St. Lawrence County, NY Road Meet - November 4, 2012

[vdeane]

Looks like this is actually happening, so time to make a separate thread.  I'm working on organizing a road meet for fall in St. Lawrence County, NY.

Date/Time/Location: Saturday, November 4, 2012, at the Village Diner in Downtown Potsdam at 10 AM
RSVP: Either by replying to this thread, PMing me, and/or on Facebook

Approximate Map of Tour: http://goo.gl/maps/AlpLV

Tour Stops:
-NY 345 bridge in Madrid
-Old, underwater alignment of NY 37 east of Waddington
-Closed suspension bridge near the Eisenhower lock
-View of the international span of the Seaway International Bridge
-Abandoned bridge in Raymondville
-Old one-lane bridge (7' clearance; there are a few others like this as well) in Norwood
-Old gorge bridge in Parishville
-NY 56 S Curve (old alignment)

Drive-by Sights:
-Clinch NY 345 and NY 131
-Tunnel under the Eisenhower lock
-NY 37 divided highway
-Old one-lane bridge (and railroad bridge) on CR 45 near the border
-Wood bridge in Norwood
-Old bridge in West Stockholm
-Back road Adirondack driving; don't try to make a call here, there's no cell service
-NY 56 new alignment in South Colton
-US 11 reconstruction in Canton

Post-Meet Activity: Dinner somewhere, probably Mama Lucia's, Sergi's, or Little Italy
Meet photo location: Yaleville Bridge (Norwood)

[Dr Frankenstein]

I don't mind doing it on a Sunday, it's a day trip for me anyway.

[Duke87]

Saturday makes it a maybe for me, but Sunday makes it a definite no.

[vdeane]

Just posted a bunch of info; note the 11am time (it took cu2010 and I about four hours to scout everything out, it would probably be slightly longer with meet stops instead of a quick stop and then driving on, and it would be good to finish everything while it's still light out).  I settled on November 3.  I'm gonna say RSVP by 10/27 even though I don't think we need to do reservations given the interest level and whatnot just so I have an idea of how many will be there.  cu2010 might bring some stuff to give away if he can make it though I won't make promises for him.

[Alps]

I would have said yes but just found out I have an obligation that day.

[Duke87]

Since my previous tentative plan for achieving this is shot, my attendance is doubtful. But I'll keep you posted. We'll see how crazy I'm feeling mid-october.

[hbelkins]

Doubtful. About the only roadgeeky things I could accomplish on this trip would be to clinch I-81, possibly clinch I-87, and some of the Syracuse-area interstates. Too far north and west for me to make a foray into New Hampshire to collect counties.

[jpi]

Can't make this one, too far of a drive from middle TN and November is a BIG diecast toy show month for me, I have one every weekend that month.

[vdeane]

Well, if anyone has a problem specifically with 11/3 (which doesn't seem to be any of the people here... I remember Steve saying his only free weekends were 9/22 and 11/17), the next best weekend for me is 10/20.  It's tighter for me though; I'd have to be back to Clarkson by around 5:30, so I probably wouldn't be able to do a post-meet dinner.  There would be a hockey game in Cheel Arena though (Golden Knights vs. Holy Cross), which I would likely be working for WCKN, because I need the money and also because I need to train someone to replace me.  No RSVPs yet, so not too late to change.

[Alps]

10/20 is on the back of the Richmond meet. There was already rumbling about the Birmingham meet being back to back weekends with Richmond. Of course, I wouldn't expect B-ham and P-dam to draw the same crowd at all.

[vdeane]

Indeed they wouldn't; even Richmond might not, given how far Potsdam is off the beaten track.  That said, since nobody has expressed a preference either way, and I like the idea of being able to set aside the whole day for the meet, I'll stick with November 3.

[AsphaltPlanet]

This one is game time for me.  Being November, the weather is an issue.  If its nice and sunny, I'd be interested.  If it's sleeting and nasty, I'll be staying at home.

[cu2010]

If the past few North Country winters have been any indication, the weather for the first weekend of November should be fine.

Then again, if the past few North Country winters have been any indication, it could snow any day now!

[vdeane]

Last year around that time it was sunny with a high of 60 degrees.

Two years ago it was rain with a high of 40...

My guess would be partly-mostly cloudy with a high around 40-50; that seems to be typical late October/early November weather here.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Ok, I'll see when it gets closer. The way that my work schedule pans out I have five days off in the vicinity of this meet, so I am somewhat inclined to go further afield if the weather is nice.

Further, the meet location doesn't seem that unique to me.  I kind of want to spend some time on roads that are unlike the ones that I drive a lot, I've never been, but this area doesn't seem that different from southern Ontario.

Just thinking aloud.

[vdeane]

The main roads north of Potsdam probably are similar to southern Ontario, though driving in NY vs. Ontario always feels different to me for some reason.  I'm guessing the Adirondack portion south of Potsdam is different though.  Not sure how southern Ontario is for old one-lane bridges with only 7' clearance either.

[cu2010]

Trust me- having been to southern Ontario, this area is MUCH different.

This is a very diverse county in terms of topography, and the tour route we've assembled shows that. On one end, towards the beginning of the tour, you have the relatively flat lands of the St. Lawrence River Valley, and the scenic river views associated with it. On the other, you have the majestic hills and forests of the northern Adirondacks and the twisty turny back roads going up and down and all around. In between, rolling hills and fairly boring farmland...which we'll mostly just be zipping past.

[vdeane]

I was mostly referring to said rolling farmland when I posted, and the scenery on ON 138 is a lot like it (as are the 400 series highways in eastern Ontario).

Lots of picture opportunities, very diverse terrain; you'll wonder if you're even in the same county.

[AsphaltPlanet]

We'll see, right now I am dreaming of driving either the Katy or Central Expressways in Texas, if I can find a cheap flight out of Buffalo might try to do that instead.

[vdeane]

I don't know if anyone was confused about how to RSVP or not, but it's to this thread (I updated the first post to reflect that).  I don't have a Facebook account, so no Facebook event.

[Alps]

I don't know if anyone was confused about how to RSVP or not, but it's to this thread (I updated the first post to reflect that).  I don't have a Facebook account, so no Facebook event.

Maybe someone else here can do that?

[vdeane]

If someone creates one, I'll link to it from the first post.

There's also Google+, but my roadgeeks circle is mostly people who would be unlikely to attend, and I don't feel like creating an event there for only one person or creating a "PM me your Google+ profile so I can add you" system.

[hbelkins]

G+? You mean people actually use that?

(Actually, I have an account there but I never use it. I just don't see the point yet.)

[vdeane]

I think it's mostly tech geeks who don't like Facebook.

[vdeane]

I was wondering, is 11 AM a bit early for the meet?  I don't think I've ever seen one that early (aside from Steve's 8:30 morning session at Ottawa and maybe one that did the tour first then dinner), and it only took three and a half hours for cu2010 and I to scout everything out, so given that the route is a little bit shorter for the meet and stops I'm estimating that the tour would take four hours, which would end a bit early for a dinner post-meet activity.  Maybe 11:30?  Noon is probably pushing it given the November 3 date though.