More than 700 cyclists from 18 states rolled through downtown Edmond on Sunday, pedaling routes that ranged from a 1-mile kids' fun ride to a brand-new 100-mile round trip to Stroud, all in celebration of Route 66's 100th anniversary. The fifth annual Cycle 66 turned the city's stretch of the Mother Road into a rolling festival, with riders stopping at local vendors, shops and restaurants before and after their loops.
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell kicked off the event and sent cyclists onto Route 66 himself. According to The Journal Record, Pinnell said the ride “brings people from across the country together to experience Route 66 history, culture and communities,” adding that more than 700 cyclists from 18 states had come to Oklahoma to mark the highway's centennial. Riders could choose from several distances: a 20-mile route to Arcadia, a 38-mile route to Luther, a 53-mile route to Wellston, a 75-mile route to Chandler, and the inaugural 100-mile round trip to Stroud and back, with all routes starting and finishing in downtown Edmond.
A Historic Stop in Luther
The 38-mile route included a designated rest and water stop at the Threatt Filling Station in Luther, a sandstone building constructed in 1915 that stands as the only known Black-owned gas station along Route 66 to have operated during the Jim Crow era, according to Route 66 Road Map. The station provided a safe haven for Black travelers during segregation, giving riders a tangible piece of the highway's history along their route.
Edmond itself holds 13.4 miles of historic Route 66 and anchors the western edge of the Route 66 Midpoint Corridor, an 11-city coalition formed in 2023 between Edmond and Sapulpa to jointly market what the group calls “The Best 100 Miles of Route 66,” per a bulletin distributed via GovDelivery. Oklahoma contains more than 400 drivable miles of Route 66, the longest stretch of any of the eight states the highway crosses, according to KGOU.
Riders Reflect on the Centennial Miles
Oklahoma City cyclist Josh Cope completed the new 100-mile route to Stroud and back, telling The Journal Record the ride featured “many iconic and interesting sights.” Okarche native Joe Daniel also finished the century route and said, per the same outlet, that the distance combined with the Route 66 centennial made the ride especially memorable.
The weekend's competitive edge came courtesy of the Crit @ Cycle 66, an eight-race series through downtown Edmond that doubled as the USA Cycling 2026 Oklahoma Criterium State Championship. The closed-course races ran along Broadway Avenue with technical corners and fast straights lined by spectators and local businesses, according to The Crit @ Cycle 66. David Libre, who won the Masters 40+ race and has raced across the country since 1994, described the criterium to The Journal Record as a fast-paced event with technical curves that demand careful acceleration and deceleration.
Proceeds Fund a New Bike-Checkout Program
Cycle 66 is designed to support local nonprofits and community recreation programs, and registration proceeds from this year's ride will be donated to the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and the YMCA. The YMCA plans to use its share to launch a bike-checkout program allowing patrons to borrow bicycles for use on trails connecting to Arcadia Lake, with the new YMCA location sitting on 15th Street just east of I-35 in Edmond, per The Journal Record's reporting.
Since its founding in 2020, Cycle 66 has raised and distributed nearly $100,000 in proceeds to community nonprofits, local cycling initiatives and Route 66 preservation projects, according to a report from Legacy OKC. The same report notes that the 2026 edition drew sponsorship from Visit Edmond, Google, Walmart, Amazon, Humana, Oklahoma Complete Health, CVS Health and Remington Park, backing that helped fund the addition of the new century route.
Part of a Bigger Centennial Push
Cycle 66 was founded in 2020 by state Representative Mike Osburn and Lt. Gov. Pinnell and is governed by Cycle 66, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in partnership with the City of Edmond and Visit Edmond, according to Edmond Business. The ride is part of Oklahoma's statewide celebration of Route 66's 100th anniversary and was designed to highlight the historic highway while bringing residents and visitors together through cycling and community events.
That statewide push traces back to legislative action: the Oklahoma Legislature established the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission in 2019 to coordinate the state's 100th-anniversary programming, with Pinnell chairing the commission, and created a separate Revitalization Grant Commission in 2022 to fund local corridor infrastructure, according to TravelOK. At the federal level, Congress enacted the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act in December 2020, establishing a 15-member body to coordinate commemorations across all eight Route 66 states, per the Route 66 Centennial Commission.
Cycle 66 served as an anchor event in downtown Edmond's fall 2026 calendar, which Legacy OKC's report describes as six consecutive weekends of major community gatherings, including Heard on Hurd and Arcadia Lake's Storybook Forest. The ride's blend of historic preservation, civic fundraising and elite competition made it one of several Oklahoma centennial events this fall, following Hoodline's coverage of Edmond's 200 Route 66 sketches exhibit and Arcadia's Route 66 balloon festival earlier in the season.
