Route 66

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Come Here (without the expert guidance of PAC Tour)

We have done this tour in 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2006.

Cycling Route 66...in 2006

Route 66 is the legendary highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. The road was given its famous Sixty-Six number in 1926. For 50 years it represented the American dream of going somewhere.

In April-May 2006, PAC Tour celebrated the 80th Anniversary of the Old Road. We recreated the history of the nostalgic Highway by cycling 2,500 miles from Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois. The tour averaged 85 miles per day during this 29 day adventure.

Riding Route 66 is more than a bike ride. To appreciate this road you must understand the history of the millions of people who crossed American on this route. During our Route 66 PAC Tour, we include history books, daily seminars from guest speakers, historic videos, and visits to famous landmarks along the route.

Our bicycles allow us to explore sections of the oldest parts of the forgotten pavement. Some of these routes of not seen auto travel since the interstate abandoned them 40 years ago. This bicycle tour offerd one of the most detailed and up close views of Route 66 ever organized.

What Kind of Bicycle Do You Need?
Your bicycle should be lightweight (under 25 pounds) and be sturdy enough for rough roads. 80% of Route 66 pavement is in good paved condition. The remaining 20% (500 miles) is gravel, rough pavement or broken concrete. There is some good and bad pavement each day. Tires of 32-35 mm are required. If your bicycle does not fit at least 32 mm tires, you need a different bike. We have learned from past tours that riders with narrow tires want to avoid the rough sections and continually complain about the rough roads. There are several really nice randonneur bikes that fit wide tires. Low gears are also needed since Route 66 has several steep climbs. Lonąs favorite bike for this type of tour is a Rivendell Rombouillet (www.rivbike.com). TREK also makes a good 21 pound bike called an Alpha Comfort Road Bike 1200c for $1,100-$1,300 which would be a good bike for this tour.

Where Do We Eat?
Each day will include at least one famous diner or cafe included in the tour price. The food along Route 66 is as famous as the road. You need to be ready to eat homemade BBQ, apple pie and wash it down with a real chocolate malt. Our support van will provide snacks along remote areas of the route. Eating and riding will be a big focus during the is tour.

Where Do We Sleep?
Part of the charm of Route 66 are the small motels that line the highway. Places such as The Wigwam Motel, Blue Swallow, El Rancho or Big Texan are famous for their unique decor. Staying at these motels is a step back in time. Some rooms donąt even have televisions or phones. Bring a cell phone and forget about high speed internet connections. The attached garages between each room built in 1940 are a good place to store your bike. These motels all add to the feel of a real Route 66 road trip.

How Much Does It Cost?
The entire tour is $2,795 for 29 days including sag support, bike repair, gear shuttle, special Rt. 66 gearbag, motels, one cafe meal per day, detailed routing, seminars, books, guest speakers, special PAC Tour Rt. 66 jersey, and Rt. 66 t-shirt.

Are Partial Tours Available?
The route is divided into three sections: Western, Central and Eastern. Each of these sections has itąs own highlights of Route 66. The daily price is $95 per day plus $150 for the extra commemoratives. You can choose the best days (7 day minimum) that fit your schedule. This tour is limited to 20 riders. There are 12 or more spaces reserved for full time riders. The remaining available spaces are for part time riders. The application and more information will be on the PAC Tour website during July 2005.

Route 66 Tour Dates?
Fly into Santa Monica Saturday, April 15. Begin riding on Sunday morning April 16. We will ride into Chicago on Sunday morning, May 14. Riders will have time to depart home Sunday afternoon from Chicago. Good partial tour exchange locations are: Albuquerque - Wed. night April 26, Amarillo - Monday night May 1st, Oklahoma City - Thursday night May 4. Sign-up early to reserve your place in history.

	Day	Date	Start	Finish	Miles
	Sat	Apr 15	Fly into Los Angeles	Stay in Santa Monica
1	Sun	Apr 16	Santa Monica, CA	San Bernardino, CA	81
2	Mon	Apr 17	San Bernardino, CA	Barstow, CA	77
3	Tue	Apr 18	Barstow, CA	Ludlow, CA	56
4	Wed	Apr 19	Ludlow, CA	Needles, CA	107
5	Thur	Apr 20	Needles, CA	Kingman, AZ	76
6	Fri	Apr 21	Kingman, AZ	Seligman, AZ	87
7	Sat	Apr 22	Seligman, AZ	Flagstaff, AZ	80
8	Sun	Apr 23	Flagstaff, AZ	Holbrook, AZ	98
9	Mon	Apr 24	Holbrook, AZ	Gallup, NM	101
10	Tue	Apr 25	Gallup, NM	Grants, NM	63
11	Wed	Apr 26	Grants, NM	Albuquerque, NM	80
12	Thur	Apr 27	Albuquerque, NM	Santa Fe, NM	82
13	Fri	Apr 28	Sante Fe, NM	Las Vegas, NM	72
14	Sat	Apr 29	Las Vegas, NM	Santa Rosa, NM	69
15	Sun	Apr 30	Santa Rosa, NM	Tucumcari, NM	60
16	Mon	May 1	Tucumcari, NM	Amarillo, TX	122
17	Tue	May 2	Amarillo, TX	Shamrock, TX	98
18	Wed	May 3	Shamrock, TX	Clinton, OK	88
19	Thur	May 4	Clinton, OK	Yukon, OK	79
20	Fri	May 5	Yukon, OK	Bristow, OK	95
21	Sat	May 6	Bristow, OK	Vinita, OK	103
22	Sun	May 7	Vinita, OK	Carthage, MO	84
23	Mon	May 8	Carthage, MO	Marshfield, MO	98
24	Tue	May 9	Marshfield, MO	Rolla, MO	97
25	Wed	May 10	Rolla, MO	Villa Ridge, MO	85
26	Thur	May 11	Villa Ridge. MO	Litchfield, IL	109
27	Fri	May 12	Litchfield, IL	Bloomington, IL	129
28	Sat	May 13	Bloomington, IL	Romeoville, IL	105
29	Sun	May 14	Romeoville, IL	Chicago lake front	33

2,514 miles
87 miles per day

Training Goals For Route 66

The training base for riders attending Route 66 is different than for riders joining our other cross country tours. Many Rt. 66 riders will not be able to ride outside much before the tour in April. This tour is a lot more fun when you have the fitness and confidence to know you can complete each day. You will have lots of things to stop and see. The faster you can ride, the more time you will have to spend at restaurants, museums and flea markets.

Here are some fitness goals:

Try to include 10 hours per week of physical activity in your routine. Walking to work, shoveling snow, chopping wood, skiing and snowshoeing all help maintain winter fitness.

Join a Health Club and participate in Spinning Classes. Riding three sessions per week will help your cycling. Training with other people will help keep you motivated. While you are at the gym, include some stair climbing, weight lifting, pull-ups and stretching in your routine.
Donąt forget some intensity. Remember Lonąs 90% guideline of max heart rate — try to accumulate one hour per week in this intensity zone. Use a heart monitor watch with upper limit memory. When you ride your indoor bike trainer include sprints and hill climbs. Donąt plod through every workout at a conversation pace.
Eat Right. It is difficult to diet and still ride long miles. If you need to lose weight...start now. Lose those extra pounds gradually before the tour. You want to be able to eat apple pie and ice cream during the tour without guilt.
The Route 66 riding days are planned at a 3-4 hour per 50 mile pace with rest stops. You need to average a 10 mph minimum speed. That means riding down the road at 14-18 MPH. Use this as a guide for planning your training pace.
Use your Rt. 66 bike on your longer outside training rides. Get your gears, saddle, shoes and handlebars adjusted before the tour.
Include some rough road on your training rides. Ride on loose gravel and be comfortable with your bike handling skills on bumpy roads.
Be able to ride 100 miles in 8 hours on your favorite training loop.
As we mentioned before...It is better to have the fitness to enjoy this tour than just enough fitness to make it through each day. On past Rt. 66 tours the stronger riders had a certain amount of pride in actually being the last riders to the motel each day because they were stopping and seeing more sites along the way.