Pasadena Roadster Club’s Reliability Run

Posted by Ryan on May 3, 2010 and filed under: Event Coverage

I flew into Oakland and drove down to Pasadena this weekend with the admirable Mr. Jay Ward. It was a quiet trip as both Jay and I were focused on the task at hand. See, every year at around this time the Pasadena Roadster Club holds a race through the San Gabriel Mountains. All of the best local roadsters make a showing and many are piloted by the most experienced of hot shoes. The competition is daunting…

So daunting, in fact, that Jay and I decided we needed some extra help. Rumor had it that the Calori Roadster took the race last year, so we figured we would “get competitive” with the black beauty first. A little water sprayed directly into the distributor ensured he wouldn’t be bothering us once we hit the inclines. And, of course, there’s that pesky Texan – The Waco Kid. He might be the fastest in Texas, but he ain’t shit with sugar in his gas tank. He didn’t even make the start.

Given more time, we would have gotten more “competitive” with the other contenders, but it seemed like the checkered flag dropped early. We were off… Of course, those PRC guys tried to team up on us by holding us back at the starting line. Once they finally let us go, Jay popped the clutch and let the old Cad mill in his ’29 sing. We ran hard up and down the mountains and even took a pit stop or two due to smallish bladders.

I was confident we had foiled the plans of many and were going to take home the checkered. However, my confidence was unfounded and by the time we reached the finish, other drivers were enjoying their In-N-Out Burgers. Dammnit. We suspect they all cheated.

Next year we will get them for sure!