Gauging interest in a possible multi-day national road meet in KY next year

[hbelkins]

I am thinking about organizing a multi-day national road meet in Kentucky next year, modeled primarily on what Jeff Kitsko did in Pittsburgh a few years ago.

I envision this being a 2 1/2 day event, spanning Thursday, Friday and half a day Saturday, with the meet based in Lexington. I would probably do this in May or June to take advantage of decent Bluegrass weather and to give any college students who want to come a chance to do so while they aren't still in class. I have a general itinerary in mind but am basically interested in finding out from fellow roadgeeks/road fans/road enthusiasts (sorry, no "viatologists" or "transportologists" allowed) a couple of things.

First, who might be interested in attending such a meet?

Second, what would you like to see if you attended a multi-day meet centered on Lexington?

I'll be anxiously awaiting your responses.

[mightyace]

I would consider going to such a meet.

The two lane KY parkways (Hal Rogers/Daniel Boone and Bert T. Combs Mountain).

I don't recall what is "new" in that part of KY.

[hbelkins]

Is there really enough to see to cover 2 days worth in the Lexington area?  My gut feeling says "no"...

A 1 day meet sounds more plausible.

Actually, I don't think there's enough in the Lexington area for a one-day meet, else I'd have done one a long time ago.

My preliminary itinerary, that I had given some thought to, is this:

Day 1: Tour the Traffic Operations Center in Frankfort, proceed west to Louisville to see widening on I-64 and construction of a SPUI at I-264 and KY 1447; west into Indiana on I-64 then circle back on I-265 and IN 265 and east on IN 62 to Madison; see old US 421 bridge and then head northeast along the Ohio River to the Markland Dam bridge; stop at Kentucky Speedway; back to Frankfort and along Old Frankfort Pike back to Lexington, along at-grade New Circle Road and the Winchester Road SPUI. Group dinner somewhere in Lexington.

Day 2: South on I-75 to Clays Ferry Bridge; possibly US 150 stimulus project relocation between Crab Orchard and Mt. Vernon; I-66 corridor along KY 80 to Somerset; follow-up to Somerset 2007 meet to check progress on those projects; north on US 27 to Nicholasville and then across KY 29 to US 68; check new construction on US 68 in Jessamine County; back to Lexington. Friday dinner "on your own" to give opportunities to visit counties; possible circle tour through Red River Gorge/Nada Tunnel area.

Day 3: Drive Paris Pike (US 27/68 to Paris; KY 627 (old US 227) to Winchester; I-64 widening from end of current six-lane to the Mountain Parkway should be underway by then; lunch at Hall's On The River; meet concludes.

[rawmustard]

Is there really enough to see to cover 2 days worth in the Lexington area?  My gut feeling says "no"...

You could make it two days if it were done like we did in Indy this past weekend. (Corridor exploration one day, more of the local scene the other day.) Although if we were to explore, say, the I-66 or I-69 corridor in Kentucky, I'd consider centering things towards the towns south of Louisville Metro and we could head towards Lexington when we do the "local portion" of the meet. Louisville and Lexington really aren't that far apart, so depending on how early you'd want to start, both could probably explored in the same day.

[Alps]

I definitely support doing the Indy format - meet and greet Thursday night, tour Friday, tour Saturday.

[corco]

I would be very interested in making my roadmeet debut at that point, and I love Kentucky so it's a match made in heaven- the only thing hitching me is I have no idea how much money I'll have next May/June