Tony Shaw & Brits on Route 66

[montmil]

Our man in Cumbria, Tony Shaw, is presently riding the entire length of The Mother Road - Route 66 - from Chicago to Los Angeles. He is joined by approx 15 of his countrymen and women; all Harley-Davidson mounted.

Previously back-channel chatted with Tony and mentioned I would meet him and his Brit Crew in Oklahoma as they stopped to tour the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler OK along with the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum in Warwick OK, just 12 miles further east on old Route 66.

The Rt 66 tour had experienced temps on Sunday above 110 degrees with 65% humidity. That's brutal! One of the pillion ladies required treatment for a wee bit of heat exhaustion.

Our Monday meet n' greet was blessed with overcast skies and temps barely into the 90's. My 400-mile round trip was pleasant enough heading north but going back to Texas, well, I'm kinda used to the heat but even 105 begins to feel rather toasty.

The tour group still must handle the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California in the August heat. Keep a cool thought for them as they'll need it.


At Seaba Station, a repurposed gas and service station on old Rt 66 operated by the Seaba Brothers back in the 30's.



Another repurposed building. This a former WWI-era armory in Chandler OK now a very well done, interactive museum. Great architecture.



I was visiting Brits so rode the Triumph Trophy. Figured it was the correct bike for the day. But, surprise, the entire tour group were H-D mounted. I thought that to be rather ironic.



Back to Seaba Station for a fresh t-shirt. The one I bought during our 2012 visit has gotten rather tatty.

[clonmore1]

Looking forward to seeing the ride report and watching Tony's YouTube clips.

Thanks for looking after 'our man' in Cumbria Monte!

[montmil]

Looking forward to seeing the ride report and watching Tony's YouTube clips.

Thanks for looking after 'our man' in Cumbria Monte!

From my limited visit with Tony, I'm pretty sure the lad can handle whatever the road throws his way.
Heat is, and will continue to be, the primary "challenge". [smiley=flamethrowingsmiley.gif]

And, no, I don't talk funny. It's a Texican dialect.

Check out Tony's Facebook postings, too. Tony Shaw will get you there.

[clonmore1]

Monte, I wasn't suggesting you do talk funny , the British (as I am sure you are aware) used to use the expression 'our man' when talking about or describing a civil servant in some far flung post of the (then) empire...

Tony's produced a few good vids on YouTube over the last 12 months or so, so hopefully we can look forward to those, do you have a cameo appearance in any of them?

[montmil]

Monte, I wasn't suggesting you do talk funny

Oh, I understand completely, Chris. When our man Lucky Lou, aka Mike Sherwood, ventured into Texas, we met up for grub n' whiskey one evening. Mike sez, "Odd. I always thought you spoke with a Yorkshire accent."

Once upon a time, Wifey and I found ourselves up in Wisconsin, a state rather far north from Tejas. The waitress at a nice restaurant said, "Youse guys talk funny." Yankees. No accounting for 'em.

[clonmore1]

Thanks Monte,

Hopefully we will see you in one of Tony's 'productions' shortly!

[clonmore1]

BTW, the Triumph looks very nice, is it comfortable to ride those long distances? Would you have taken the 65?

[montmil]

BTW, the Triumph looks very nice, is it comfortable to ride those long distances? Would you have taken the 65?

I purchased the Triumph Trophy 900 specifically for sport touring. With the factory side cases and top trunk, either solo or with wife riding pillion, it's a beautiful ride. Third try on the windscreen ended and up with an MRA German product that's perfect. I also have a Corbin seat that is a vast improvement over the OEM thong. Although I did ride the Triumph around town this morning to "circulate the air in the tires", it's a bit heavy and slower steering for city work. Normal cruise speed on the Trophy, riding solo, is 75-80 MPH. The R65 really won't do that without getting fussy.

So, no, I would not consider the R65 -of which I have two- for long distances. I have done 450-500 mile rides on the R65 spread over two days but they were primarily Texas Hill Country Ranch Roads with almost constant twisties where high cruise speeds were not part of the flight plan. Ride hard or fairly easy, still gets 42 MPG.

The Tony Shaw Rt 66 Ride was an easy 400 miles, discounting the afternoon temps reaching 103F. My June Texas Hwy 16 ride from Antelope TX -not that far from Oklahoma- to Zapata TX on the Mexican border was approx 1100 total miles. Once within spittin' distance of Old Mexico and a good night's sleep, I did have to turn around and ride home. The Trophy provided excellent rain protection during a total 300 miles of wet.

I wouldn't take for my R65s. Nope. They are terrific, sporty bikes in an urban setting and fine for a 200-250 day jaunt. My R100S can cruise faster which extends the trip mileage but it's a total nekid bike with no luggage capacity other than the rider and a tank bag.

It's much like my tools -select the right bike for the job. Makes everything easier and more fun.

[Bob_Roller]

I've ridden Route 66, from Chicago to Tulsa, Oklahoma and from the Texas / New Mexico border to Santa Monica, California  .
I can't imagine what the trip was like during the great migration from the ' Dust Bowl ' in the early '30's .
There was a documentary by Ken Burns about this migration, I believe it was called the ' Dust Bowl " , if you get the chance to see it, it is worth the time, it's a bit lengthy, about 4 hours worth of viewing .
Desperate people doing desperate things trying to get out of the poverty of the Great Depression .
' Aridzona ' has the longest original section of Route 66 .
Goes from Ash Fork, Aridzona, to Bullhead City, Aridzona, on the Colorado river .
Stop in Seligman, Aridzona, Angel Delgadillo , one of the people that brought Route 66 to historical status, may be in his gift shop, used to be his barber shop, back in the day .
When you get to Oatman, Aridzona, make sure you get a picture of one of the local residents, the donkeys that the miners let go over one hundred years ago, that still inhabit the area, now , they are like overgrown pets , looking for a carrot handout !!!
Current temp in Phoenix, 114 F, 46 C .

[k_enn]

I agree with Monte.  The R65 is not my choice for long distance touring.  At highway speeds, particularly in the southwest, you don't have a whole of power/speed to spare.  If you don't have a fairing (and I don't), it can get tiring after a while.  IMO, it is at its best on winding and hilly roads, for around 300 miles in a day.  It was perfect on my trips on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and on runs through the Catskills and Green Mountains.

For longer trips, you would want a bigger sport touring bike with some wind protection.  My long distance bike is a BMW K1300S, with a Corbin seat (instead of "the plank"), riser bars to alleviate some of the leaning over the tank, and a few other comfort features.  I loved it on my trip out to New Mexico last fall, and am taking it on trip to Omaha in September.

To comment on Bob's post and Route 66 - I did some stretches of Route 66 in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico last year.  Although presently it is not always well marked, and can be slow going, there are still some interesting place that harken back to the old days.  It really must have been something to travel it back in the Dust Bowl days in the cars they had back then.  Modern roads, and motels, and restaurants are surely a big improvement.

k_enn

[Lucky_Lou]

Oh, I understand completely, Chris. When our man Lucky Lou, aka Mike Sherwood, ventured into Texas, we met up for grub n' whiskey one evening. Mike sez, "Odd. I always thought you spoke with a Yorkshire accent."

Not any more Monte... I have sympathy with the "heat thing" I spent all my time in shorts while in Texas and that was in mid September.
Lou
ps watch out for spiders

[thrang]

Evening All!

Well I'm back in soggy old Blighty after a trip I'll never forget.

I can see now why the Harley is so popular out there, because even though it was a bit of a slug it was a very comfortable companion for the 2600 miles we covered and I did develop something of a soft spot for my Road King, (not enough of one to ever want to own one) as it was fun to ride.


 I really enjoyed the road, and it certainly opened my eyes to the space and varied landscapes of the US. The heat was astonishing and a couple in the group did suffer but our guide Bear was very switched on and was trained a paramedic so knew what to do.

For me the highlights of the trip had to be New Mexico and Arizona, even though it was hot with a capital F, it was beautifully desolate in the deserts and the landscapes felt like I was riding through a western movie... Hell the whole trip in part felt like that. The people were great, very friendly and welcoming although I do have to say 'you' lot over the pond have some cheek to take the piss out of our teeth given some of the smiles that greeted us everywhere we went.

I know one thing this will not be last the time I head over the pond for a ride about, especially as 'she who is to be obeyed' had been making noises along the lines of 'I wish I'd come with now' and is muttering about doing the Pacific Coast Highway or the best of the west tour next year!

I've only been back a few hours and I have not got a clue what day or what time my head thinks it is.

Massive thank you to Monte for riding up to Seaba and the Route 66 centre (smashing places)  for a natter, its just a pity the tour did not really leave enough time to have a good chinwag.

Think I'll go to bed now.

[marcmax]

I case you are interested, I heard a piece on the radio that the National Weather Service has said this has been the hottest year for temps since they have been recording them. Not just in the US but worldwide.

[wilcom]

" I do have to say 'you' lot over the pond have some cheek to take the piss out of our teeth given some of the smiles that greeted us everywhere we went. "

 Help anyone  What it mean? LOL

[montmil]

" I do have to say 'you' lot over the pond have some cheek to take the piss out of our teeth given some of the smiles that greeted us everywhere we went. "

 Help anyone  What it mean? LOL

I'm wondering too, Joe.

OK, Tony Shaw... translation please, into 'Murican Engrish?