MAIN STREET

Amboy ghost town in the Mojave desert, California

Riding the "Main street of America", also known as Route 66, is about travelling 2245 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles, crossing no less than eight states and three time zones. Route 66 is about Jack Kerouac, Easy Rider and Bobby Troup. But above all, it is a myth, that of the Great West by trying to follow the path of the pioneers, that of trying to relive bygone days to experience what the locals call "the true americana". Crossing the United States from East to West is also about thinking without limits because this is how we picture the country, a gigantic space where it is allowed to dream endlessly. Because there's also something of a fantasy in this journey, a desire for escape motivated by the American legends.

Born in the 1920s, Route 66 was the first road that connected the East coast to the West coast. Nicknamed the "Mother Road", it brought hope for the populations : a hope of development and a hope of finally reaching the West to make a fortune. It was also a symbol of freedom, the freedom of driving with the sole purpose of reaching the next motel for the night.

Motel in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The America that we now know started to appear with the advent of the route : diners, motels, gas stations and roadside attractions were born along the Mother Road. The car is at the heart of the route ; you park it in front of your hotel room, you watch a movie behind the wheel and you grab a burger while driving.

Sayre, Oklahoma

But Route 66 could not survive the new Interstates system that appeared in the 50s. New, faster highways came to replace the road and the towns that lived from the Route saw their activity decrease, to the point that many of their inhabitants decided to move elsewhere, leaving behind them the remains of the glory times of the road. This endless straight line linking Chicago to Los Angeles is today a vast remnant of part of the American history but crossing it is almost about reliving these years through a unique trip at the heart of the United States.