25th Anniversary Time Machine – The Ride to do in Nineteen – is SOLD OUT!

The new dates for 2020 are June 9 – June 21.  Start planning NOW for your Route 66 Experience!

While officially Route 66 no longer exists, the majority of it remains to be driven and enjoyed. The turn-by-turn road description your guide will give you for your journey through all eight states from Chicago to LA; not only will help you to stay on track, but you’ll also find some background information on the hundreds of roadside attractions that dot the landscape, as well as the included maps.

25th Anniversary Time Machine – Sold OUT!
The Ride To Do in Nineteen 2020

This year – June 2019 – the 25th Anniversary Ride and Motorcoach Tour is now CLOSED – SOLD OUT!  Our Maximum has been reached!!  YAHOO!!!!  These travelers will have a marvelous journey going back in time; riding on The Most Famous Road in America – US Route 66!  But don’t be discouraged…TravelKatz has been invited back to celebrate the 26th Anniversary in June of 2020.  The dates to be aware of are June 9 – June 21, 2020.  Make plans now, start saving, get that credit card in order, whatever it takes – but don’t miss out in 2020!  We will – again – have a luxury motorcoach available for you from the start – Chicago, to the finish – Santa Monica!  You’ll be able to hop on/hop off at your convenience, flights to the beginning and from the end will be available as well as all motels, breakfast, entrance to many roadside attractions and the grand finale dinner and awards ceremony in California! This is a vacation many have been waiting for – understanding that the Maximum was reached for this trip in January, makes us believe that you should begin making plans NOW!

Call 352-277-7300 for more information for your 2020 journey on Route 66!  Don’t delay – do it NOW!

Back to the experience you’ve been waiting for…the history, what you’ll see along the way and how this particular road trip began…

Since 1926, driving down Route 66 has been the experience of a lifetime for travelers, adventurers, dreamers, and desperadoes; and for all those who want to learn more about the legendary Route 66.

While officially Route 66 no longer exists, the majority of it remains to be driven and enjoyed. The turn-by-turn road description your guide will give you for your journey through all eight states from Chicago to LA; not only will help you to stay on track, but you’ll also find some background information on the hundreds of roadside attractions that dot the landscape, as well as the included maps.

In the pictures, you’ll find inspiration for your upcoming trip down memory lane. Thanks to the preservation organizations, volunteers, and business owners, a lot of these landmarks can still be admired in real life along Route 66. Some treasures, however, have disappeared.

Are you ready for the big adventure and start building your very own memories? Current roadmaps and GPS systems are poor at indicating where Route 66 ran and signs can be spotty or even missing all too often. Hence, you will need a detailed map and guide before hitting the road and getting your kicks on Route 66!  That’s where Mr. George Higgins and TravelKatz come in; to help with all the planning and reservations.

A Bit of Our History…Back when Route 66 was certified as U.S. Highway 66, several associations and organizations were promoting the road to automobilists and governments alike. After Route 66 got decertified, the thoughts and dreams of Kirk Woodward spearheaded the resurrection of the route as a motorcycle rally and with his wife, Pam, has kept the rally alive in his honor; as a way to promote the old road once again.  But Kirk passed away in 2002…

…Back in the Fall of 1994 Kirk was leafing through a mail order catalog; offering a bit of memorabilia from Route 66. A book, a coffee cup, T-Shirt, etc. When he lived in Peoria, IL he had often been on Route 66 as a part of his work as a sales representative in Central Illinois.

“Gosh, that would be a GREAT motorcycle ride,” he thought.  Route 66 crossed two thirds of the United States, millions upon millions of people have been on that road… all the way from the fictional Roads of The Grapes of Wrath to Bobby Troup in 1946, when he wrote the song: Get Your Kicks on Route 66.

Kirk’s day job is marketing so it wasn’t much of a project to type up a news release describing a brand new motorcycle event. It wasn’t too hard to think up a name either. John Steinbeck called it the Mother Road in The Grapes of Wrath so The Mother Road Ride/Rally^sm was a natural. A RT66 Motorcycle Tour.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Forty-eight Mother Roaders ran the first rally in June of 1995.  This ride is celebrating its 26^th Anniversary in June of 2020!

Participants have included riders from Canada, England, France, New Zealand, Sweden, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Australia, and all 50 states. The Mother Road Ride/Rally (a.k.a. the Mother Road Rally) is a great introductory tour of undoubtedly the most historic road in America…..Route 66!

The year 2011 George Higgins & his wife Ann purchased the MOTHER ROAD RIDE RALLY to continue the tradition of providing a fun filled travel adventure for motorcycles on RT-66 and what is becoming the Premier Event for the serious touring motor cyclist.  If you want to join the Rally on a motorcycle, please touch base with George, by clicking on the link above.  He will take care of all your reservations or you can download and print the reservation worksheet.  TravelKatz, on the other hand will be handling the luxury motorcoach part of the Rally.

Many museums along Route 66 include those that happen to be located near Route 66 as well as those geared towards the Mother Road itself.

Most motorcyclists start in Chicago, IL, some come in at various join up points, to ride Route 66 – the Mother Road of the United States and one of the most famous highways in the world. The Mother Road Rally^sm spans the first route to link the Midwest with Southern California.

It is an ‘All Brands Invited Event’.  All bikes must be properly registered to ride in the Rally.

Contact Kathryn or Sandra at 352-277-7300 or email us at [email protected]

When Kirk Woodward organized the event in 1995, he Called It “THE MOTHER ROAD RIDE RALLY”.  He wanted participants to get a first-hand look at real Americana during the Ride. Before Route 66 was opened, the Midwest and the West Coast were practically different countries.

After Route 66 was stitched together, economic as well as social barriers fell. The first surge was the poor displaced by the Dust Bowl years. John Steinbeck’s book The Grapes of Wrath, documented their travels and troubles. The second surge was during and immediately after World War II. Bobby Troup’s song, Get Your Kicks on Route 66, was written when Troup traveled to California in 1946!

Participants in the Rally will be able to ride segments of the Route 66 that were used by millions of people as they motored west. They will even be able to ride the eight foot wide segments that were ‘state of the art’ in the 1920’s but barely wide enough for a single car now.  And The Chain of Rocks Bridge will be opened for motorcycle traffic only.

The television series, Route 66 that ran for five years in the 1960’s and starred Martin Milner and George Maharis introduced Route 66 to a new generation of fans. While it is true that the Interstate Highway system replaced much of Route 66, there are hundreds of miles of the original Route still waiting for people to discover while riding this Route 66 Motorcycle Tour.

Happily it is not necessary for people to ride the entire 2,448 miles of the road to enjoy what Route 66 has to offer. There are join up points all along the route, so a person can ride as much or as little as they have time for. Many people take part over several years – traveling the Route in segments rather than all at once.

Early registration is advised, as motels fill up quickly.                                                                                                                                                  Be one of the first to register and begin making the memories for the next 25 years!                                                                                    Get on board as soon as you can!

Contact Kathryn or Sandra at 352-277-7300 or email us at [email protected]

13 DAYS OF THE BEST ROUTE 66 ADVENTURE YOU CAN HAVE

Before the “dog days” of summer begin, the Mother Road Rally^sm “runs” every June along the 2,448 miles of Historic Route 66 — America’s most famous highway. Learn more about this traditional event at this site, this is a RT 66 Motorcycle Tour down this original highway, cars are welcome and TravelKatz is introducing a luxury motorcoach to the tour for those who don’t want to drive on their own, yet want to experience the famous Route 66 with everyone else!

This is a scenic tour down Old Route 66 seeing the best of the original sites. The ride starts June 9, 2020 at La Quinta Inn in Willow Brook, Illinois and ending at Santa Monica, California on June 21, 2020 .

We have an awards dinner in California where you will receive a certificate of accomplishment. The ride will follow most of the old RT-66 and will include a lot of RT 66 Museums, the Ozark trail, original red brick pavement roads, World’s 2^nd Largest Rocking Chair, Painted Desert & Petrified Forest National Park, the ghost town of Oatman & many more icons of RT 66. 

2020 will be the 26th ANNIVERSARY year for this ADVENTURE!  All bikes welcome.

BUT You must register with deposit before March 09, 2020

Final Payment will be due no later than May 09, 2019

Total  $$ per person TBA – Divided by 2 = per person deposit TBA, and will need to be made by   March 09, 2020 and the balance must be paid no later than May 09, 2019.

Featured in the 1960’s television series and the hit song Get Your kicks on Route 66, this highway carried two generations of Americans to and from Southern California. The Mother Road Rally brings a very unique opportunity for you to relive an important part of our country’s history, by taking this RT66 Motorcycle Tour.

Won’t you join us???

Contact Kathryn or Sandra at 352-277-7300 or email us at [email protected]

We will be happy arrange your flights in order to “catch-up” to the Rally at your point of entry.  Or we can arrange your flight to Chicago and back home from LA, if that’s your wish.  Our Luxury Motorcoach will be waiting in Chicago for you to hop on or hop off at any predetermined destination or ride in total comfort for every mile all the way to LA.  Give us a call – 352-277-7300

The History of  Route 66

The Beginning:  Although entrepreneurs Cyrus Avery of Ok, and John Woodruff of  MO deserve most of the credit for the idea of a link between Chicago and LA, their lobbying efforts were not realized until their dreams merged with the national program of highway and road development.  It was not until Congress enacted a version of the public highways act in 1925 that the government executed its plan for national highway construction.  Officially, the numerical designation “66” was assigned to the Chicago-to-LA route in the summer of 1926. With that designation came its acknowledgment as one of the nation’s principal east-west arteries; to connect the main streets of rural and urban communities along its course.

The Formative Years:  Route 66 was a highway spawned by the demands of a rapidly changing America. Its diagonal course linked hundreds of rural communities in IL, MO, and KS to Chicago; thus enabling farmers to transport their crops for redistribution; and was particularly significant to the trucking industry.  The route between Chicago and the Pacific coast traversed essentially flat prairie lands and a more temperate climate.

The Depression Years and the War:  In his famous social commentary, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck proclaimed U. S. Highway 66 the “Mother Road.” The classic 1939 novel, combined with the film, served to mobilize an estimated 210,000 people to CA to escape the despair of the Dust Bowl. I was the “road to opportunity.”  Completion on the eve of WWII was significant to the effort. The War Department needed highways for rapid deployment and for national defense.  Route 66 helped to facilitate the greatest wartime mobilization in history and served to underwrite new industries that created thousands of civilian jobs.

The Postwar Years:  After the war, Americans were more mobile than ever before. Thousands of soldiers, sailors, and airmen who received military training in CA, Az, NMex, Ok, and TX abandoned the harsh winters of Chicago, NY City, and Boston for the “barbecue culture” of the Southwest.  Again, Route 66 facilitated their relocation.  One such emigrant was Bobby Troup, former pianist with the Tommy Dorsey band and ex-Marine captain. He penned a lyrical road map in which the words, “get your kicks on Route 66” became a catch phrase for countless motorists.  Just as work relief programs provided employment, the countless tourist courts, garages, and diners promised sustained economic growth for Route 66.

Roadside Architecture:  The evolution of tourist-targeted facilities is well represented in the roadside architecture along U. S. Highway 66. For example, motorists preferred the accommodations that emerged from automobile travel – motels. The auto camp developed in which travelers could camp for the night. Camp supervisors provided water, fuel wood, showers, and laundry facilities free of charge.  The national outgrowth of the auto camp was cottages that offered  comfort at affordable prices. Many of these cottages are still in operation. Eventually, these gave way to motor courts in which all of the rooms were under a single roof; offering additional amenities, such as adjoining restaurants, souvenir shops, and swimming pools.

In the 1960’s, Route 66, buildings were distinctive as gas stations, yet clearly associated with a particular petroleum company. Among the most outstanding examples of the evolution of gas stations along Route 66 are Soulsby’s Shell station in Mount Olive, Illinois; Bob Audettes’ gas station complex in Barton, New Mexico; and the Tower Fina Station in Shamrock, Texas.  It was during this time that the  TV series, “Route 66”, starring Martin Milner and George Maharis drove into our living rooms every Friday; it brought back new adventure.

Ironically, the public need for rapid mobility and improved highways that gained Route 66 its enormous popularity in earlier decades also signaled its demise beginning in the mid-1950’s.  By 1970, nearly all segments of original Route 66 were bypassed by a modern four-lane highway.  The outdated, poorly maintained U.S. Highway 66 completely succumbed to the interstate system in October 1984 when the final section was bypassed by Interstate 40 at Williams, Arizona.  Now that the highway is over 90 years old, its contribution to the nation must be evaluated both socially and culturally. It hastened the most comprehensive westward movement and economic growth in history; Route 66 spirited a relocation of many Americans.

Help us save this invaluable piece of Americana before it is only a memory.  Take this drive and enjoy the memories.  Call Kathryn or Sandra at 352-277-7300 or email us at [email protected]