Congratulations to Joe Barr to setting a new record for USA Route 66 W-E record in the following categories: Male, Solo, 65-69 Age Group, upright bike.

This is a new Guinness Record.

Route 66 West to East

Rider’s Narrative Summary –

Record attempt : Route 66 – Santa Monica Pier to  Navy Pier Chicago. 2448 miles

Rider Name : Joe Barr – Ireland

Start Time : 5:02am local time PST

Start Location : Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA

Conditions : Variable – Arid (Mojave) to thunderstorm (Illinois), low wind to tornado alert, desolate road traffic to downtown Chicago rush-hour!

Reason for the attempt : I applied for permission from the US government to be an official event as part of the official RT66 Centennial celebration and the first person to register an official Guinness World record for Ultra Cycling on Route 66   

Equipment used : Bikes were 4 x Colnago;  C64, (2) Concept aero and World Cup CX . All bikes were Campagnolo equipped with a selection of wheels from Xentis .

Nutrition : A range of products of both Carb and Electrolytes and bars.

A full range of ordinary foods, chocolate milk, fruit, potatoes, orange juice, etc.

The best parts of the event were the support and generosity from a large number of general public who came out on the road to support the team, and the support we received from the government offices located in each state. 

I also finished on my son’s 21st birthday and in my 66th year.

An independent film crew documented the complete event which will be available to screen in the fall of 2026.

The most difficult parts were the pavement conditions, high temperatures (90 – 117F), high humidity levels (96%) in the last two states and high cross and head winds until MO which then became mostly a tail wind.  

Finally, inside last 200 miles we got hit with a huge storm which resulted in getting taken off the road for shelter while tornados caused large scale destruction from Springfield IL to the finish in Navy pier (power out so no traffic signals over last 40 miles due to fallen trees and debris.) This caused a large time loss, but everyone on the team remained safe and no accidents or incidents.   

The finish was Navy Pier Chicago, where we were meet with a large welcome from a public crowd, TV news stations and national radio.

Total time recorded at the finish was 10 days 6hours and 27 minutes.