place to stay!

The Petrified Forest. Not scary at all.

Johnny, then owner of the Uranium Cafe in Grants, New Mexico.

I couldn't resist one of his wonderful 'Uranium Burgers'.

Johnny is a true gentleman who spins a great yarn. Unfortunately I understand the cafe has since changed hands. I wonder what happened to Johnny?

Wonderful old example of a steel truss bridge. For all the nerdy engineers out there.

Beautiful mural in Tucumcari. There is nothing else to recommend this town.

Half way, and bloody freezing.

Snow, May, Texas.

Cadillac Ranch, just outside Amarillo.

Barmy and brilliant. Long live eccentricity.

'Bug Ranch'.

Come up with a good idea, and someone copies it!

Restored original 'Phillips 66' petrol station in McLean, Texas.

Only in Texas - a museum devoted entirely to barbed wire!

This must be the place then...

Lucille's Gas Station near Hydro, Oklahoma.

Apparently it was sold on Ebay a couple of years ago!

Great example of a 'Meramec Barn'.

In a bid to boost tourist trade, the owner of the Meramec Cavens travelled Route 66 offering to paint

people's barns for free - so long as he could choose the colour scheme!

A section of original 1930's Route 66.

It's a single track road because it was first surfaced during the great depression and the state couldn't afford to build it full width.

Still working - a proper drive in theatre at Carthage, Missouri.

They're showing Miss Congeniality 2. Interestingly, they've used the English spelling of 'theatre'.

Trade's dropped off a bit since they built the new road...

I'd love to know the story behind the ceiling decorations.

They were a bit cagey about it...

The Chain Of Rocks Bridge, crossing the Mississippi at St Louis, Missouri.

Why did they put a kink in it?

End of Route 66. Looking back west from the waterfront in Chicago.

Many people think Route 66 runs coast to coast. It actually goes from Chicago to Los Angeles - about 2300 miles.

I carried on across the top of America, and also a bit of Canada, to complete a full coast to coast trip and eventually fly home from Boston.

Niagara Falls.

The Toronto skyline.

A really beautiful city, where I should have stayed longer.

By Lake Ontario.

Canada is beautiful.

New York State.

A stunning part of the country, as green as England but SO much bigger.

Journeys End.

This is the Atlantic coast of Cape Cod.

I'd picked up a pebble on the beach back in Santa Monica, and I threw it into the sea here.

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