Hello I would like to introduce myself, I'm called babe, I was born
in 1982 and was given the name of Goldwing, but I guess Lew,
my rider, prefers Babe. A few weeks ago he wouldn't have let me
say that, but since Laura Brengelman admitted patting the tank on
the Drifter, he's ok with it. I currently have 170,000 miles to my
credit and as I said, am ridden by Lew. He also has a few years on
him like 60 to be exact and looks like he has a like number of
miles on him. So why am I writing to you? I would like to share
our experiences on RT 66 with you.
To begin with, Lew received many questionable stares from other
riders when he first mentioned taking the trip on me. Most felt
like I was way beyond my useful years for any serious riding.
It's been said that 'To be friends and trusted, one not only has to
have shared in laughter but that folks must have cried together
before their friends'. Well, Lew and I have done that. You see a
few years ago Lew got a little too free with my throttle and we
took a little side trip while negotiating a turn into a ditch and up
on the road again. Then, for reasons neither of us are quite sure
of, we did the high side thing. Well we both lay there within a
few feet of one another until he was picked up by an ambulance
and me with the tow truck. Amazing, as it is, a couple of months
later we were both ready for the road again, so you see, we trust
one another.
It's during that period of time that old Lew played on the Internet too much and came across the WEB site called the 'Mother Road Rally' www.hhjm.com/rally hosted by Kirk Woodward and the boyhood idea of riding Route 66 returned to the fore front of his mind. He simply substituted motorcycle for car. Well it took a lot of planning to be on vacation for nearly three weeks and all that goes along with that. In December of '99 it all looked good to go, so full scale planning when into action. For me that included a stay with Mike at Casey Honda of Newport News, Lew's trusted mechanic, for a complete physical and new rubber. Considering the amount of time that Mike has had his hands on me over the years, I really think we are married or at least engaged; whatever, he really is a great mechanic. During the next few months Lew continually filled and emptied all of my cavities with various pieces of equipment and clothing to see what would fit and what wouldn't. June 6th, we were ready.
June 10, what can I say, the first full day on the 'Mother Road'! We rode into Chicago and stopped at the beginning of RT 66, would you believe we parked on the sidewalk? We then rode the original road out of Chicago and believe me it's not a road you would want to be on by yourself. We passed through towns like Joliet, Elwood, Braidwood, Odell, and on and on. Visits to the Lunching Pad, Dixie Truckers Home, Cozy Dog Drive Inn, Soulsby's Service Station, etc. I cannot put my feelings into words, I think it's something you have to experience. It looked like we were about to really get wet, but Jerry Mitchell said, 'those are wind clouds.' We did beat the rain but those 'wind clouds' got us wet the on the 11th. We stopped for the night in St. Louis Missouri. Something worth mentioning here, as we were trying to find the road into the motel, a local police officer spotted us and turned on his lights stopping traffic so we could make an uninterrupted left turn. How about that and thanks whoever you are.
June 11, we rode through Missouri, Kansas, and stopped just inside Oklahoma in a little town by the name of Miami. We visited the small version of Stonehenge in Rolla, Missouri and Eisler Brothers Grocery, in Riverton, Kansas. Great 66 stuff at good prices. To actually see and ride the Devils Elbow in Missouri and cross over the Rainbow Bridge west of Riverton, Kansas was delightful. To see towns that are nearly ghost towns because the interstate bypassed them is a little heart breaking. We rode through a storm today west of Springfield, Missouri that contained an unbelievable amount of Jerry's wind but we all really got wet from it, strange kind of wind
June 12, We traveled down a piece of RT 66 today that is only 8ft or so wide I believed its called the Rainbow Road west and south of Miami, OK, [Editor: Ribbon Road] visited the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, OK and what a beautiful place. We stopped at the Blue Whale in Catoosa, OK and the Round Barn in Arcadia, OK. Then a stop by the Cowboy Hall of Fame, in Oklahoma City then off to visit with Lucille who manages the Hydro Gas Station established in 1941. She is 85 and a wonderful person. The station was closed but we knocked on her door as the sign in the window said to, and she opened it up for us. We sat her on one of the bikes and took pictures; you should have seen her face. These were the highlights of the day but certainly not the only things that brought delight. We are spending the night in Clinton Oklahoma, at the Best Western where Elvis is said to have spent the night on several occasions. Across the street was the Route 66 Museum.
June 13 left Oklahoma through Texas and stopped for the night in San Rosa New Mexico. Lots of the old road available and we rode it, passed through far too many towns that are dead because of I-40. In one little place the only living thing we saw was an old hound that decided bikers would be good sport for the day. Seen the leaning water tower in Groom, TX and the U Drop Inn Cafe, [Shamrock, TX], eat at the famous Big Texan Steak House [Amarillo, TX], visited the Cadillac Ranch, played around a one room jail house probably used for speeders at one time [Texola, OK], visited the Devil's Rope Museum [McLean, TX], etc. I could go on and on what a beautiful day. The countryside is just unbelievable, vast, and beautiful. The wind today across the open lands kept one busy, guess I will wear down the ride sidewalls on the return trip. We passed the RT 66 half way point in Adrian, Texas. The waitress at the Midpoint Cafe was just outstanding.
June 14, traveled across New Mexico and spending the night in Gallup NM. We took a side trip
today to ride Sandia Crest. We climbed to 10,678 feet on roads full of switchbacks and curves.
In fact the only time we seemed to be level was the instant that I
rolled from right to left or left to right. The view is something a
camera cannot do justice to. The ride back down was even better
then the ride up. Ray Ussery was pulling a travel trailer and as
luck would have it, a tire gave up the ghost. We all stopped of
course to assist, only to find out that Ray's jack wasn't
available. So, they got the tire ready and everyone gathered
around the trailer and they lifted it, so he could change the tire. Everyone has a camera and no
one thought to take a picture. They had lunch at a great place called what else 'Route 66
Diner' in Albuquerque. One hundred percent 50's. Stopped at a RT 66 memorial in Grants and
at the Continental Divide. Another great day! Along RT 66.
June 15, left New Mexico and into Arizona, spending the night in Kingman, AZ. I now know what heat in the desert feels like and I think it's only sane to ride those routes in the early morning :-) We took a ride through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert not sure of the mileage but something like 30 miles or so. Lew was taken back by the beauty of it and said that he wished he could express his feelings better with words, so that all would know the beauty of this country that we been given the privilege to live in. Saw the Wigwam Motel [Holbrook, AZ], had lunch at a 50's dinner in Williams, AZ called 'Twisters' what a neat place and visited Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive Inn‚ [Seligman, AZ]. Mostly we just rode the old road. Remember Ray? The guy that had the flat? Well, the other side gave up the ghost today and they did get pictures this time.
June 16 left Kingman AZ, spending the night in Fontana, CA. Made it to CA!!! We rode to Oatman this morning using the old road, I believe its called the Gold Road, and what a ride. We spend some time in Oatman. Lew and the others just walked around and drank coffee in one of the shops. Left there and crossed the desert to Barstow making several stops for water. Visited the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans Museum in Victorville. It was a great day but somewhat on the down side since we all realized this was the last full day of riding together. Tomorrow morning we will go into LA and complete the ride, then each going their separate ways.
June 17, we completed the ride this morning, departing Fontana at 5:25 am and driving the 66 miles or so to Palisades Park in Santa Monica. They parked us with our rear tires to the curb, and took tons of pictures, walked around a bit, had some coffee, and then had to face the inevitable, saying goodbye. A lot of hugs later Lew and I departed to Barstow for the remainder of the day and to rest for the trip home. I know Lew has many mixed emotions concerning the trip. Would he do it again, you bet, would we do things different, only to the extent of reading up on desert riding, the heat really got to Lew and some others from the east. We will not bore you with our trip home. Lew thanked the Lord for giving him the strength to make the trip and for permitting him to fulfill his boyhood dream, I'm thankful for being a part of it and we thank Kirk for organizing it.
Patrick Evans said it best as we prepared to leave for the ride into Santa Monica; he read the
following from his trip journal:
'I awake from a night of restless sleep-anticipating the arrival at our destination-but not the end
of the ride. We are a group that started at the beginning bonded by the adventure of riding the
'Mother Road Rally'. Now the journey together and friendships that have developed along the
way bond us. There is something there in riding the old road that is lost on the inter-states; a
closeness to the people still in many of the little towns, our country, and the pace of another
time.'
I've included a picture of Lew at the Will Rogers Route 66
plaque to denote the end of route 66 in Palisades Park in Santa
Monica, a picture of myself in front of Ann's Restaurant at the
beginning of the trip, The tire fixers, Chicago departure, and one
of Lew and Pat. See you on RT 66, yes Lew's decided to ride it
again next year so on the second Saturday of June you'll find us
in Chicago again. Check out the WEB page given earlier, its
rather interesting.
Babe the pretty one and Lewis Bellinger
TRIP INFORMATION
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START/STOP Mileage Rode
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Home 63,472.0
Chicago 64,355.9 883.9
Santa Monica 66,715.3 2,359.4
Home 69,482.5 2,767.2
Total 6,010.5
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16 days and 15 nights on the road
Number of gals of fuel used - 133.4 gals
Miles per Gal - 45.1
Average Price per Gal - $1.77
Number of fuel stops - 55
Shortest Ride Day - 145.1 miles
Longest ride day - 639.8 miles
Fuel Cost - $ 235.74
Food Cost - $ 321.84
Motel Cost - $ 588.26
Tolls $ 20.65
Total Cost - $1,166.49
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Best Meal:
The Big Texan Restaurant, Amarillo
Most nostalgia:
Route 66 Dinner, Albuquerque
Best Hamburger & Malt:
Twisters, Williams, AZ.
Worst Meal:
Loretta Lynn Country Kitchen, TENN.
Most value for the dollar:
Smaldino's, Lima, OH.
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