Jim's Route 66 Motorcycle Journey: Tweezers and Hammers

Sunday September 5, 2010. Start kilometers 27658. Finish kilometer 27863. Total today 205.

Our pace slows to a crawl as we spend the morning exploring Williams Arizona named after Bill Williams, a well known fur trapper who was thought to be the first white man in this area. Williams has the distinction of being the very last US 66 town bypassed, on October 13th, 1984. Williams also has a very nice stretch of vintage 66 running through town, lined with small motels, and other tourist-related businesses. Williams though small, was very well developed for the motoring public due in large part to its proximity to the Grand Canyon and last night was an example of the long weekend shortage of accommodations.
Our journey took us further west and I managed to get stung be a bee on my right arm during the first few miles. After a quick stop to remove the stinger with tweezers borrowed from John, we continued through Seligman, Peach Springs, Truxton and Valentine where a scene from the movie Easy Rider was filmed. Peter Fonda fixes a flat while a cowboy shoes a horse in a scene in the movie.
Not to be outdone by Peter Fonda, it is not far from here when John's Harley breaks down. On the side of the road we temporarily repair his foot shifter mechanism which had worked its way loose using the assistance of another biker who loaned us a hammer and directed traffic and a state trooper who was anxious to see us doing repairs elsewhere. We managed to ride into Seligman where we effected permanent repair in a gas station parking lot, receiving lots of offers of help from other bikers. Continuing on this afternoon took us into Hackberry where we stopped at the General store for some tremendous photos of history recreated. With days end nearing and not wanting to be caught without accommodation again we decided to stop in Kingman for the night. We clocked a whopping 205 kilometres today but John's breakdown was part of the adventure and caused us to meet some very nice folks who stopped to offer assistance. Another great day. Tomorrow California. Stay tuned.