172: Westward, ho!

Lou and Hal

After saying our goodbyes to Hal and Lou, Roger and I hit the trail for home. This is it. Finally we are on the Mother Road - Route 66 - heading west. Unfortunately, the WIND was headed mostly north all day, so we were bucking a strong crossing headwind most of the day and fear we may be doing so for weeks!

Follow that sign!

Everything along the route seems to be branded with the Route 66 label in some form or another. Our route will mostly follow along the Interstate 40, corridor, although if today's experience is the norm, we'll be far enough away that it feels very remote. Indeed, for long sections today, I had the feeling we were all alone.

Roger has done some work to plan our itinerary using the Adventure Cycling route maps, and it does appear that we will, in fact, be quite alone for some pretty long stretches of this leg of our journey, particularly in the Californian stretches, where we will be crossing the Mojave Desert on some pretty remote roads.  Or not. We reserve the right to stay with the freeway if we must. I am already anticipating a night sleeping under the stars somewhere in the middle of the desert, after eating a dinner of peanut butter crackers! Ensuring we are carrying enough water will be Job One.

"Modern" accommodations

The style of the buildings along the way are fun. I am already seeing some of the old roadway inns and businesses from days gone by.

Hamish and Joan

We actually ran into a couple of cyclists touring the route today. These are the first tourists we have seen in months!  Joan and Hamish were having a rest at the convenience store near where we had our lunch. They look like we usually feel!  They are from New Zealand, and have done quite a lot of touring in the US. They will be heading to LA as well, but don't need to arrive until the end of Thanksgiving so we may never see them again.

And then, Charly came cruising up to us while we were on the road. He is doing 100 to 150 miles a day, so that's the last we'll see of him, as well!

1929, Historic Register

Charly

Roger and I were absolutely bushed by the end of the day, so it's bedtime for this bonzo!

The day's report:  Oklahoma City to Weatherford (OK), 75.8 miles/8040 to date. We passed the 8000 mile mark today!

Route 66 - more or less