RT66 Day 14: It's a day to be celebrated.
Solo Riding Day 1: An epic 7mi descent, two flats, LA is starting to appear on all the signs and the official last day of riding on I-40!
A 6 mile descent? Winning!
Day 14: Flagstaff, AZ to Seligman, AZ; 73 miles, 2,959 feet elevation gain
47 miles on I-40
Day 14: Planned on Ride with GPS
Intraday Stops: Pilot Travel Center exit 185, Texaco exit 178 Parks, AZ, Williams exit 161, Shell Ash Fork exit 146, Delgadillo’s Snow Cap
Sometimes you feel like the odds are against you.
At the beginning of the day, when I left the hotel, it was a brutal 38°F. I kept my puffy jacket on for the first hour until both the air and I started to warm up. By the time I rolled into Seligman, both tires had flats.
But there were also lots of wins.
There was a seven-mile descent on freshly paved roads, still a little slick from the rain. Los Angeles has finally started appearing on the highway signs. And perhaps best of all: today was my last full day riding on Interstate 40. Truly a triumph.
Western Arizona is beautiful. Starting around Parks — but really from Williams into Seligman, skipping Ash Fork — there are buxom green hills and gloriously wide-open skies. It reminds me a bit of southern Montana. Williams, also known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon, is an especially adorable town. They’ve fully embraced and revived their U.S. Route 66 heritage, and the main street is charming to ride through. I would have lingered longer, but I had a long day ahead of me.
I had a lot of trepidation about riding by myself, which is ironic because this entire trip was originally supposed to be about self-reflection and rediscovering myself after spending ten years in a wine program and having two babies in the last five years. Instead, the trip has become more about strengthening relationships — which isn’t a bad thing, just not what I had imagined.
Today, though, I felt like an old cowboy.
I was just out there riding through an isolated landscape of incredible beauty on my own little adventure. There’s something about doing this that fills me with awe and wonder, which in turn makes me believe that anything is possible. In some strange way, it replenishes an empty tank inside me.
Flat #6
Once I got onto Crookton Road, it was smooth sailing — though still slow going. I had slow leaks in both my front and back tires, which I dealt with by repeatedly blasting them with air so I could keep moving. There are very few places to stop along this route, and shade — whether from trees or gas stations — is scarce.
Eventually, I spotted a tree in someone’s driveway and camped underneath it to change flat #5: the back tire. A real estate agent apparently thought it was my house and stopped to talk to me. It might have been awkward, except I was too tired to care enough to make it awkward. I mean, it’s not like I peed in the front yard. I have standards.
I didn’t bother changing the front tire because it was holding air better. After that little roadside repair, I was able to really haul butt into town.
When I arrived, I went straight across the street to Delgadillo's Snow Cap, an adorable old Route 66-era burger stand, and ordered an Oreo shake and fries. As I sat there eating, I changed my front tire and texted back and forth with Sara.
I’m excited she’s coming tomorrow.
At the same time, I still have to get through one more day of riding alone. This next stretch is truly remote — supposedly one of the oldest remaining original stretches of Route 66 or something like that. It’s also going to be a long day: 84 miles. Starting around 11 a.m., there are forecasted south winds of 15–17 mph. To complete the trifecta, I’ll also be descending into the Mojave Desert, so tomorrow combines heat, long mileage, true isolation, and headwinds all at once.
Of course, it’s Fun #2 right before I get to see Sara — the person with whom I most enjoy enduring Fun #2.
The following day, we’ll have to go through Oatman Highway and over Oatman Pass. I had heard that it had been closed for over a day due to the rain, so naturally I did what any reasonable person would do: I called the historic Oatman Hotel directly for on-the-ground information. The pass had reopened just a few hours earlier, which felt like a very good sign.
I’m really excited to grab lunch at the Oatman Hotel.
And finally: here are some very Cars-oriented photos of Seligman. This town is ridiculously photogenic and absolutely worth an overnight stay. Apparently, it’s also one of the places where Route 66 culture truly came to life.
