Route 66 raises over €10.7k for Hospice
By Willie Edmonds, ESB Moneypoint

Immortalised in the song Get your kicks on Route
66 by Bobby Troup in 1946, US Highway 66 has become the most famous road in motoring history.

Originally touted as the ‘The Main Street of America’ and later as ‘The Mother Road’, When a national US Highway System was first mooted in the 1920s, a businessman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cyrus Avery, championed Route 66.

Construction began in 1927, but it wasn't until 1938 that it was fully paved. Route 66 starts in Chicago,
Illinois and passes through eight states as it winds 2,448 miles diagonally east to west to the Santa Monica Pier in California.

Although mostly bypassed by the interstate system of four lane highways in the 1970’s, almost 80% of the original paved segments of the route are still
drivable today. Since 1995 the towns along the route have seen a resurgence as thousands of
motorists and bikers have sought to experience the real America.

It was to this end that Jim Rooney, Moneypoint, and Willie Edmonds, Ex Power Generation-HO, travelled to Chicago in June of this year. “It was a trip of a lifetime, but one you want to do over and over again,” they told EM.

Although it took six months to plan the trip, between finding the right group to ride with,
purchasing Harleys in the US, insurance, lodging, arranging to get the bikes shipped back to ‘the
ould sod’ and ultimately planning the entire route, it was well worth the effort.

“We found a group called ‘The Mother Road Rally’ via the internet and registered on the 1st January. By 1st June there were 93 bikes registered with
representatives from 24 US states, Canada, New Zealand, Northern Ireland and ourselves,” says Willie.

The whole trip was to take 30 days, covering 17 US states and one in Canada. It was split into three
separate stages. The first was a five day trip from Chicago around Lake Michigan and back covering 1,500 miles. The second was the eight day; 2,448 mile Route 66 trip from Chicago to Santa Monica with the other 91 bikes and the final leg was the
trip from Los Angeles to Toronto, Canada covering an extra 4,000 miles in 13 days.

Anyone who has traveled Route 66 will tell you that it is just one long tourist attraction. Towns which were bypassed by the Interstate Highway System
have experienced a new lease of life from the new wave of people traversing the continent. Old gas
stations, motels and diners have been restored to their original state and Route 66 museums dot
the highway from start to finish.

There is so much to see that it is impossible to view in one trip. “We had people who were on
their fourth and fifth year riding the route and still finding new attractions,” added Willie. “The group we travelled with came from all walks of life, rode
upon all makes of bikes and varied in age from one pillion passenger of 14 to a guy from Huntsville, Alabama who was 77 years old and had a prosthetic leg.

Everyone got along because they had one thing in common, experiencing Route 66.“It is still hard to believe, never mind remember, all the sights we encountered on the trip. Apart from Route 66, to see Yosemite National Park, California, Zion & Bryce National Parks in Utah, Mount Rushmore
in South Dakota and particularly the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it was just one ‘Wow!’ after another. The welcome we received wherever we travelled was amazing and of course everyone we met had some Irish connection.

“We decided whilst planning the trip that it would also be a great opportunity to raise some money for a charity, so we chose Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross. With the help of friends, work colleagues and family the amount raised so far has
exceeded €10,700. Thanks to all those from ESB who kindly contributed.”