Route 66

C_Mababejive

Agreed.. LA is just a hole, a big city full of stores,roads and grime with a few tacky tourist attractions. Best thing to do is stay on the coast,,maybe Santa Monica or similar and go on an organised day tour into LA. After that,you wont want to go back..

EssexExile

I've done route 66. Oh, you didn't mean the bus route from Burntwood to Lichfield?

John259

theEnd wrote: »

Also cycled Seattle - San Fran

Wow! Welcome to the forum Sir Brad!

theEnd

John259 wrote: »

Wow! Welcome to the forum Sir Brad!

Slow. Took a couple of weeks.

Parts of it (Oregon coast) were really nice. Washington and the north of California are empty. You see no-one for a day or two at a time.

Gavin83

theEnd wrote: »

Slow. Took a couple of weeks.

Parts of it (Oregon coast) were really nice. Washington and the north of California are empty. You see no-one for a day or two at a time.

Thing is my original idea was to go from Vancouver to LA but I think I'm liking the idea of this trip more. Seems more scenic.

Gloomendoom

Gavin83 wrote: »

If your gonna do it though you might as well do it in style.

I did parts of it in a Mustang convertible. The car turned out to be a bit of a tourist attraction in itself with other tourists wanting to their photos taken in front of it. In San Francisco I had to wait while a bus full of Italian males took their turn. I particularly remember a French lady asking if she could take a picture of "Le Moooostang" at the Death Valley visitor centre.

theEnd

Gavin83 wrote: »

Thing is my original idea was to go from Vancouver to LA but I think I'm liking the idea of this trip more. Seems more scenic.

It's nice if you just want to drift and relax.

If I'm honest, it's a little dull (made worse by being on a bike). Days looking at the ocean, days looking at big trees, repeat, repeat. Some very nice towns, some quite rough towns.

I found California/Utah etc trip much better.

The only other big trip I've done over there was a New York loop, up through Niagra to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec. Again, nice, but wouldn't be my first choice.

John259

If you want a couple of other long distance ideas:

Atlanta > Great Smoky Mountains National Park > Blue Ridge Parkway > Shenandoah National Park > Washington DC. Well over 500 miles along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains with superb views, historic pioneer cabins, little towns either side of the route, and many other things to see.

I-15: not so much for the road itself, but for all the national parks and other scenic places within a reasonable distance each side of it: Anza-Borrego, Joshua Tree, Mojave Preserve, Death Valley, Sequoia, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, Capitol Reef, Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier. Then into Canada for Waterton Lakes and the Icefields Parkway, west to Vancouver and finally to Seattle.

blindman

Gavin83 wrote: »

Thanks for the link. I'll take a look through and see what they recommend!

I'd suggest you look at the Southwest USA thread to get better advice from people who have actually been there.

Firstly-What's your budget and timescale-Both determine where and how far to go.

I've done various bits of Route 66 in my many travels to the USA (sorry no You Tube videos-of other people doing it -Load of my pictures though)

Grand Circle trip (one of the many)

Last trip we specifically aimed at various sections in the Mid west.

As has been said-it's a myth popularised by Travel Agents outside the USA. Some parts are quaint\quirky others are pointless.

Ask any American about route 66 and they are more likely to say "What?"

totallybored

theEnd wrote: »

Slow. Took a couple of weeks.

Parts of it (Oregon coast) were really nice. Washington and the north of California are empty. You see no-one for a day or two at a time.

I'm in my research stage of a Seattle to San Fransisco (possibly on to Vegas) road trip for this summer. Any recommendations for where to stay on the Oregon coast? I was thinking of around 2 weeks for the Seattle to San Fransisco part but not sure if this is too much / little.