The Coldest Cannonball Run Record. On Record.
An icepick in the face of commoditized gravitas.
“Absolutely terrible.”
“The dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”
“It’s Stalingrad. On wheels.”
These are just a few of the things my teammate Zach Bowman and I said to each other a little over a year ago, on what has to be the craziest, bravest, and coldest thing I’ve ever done: 2823 miles, non-stop except for gas, in an open-wheeled, wooden-framed, convertible 2014 Morgan 3-wheeler.
Why? To set — to the best of my knowledge — the first (and possibly last) 3-wheeled “Cannonball Run” record ever, from New York City to Redondo Beach, California.
It rained. It snowed. My catheter froze. (Don't worry, it was external.) Also, it tugged. Every time it caught on something underneath the car. Why? Because I ran the tube down my leg and through a whole we'd drilled through the metal floor of the Morgan.
Bowman chose not to use one. I’m still not sure which one of us was dumber.
Read The Story
The full story is told in multiple parts. I recommend starting with Bowman’s hilarious play-by-play: I Set the L.A. to N.Y. record in a Morgan 3-Wheeler, then following up with my brilliant philosophical treatise on why, You Are All Cowards: Why The Morgan 3-Wheeled Cannonball Record Matters.
Watch The Story
Need some proof that this all happened? We’ve got some video for you: Part 1 goes Behind The Scenes before departure, part 2 follows us cross country, and part 3 takes us into New York city and across the finish line.
A year later, I still can’t believe we did it, let alone tried. But I’m tired. And still not fully recovered.
Are you thinking of giving this a shot in a Polaris Slingshot? How about a Vanderhall Laguna? If so, please let me know. I’ve got some advice for you.
Alex Roy, entrepreneur, President of Europe By Car, Editor-at-Large for The Drive, and author of The Driver, set the 2007 Transcontinental “Cannonball Run” Record in a BMW M5 in 31 hours & 4 minutes, and has set multiple "Cannonball" endurance driving records in Europe & the United States in the EV, 3-wheeler & Semi-Autonomous Classes. You may follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
