Why this ride
A one-way ride of 641 km, Springfield to Cuba - roughly 8 h 50 in the saddle. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historic Route 66: Springfield Illinois to Cuba Missouri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 641 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 50
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Springfield Illinois
Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield for seventeen years before he went to Washington, and the town still revolves around him. His home, a modest two-storey frame house, is kept as a national historic site on its original street, and the Old State Capitol, where he gave his 'House Divided' speech, stands on the main square. His tomb lies in Oak Ridge Cemetery on the north side of town, a granite obelisk and a bronze head whose nose is rubbed shiny by visitors for luck. The city has a quiet, civic air that suits its role as the state capital.
Read the complete Springfield Illinois write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Springfield Illinois is where the day begins. Next is St Louis.
2. St Louis
St. Louis is a river city with a very large arch in it. The Gateway Arch, designed by Eero Saarinen and finished in 1965, rises 630 feet on the west bank of the Mississippi, a catenary curve of stainless steel that is the tallest monument in the United States and one of the most recognisable. It marks the city's historic role as the gateway to the West, the starting point for settlers, trappers and explorers, including Lewis and Clark, who set out up the Missouri in 1804 from a camp not far north. At its feet, a museum tells the story of westward expansion, and a tram carries visitors to the top.
Read the complete St Louis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
St Louis comes up about 339 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cuba Missouri.
3. Cuba Missouri
Cuba, Missouri, is a small town of about three and a half thousand people in the Ozark foothills, and it has turned itself into the Mural City of Route 66. More than a dozen big paintings cover the walls of old buildings, showing the history of the town, the railroad, the highway and the people, and the effect is cheerful and slightly surreal, like a gallery laid out along a main street. The town is said to take its name from the island of Cuba.
Read the complete Cuba Missouri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 641 km.
Leg by leg
Springfield Illinois to St Louis
Springfield Illinois → St Louis is 339 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
St Louis to Cuba Missouri
St Louis → Cuba Missouri is 303 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.