The Legend-News

Sunday, 2010 June 6 : Volume 13, Number 4

What We Got Here

Happy Convoy Day!
18 Wheels Singing
Novels by Tom Claffey
Convoy 2KX Update

Happy Convoy Day!

Thirty-five years ago, with the dark of the moon, the mighty Convoy began.

Ten years ago, Convoy 2000 started near Los Angeles, recreating that epic journey.

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the original metal road rage, a protest against the arbitrary imposition of the 55-miles-per-hour speed limit on the highways of the U.S. of A.

Men and women, hauling loads for hundreds and thousands of miles, bringing millions of needed products to the towns and cities of America: thank you for all that you’ve done.

(And, later this year, Convoy 2KX!. Read the update, below.)

18 Wheels Singing

You probably have, at least, a copy of the original C.W. McCall version of “Convoy”. If you don’t, what’s your excuse? Buy a copy!

You can find the original version on either of two compilation albums, C.W. McCall’s Greatest Hits and The Best of C.W. McCall.

Other artists have also covered this song, the most recent being Colt Ford on his new album, Chicken and Biscuits. His version is a “hick-hop” reinterpretation, but don’t worry: it’s good!

And if you’re in the mood for parody, check out “Convoy GB” by Laurie Lingo and the Dipsticks.

Novels by Tom Claffey

Tom Claffey’s new novel, Searching for C.W. McCall, is available at Amazon.com, or directly from the publisher, ABQ Press .

And if you’ve got a Kindle e-book reader, Tom’s last three novels, 8-Ball, Corner Pocket, Hoot ‘N’ Holler, and Searching for C.W. McCall will soon be available from Amazon.

Books by Tom Claffey:

Convoy 2KX Update

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.

The Legend-News is published randomly by TechRen Enterprises, thrilling audiences for over a decade. Copyright 2010 TechRen Enterprises. Send subscription requests, unsubscribe demands, complaints, kudos, suggestions, news and other contributions to Legend-News@cw-mccall.com. Almost everything in The Legend-News has been written by Ed. Floden, except for the stuff that he blames on someone else. “It’s been a long time since I was a pony.”