Yes, fans, time for another installment of the annual tradition: Cruise the Parade Route. Always fun, but this year was particularly auspicious, a hopeful harbinger of the year to come.
Yes, the usual suspects showed up with some really nice machinery, and didn't seem at all worried that the still wet pavement would dirty their Prides and Joys. (I skipped the start of the Horseless Carriage Drive the morning before, it was, as the Irish say, pissing rain--I'm sure the hard core drivers were out, but I'm getting older and at least minimally wiser)
The photos below will give you an idea. Anyway, on to our propitious harbinger.
At about Rosemead Blvd, some "Adam Henry" in a tricked out Bimmer (what else?) BLAST past our sedatly cruising Citroen, cut-out exhaust fully open and blasting away. Now, normally, dear constant reader, that would not bother me. I don't mind loud exhaust. THIS clown however, as is typical with so many of his ilk, not satisfied with his screaming exhaust note, revved it up at EVERY intersection, followed by a burn out. EVERY. DAMN. INTERSECTON.
Now, at 9am or so, there's hardly anyone about, the parade goers have mostly not arrived and the parade route doesn't go this far east on Colorado. So, just who is he trying to impress? Certainly not us Cruisers. We all know that the fastest way to get something like this shut down is to behave like a dick.
This continues all along Colorado, and gets especially loud past Lake Ave. where the tall buildings begin and the echo effect is most pronounced. The only thing he didn't do was try a donut mid-intersection. I'm sure he thought about it.
Now, I have a quiz question for you. Do you have ANY idea of the most heavily policed area of SoCal on the day prior to the Rose Parade and Parade Day itself? Can you imagine something like 80% of all SoCal police agencies congregating along a singel 5 mile ribbon of city streets, just LOOKING for miscreants (and terrorists--and using all the tech that the NSA can bring to bear), but, as it's still early and there's no real crowd, they are all a bit bored, eating donuts and sipping bad coffeee.
And along comes Adam Henry, Bimmer Driver Extrodinaire. At about Fair Oaks (Ground Zero for the Parade), JUSTICE PREVAILS! Yep, he gets his sorry ass pulled over by a raft of un-marked cops and he pulls over next to a trio of PPD Cycle Cops.
Oh, Joy! Oh, Rapture! Oh, Rapture! Oh, Bliss! HIS SORRY ASS IS BUSTED! BIG TIME!
At best, he's given a Fix-it Ticket that say he must drive home or to a repair shop to have all those expensive modifications set back to stock, at worst..."Well, sir, you've modified the smog equipment and the car sits too low, etc. etc. and what you did was repeated Exhibition of Speed, so we're gonna impound your car AND SEND IT TO THE CRUSHER!"
Yes, Dear Readers, it's gotta be a good year if it starts this way!
Happy New Year to all!
