If you'd told us when we started this shindig four years ago that our numbers would have been as high as they are now, I would have personally told you, "No way." Back in the day, I figured we might get an average of 30 cars; to me, that always seemed like a lot of vehicular motivation. Thirty cars can stretch a half mile, 30 cars can get really, really lost in a hurry (just ask those 10 cars that followed the CJ Pony Parts employee almost all the way home). Well, this year we've blown past that number in every show. The three we're going to revisit this month even accomplished it with a nasty forecast for bad weather.
Let me tell you, nothing can humble you like a Pony Trail-I know. To have several dozen cars following your directions as well as your hindquarters is a daunting task. Keeping the Trail fun is even harder. After being trapped inside a Mustang for two hours, you have to be either a) pretty funny or b) throwing money out the window. We try to keep the ambience light and enjoyable. We're also, as of this writing, working on the Retread T-shirts. I can't say right now that we'll have them ready this year, but I'll say that every effort is being made to produce these, much sought-after, shirts.
111 Cars!
Ocala, Florida
Silver Springs Show
| Interesting Points |
| * Lazarus' first and only run as Trail boss | as of this writing |
| * Existing video that will be online by the time | this hits the press |
| * Rain on Friday, beautiful on Saturday and | Sunday |
| * 900 Fords in one place at Silver Springs | on both days |
Ocala was a shock-bottom line. We never anticipated the number of cars we had. We figured on our usual run of 50. Well, we were so wrong that we nearly filled the National Parts Depot parking lot to capacity with 99-plus Fords. The rest of the crew joined up in Dunellon, Florida, to make our grand total 111. Though good, it wasn't enough to unseat The Kings of Cruise in Seattle, but more on that next month.
Weather was good, mediocre, and finally rainy. This was a bad omen for the rest of our Trails up to the Rocky Mountain Roundup. It drizzled on the Lazarus Project as we drove back to Ocala and the Silver Springs show site (hey, the wipers work!). However, we were happy the Trail had gone off with only a few glitches-such as the fact that the restaurants in Cedar Key were all filled up and several folks followed me to a Stop and Shop; all I as after was a Snickers and a Mountain Dew. Since this is an annual show and Trail, you should make a point to visit in January 2002. Maybe this year we can beat those folks up in Seattle.
62 Cars!
Macon, Georgia
Macon Cherry Blossom Festival
Interesting Points
* Riding in Kevin Coleman's modified '71 Mach 1
* Andersonville Prison-a sad but awesome place
* Rain on Saturday and Sunday
Macon is our only weekend Trail and the weather forecaster couldn't have gut-kicked us any harder had he tried. Projected weather for the post show Trail on Sunday was rain and chilly conditions. I figured this Trail would be a blow-folks would just stay home rather than risk blechy roads and cold conditions. Boy, was I wrong. In fact, we almost didn't have enough room at Mustang Central in Byron, Georgia, for all the Mustangs. As we counted, the numbers just got better. In the end, we had 62 cars lined up and ready to go-awesome. Everyone was there to have a good time and no one was interested in canceling-even though I tried to give them an out.
John Douglas and his wife,...
John Douglas and his wife, Sue, pose with their rare R-code Mach at the show on Saturday.
Yeah, I coulda took him, but...
Yeah, I coulda took him, but I was trying to maintain decorum...Riiiight.
Our own little "erotica" car...
Our own little "erotica" car show. Why, we even drew guests out of their hotel rooms here!
Yes, we stopped here. No,...
Yes, we stopped here. No, we didn't go inside.
The parking lot is wet for...
The parking lot is wet for a reason: rain. Boy, how it did rain.