Irish Bikers Tour Route 66

There's a certain fascination that foreigners have with Route 66. It's because of the old television show and that's brought a group of Irish bikers to Tulsa Wednesday. <br/><br/>News on

Wednesday, October 4th 2006, 9:56 am

By: News On 6

There's a certain fascination that foreigners have with Route 66. It's because of the old television show and that's brought a group of Irish bikers to Tulsa Wednesday.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says you might have heard the roar of all these Harleys but if you were up close, you would hear the Irish accents too.

66 bikes and 93 Irish bikers roared into Tulsa, looking for a taste of America. They found the air conditioning at the Route 66 Harley shop and the munchies at the 5 and Diner next door.

These bikers have a serious goal. They're raising money for a children's hospital in Dublin. They'll ride through 8 states in 8 days, on Route 66. And since they've raised more than a million dollars, the saddle sores don't matter.

Petsie Coffee: "Absolutely great, I'm feeling the pain now but still I don't care."

The flags are Irish, but these bikes are American. They rented them in Chicago and they'll drop them off in Los Angeles. Jenny Huston: "And the warm welcome we're getting everywhere is just fantastic."

For Jenny Huston, a radio announcer, and Tony Toner, the road captain, the welcome has been a little too warm. "We're melting. I was 6 foot 6 when I left Chicago and now I'm 6 foot 2 and diminishing rapidly." They're not used to this kind of heat in Ireland. But they're bearing it for a good cause, and to find out about the Route 66 most of them have only seen on television. "And they designated it Route 66 and the Irish have always been explorers and adventurers and we like motorcycles back home and it's the most iconic motorcycle road on the planet."

And if you would like to track these Irish bikers, there is a satellite-tracking link on their website.