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How to host a successful road meet

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tckma:
Being that I attended my first meet this weekend, I'm kind of pumped to plan one of my own, but knowing me that will likely die off as I get back into the routine of going to work and so forth.  I'm certainly a rookie on the forums.  On my way home, however, I was thinking of places locally I'd like to show off, and was kind of dismissing them: "Surely every roadgeek has seen Breezewood," "Surely every roadgeek has seen the Park-And-Ride at the end of I-70 in Baltimore..."  I suppose I need to stop being pessimistic, however, I couldn't think of any places other than "popular" ones.  But, as you say, those not from the area may not have been to places.

jeffandnicole:

--- Quote from: tckma on May 31, 2016, 10:27:05 AM ---Being that I attended my first meet this weekend, I'm kind of pumped to plan one of my own, but knowing me that will likely die off as I get back into the routine of going to work and so forth.  I'm certainly a rookie on the forums.  On my way home, however, I was thinking of places locally I'd like to show off, and was kind of dismissing them: "Surely every roadgeek has seen Breezewood," "Surely every roadgeek has seen the Park-And-Ride at the end of I-70 in Baltimore..."  I suppose I need to stop being pessimistic, however, I couldn't think of any places other than "popular" ones.  But, as you say, those not from the area may not have been to places.

--- End quote ---

I would never say "every".  Many people can 'see' Breezewood via aerial and street car views, but haven't experienced it.  Many have said they avoid it on principle, so they've never actually seen it either.

If you were to plan a meet, you can always put out a survey asking people what they would like to see.  If you have time for 3 stops, and there's 6 possible areas of interest, see what potential attendees would like to stop at. Something like a Breezewood could conveniently be on the way between two stops.  If there's route clinching involved or an interesting sign, those items will take care of themselves simply while on the move.

I can say I'm about 90 minutes from Baltimore and never seen the I-70 Park-and-Ride.  And I've only encountered Breezewood because of the much more interesting abandoned PA Turnpike tunnels, which would interest quite a number of people.

So, never say never.  Sites that some of us see every day or every week will always be a first-time experience for someone else!

slorydn1:
^this^  Yeah I once saw Breezewood in person, even stayed there overnight-in 1977 as a 7 year old child on a trip from Michigan to DC. I can't tell you that I remember much about it other than swimming in the pool at the motel and watching the traffic on one of the two Interstates wrap around the side of a mountain and disappear way off  in the distance. If I were ever to go to a road meet in PA, I would like to see that again as an adult-as well as the abandoned turnpike tunnels that Jeff was speaking of. I've never seen the I-70 park and ride either.

Duke87:
Also bear in mind that road meets can be social events as much as sightseeing tours. Some people may well show up even if they've seen things before simply because they have friends who will be there, or because someone who they want a chance to meet in person will be there.

The shifting of the community over time is also such that even if a road meet was held in a particular area before, you may still attract attendance from people who were unable to make it to the last one or were not yet active in the community at the time it occurred.

Hot Rod Hootenanny:
I have another suggestion for the tour portion of meets:
Designate a lead vehicle and end vehicle, then have everyone else inbetween. Hopefully this help in the corralling of roadgeeks.

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