Day One-The Fleetwood Mac-DownMarch 4, 2002Early Monday morning, we arrived at A'PEXi USA headquarters to greet our fellow tag-a-longs, the APEX and Team Bergenholtz race crews: Jensen Oda, head wrench and driver for the A'PEX EK Civic; Lanny "Kid Sensation" Higa, all the way from Hawaii in a duffel bag to help out the two race crews; Naoto Negishi, technician from Dynamic Autosports and Ron Bergenholtz's personal masseuse; and Mr. Bergenholtz himself. Following the spectacle of meeting and greeting people at the crack of dawn, we sardined ourselves into the trailer and made way to the journey's starting point, Irvine Mazda. Somewhere between the 55 freeway and the Lake Forest Drive exit somebody started singing, "Rollin' Wit da Homies."
Rollcall at Irvine Mazda was at 6:00 a.m. In spite of this god-awful time slot, other fellow Trekkers were already present and looked surprisingly chipper. We all fell out of Ron's truck and helped ourselves to the free Krispy Kreme(tm) doughnuts and massive amounts of Red Bull(tm). The folks over at Red Bull were kind enough to promise to have a street team meet us at every single, morning wake-up call throughout the trip, ensuring our eyes would be wired open on the drive through the vast empty fields. Mazda, official sponsor of the Trek 2 Texas, was kind enough to donate several new Protg 5 wagons and an MPV minivan, but we lucked out-yep, the 2NR staff was bling-blinging in the Fleetwood-sponsored motor home. That's 0 to 60 mph in 35 sec., 3-min. 1/4-mile times, true in-car entertainment, a shower and a toilet. No rest stops for us; rest stops are the bathhouses of the '90s!
As we loaded up, Larry Saavedra, our Internet and online specialist, informed us one of the drivers backed out at the last second and that we would be piloting the Ford-sponsored Expedition for the first leg of the trip. We winced at first, thinking of all the fun we wouldn't be having in the RV, but then we realized the Expedition was well equipped with a VCR and flip-down television. We checked our respective VHS tape collections and agreed to drive all the way to our first official stop: Earnhardt Mazda in Chandler, Ariz. Actually, our first stop was a rest stop for lunch in a town whose name I can't even remember. The place was called Steaks and Cakes, but none of us were so bold as to actually order a steak or a cake. It was there we decided to mutiny and take control of the RV, abandoning the Expedition to its own devices. We transferred our stuff and we were on the road again, 2NR style.
Technical editor Gary didn't waste any time showing off his fabrication skills. Before the Fleetwood even reached cruising altitude, Gary had created a set of four matching cup holders so our passengers would be immune to the very poor driving skills of feature editor Arnold. Editor Jason wasn't taking part in the festivities, though; even with the change in time zones and the fact he hadn't driven a lick, Jason decided to test the merits of the RV's bouncy bed for a few hours.
Since there wasn't a sign on the road letting us know we were in fact crossing a time zone, we neglected to check our watches and arrived at Earnhardt Mazda almost an hour late. It was worth it, however, because the first things to catch our eyes as we rolled through the gates were the familiar white and orange uniforms adorning the Hooters Street Team. Wake up, Jason-we're here.
We parked the RV and helped ourselves to the free hot wings and celery sticks, not exactly the healthiest meal, but what the hell-they were damn good. So good, in fact, that we weren't able to take as many pictures as we should have. People flocked to the RV as our marketing guys gave away a bunch of free stuff. Even we couldn't resist taking a few of our own 2NR tees for safekeeping. It looked like everyone had a good time, but it was time for us to hit the road and get a place to stay for the night.
High Point : Hooters-sponsored buffalo wings, celery sticks and hooters