The heat was killer. Even as the sun sank behind a treed horizon, the thick air clung like a wet quilt. Wilting and spent, the three riders circled up around their intended wild campsite, looked at their feet, and someone — the sane one — spoke up: screw frugality, we’re looking at heat exhaustion, time for an air-conditioned motel. It was immediately unanimous, and a cheap room (split three ways) never felt so good.
For me, this was part of a long-term test ride of the new Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, an inspired and spirited adventure bike that, with a wink of understatement, we’d named Suzette. I was excited both for the mode and the road. Each of us — Cliff on his 2008 BMW F650GS, Gary on his 2011 Suzuki V-Strom 650, and I — were beginning our separate adventures together. They were headed for the national parks of Utah and Colorado while I was aiming for Route 66 and the Pacific Coast. As it turned out, our first few days covered the same tarmac so, together, we enjoyed an introduction to The Mother Road.
“I RODE ON TOWARD CADILLAC RANCH WHERE A ROW OF SPRAY-PAINTED CARS STOOD BURIED NOSE-DOWN IN AN AMARILLO COW PASTURE”
HAD SEEN BETTER TIMES
Completed in 1926 and running from Chicago to L.A., Route 66 connected —, inspiration for numerous hit songs, and a livelihood for countless small business owners. But when the interstate system bypassed much of the old route, the heyday faded, business dried up, and the old establishments were abandoned. Eventually, the all-American road was almost entirely chopped up and decommissioned.
