Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Fall 2010: Route 66 and Kelso Dunes Wilderness Bicycle Camping / Day 1: Route 66: Barstow to Ludlow 47
Today I pedal 56 miles from Barstow to Ludlow on old Route 66 to position myself for a bit of exploration in the area of Broadwell Dry Lake and the Kelso Dunes Wilderness. A strong tailwind today, and pleasant temperatures in the 60s, after the morning rain ended, which I managed to avoid.
I haven't visited this stretch of old Route 66 before, so I'm looking forward to it. Ludlow was once a budding small town and boasts a few crumbling old buildings to prove it, but today it is little more than a freeway truck stop.
- Yesterday, I took the Amtrak San Joaquin train with my bicycle down California's Central Valley
- The Amtrak bus deposited me yesterday at Barstow Station, just before sunset
- Route 66 Motel, Barstow, California
- My cabin room at the Route 66 Motel is small and a bit run-down, but the round bed adds unique character
- Several old cars and other antique Route 66 paraphenalia decorate the grounds of Barstow's Route 66 Motel
- Another old car in the courtyard of Barstow's Route 66 Motel
- Among the many antiques on the Route 66 Motel property is this cigarette machine
- Barstow's downtown area has many older, modest dwellings built along desert hillsides
- A 24-hour donut shop on Barstow's Route 66 is closed due to the water contamination
- El Rancho Barstow is one of many older motels along Route 66 in central Barstow
- I grab some breakfast at Barstow's Village Café, which is probably cooking with the bad city water, since they're still open
- Bummer, no Chinese breakfast on the menu (who would order such "weird stuff"?), so I order scrambled eggs and bacon
- The rain stopped, the sun shining, I leave Route 66 Motel and detour a mile up Barstow Rd to the Mojave River Museum
- Outside the Mojave River Museum in Barstow is an old exterior cage-style jail cell
- I stop in at Barstow's Mojave River Museum for a quick visit before riding on toward Ludlow
- Before leaving Barstow, I make a quick stop at Food For Less to buy a couple of propane bottles
- I ride back to Barstow's Route 66 through residential areas and coast down a nice hill on my way out of town
- On the outskirts of Barstow, the road dead-ends at a Marine Corps base, so I turn back and get on the freeway for a few miles
- I enter Interstate 40 eastbound, riding on the shoulder of course
- After approximately 2.5 miles on the freeway, I reach Nebo Street and one of those "bicycles must exit" signs
- As I approach the Daggett area, I notice this crumbling concrete structure not far from old Route 66
- Route 66 reaches a stop sign as it passes through the little town of Daggett, California
- Mugwumps? I pass a former old gas station labeled "Mugwumps," near Daggett's stop sign
- While riding through Daggett, I stop to check out the old sign for the now-defunct Sportsmans Club
- Although it's mostly sunny, some dark clouds are still floating around and mistly lightly upon me from time to time
- Also on Route 66 near Daggett is an old California Agricultural Inspection Station, long abandoned
- Riding east on Route 66 away from Daggett, one of many long freight trains passes by
- After several long, straight miles, old Route 66 curves and ducks under the freeway as it enters Newberry Springs
- I take advantage of the gas-station store at Newberry Springs for welcome a caffeine boost: a can of Mountain Dew
- Route 66 in Newberry Springs sports a number of old buildings, some abandoned, some not: welcome to "The Barn"
- Riding down Route 66 through Newberry Springs, a tour bus that just passed me has pulled over on the side of the road
- As I pass the little crowd of people by the tour bus, I realize that the thing they are photographing is me
- Next to the Bagdad Café in Newberry Springs is the abandoned Henning Motel
- I stop to take a quick look at an abandoned gas station in Newberry Springs, which also once housed a restaurant
- Newberry Springs has a lot of abandoned houses, but the presence of many newer houses shows that the town is not dead
- Just east of Newberry Springs are several dry lakes with white minerals coming up to the surface
- Route 66's road surface gets really rough east of Newberry Springs; I'm glad I'm riding a mountain bike with suspension!
- It looks like these two abandoned and semi-demolished trailers near Route 66 east of Newberry Springs have been visited often
- Route 66 closely parallels the I-40 freeway the rest of the way to Ludlow, my destination today
- The clouds to my right and behind me are picking up some nice lighting as the sun starts to set on Route 66
- The sun fades away as old Route 66 crosses the train tracks at-grade near Pisgah siding
- Well, I can't deny any longer that it's about to get dark here on Route 66
- I pedal the final 10 miles to Ludlow in darkness, quite enjoyable with the almost-full moon peering through the clouds
- I check in at the Ludlow Motel: bland, but cleaner and more spacious than last night's accommodations in Barstow (and $10 more)
- The water-stained menu in my room at the Ludlow Motel advertises the offerings of the Ludlow Café next door
- Barstow to Ludlow bicycle route on old Route 66
- Barstow to Ludlow bicycle route elevation and speed profile