Day 0 - Santa Monica CA
Here we go again! For the next three weeks I will be riding the Western half of Historic Route 66. Two years ago I rode the Eastern half from Amarillo to Chicago. Tomorrow we set out from Santa Monica and will complete the ride in Amarillo three weeks from today!
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| Santa Monica Boulevard is on Historic Route 66 |
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| PacTour support van and trailer |
There are 16 riders and 3 crew member on this adventure. Actually; several guys from the 2024 Eastern Route 66 are also here to complete full distance of The Mother Road on bicycles.
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| Assembled and ready to ride |
I arrived at LAX and Uber’d to the start hotel in Santa Monica. Several riders were also there and assembling their bikes in the parking lot. My room wasn’t ready, so I took advantage of the time to put the bike together and by the time it was done, my room was ready and I could get ready for rider check-in.
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| Daily message board |
I checked in with Conner and received my Route 66 jersey, cue sheets, and name tags. It was lunch time and I wandered down Santa Monica Boulevard and found a great local Japanese grill for lunch.
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| Lon gives the rider presentation |
Back at the hotel, there was time to sort gear and get ready for the 4:30 rider meeting. Lon described the way PacTours work in general and some specifics for this particular tour. Of the 16 riders only two have not been on a PacTour before, this will be my third!
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| St. Anne’s Church |
The rider meeting wrapped up and I was able to grab an Uber to catch the 5:30 vigil Mass at St. Anne’s Church.
After mass it was a short walk to Sonny McLeans Irish Pub, for dinner. The place was packed but I was able to get a seat at the bar
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| Pre-ride nourishment! |
The Fish and Chips were fantastic. I fought the urge for a second Guinness, breakfast is in the parking lot tomorrow morning at 0615 and we will start tomorrows ride early to try and beat some the of LA traffic. Apparently there are over 350 traffic light on tomorrows route, Lon says that is more than we will see the rest of the way to Amarillo!
Here we go!
Steve Atkins
