Larger vs. smaller crowds at road meets - any thoughts/preferences?

[signalman]

I like smaller crowds at road meets (granted that I've only been to two)...

This is a fascinating position to have considering that you've only attended some of the largest gatherings on record. Day 2 of Philly would have been your small meet.

[hbelkins]

Wearing masks to protect others from a deadly contagious disease, amirite?

Nope.

[SSOWorld]

Makes me wonder if someday there'd be a "roadgeek convention" rather than tour meet.  Not sure who we'd be able to get to speak...

I know of one person for sure who would have no problems speaking, he is a big time toast master guy, talking about Steve "The Georgia Road geek" Williams. 

I must commemorate Dam for providing hydroelectric power. (not my idea btw)

[Laura]

I think there's room for all shapes and sizes of meets in our community. There's pros and cons to large and small meets, and attendance is going to vary depending on geography, too!

Last year I hosted a 10 person meet in Lynchburg, VA and earlier this year a 20 person meet in Harford County, MD for the county's 250th anniversary celebration, and I greatly enjoyed both. I realize that my family of 3 roadgeeks means that we can meet up with one other person and it's a 4 person meet, lol. On the flip side, I loved Buffalo's almost 40 person meet because of the wide variety of folks all being together in one space. Everyone has their own perspective on the roads and bridges and sites and I love to be able to interact with a wide variety of people.

I know there's some crossover in this community with the Extra Miler Club. I've been to two of their annual meetings (2017 in Valley Forge, PA and 2022 in Hampton, VA) which not only are larger but also include a portion where everyone goes around and tells the entire group of their travel highlights for the year. When I was went in 2022 I believe there were almost 60 people in attendance. I bring this up to say that large doesn't necessarily mean getting lost in the crowd.

I look forward to seeing who will attend Cumberland (which I just finally announced for real!) this October 21st. I anticipate it being a smaller meet because of geography but maybe the bright leaves will attract additional folks!

[A.J. Bertin]

I know there's some crossover in this community with the Extra Miler Club. I've been to two of their annual meetings (2017 in Valley Forge, PA and 2022 in Hampton, VA) which not only are larger but also include a portion where everyone goes around and tells the entire group of their travel highlights for the year. When I was went in 2022 I believe there were almost 60 people in attendance. I bring this up to say that large doesn't necessarily mean getting lost in the crowd.

It sounds like the Extra Miler Club meetings may have a different format than regular road meets.  Perhaps they are structured in such a way where there's a facilitated discussion in which everyone has the opportunity to share with the group some highlights and insights about their travels.  Maybe everyone hears from everyone?  At regular road meets on the other hand, there's often not a facilitated discussion like that.  I wonder if comparing Extra Miler Club meetings to road meets is like comparing apples to oranges as far as the group discussion is concerned.  Someday I'd love to attend an Extra Miler Club meeting and find out!

I will say, though... when I host my "city meet" gatherings, I do try to go around the table, have everyone introduce themselves, and share with the group what their plans are for their solo exploration around the city for the timeframe between lunch and dinner.  Then, at dinner, it's nice to go around the table and share with the group how our afternoon actually went.  (That's one advantage of smaller groups; these kinds of discussions are easier, and there's a greater chance that everyone will be able to contribute to the discussion.)

At my Providence meet in 2019, we all went around the room at lunch and shared what our plans were for the day.  (Even though we had more than 20 people, that was easy to do because we were all in a private room separate from the rest of the restaurant.)  At dinner though, that wasn't really possible because of the size of the group and how long the table was.  It was impossible for folks at one end of the table to be part of any conversation with folks at the other end of the table.

At my Outer Banks meet in 2022, we had eight people at lunch and nine at dinner.  I remember, for sure, going around the table at dinner... but I can't remember whether we had done that at lunch.

At Omaha in 2023, I think we had 13 for lunch and 14 for dinner.  We stood around in a circle outside Runza (after lunch) and everyone shared their plans before we all went our separate ways for our individual tours.  At dinner, the table was too long for us to do that.

[Rothman]

Heh.  Yep, the EMC has its Annual Meeting and it has a formal club structure with elected officers.  So, yes, it's more structured than a typical road meet.

In Buffalo, Dan was able to get everyone's attention, but when introductions started, concerns about disturbing other customers in the restaurant caused them to be too quiet for everyone to hear and it just dissolved back into everyone just chatting at their tables.

All that said, there's little stopping the host from taking charge for a bit, at the meets I've attended.

[A.J. Bertin]

All that said, there's little stopping the host from taking charge for a bit, at the meets I've attended.

Of course... the host usually needs to do that at least once during a meet.  But that definitely doesn't guarantee that an organized discussion among the participants is possible.

[Laura]

Yeah, I think it's worth noting that the Extra Miler Club has a formal structure with dues and takes place in a private room. Both times I went were in a ballroom, so that does make it easier for one person to speak and for 60 people to listen.

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

[74/171FAN]

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

Outer Banks worked easily for me because I could make a plan.  Charlotte would be the same way obviously considering how much I am into doing NC.  Other city meets like Wichita may be more difficult beyond I-235.

[A.J. Bertin]

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

Laura - I'd love to see you (and Mike/Rainee) at one of my city meets sometime!  I've got a very long list of cities that I want to host these meets in, but since I typically only do one per year (I don't really want to do more than one per year - at least not anytime soon), it won't really be possible for me to get to all of them in my lifetime.  But I know for sure that some of these cities are places that regular road meets have been held in before.  I'm glad you like the choose-your-own-adventure idea!

[Rothman]

Yeah, I think it's worth noting that the Extra Miler Club has a formal structure with dues and takes place in a private room. Both times I went were in a ballroom, so that does make it easier for one person to speak and for 60 people to listen.

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

EMC also benefits from a close relationship with the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA).  EMC piggybacks on their convention due to the overlap in membership, which is lessening as more people join EMC (e.g., most recently due to a young TikTok-er highlighting mob-rule).

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Yeah, I think it's worth noting that the Extra Miler Club has a formal structure with dues and takes place in a private room. Both times I went were in a ballroom, so that does make it easier for one person to speak and for 60 people to listen.

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

EMC also benefits from a close relationship with the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA).  EMC piggybacks on their convention due to the overlap in membership, which is lessening as more people join EMC (e.g., most recently due to a young TikTok-er highlighting mob-rule).

I don't believe there has been much overlap between "our variation" of roadgeeking with other structured organizations (Lincoln Highway, Road Map collectors, Extra Miler, etc.) over the decades.
This didn't start with some Tik-Tok producer since Covid.

[tckma]

Yeah, I think it's worth noting that the Extra Miler Club has a formal structure with dues and takes place in a private room. Both times I went were in a ballroom, so that does make it easier for one person to speak and for 60 people to listen.

I really want to make it to one of your city meets over the years, AJ, because of it being a different format from regular meets. I've also wondered if city meets would be good candidates for cities that have already had meets (giving folks the ability to choose their own adventure rather than follow a tour they did five or ten years prior?)

EMC also benefits from a close relationship with the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA).  EMC piggybacks on their convention due to the overlap in membership, which is lessening as more people join EMC (e.g., most recently due to a young TikTok-er highlighting mob-rule).

Yep.  I found out about EMC because I'm an ALPCA member.  EMC's annual meeting is co-located with ALPCA's annual convention.  I popped into their 2019 meeting at the ALPCA Knoxville convention. 

I'd agree about TikTok here; at 44, I feel like I bring the average age of ALPCA members down to about 68 or so.

I know there's some crossover in this community with the Extra Miler Club. I've been to two of their annual meetings (2017 in Valley Forge, PA and 2022 in Hampton, VA) which not only are larger but also include a portion where everyone goes around and tells the entire group of their travel highlights for the year. When I was went in 2022 I believe there were almost 60 people in attendance. I bring this up to say that large doesn't necessarily mean getting lost in the crowd.

Valley Forge was 2018.  I know this only because that was the year I got laid off, and I found a new job about 5 minutes from the ALPCA convention.  In my infinite wisdom, I went to the convention for a few hours during my lunch breaks at work and after work.  I'm sorry I missed bumping into you there -- I didn't go to the EMC meeting until the next year when the convention was held in Knoxville.

As to the topic of this ... um ... topic, I've only attended road meets, never hosted them, and I can count the number I've been to on one hand.  My first one was Corridor H, which I've learned was a pretty large meet.  Golden Spike, another fairly large one.  Philly, again a large one.   I think the smallest meet I've been to was Laura's Harford County meet earlier this year, which was the first time I carpooled.

I'm kind of what I'd call an extroverted introvert -- I like being social and making friends, though it exhausts me.  I think I'd prefer smaller meets.  At the lunch beforehand, I feel like there's always one side of the table I'm not getting any part of the conversation with.  Carpooling was a good option; I felt like I got to know the folks in the car better than the folks I've met at meets in general.

I am terrible with matching faces to names -- it took me a few minutes to realize the driver of the car I was in at the Harford County meet was someone I'd FB-friended from a previous meet.  I know a few people who are always there at road meets.  I can point out Laura/Mike/Rainee (but who in this community can't?) and CPZ, for example.  A few others I'm sure have been to every meet I've been to, but I couldn't tell you who they are.

Problem is, all of my friends live inside my phone, and outside of roadgeeking, I just don't see any of you folks.

Then there's the problem of I can't seem to get my wife interested in going on road meets with me, and she's the more outgoing one of the two of us, so I think it would help me out if she came along.

[signalman]

Then there's the problem of I can't seem to get my wife interested in going on road meets with me, and she's the more outgoing one of the two of us, so I think it would help me out if she came along.

I mean, most people don't bring their spouse or significant other to meets. Not that they're prevented from doing so (or that it's even frowned upon), it's just that most in the hobby don't have a partner who shares the interest.  We're all a bit socially awkward and introverted, but we make it work. Go to meets, gets yourself involved in discussions and you'll get notoriety.

[Rothman]

Then there's the problem of I can't seem to get my wife interested in going on road meets with me, and she's the more outgoing one of the two of us, so I think it would help me out if she came along.

I mean, most people don't bring their spouse or significant other to meets. Not that they're prevented from doing so (or that it's even frowned upon), it's just that most in the hobby don't have a partner who shares the interest.  We're all a bit socially awkward and introverted, but we make it work. Go to meets, gets yourself involved in discussions and you'll get notoriety.

Maybe the trend of couples showing up is going upward.  There have been more couples at the recent meets I've been to.

Brought my own wife to a couple and hoping that we'll make it to New Orleans.

[froggie]

^ As I recall, your wife joined us at Schenectady last year...

[jeffandnicole]

Go to meets, gets yourself involved in discussions and you'll get notoriety.

Maybe that's why no one talks to me. 

[jpi]

Most of you already know my wife Stephanie Ilyes has attended several meets with me, usually she will join us for lunch and then go off and do her own thing while we go on our tour and will meet back up with us afterwards for dinner and other after meet activities, she does like checking out different places mostly thrift stores and other retail outlets, once in a while she will come along for the tour but I can count on one hand how many times she was on the tour

[bandit957]

Bigger is better!

I tried to encourage a big turnout at my Cincinnati meet in 2020, but only 6 people showed up. I have no idea why.

Also, anyone remember at the Madison WI meet when I almost choked on cheese bips?

[Takumi]

^ 2020 was the peak of a plague, and looking at the meet thread there was a road meet the week before that split attendance.