Bicycling Route 666 — a hellish ride

Today is June 6, 2006. Also known as 6/6/06, or just plain “666″ — the day from hell. I've had my share of days from hell, but many people are expecting some major calamities on this one.

Imagine, I thought, if you were to bicycle on Route 666 on 6/6/06. 

I remembered Highway 666 from the cross-country bicycle tour my friend and I took in 1984. I dove into my box of tattered maps and soon located the New Mexico map. Inspecting closely, I found the devilish red line marking Highway 666.

On our way from Gallup, New Mexico, to Window Rock, Arizona, we pedaled on the Highway 666 for 7 miles. From southern Arizona, it ran north through Gallup and continued across the state line into Colorado. MapGuy's website tells about the highway's history.

I remember it being a busy, hot, dusty highway on our little stretch between Gallup and Yah-Tah-Hey, where we turned off on route 264. I remember lots of trucks, not much space to ride, and lots of strip shopping where motorists could whip onto the road in front of you. Aptly named the Highway from Hell, no matter what the number.

But you won't find the Route 666 on any maps for much longer now, though. The name has been changed to Route 491.

“After 77 years of concern and discontent we have finally removed any reference to the devil from this highway,” Gov. Bill Richardson said in a ceremony dedicating the new highway name in 2003. Soon thereafter, many of the old signposts disappeared into the hands of souvenir hunters.

So much for bicycling Route 666 on 6/6/06. It was a stupid idea anyway.

Here's more about Route 666 and how it got its name.