2017 Meets

[vdeane]

Memphis sounds interesting.  I suppose the meet I'm most curious about that this point is Milwaukee; we haven't heard anything since it was posted and it doesn't have a date range yet.  It's one of the ones I'm looking at when planning my long-range trips for this year.

[codyg1985]

Updated list to reflect official date for Adirondacks Meet and new events for Saratoga Springs and the Jefferson Highway Conference in Denison, TX.

[hbelkins]

I am tentatively planning, weather permitting, to go to West Virginia next weekend to scout a New River Gorge Bridge/Beckley area meet. I'm tentatively looking at March 25 or April 1 to do this meet if I can find enough access points to the portion of the East Beckley bypass that's under construction to allow us to see it.

Also, I'm giving some thought to doing something centering on the I-69 improvements to the Purchase Parkway. Lunch would probably be at Patti's 1880s Settlement near Land Between The Lakes (famous pork chops; I've never eaten there but have heard great things about it.) Sites would include the I-24 interchange reconstruction, the new diamond interchange that replaced an old toll booth cloverleaf, and the reconstruction at the Mayfield bypass where the Purchase exits itself.

[A.J. Bertin]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

[vdeane]

I'm assuming Pittsburgh isn't happening at this point.

My current list is Mississippi, Southern Adirondacks, Twin Cities, NYC (or Poconos, though I expect it will be NYC), and Ashtabula County.  There is also a compelling case to be made for New River Gorge, which would certainly be scenic, but I'd probably have to choose between that and Mississippi due to money, vacation time, and mileage (especially since I have to buy out my car lease in the next five months).

[Brandon]

Yeah, Pittsburgh would be interesting, but I'll assume it isn't happening at this point.  My list includes Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee (I suppose I should attend my own meet  ), Southern Adirondacks, and the Twin Cities.  I'll have to see about Ashtabula when it is announced.

[hbelkins]

New River Gorge

Weather permitting, I'm going to Beckley next weekend to scout. I already know what the NRG Bridge portion of the tour will entail (but I want to make a slight tweak to the route I drove down into the gorge back in the fall) but I need to find out the best places to access construction of the East Beckley bypass.

Unfortunately there is no good way to access the graded-but-not-paved portion of the Coalfields Expressway beyond the current end of the route, so seeing that won't be an option.

You'd really only lose one vacation day if you came to NRG. It's an easy day's drive from Albany (88-81-80-99/220-68-79-19 is probably the route I'd use, although Google says 9:30 via the Thruway/287/78/81/etc.) so could drive down on Friday, do the meet on Saturday, and drive home on Sunday.

[hbelkins]

Who'd be hosting Pittsburgh?

[CanesFan27]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

[noelbotevera]

My list is New River Gorge or bust. I'm interested in NYC, which is closer, but I haven't explored much of West Virginia yet. It's five hours away from me, so I bet I can do this within a weekend. I'll need to convince my dad.

Another conflict I'm having is that I might be going out to Cedar Point/Disney World with a classmate in summertime (June to be exact), so I'd probably need three weeks of leeway between the meet and that trip. My brother is also going off to college, so late spring and early summer are off the table.

[vdeane]

New River Gorge

Weather permitting, I'm going to Beckley next weekend to scout. I already know what the NRG Bridge portion of the tour will entail (but I want to make a slight tweak to the route I drove down into the gorge back in the fall) but I need to find out the best places to access construction of the East Beckley bypass.

Unfortunately there is no good way to access the graded-but-not-paved portion of the Coalfields Expressway beyond the current end of the route, so seeing that won't be an option.

You'd really only lose one vacation day if you came to NRG. It's an easy day's drive from Albany (88-81-80-99/220-68-79-19 is probably the route I'd use, although Google says 9:30 via the Thruway/287/78/81/etc.) so could drive down on Friday, do the meet on Saturday, and drive home on Sunday.

There's still hotel costs/mileage; I have to worry about buying out my car lease, so I don't want to overdo it (probably end of April, since I want to have it bought out before driving to Mississippi).  Plus I tend to clinch new stuff when driving to meets (and don't have the energy to drive for 9.5 hours and then go to work the next day).  That said, if the meet were in the fall, I'd be extremely likely to go, since it interests me more than Ashtabula County (which I'm interested in mainly as an excuse to clinch some stuff in western NY).  The stuff I'd be likely to clinch would also fill in some gaps from the trip to/from Mississippi.

Of course, I might just decide that New River Gorge is more sane than doing both Mississippi and Twin Cities in the same year, though I'd see fewer new states that way.

[hbelkins]

There are issues with doing NRG in the fall. First is the crowds that come to see the foliage, and the rafters who take advantage of water releases from dams to enjoy the higher water levels in the New and Gauley rivers. This is prime tourist season in the area, and hotel rates often reflect that. And there's the necessity to work around Bridge Day.

Then there's the issue of visibility. It's best after all the leaves have fallen, which usually doesn't happen until very late October or later. And trying to do something after that is made more difficult by the time change, when you lose an hour of daylight in the afternoon.

Plus, I don't know when the next segment of the East Beckley Bypass will be completed. When I was last there, back in the fall, it appeared that the base coat of asphalt was in place north of WV 41, and signage had been installed. If that project gets finished during the summer, that's one less thing to see after the bridge in what is an already-limited menu.

So spring is the best option, and I'm leaning toward either March 25 or April 1, possibly April 8. April 16 is out of the question, as that's Easter weekend, and the following weekend is also out as I have work obligations both Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd. After that, you're getting to the point where things are starting to leaf out and that hampers visibility, and it gets closer to other announced meet dates.

[Duke87]

There's still hotel costs/mileage; I have to worry about buying out my car lease, so I don't want to overdo it

I would check the terms of your lease agreement. From what I've been told there are no penalties for going over the allotted mileage if you buy the car when the lease is up.

[vdeane]

Pretty sure that's the case.  Even so, I prefer to not go too overboard with stuff in advance of the buyout.  I'm hoping to buy the lease out outright, instead of taking out a loan, and I don't think I could do that with both meets.  I do remember I was originally intending to do New River Gorge when the meets were discussed last fall, so there's that.  Plus there's the possibility of Memphis sometime in the next couple years, and if that meet happens, I could see many of the states I would have seen in a Mississippi meet.  And I've traditionally (at least since living in Albany) taken some kind of multi-day roadtrip in the March/April timeframe, and it would be nice to continue that tradition.  I guess I'm leaning to New River Gorge at the moment.

[Alps]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

I've been trying to make a Pittsbu meet happen for a few years now. I've poked people but they haven't really activated. I don't have enough ground knowledge to make it happen.

[cl94]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

I've been trying to make a Pittsbu meet happen for a few years now. I've poked people but they haven't really activated. I don't have enough ground knowledge to make it happen.

Is there anyone out that way who could do some scouting for us? I'd love one, but I'm too far away to do anything about it.

[74/171FAN]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

I've been trying to make a Pittsbu meet happen for a few years now. I've poked people but they haven't really activated. I don't have enough ground knowledge to make it happen.

At this point, I am in the same boat as you on this one.  I still have not been west of Bedford.

[CanesFan27]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

I've been trying to make a Pittsbu meet happen for a few years now. I've poked people but they haven't really activated. I don't have enough ground knowledge to make it happen.

Is there anyone out that way who could do some scouting for us? I'd love one, but I'm too far away to do anything about it.

It took me fifteen minutes to give two sample itineraries in that thread.  With kids I can't just go up and say hey I am going home for a weekend, let's have a meet like i used to 10-15 years ago.

[hbelkins]

I'm not really sure who in that area would be able to, and interested in, scouting a Pittsburgh meet. First person who comes to my mind is Brian Powell (known as bitmapped here) in Morgantown, WV, but he might not be interested. Ed Szuba is now an OTR truck driver and rarely gets any family time when he's home, so he's not a possibility.

It took me fifteen minutes to give two sample itineraries in that thread.  With kids I can't just go up and say hey I am going home for a weekend, let's have a meet like i used to 10-15 years ago.

It's easy to throw together a sample itinerary, but it takes some scouting to make sure things are in good order. If you're looking at construction projects, things on the ground can change rapidly. I'd scouted the Charleston, WV meet at least three times, including once just a handful of weeks prior to the meet. Turns out things had changed on the US 35 construction project between my last scouting trip and meet day, and the crews were working on Saturday to get the road ready to open the next week.

We've had some bad results with people hosting meets in areas with which they're not intimately familiar.

[CanesFan27]

I'm not really sure who in that area would be able to, and interested in, scouting a Pittsburgh meet. First person who comes to my mind is Brian Powell (known as bitmapped here) in Morgantown, WV, but he might not be interested. Ed Szuba is now an OTR truck driver and rarely gets any family time when he's home, so he's not a possibility.

It took me fifteen minutes to give two sample itineraries in that thread.  With kids I can't just go up and say hey I am going home for a weekend, let's have a meet like i used to 10-15 years ago.

It's easy to throw together a sample itinerary, but it takes some scouting to make sure things are in good order. If you're looking at construction projects, things on the ground can change rapidly. I'd scouted the Charleston, WV meet at least three times, including once just a handful of weeks prior to the meet. Turns out things had changed on the US 35 construction project between my last scouting trip and meet day, and the crews were working on Saturday to get the road ready to open the next week.

We've had some bad results with people hosting meets in areas with which they're not intimately familiar.

Scouting for a meet - now there's a No Crap! The Magazine exclusive.

The itineraries I gave were samples thrown out there for someone to have a meet and scout for themselves. 

[noelbotevera]

At this point it's looking like I'm definitely attending at least three road meets this year. I'm definitely on for Jackson/Vicksburg, Kankakee, and Twin Cities.

If Doug hosts Ashtabula County OH in the fall (he mentioned that as a possible time frame on Facebook), I will definitely try to attend that. Someone (I think David Feryance) talked about the possibility of a Milwaukee meet - which I would be interested in also. However, the amount of travel it's looking like I'll do this year is reaching a limit - so I'm not sure I'd be able to attend Milwaukee given these other meets and a couple of trips that my husband and I will be taking this summer.

I was very interested in the Pittsburgh meet that someone mentioned several months ago, but I've heard nothing about that, so that looks like an unlikely possibility at this point. Has anyone heard anything recently about Pittsburgh, or is it safe to assume that's off the table now?

*shakes my head* yall need to go back and read.  There was never talk of one actually happening. Just wish casting by the usual suspects

I've been trying to make a Pittsbu meet happen for a few years now. I've poked people but they haven't really activated. I don't have enough ground knowledge to make it happen.

Is there anyone out that way who could do some scouting for us? I'd love one, but I'm too far away to do anything about it.

I could, but the problem is that we got to pay for a lot of things this year. I'll be able to drive in 2020, so I guess it might happen then...but then again, which 16 year old hosts a road meet?

[hbelkins]

I'm not really sure who in that area would be able to, and interested in, scouting a Pittsburgh meet. First person who comes to my mind is Brian Powell (known as bitmapped here) in Morgantown, WV, but he might not be interested. Ed Szuba is now an OTR truck driver and rarely gets any family time when he's home, so he's not a possibility.

It took me fifteen minutes to give two sample itineraries in that thread.  With kids I can't just go up and say hey I am going home for a weekend, let's have a meet like i used to 10-15 years ago.

It's easy to throw together a sample itinerary, but it takes some scouting to make sure things are in good order. If you're looking at construction projects, things on the ground can change rapidly. I'd scouted the Charleston, WV meet at least three times, including once just a handful of weeks prior to the meet. Turns out things had changed on the US 35 construction project between my last scouting trip and meet day, and the crews were working on Saturday to get the road ready to open the next week.

We've had some bad results with people hosting meets in areas with which they're not intimately familiar.

Scouting for a meet - now there's a No Crap! The Magazine exclusive.

The itineraries I gave were samples thrown out there for someone to have a meet and scout for themselves.

That was kinda my point, although perhaps clumsily expressed. It will still take someone in the area to go scout the area and be able to do so fairly close to the meeting date to ensure the itinerary is good, especially since so many hosts now prepare routes to ensure no one gets lost and people find their way from one stop to the next. And the issue with doing something in Pittsburgh or SWPA in general seems to be finding someone to do it.

[noelbotevera]

Update for me: I can go to New River Gorge, but this disqualifies me to going to Cedar Point/Walt Disney World (with a classmate).

I'm siding with New River Gorge, as I can do CP/WDW whenever I want. I am still on the fence between the three, because all three I've never been to before. Besides, CP/WDW may not happen because of finance problems my classmate's family has (college debt, loans, mortgage, the usual).

If there's a pre meet, I'd say I can attend. My route to get to NRG involves me going through NRG itself (81-70-68 (clinched! and i see the sidling hill cut!) 79-US 19). I'm not sure if I should take Corridor H or I-68 to I-79, because I haven't seen the cut, but Corridor H is new and is also very scenic. I haven't seen both.

Way back is simple, I-64 to I-81. Only reason is to stop by White Sulphur Springs and check out the Greenbrier fallout shelter. I've heard that I-64 and I-81 in western parts of VA is scenic, so bonus points I guess?

[Alps]

Update for me: I can go to New River Gorge, but this disqualifies me to going to Cedar Point/Walt Disney World (with a classmate).

I'm siding with New River Gorge, as I can do CP/WDW whenever I want. I am still on the fence between the three, because all three I've never been to before. Besides, CP/WDW may not happen because of finance problems my classmate's family has (college debt, loans, mortgage, the usual).

If there's a pre meet, I'd say I can attend. My route to get to NRG involves me going through NRG itself (81-70-68 (clinched! and i see the sidling hill cut!) 79-US 19). I'm not sure if I should take Corridor H or I-68 to I-79, because I haven't seen the cut, but Corridor H is new and is also very scenic. I haven't seen both.

Way back is simple, I-64 to I-81. Only reason is to stop by White Sulphur Springs and check out the Greenbrier fallout shelter. I've heard that I-64 and I-81 in western parts of VA is scenic, so bonus points I guess?

Do whatever you want. There's no reason to tell us about it. Just let meet hosts know if you're going or not.

[dgolub]

If there's a pre meet, I'd say I can attend. My route to get to NRG involves me going through NRG itself (81-70-68 (clinched! and i see the sidling hill cut!) 79-US 19). I'm not sure if I should take Corridor H or I-68 to I-79, because I haven't seen the cut, but Corridor H is new and is also very scenic. I haven't seen both.

At the Corridor H Road Meet last year, we clinched Corridor H going west and then came back east via the Maryland portion of I-68.  Both were very scenic, so whichever you do I don't think you'll be disappointed.  That said, I'm inclined to think that Corridor H is the more spectacular of the two.  If you want to preview what's in store for you, I have the entire length of Corridor H photologged on my web site.  Unfortunately, the I-68 photos only cover the easternmost few miles because it was raining for the rest of the trip that day.