Join us on our journey to the World Parkinson Conference in Phoenix Arizona on May 24-27, 2026.  How you get there makes all the difference.  Our mode will be by bicycle and our path will be along US Highway 66 – popularly known as Route 66 or The Mother Road – the legendary highway that has launched motorists on countless driving adventures for 100 years since its inception in 1926.  Now it’s the cyclists’ turn. In view of the strong association between the historic roadway and America’s love affair with the automobile, it is perhaps ironic that we will now attain independence from the motor vehicle by traveling Bicycle Route 66 under their own steam. Our route bows through middle America, starting from a pier in Chicago, Illinois, through Missori and Oklahoma (with a tiny dip into Kansas), then on through the Texas panhandle, New Mexico’s desert and into Arizona.  That’s where we leave the Mother Road for the hills – a final test before we descend into Phoenix.  Bicycle Route 66 travels west on bike paths, county roads, and state, federal, and interstate highway

This journey takes us through the heart of America at the very moment in history when that heart needs reexamination.  As a Canadian and Torontonian, the US has always been a familiar refuge, travel destination and general draw.  Lately, it has become a mystery.  My original plans to start this excursion from Toronto (see original route below) were hampered by a new-found reluctance of Canadians to cross the border. I intend to come away with a better understanding of current sentiments.Over the course of the next 36 days on the road, cycling over 3,400 km (2,115 mi), we will see some of the greatest sights that this famous route has to offer. Better still, I will be riding much of this route with my Son, Jett, an opportunity that I intend to maximize.  I will also be reacquainted with my friend Bill Bucklew, who I rode with across the US in 2024.  I call Bill “the most interesting man in the world”; you would too, if you knew him.  Where Bill goes, adventure follows, and I’m up for that.  There are several people that will be on the road with us, some are returning friends from our cross-US ride, others will be first meetings. I’ll be sure to detail them in blogs as we go.