Convoy 2KX

• Update: 2010 July 21
• Update: 2010 June 6
• Update: 2010 March 10
• Update: 2010 February 2
• The Idea. Why are we doing this?
• The Plan. What to expect.
• Thoughts to Think. Make your preparations.
• About “2KX”. An explanation.

Convoy 2KX Update: 2010 July 21

Once again, the big plan has been crushed by little details.

If you recall (and if you can’t, you can find details in past issues of The Legend-News), a 35th anniversary recreation (of sorts) of the coast-to-coast “Convoy” was scheduled to be run this summer. Unfortunately (my least-favorite word these days), we had to reschedule the start of the trip from June 6 to August 8, and now we’ve canceled it.

Blame the economy. Blame BP. Blame it on the bossa nova, with its magic spell. Whatever. Personal responsibilities of the Big Three (those of us who were attempting to make the journey) have made our road trip impractical. Not that we haven’t tried to resolve the troublesome issues that have impeded our plans; alas, every time that we’ve seen the light, someone has drawn the blinds. The details are not for public revelation: but if I’m ever King then those obstacles will be… uh, never mind.

So we’re not going to put the pedal to the metal this summer. Maybe next year, if the gods smile upon us. (Monotheists: please substitute “God” (or the deity of your choice) for “gods”. Atheists: chuckle at the joke.)

Consarn, dagnabbit, razzle-frazzle!

Convoy 2KX Update: 2010 June 10

So—if you haven’t noticed by now—Convoy 2KX has been slightly delayed. The journey from the Left Coast to the Right Coast will now begin on August 8, which means that we’ll be driving through the deserts of Nevada during the hottest month of the year. Yeah, we’re crazy.

Here’s the schedule, with the new dates:

• Sunday, August 8: Santa Cruz, California to Rachel, Nevada. About 499 miles, 12 hours: Yosemite National Park is the “speed bump” of the day. We’ll stop overnight at the Little A’le’inn.
• Monday, August 9: Rachel, Nevada to Ouray, Colorado. About 600 miles, 13 hours. Mostly desert driving, along US 50 into Utah, where we’ll pick up Interstate 70, head to Grand Junction, Colorado and turn south to Ouray.
• Tuesday, August 10: Spending the day in Ouray.
• Wednesday, August 11: Ouray, Colorado to Dodge City, Kansas. About 500 miles, 13 hours. No Interstate highway today, just scenery.
• Thursday, August 12: Dodge City, Kansas to Wentzville, Missouri. About 555 miles, 11 hours, not including stops. Some driving will be off-Interstate.
• Friday, August 13: Wentzville, Missouri to Beckley, West Virginia. About 640 miles, 11 hours, not including stops. All day on the Interstate.
• Saturday, August 14: Beckley, West Virginia to Wildwood, New Jersey. About 440 miles, 8 hours, not including stops.

  We intend to take the US 9 ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey, at 4:15 PM (if we miss that trip, the next ferry crossing is at 7:45 PM). The ferry time is not included in the travel time estimate of 8 hours. Upon landing in Cape May, the distance to Wildwood is about 20 miles.

Convoy 2KX Update: 2010 May 10

We Will Ride No Road Till We’re Ready

Hem. Haw. (insert throat-clearing here)

In the words of Robbie Burns, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ’men gang aft a-gley”.

The starting date of Convoy 2KX has been changed. Blame the economy, blame the opposition, blame it on Rio.

Due to circumstances beyond our control (damn you, circumstances!), we have been forced to reschedule the coast-to-coast fun fest known as Convoy 2KX. Instead of beginning our journey on the holy day of June 6, we will instead commence trucking on Sunday, August 8.

Convoy 2KX Update: 2010 March 10

Riding Shotgun

Skywalker is driving the entire way (west to east) and he’s looking for a co-pilot (or pilots) to share the driving and expenses. If you would like to make the Convoy 2KX trip, but don’t want to pay full price, contact Alan. He says “I’m an okay roomie, house-broken, and I’ll be bringing a lot of cool electronic gear.”

The Route, So Far

Alan (“Skywalker”) has been spending his free time with Delorme Street Atlas, and he’s worked out a first draft of the complete route for Convoy 2KX, from Santa Cruz, California to Wildwood, New Jersey.

The schedule for the first four days hasn’t changed. Most of our driving will be on state and U.S. highways; avoiding the Interstates as much as possible.

• Sunday, June 6: Santa Cruz, California to Rachel, Nevada. About 499 miles, 12 hours: Yosemite National Park is the “speed bump” of the day. We’ll stop overnight at the Little A’le’inn.
• Monday, June 7: Rachel, Nevada to Ouray, Colorado. About 600 miles, 13 hours. Mostly desert driving, along US 50 into Utah, where we’ll pick up Interstate 70, head to Grand Junction, Colorado and turn south to Ouray.
• Tuesday, June 8: Spending the day in Ouray.
• Wednesday, June 9: Ouray, Colorado to Dodge City, Kansas. About 500 miles, 13 hours. No Interstate highway today, just scenery.

For the final three days, our route will be mainly on Interstate highways. Although that isn’t an ideal situation (the scenery is usually boring), it will allow us to travel faster. The state and U.S. Highways that are west of the Mississippi River usually have long stretches of road that are outside of towns and cities; but east of the river, those roads begin to pass through many small towns, and our average speed would become too low to make adequate progress.

• Thursday, June 10: Dodge City, Kansas to Wentzville, Missouri. About 555 miles, 11 hours, not including stops. Some driving will be off-Interstate.
• Friday, June 11: Wentzville, Missouri to Beckley, West Virginia. About 640 miles, 11 hours, not including stops. All day on the Interstate.
• Saturday, June 12: Beckley, West Virginia to Wildwood, New Jersey. About 440 miles, 8 hours, not including stops.

  We intend to take the US 9 ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey, at 4:15 PM (if we miss that trip, the next ferry crossing is at 7:45 PM). The ferry time is not included in the travel time estimate of 8 hours. Upon landing in Cape May, the distance to Wildwood is about 20 miles.

Convoy 2KX Update: 2010 February 2

Alan Chafin (a.k.a Skywalker) is looking for someone to ride shotgun with him. If you don’t want to drive solo, you can split the car expenses with him.

The Idea

’Way back in the mists of time — the year 2000 C.E., to be specific — an intrepid group of fellows attempted to re-create the cross-country trip that was described in the song “Convoy”. These three hearty men began near Shakytown (a.k.a. Los Angeles, California) and, in the space of five days, traveled nearly three thousand miles to the Jersey shore, avoiding bears, potholes, construction zones and traffic jams — despite their unintended separation between Gallup, New Mexico (or Shamrock, Texas, depending upon your point of view) until a happenstance reunion near Breezewood, Pennsylvania.

All three of these fools are contemplating another attempt at this coast-to-coast run, to be undertaken in the late Spring of 2010. Details will be provided as planning progresses, assuming that the parties involved do not come to their senses and abandon this project. The current route is planned to be from Santa Cruz, California to Cape May, New Jersey. Yeah, it’s not the “classic” route, but have you ever tried driving on a freeway near Los Angeles?

So if you have been thinking about an excuse to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, in five or six days, along boring stretches of Interstate highway, and experience the shock of paying for 6000 miles worth of gasoline, please pencil in the first two weeks of June (6 through 12, just for the main event) for the vacation (ha!) of a lifetime.

T.A. (Alan) Chafin — the same guy responsible for plotting Convoy 2000 — is once again planning the route. Contact him if you might be interested in joining us in this endeavor. Convoy 2KX is expected to take place during the first weeks of June.

The Plan

In Convoy 2000, ten years ago, the route that we drove was essentially the same route that was described in the song “Convoy”. This time we’re taking a different path.

June 6: We depart our starting point in Santa Cruz, California. That night, we’ll stop in Rachel, Nevada, home of the famous Little A’Le’Inn, and the doorway to Area 51.

June 7: saddle up and ride to Ouray, Colorado, the home of the person responsible for C.W. McCall, Bill Fries!

June 8: a day in Ouray. Maybe you can drive the Black Bear Road. And, if we can persuade him, dinner with The Man himself.

June 9: back on the road, heading to Dodge City, Kansas.

June 10 through 12: pedals to the metal as we head east to the Jersey shore, crossing the finish line in Wildwood, a resort town on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Thoughts to Think

You may not want to drive from your home to Santa Cruz, or drive home from Wildwood. Consider flying to Santa Cruz, renting a car, driving to Wildwood, then flying home. There are many airports near these cities.

Wildwood is a resort town. Think about taking a few days off to lie in sun.

Our stops along the way will be planned. We’ll make allowances for plenty of rest, refuel, food, and motels.

Bring your cell phone; and if you have one, a CB radio. We’ll have a lot of time to talk on those long drives.

About “2KX”

Remember Y2K, the alledged apocalyptic doom for computer-based devices? The abbreviation “Y2K” comprised “Y” for “year”, plus the SI unit prefix “k”, meaning 1000; “2k” would indicate a value of 2000. Therefore, “Y2K” represents “Year 2000”.

Playing on that abbreviation, and mixing the Roman numeral “X” (for 10), “2KX” equals “2010”. Hence the name for this journey, “Convoy 2KX”.

One nitpick: the abbreviation for ‘kilo’ should always be ‘k’ (lowercase). There is no SI prefix of ‘K’ (uppercase).