Here’s the best-quality video I’ve seen yet of two motorcycling buddies driving on Oatman Road, aka Route 66, in western Arizona’s Black Mountains.
These guys were going at speeds that would make me uncomfortable; don’t try it yourself.
The clip shows the capabilities of the GoPro Hero 2, a high-definition video camera that’s finding favor among bikers, snowboarders, surfers, and other daredevils.
It’s beautiful country out there. Not so sure about his claim no laws were broken, especially the number of times he’s over the center-line, in blind curves with a restricted view of the road ahead. Foolish.
This is the second similar clip of this stretch of road (from approx. Cool Springs to Oatman)…being more used to 66 in Illinois (flatter, straighter), and having never ventured out west as a driver…how many miles of 66 would you guess are like this, topographically?
Oatman Road is unique topographically. There’s nothing remotely like it on the rest of Route 66. Everything else is a relatively easy drive.
The Oatman Highway stretch is so unique, it should be one of the top 5 motorcycle riding adventures in all of America! It’s right up there with riding the Rockies, Tail of the Dragon and even the Blueridge Parkway, its just the desert version with a cool little town right in the middle. If you’re a motorcycle rider, you won’t be wiping the grin off your face for months afterwards, then you realize you were also on Route 66 and it just keeps getting better… It’s also a once in a lifetime journey in any automobile, but a convertible makes it even more fun!
I just did this drive in September (for the second time) and was extremely surprised and disappointed in the way both car and motorcycle riders were driving. Way faster than the speed limit and the MC riders were hugging the center line around blind corners. Cars racing from point to point to take pictures. I am a middle aged person, former auto-crosser and kart racer so I am comfortable driving a car fast and on those roads, but I was one of the few obeying the speed limit and trying to be safe for myself and others.
Thanks all, particularly Wes. I too am middle aged, and enjoy a spirited drive as much as the next auto enthusiast. Also did some auto-x in my past, and am a certified instructor of advanced driver education (think police, EMS, executive chauffeur, etc.) So I’m not as worried about me as “the other guy”. My brother has driven the Dragon annually for quite a few years, and all the “other driver” issues you mentioned occur there, as well as in this video. And I don’t want to sound anti-motorcycle…I rode in my youth, and can see where a tour through this part of the country would be wonderful. But the poor riding form demonstrated in this video is enough to make the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) collectively cringe. It gives me something to think about, as I plan a trip with a large classic car. But my daughter has already got her heart set on seeing Oatman, and I’d like to stop at Cool Springs, so tackle it we shall.