Greetings from Route 66

I'm writing in my room in Sante Fe, New Mexico after having travelled some 8000 kilometres over the past three weeks riding the sensational roads of the US.

In company with tour members Ed, Rayne and Rod we are now following historic Route 66 which was established on November 11, 1926. This famous highway runs from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). And whatta ride it is! Whatta buzz!

Part sad, often poignant but always hugely interesting, this is the ride of a lifetime. There's much to see, from genuinely historic and interesting buildings to shrines so totally tacky and unbelievably kitschy that they make your eyeballs want to vomit. However, there is much to enjoy, including many miles of winding road through picturesque countryside, from the wide open, cattle rich plains of Texas through to New Mexico's rugged countryside.

And a great feature to be enjoyed by those of us used to nanny-state mentality is that you can wind that throttle on without fear of police harassment. In places where the old Route 66 has fallen into disrepair, we have jumped on to an interstate and sat on 90mph (145 kays), a speed which would throw away points by the handful in Oz but which over here allows you to keep up with the traffic!

Route 66 was a major path of the many migrants who went west seeking a better life in the fabled California. This was true especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, when the road teemed with the hopeful and the desperate and their needs for food and lodgings supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed.

Many remnants of this remain, much sadly in a tacky state but nevertheless well worth the ride. At least that's the opinion of our tight little group enjoying both the riding and the company.

On another matter I'd like to welcome Keith 'Bandit' Ball to the pages of HEAVY DUTY where from time to time he will contribute a guest editorial.

Keith was the editor of Easyriders magazine and has been active in the Biker's Rights movements in the US for many years. His website www.bikernet.com is the world's leading biker web site and is well worth a visit.

There's a stack of great features this issue, project bike updates and some valuable tech tips. We are fortunate at HEAVY DUTY to have an excellent team of writers, photographers and designers, and contributors in general. We are proud to provide you with a quality product that keeps on going from strength to strength. We hope you agree, and continue to enjoy HEAVY DUTY issue after issue.

Check out our tours on offer for 2011. Of course our fabulous US destination of Sturgis in on the calendar again for 2011. For details see our Sturgis page, or feel free to contact our effervescent tour co-ordinator, Gay Zazyrn, who can tell you absolutely everything you could possibly need to know. Or take this opportunity to fang the brilliant highways and byways of our trans Tasman neighbour, and join our feature packed New Zealand tour in February. We've joined forces with Ed Garner, who grew up on these roads as a kid, and you can be sure he will take you on an exhilarating journey each day.

And don't forget, if you want to subscribe to HEAVY DUTY, you could be donning a pair of legendary Draggin Jeans or winning one of two HEAVY DUTY packs. Check out our new t-shirts also on-sale!

– Doc