2017 Power Tour – Day 02
Welcome back to our daily coverage of the 2017 Hot Rod magazine Power Tour. This is the road trip that keeps on giving. In this case, it gave us, not one, but two, count ‘em, two days in picturesque Iowa. How could we resist a second day in the state that produces one tenth of our nation’s food supply (if there’s any justice in this world, some sort of Twinkie or Ding Dong processing plant is a major contributor to this stat). Thanks to the impossibly poor Wi Fi speeds at the Embassy Suites, I was forced to get up early (ewww) and walk (double ewww) to the nearest Starbucks. How slow was it? The internet speed was even slower than I move after a big hike (for clarification, my idea of a big hike is moving from the couch to the fridge). During my early morning expedition to Starbucks
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2017 Power Tour – Day 03
Legendary mountaineer George Mallory was once famously asked why climb Everest. To which he replied, even more famously, “Because it’s there.” True dat, George. For hot rodders, the Power Tour is the Everest of road trips. A run what ya brung celebration of real steel drivers spread out over one week and 1300-plus miles. Why subject yourself and your beloved ride to the Power Tour? Because it’s there. It’s precisely why I’m here (well, yes, because it’s there, but mainly because Mothers is paying me to be here). Today we girded our loins (that’s just what one does before a long drive) to make the 201.7 milk run from Davenport, Iowa to Champaign, Illinois. At our early am gas stop we found this fish called Wanda the Wonder Wagon. I also found an entire mini market filled with nutritious and delicious snacks that apparently aren’t Whole30 compliant. Help me, Forrest,
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2017 Power Tour – Day 04
You Can’t Go Home Again Yep, that’s me. Once upon a time I drove a car, took photos, wrote a story and didn’t sleep on the Power Tour. And then I got old. After numerous times of falling asleep at the keyboard, and being afraid of falling asleep while driving, I reluctantly turned the reins over to John. Nads, he calls himself. I call him a savior – he saved my health and sanity. Well, you can’t really save what I never had. But, he’s done yeoman’s work, and for that I’m thankful. It also helps that he’s a real photographer and knows nouns from pronouns (which I think are better than amateur nouns) and understands those verb thingies. But, I was also jealous – jealous of all the fun he’s been having writing [who’s having fun? – nads]. And I missed it. So, I offered a deal. Let me
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2017 Power Tour – Day 05
Hello, Power Tour. It’s me, nads. Sadly for you, Forrest’s substitution was short-lived. Now that I’ve got a doctor’s note clearing me for duty (as well as an ointment, clearing me of that rash), I’m back in control. And by control, I mean control of the Daily Power Tour Posts, not my love life, career, destiny or impulses. I still have no control of any of that. After a long Day 04 in the saddle, some of our crew took in a Cards game at Busch Stadium, until a rain delay put a damper on their fun. Rain delay? Rain delay?! You’re telling me 18 multimillionaires can’t hit a ball with a stick in the rain? The Power Tour doesn’t stop for rain. In fact, the Power Tour stops for nothing – except maybe gas (hot rods burn a lot of fuel), and food (gotta eat), photo ops (our Instagram
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2017 Power Tour – Day 06
This is it – the final countdown. Today’s Day 06 leg marked the final push into Bowling Green, Kentucky. The last leg of Power Tour is always bittersweet. Much like the last day of school before summer break (HAGS KIT!). Not high school, mind you. No one’s sad to leave that mess behind. This is more like an elementary school summer break. When your classmates were your ride or die homies and before the eternal sunshine of your spotless mind was crushed under the weight of four-pound textbooks and standardized testing (making you stay within the lines to fill in each bubble completely is how they keep you down). What is Speed? It could be the voracity in which our own Jim Holloway pounded his venti coffee. Immediately after I snapped this pic, Jim crushed the cup (bare-handed, no less) and spiked it on the driveway of the Courtyard by
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