Adventure Cycling Route 66 Bicycle Route through Missouri is moving ahead

Springfield already sees the occasional touring cyclist, but a new route being prepared by a Montana-based nonprofit could increase the number of two-wheeled visitors to the city — and maybe inspire a few locals to plan their own trip. 

National bicycle routes across Missouri

Adventure Cycling has already established a number of routes for bicycle touring in America — one such route, the TransAmerica Trail, goes through Marshfield, Fair Grove and Walnut Grove on its way from Yorktown, Va., to Astoria, Ore. Some riders along that route detour in Springfield.

The organization’s new Bicycle Route 66, announced in November, will follow the historic road — loosely, at times — from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The organization decided to map the route after considering member feedback and gaps in its network.

“We’ve gotten a lot of interest in it,” said Jennifer Milyko, senior cartographer with Adventure Cycling.

While most of the organization’s routes avoid major cities, historic Route 66 went through major cities such as St. Louis, Oklahoma City and Albuquerque, N.M. — prompting the need for balance between historical accuracy and roads that are safe for cycling.

MoBikeFed has been working with the Adventure Cycling Association on the Missouri portion of Route 66.  We'd like to see the Missouri Route 66 officially designated and signed as a bicycle route, much as MoDOT is doing with the TransAmerica Trail bicycle route through Missouri (U.S. Bicycle Route 76).

More about all six nationwide bicycle routes that cross Missouri here.  The Route 66 bicycle route map across Missouri here.