Taking Life for a Joy Ride

In the garage & behind the wheel with Blake & Landon Bertling

There’s nothing quite like the freedom of the open road. Driving with no destination, windows down, and radio on, can bring a sense of serenity and peace of mind to drivers.

Weekends are, without question, the most popular time for gearheads to hit the road with their favorite cars, and Guadalupe County local Blake Bertling is no different. He got into cars when just a teenager, and with the help of his family, has been growing his collection ever since.

“Whenever I was in like ninth grade, Motor Trend magazine came out with the Dodge Viper,” Blake said. “It was red at the time, convertible only. And I said, ‘Man, I want to get one of these one day.’ Well, of course, you know, ninth grade, couldn’t afford it. So, whenever I started my business and started working, I bought a Corvette convertible. And my brother was at Bluebonnet getting his truck serviced and he said, ‘Hey, there’s a viper over here, you need to come look at it. It’s pretty awesome.’ So I drove over there. Well, I had my friend who was the president of First Commercial Bank with me, and he said, ‘Why don’t you buy it?’ And I was like, ‘should I?’ and he was like, ‘do it. You only live once.’ So it was like, ‘alright,’ and then that started my collection — that blue Dodge Viper.”

When the Viper pulls out of the garage, the sun highlights its swooping lines and sleek blue paint, but the real wow factor is the sound. When Blake gives it gas, she rips into a rumbling roar. You can feel as much as you hear.

Blake’s son, Landon, shares a love of cars with his dad and said that it was his suggestion that truly clinched the deal on the beloved Lambo.

“First, he wanted to get a purple one, and it looked more like the Barracuda,” Landon said. “So I told him, ‘well, you should get a Lambo that truly looks like a Lambo if you really want a Lambo. Look for one of those ones that are wider than real skinny,’ and he found that one. He said how’s this one, and I said that one’s really nice.”

While Dodge may be the car that started the collection, Blake’s favorite is something a little more luxurious –– a Lamborghini. But the Lambo isn’t the only luxury piece in his collection. He recently added an Infinity stretch limo to the mix.

“We were going to the journey concert,” he said. “And we were going to rent a limo. We couldn’t find one to rent. So then I was like, ‘I’m gonna see if I can find one to buy,’ so I bought it. Then David (my friend) got the suite at the ATT Center, and I provided the transportation. It’s just a fun thing because it’s got a really good sound system, and it’s got alligator skin seats and a light show in it. So on the weekends, if people don’t want to drink and drive –– I don’t drink. I haven’t drunk in 19 years, so that’s my fun. I’ll haul people around and keep them from being out on the streets drinking and possibly killing someone.”

That decision to stop drinking came after a moment in the Bertling’s lives that changed everything. In 2016, a driver fell asleep at the wheel, striking the car carrying Landon, his siblings Christian and Bethany, along with their grandmother Ann. Bethany and Ann were killed in the accident, while Landon and Christian were left with scars and anxiety to overcome.

Learning to drive with his dad has helped, and maintaining the car Bethany loved most helps keep her memory alive.

“She would always say that the blue car will be Landon’s –– the Viper. She goes, ‘I want the Corvette the black Corvette.’ I got a son that’s blind, so she said, ‘we’ll give Christian the Yellow Taxi because he can’t see anyway!” That’s the ugliest one,’ but it’s the most collectible car out of all really 68 Roadrunners. So basically, that’s why I still have that Corvette because it would have been her car and she’s been gone eight years now.”

The cars in the garage help provide a space for Blake and Landon to bond as father and son, while also working with their hands and building something new. From installing roll cages to rockers and lifts, they’ve done it all to customize the driving experience in each car. No two drive the same, and Blake can always find a car to fit how he’s feeling.

“I like the way each one of them drive,” he said. “Every one of them has a different feel. So you can hop in the Viper, and it drives different, feels different, and handles different than the other cars. So like your moods change –– one day, I feel like, man, it’s a Lamborghini kind of day. The next day, maybe I really want to spin the tires today because I’m frustrated, so I’ll drive the Viper. I don’t know, sometimes you wake up and you feel like today’s a day to ride a motorcycle. I’ve got a little slingshot motorcycle that I drive around sometimes if you want to be open and free air. I was dirt poor growing up, so I pinch myself sometimes like, man, is this really, you? This shouldn’t be me. You know, this ain’t me.”

And as Landon inches ever closer to the coveted sixteen-year birthday mark, he’s already planning on starting a collection of his own. He’s thinking something fast. And while he decides what his perfect first car should be, Blake is focused on starting a new hobby –– drag racing.

Just outside his multi-car garage sits a roughed-up speedster with Hoosier brand racing tires. In the mid-day sun, the tires look flat and deflated but drag fans know that changes once the driver heats them up, allowing for better grip on take-off.

“I think we’re fixing to get into it,” Blake said. “That’s why I bought it. Probably Colby, who works for me, will drive. He wants to drive it. He said, ‘Man, I said, we ought to start going to Temple.’ So I said, let’s go.”

With tire smoke and speed on the horizon, Blake and Landon remain enthusiastic about their projects. They focus on the road ahead while keeping cherished memories visible in the rear-view mirror, a steady reminder to create happy moments one joy ride at a time.