Conquer the Virtual Route 66 Challenge: Ride or Run Chicago to Santa Monica
Take on the great American westbound road trip from wherever you already train. Route 66 runs roughly 3,809 km (about 2,367 miles) from Chicago to Santa Monica on the Pacific coast, crossing eight states, the farmland of the Midwest, the southern plains and the high desert of the Southwest. Route Rally turns every synced ride, run or walk into progress along it. You do not need a car, a fortnight of holiday or a single mile of American tarmac: log your distance at home and watch your marker head west, week by week, until it reaches the coast.
- Route: Route 66
- Distance: 3809.4 km
- Elevation gain: 30000 m
- Long westbound road-trip goal
- Best for: Long rallies of your own, cross-country US route goals, and steady endurance targets
Planning your challenge
A cyclist averaging 250 km/week reaches Santa Monica in about fifteen weeks, and 150 km/week stretches that to roughly six months; runners at 40 km/week and walkers at 30 km/week should plan for a multi-year project rather than a season.
This is a Long route by Route Rally distance bands, and at 3,809 km one of the biggest targets short of the Epic band, so it asks for months of sustained riding rather than a focused few weeks.
Works well for a club or workplace that wants one long westbound story to follow together, and for solo riders who want a target big enough to shape a whole training year.
Create your own rally and set the finish date to suit the pace you can honestly hold, whether that is a summer of hard riding or a year of steady walking.
Why this route
- Route 66 ran from Chicago to Santa Monica across eight states, and the Route Rally route follows the same line for about 3,809 km (2,367 miles) of westbound distance.
- Established in 1926 and long since replaced by the interstates, it is remembered as the Mother Road: the way west across the middle of the United States.
- As a virtual challenge the sheer length is the appeal. At 3,809 km it is nearly three times Land's End to John O'Groats, which makes it a target for a whole season or a whole year rather than a month.
- The landscape changes completely as you go: Illinois and Missouri farmland first, then Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, then the high desert of New Mexico and Arizona before the drop to the California coast.
- Almost everyone already has a picture of this road in their head, which makes it an easy rally to put to a club or a workplace team who need one shared goal for the year.
Highlights
- Start in Chicago, Illinois, at the eastern end of the Mother Road
- Cross the Mississippi into Missouri and out onto the southern plains through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle
- Climb into the high desert of New Mexico and Arizona on the long western half
- Drop through the California desert towards the Pacific
- Finish at Santa Monica, the traditional end of the road
Common questions
How does my riding or running count towards Route 66?
Your synced feed does the work. Route 66 progress ticks up the moment Strava or Apple Health hands over a ride, run or walk, sliding your marker west out of Chicago. A 60 km Sunday spin is 60 km of the Mother Road, whether you rode it in Ohio or in Oxfordshire, and nothing has to be uploaded or typed in afterwards.
Do I need to be in the United States?
No. Route 66 is a distance target here rather than a road you have to go and find, so cyclists in Cornwall and runners in Singapore take it on from home. What you are chasing is the 3,809 km between Chicago and Santa Monica, and those kilometres count the same wherever you cover them.
How far is Route 66?
The Route Rally route covers about 3,809 km, or roughly 2,367 miles, Chicago to Santa Monica. Published lengths for the historic road vary, because the highway was realigned repeatedly over its life and was removed from the federal highway system in 1985, leaving several alignments that people still drive and quote.
How long does it take to cycle Route 66 virtually?
At a steady 250 km a week you reach Santa Monica in about fifteen weeks. Drop to 150 km a week and it stretches to roughly six months, while 400 km a week brings it inside ten weeks. You choose the finish date at setup, so the timetable is entirely your own.
Can I run or walk Route 66 instead?
Yes, though it is a serious commitment on foot. A runner covering 40 km a week is looking at close to two years, and a walker at 30 km a week at nearer two and a half. Plenty of people take it on as a long club or workplace rally for exactly that reason, with everyone's own progress side by side on one leaderboard.
Is Route 66 a good club or workplace challenge?
Yes. Everyone's synced activities move along the same road on one leaderboard, and a westbound journey gives a long rally something to talk about: getting out of the Midwest, reaching the plains, hitting the desert. At 3,809 km it is long enough to keep a team going for a season without anyone finishing in the first fortnight.
Which states does Route 66 pass through?
Eight: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Kansas stretch is by far the shortest, a brief clip of the southeastern corner. On your passport the whole route counts as one country, the United States, because Route Rally stamps countries rather than states.
Start your Route 66 Conquest
Joining is free. Connect Strava or Apple Health once and every ride, run or walk you record syncs automatically, moving you along the route without anything else to log.