Friday June 24
Kingman to Barstow
Today. Was. Hot. Like fire-breathing dragon, holy fuck I’m riding a burning hunk of metal through a blast furnace hot. Our bikes were doing all sorts of mischief, but we all made it in without incident.
We rode the Oatman Highway today – a portion of which is known as the Sidewinder. 191 curves, 9 miles, no guardrails, and by the way, keep a lookout for burros standing in the road.
If you know me at all, you know I’m terrified of heights and particularly mountains. So I knew today was going to require that I suck it up and deal. And I really did. The scenery was gorgeous, and aside from my anxiety voice screaming at me, I really enjoyed it. Not gonna lie, I was half crying from fear, but I didn’t let it stop me from doing the thing I wanted to do. Pretty chuffed.
Once we left Oatman, the heat was relentless, so we stuck to the highway to make sure we had gas and water when we needed it. Our little troop pushed through and made it to Barstow around 5:00.
We had a group dinner at Chili’s, next door to the hotel, and then we went over the possible routes for tomorrow. There are two Route 66 options, and Jason Sims gave us a third option which helps us avoid the stop and go through San Bernardino and Pasadena.
I cannot believe tomorrow is the last day. Chix on 66 will come to a close tomorrow evening in Santa Monica. I know I’m going to cry. I have made so many friends and watched so many women push themselves to do something they’d never done before. I am so thankful and grateful to every single person on this ride, and to our staff who made all of this possible. One more day in the saddle.
The Atomic Shovel 