*By Karen*
In Loudonville, Ohio, to be exact. Because Loudonville, is the town where all Flxible buses were made, back in the day. So it seems to be the obvious place to hold the bi-annual rally, where Flxible owners bring their buses to share progress, talk shop, and learn new conversion techniques.
Unfortunately, Ben’s bus wasn’t quite ready for the rally, so we came in the current rig. The sheer amount of knowledge available at this event was mind-boggling. There were people there who knew so much about this kind of bus conversion, and so much about the history of the brand, that Ben was completely in “THE ZONE.” He got so much new info and connections for the current project.
Another standard event at these rallies is the selection of all the new organization officers, and I must say that upon leaving Loudonville, we drove out as the official Web Masters of the Flxible Owners Group.
This would be a good time to recap on the current vintage bus project. Ben’s Flxible Starliner is still in California, where the engine and transmission are getting completely reworked and updated. The paint job will probably come next. And the extremely high-tech method he used for choosing the paint color was… wait for it… Solo Cup Red. Yup, you got it. Ya know those red plastic cups everyone uses at parties? That will be the EXACT color of the vintage bus. Anyway, after the paint, will come the interior. More updates on that as things progress, of course!
So on the last day of the rally, it follows tradition that all of the Flxibles line up in downtown Loudonville (a town frozen in time) and parade down Main Street, for all the locals to enjoy. All of the residents of this town either have friends or family who have worked at the plant, or have worked at the plant themselves. They line up their lawn chairs to watch all the old Flexies roll by, and I admit, it was quite a sight to see!
