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As for 66 in Illinois myself I would skip it. I rode it 2 weeks ago from Just north of St Louis to Bloomington IL. All but about 2 miles of it is very rough, full of potholes and just not a very nice ride. I haven't been on 66 north of Bloomington yet this year but I was last year and it is not much better.
There is a 5 mile or so stretch between Lincoln and Bloomington that you are actually on I55.
That being said though, if I were serious about riding 66 some research is needed. In some towns there are 3 different 66 roads, some towns had signs explaining why, like this is where it was from 1920- 1940 then it moved to over there.
At some towns there were no signs. So you kind of had to guess which way to go.
I did Kingman to Needles California. Oatman-Topack highway was nice very scenic, but as said it is a slow go with many switchbacks. We came from Vegas, made the run over the hoover dam, down 66 from Kingman, then back up through Laughlin. Was about 340 miles roundtrip. Vegas could be a side trip, many say Valley of fire is nice while up that way.
I did Kingman to Needles California. Oatman-Topack highway was nice very scenic, but as said it is a slow go with many switchbacks. We came from Vegas, made the run over the hoover dam, down 66 from Kingman, then back up through Laughlin. Was about 340 miles roundtrip. Vegas could be a side trip, many say Valley of fire is nice while up that way.
The very best of what is left of the old road if you add in Kingman to Seligman.
Planning to do the historic Route 66 run. Any tips any must see places that I may otherwise miss? I will have 3 weeks to kill so any side trips should be good to go.
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