i was on route 66 a large part of this past summer, not by bike thou. generally, from central ohio, you'd head over to st.louis and meet up with it there. i was in my suv with three kids, and a dog. i love route 66, the topography, the interesting sites both off interstate and on. i would personally find i-40 torture on a bike but that is just me. i can only stand going straight for so long. i can tell you this however, there is simply no way to stay on the orig road the entire way. i enjoy photography and i took some varous pics and got off the interstate frequently, bc i was not out for doing good time. old ruins, natural hot springs, focal points of interest, actual standing gas stations from back in the day preserved, i don't know what your are intested in but shoot me a msg if you want more specifics about places in new mexico, az and ca. i recommend this one stop in las vegas new mexico. its actually off route 66 by an hour, but the drive is worth it.. its a natural develped hot spring at the bottom of pinon covered canyon. at the top of the canyon is the old arm & hammer castle, which is now some converted int'l college. truly spectacular under the stars at night, but not a place you would find lest someone told you about it.... i really enjoyed sharing it with my kids. there are still a lot of smaller towns dedicated to preserving the orig road but too small to remember specifically, and are far more interesting once you get closer/passed Amarillo. obviously i favor out west.