Okay, here’s a recipe for a good time. First, dust off that pile you call a hot rod that sits in the garage. Second, call up a few good friends with equally “spirited” old cars and tell ’em to meet you at a predetermined place and time. Third, jump in those old jalopies and scoot from point A to point B. Oh yeah, we forgot the most important component: have a ball while you’re at it.
Mark Morton and Hop Up magazine have done that very thing for the better part of the past decade, ostensibly under the Hop Up River City Reliability Run as of late. It’s in the spirit of the old Pasadena Roadster Club Reliability Runs of the ’40s and early-’50s–just the era of Hop Up’s first incarnation as one of the premiere hot rod and custom magazines of the era.
This year ’round, though, Hop Up did the show a little differently than in the past. First off, we should acknowledge that the Reliability Run didn’t, well, run last year. It’s understandable, really; what began as a fun gig for a few close friends suddenly eclipsed the century mark in 2000 as far as attendance went. This year, though, Morty et al stuck it out and braved a larger-than-ever event: 111 entries. The participants also met up in Orange instead of Riverside, a central spot that’s certainly easier on the L.A. and San Fernando Valley folk.
We hit the road at the stroke of 9 a.m. for the back roads. We buzzed through the rather twisty Silverado Canyon area, popped back up around Mission Viejo, then jumped onto one of our infamous new (and usually vacant) toll roads. About San Juan Capistrano way, we survived the Ortega Highway for a spell into Lake Elsinore. We took a much welcomed halfway break, but had to improvise on bathrooms. After all, 110 cars’ worth of occupants can hold enough OJ and donuts to gridlock a two-stall joint tighter than a turnpike on Turkey day. It’s one of the incidents that render a story colorful.
Back on the road, we took Tonner Canyon road alongside Interstate 15 northbound. Tonner’s a neat jam since it’s probably the last stretch of underdeveloped land in the Southern California area that’s remotely interesting. It was nice to see the small brooks and eucalyptus trees before the developers landscape the area for condos.
Tonner Canyon eventually dropped us off at Riverside’s backside. The trip through River City runs along orange groves and tree-lined avenues we’d assumed long gone. Before we knew it, we pulled into Hop Up’s impromptu show headquarters. What seemed like a blur and a rest stop turned out to be 100 miles. Oh well, they can’t last forever.
As the buzz wears off, it becomes obvious: gigs like these really put the spice back into the car world. So many times we work our asses off to get something just right, and about the only thing we do with the fruits of our labor is sit on lawn chairs and look at them.
Hop Up’s River City Reliability Run is so much more than just a car-oriented event, it’s a celebration of our automotive heritage, skills, and dedication. In an era where people look for the things that ground them, it’s a viable expression. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: more of us need to copy this model. It’s what keeps the vitality high and the interests up. It’s also the best way to indoctrinate the unsaved.
So next year, instead of anticipating the next run, why not organize it? After all, all it takes is a few neat cars, a few good friends, and somewhere to go.