Leg 1, Day 2: Joliet to Pontiac 
Cyclemeter App: Distance: 63.60 miles, Total Miles 123.20 (34.8% of the way)
Departing Quality Inn, Joliet, Illinois
It takes city and county roads to get us from the motel area of Joliet to be able to rejoin our Route 66 route below.
Below is video clip of our brief ride on “Historic 66” (which dates back to the 1920s) with “Old 66” on our left and the replacement Interstate on our right: IMG_5280 720p
Video clip below showing more of “Historic Route 66,” the long unused section where my friend is standing, compared to “Old Route 66” which is to the left in the below picture. There really is no “New Route 66;” there is only now the network of interstate highways many of which were built using portions of the Old Route 66 right of way.
At many of the towns along old Route 66 there were created and erected giant figures for the purpose of getting people to stop and shop and eat. Only a few of these remain. One of the more well-known ones is “Gemini Man,” no doubt inspired by the early work on the man in space program. (Small program note: in an earlier life I was a rocket scientist who worked at Cape Kennedy. I was there for the final two Gemini launches, and for all the Saturn Apollo launches up to and including the first lunar landing, so this sight was special).
We met and heard stories about people from all over the world who come to Chicago, rent a car, and make a three week trip down Route 66. Here the couple in this image was from Spain, doing just that. They spoke only a little English, but were loving the history and experience. We apparently just missed seeing Paul McCartney who was doing a similar trip.
In some places, all that remains for a riding path is a two lane road.
Below is another well-known spot, a 50’s eating place built on a Rock ‘n Roll theme.
There are several old gas stations preserved for tourist travelers. This one is of an old Phillips 66 station in Dwight, Illinois. It is kept open by volunteers. The interior is stocked with period ‘stuff.’ The pumps are no longer operable so it is no longer a gas station.
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The cards in the rack on the wall were an early version of credit cards. Each person had a card onto which their gas purchases were recorded. Then at the end of each month they would come in and settle up their bill. It was said that the proprietor of the station left it unlocked when he went for his daily lunch. Customers who came in then would pump their own gas and record on the honor system their purchases. (It was a simpler time)
In contrast with gasoline, Route 66 passes a very important source of energy: a nuclear power plant, this one in Braidwood owned and operated by Exelon.
The city of Pontiac has several particularly interesting sights. One is a “Pontiac” (car) museum, which has no direct ancestry with the town other than someone in town loved those cars. It is a very impressive museum for an individual collector, and especially appreciated as the Pontiac, like old Route 66, is officially no more.
More impressie in Pontiac is the “War Museum.” As shown in the below pictures it has room after room of mannequins wearing the actual uniforms of men and women who have served their country in the military. Most of these date back to WW2 and before, and includes many who were killed in the war theater in which they served. On their chests is brief biography of their life and service. Many are from the local area. It is very touching to walk among them and begin to grasp what their lives and service meant.
As all nights, ours ended in another convenient motel. We were always able to store our bikes, including my somewhat cumbersome Catrike, in our rooms overnight.
Day 3 here