Another view of the passenger side

We've reported about Jason Paul Bennett and his Passenger Side project before. Here's a new slide show that he posted a few days ago. You'll see some wonderful photography from the Mother Road here.

Endurance athlete suffers serious injury on Route 66

James Cracknell, the British Olympic gold-medalist who was attempting to traverse the United States by bicycle and running in a mere 18 days, suffered a fractured skull Tuesday on Route 66 when he was hit by a truck in Arizona, reports The Independent of London. The 38-year-old was filming for the Discovery Channel on a … Continue reading Endurance athlete suffers serious injury on Route 66

Notes from the road

It wasn't a pleasant afternoon or evening in the St. Louis region for Route 66 travelers -- or for any travelers, for that matter. Two to four inches of rain fell in a short time Wednesday afternoon, causing flash flooding in low-lying areas, according to various media reports. That included several feet of water at … Continue reading Notes from the road

Man to drive classic car for asthma nonprofit

If you see a Marine blue 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan on Route 66 in the coming days, chances are good it's Scott Christenson behind the wheel. Christenson, 56, of Champaign, Ill., plans to drive from Chicago to Los Angeles, starting later this week, in remembrance of his niece, Erin Dennington, who died at age … Continue reading Man to drive classic car for asthma nonprofit

Not just pedal-pushing

This is a physical challenge that even Andy Payne would think twice about doing. British Olympic gold-medalist rower James Cracknell wants to cycle, swim, run or row all the way across America in just 18 days. According to Road.cc: His 3,600 mile trip will mostly be completed by bike and 2,500 miles of it will … Continue reading Not just pedal-pushing

Going for 3 million miles

Irv Gordon already owns the world record for most miles on one car. But he's aiming to drive his 1966 Volvo P1800 to the 3-million-mile mark sometime within the next three years, reports Auto123.com. Here are the impressive numbers: In 1998 he made the Guinness Book of World Records for most miles driven by a single … Continue reading Going for 3 million miles

For noble reasons or narcissism?

Scott Shakford, editor of the Desert Dispatch newspaper in Barstow, Calif., wrote an interesting editorial today about folks coming through town on cross-country Route 66 stunts and the newspaper's coverage of them (or lack thereof): We do interview some of them, if we think Barstow residents will find their stories interesting. [...] In our efforts, though, … Continue reading For noble reasons or narcissism?

CNG classic car rumbles to Capitol Hill

The Alabama duo who drove Route 66 in a compressed natural gas-powered 1966 Pontiac GTO extended the journey to the nation's capital today, according to the Birmingham (Ala.) News. U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., got the treat of driving the car briefly to the U.S. Capitol. The Detroit classic rumbled up Independence Avenue and rolled … Continue reading CNG classic car rumbles to Capitol Hill

Route 66 nearly 60 years ago

Route 66 enthusiast and author Joe Sonderman said he recently acquired a DVD from an Albuquerque man of home-movie footage during a Route 66 trip in 1953 from Chicago to Los Angeles. As Sonderman said on his Facebook account about the footage: "The Youtube quality doesn't do it justice and it could stand some editing. … Continue reading Route 66 nearly 60 years ago

An article to avoid

Generally, I appreciate all of the Route 66-related articles that Helium.com has posted in recent weeks. However, there is one exception: the "Places to avoid while traveling on Route 66" by Eva Perry, which is loaded with inaccuracies or ill-conceived warnings. I'll summarize the problems that Perry sees on the Mother Road: A vaguely mentioned … Continue reading An article to avoid