Areas underrepresented for meets

Started by getemngo, September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

getemngo

I'm making this topic because 2014 is still mostly a clean slate, and it's not a bad idea to look at what we may be missing out on. Maybe someone in one of these areas will see a need and decide to host a meet there sometime.

Roadgeek meets in the US tend to happen more the further east and further north you go. In some states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois) they happen at least once a year, but in other areas, sometimes close by, there just isn't enough activity.

I'm surprised we don't see more meets around:


  • Texas. Lots of roadgeeks, lots of discussion about Texas, always a big project happening, but as far as I can tell, there's never been a Texas meet. Is it too far south or west for most roadgeeks? Tulsa, Oklahoma happened successfully in 2010, and I bet a Houston or Dallas/Fort Worth would draw more long-distance travelers than Tulsa did.
  • Florida. Another state of huge roadgeek interest. The Titusville mini-meet last weekend very well may have been the first ever. Why??
  • Georgia. Goes along with Florida, I guess, but it seems like there are more roadgeeks here, and the Carolinas have a meet every year or two. Nothing apart from Atlanta in 2004, and Atlanta again in 2008.
  • The west coast. Apart from Los Angeles earlier this year, and Portland in 2009, there's been nothing since 2002! You'd think California would have enough of a roadgeek population to pull this off, even if none of us out east came. And we probably would show up if it were advertised as a "national meet."
  • Colorado. I'm mostly listing it because meets don't seem to happen in Mountain Time, which is a pretty big chunk of the country. Denver had meets in 2003 and 2004.
  • Indiana. It's 100% surrounded by states that have 1+ meets each year. Lots of construction thanks to the Major Moves program, especially with US 31 and I-69. Apart from Michigan and Illinois meets that crossed the border, there have only been two Indiana meets ever, both in 2009. I would take care of this myself if I had the resources.
  • Minnesota. Looks like the Hastings meet next year would be the first ever. Seems like the Wisconsin/Illinois people would be all over this, especially with the size (and number of freeways) of the Twin Cities.
  • Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware. Can't find evidence of many meets in these states. Sure, they're tiny, and maybe a Maryland meet's tour has crossed into Delaware or something, but there's enough New England/Mid-Atlantic roadgeeks that turnout wouldn't be a problem. There has to be something interesting to see.
~ Sam from Michigan


NE2

Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM
  • Florida. Another state of huge roadgeek interest.
I think you mean sprawlgeek.

Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM
The Titusville mini-meet last weekend very well may have been the first ever. Why??[/li][/list]
There was one about 6 years ago that filled two cars IIRC.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

Dougtone

There were two road meets which took place in Connecticut, Hartford in April 2008 and New Haven in July 2011.  There was also a road meet that took place in Springfield, Massachusetts in November 2010.  As for Maine, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire meet this June crossed into Kittery, Maine for part of the tour, but it was essentially a New Hampshire meet.

agentsteel53

#3
Quote from: NE2 on September 30, 2013, 05:27:09 PM
Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM
  • Florida. Another state of huge roadgeek interest.
I think you mean sprawlgeek.

it is a haven for old signs.  at least, it was as of 2007. [/list]
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

Brandon

We need a Hawai'i meet just for the heck of it.  Granted that it would be expensive to get there, but damn, it would be fun.  :bigass:

Seriously though, I've never heard of meets in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, or New Mexico for that matter.  I also agree that for a state with so many roads crossing it, Indiana is sorely underrepresented for meets.  I'd think that Kokomo and Bloomington would be good locations in the near future given the amount of road building going on at both.  I could hold a South Bend - Elkhart - Goshen meet sometime due to my knowledge of that area.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

getemngo

Quote from: Brandon on September 30, 2013, 05:51:13 PM
Seriously though, I've never heard of meets in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, or New Mexico for that matter.

As far as I can tell, the only states west of the Mississippi that have had even a single meet are California, Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Louisiana. That's barely a third of them. Of course, population density is an issue here, with both a lack of locals and a lack of fun infrastructure in a lot of places.

(But then, I missed a bunch, even though all of them except New Haven are listed on the Gribblenation meets page. Thanks for the corrections, Doug.)
~ Sam from Michigan

Dougtone

Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 06:25:04 PM
Quote from: Brandon on September 30, 2013, 05:51:13 PM
Seriously though, I've never heard of meets in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, or New Mexico for that matter.

As far as I can tell, the only states west of the Mississippi that have had even a single meet are California, Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Louisiana. That's barely a third of them. Of course, population density is an issue here, with both a lack of locals and a lack of fun infrastructure in a lot of places.

(But then, I missed a bunch, even though all of them except New Haven are listed on the Gribblenation meets page. Thanks for the corrections, Doug.)

I helped get the Portland, OR meet together, but there were also a couple of Oregonians and a Washingtonian in attendance.  I have family in Oregon, so I fit in a meet during one of my visits to Oregon.  There was talk of having a Seattle meet at one time, but that hasn't come to fruition yet.

dgolub

Connecticut has a lot of rural routes with nice scenery.  I'd be all for doing a road meet there some time.

Duke87

#8
Connecticut is a tough state because interesting stuff does not quite occur in clusters that make for a nice afternoon tour.

Although one potentially attractive idea does come to mind: Merritt Parkway meet. Anyone interested in that? I should be able to organize it. It's all ordinary stuff to me since I grew up in the area, but might be interesting for some people who didn't. 

I can also show you a bridge in Stamford that's about 110 years old and has been abandoned for nearly 80 of those. :)

If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

Laura

Quote from: Duke87 on September 30, 2013, 08:48:36 PM
Although one potentially attractive idea does come to mind: Merritt Parkway meet. Anyone interested in that? I should be able to organize it. It's all ordinary stuff to me since I grew up in the area, but might be interesting for some people who didn't.  :)
A Merritt Parkway meet would be fun. I would go.

Mike and I have played around with the idea of doing a Delmarva meet. We were thinking of various points along Maryland's Eastern Shore, but it might easily be possible to extend the tour to Delaware or Virginia.

jpi

If I make it back out to Albuquerque, NM in 2015, maybe I could put one on out there. :-) The BIG I is impressive. :)
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

getemngo

Quote from: Laura Bianca on September 30, 2013, 08:52:13 PM
Mike and I have played around with the idea of doing a Delmarva meet. We were thinking of various points along Maryland's Eastern Shore, but it might easily be possible to extend the tour to Delaware or Virginia.

At least two of us would come from Michigan solely to pick up some new counties.  :)
~ Sam from Michigan

hbelkins

I attended a meet in Texas a few years ago. Gene VanDusseldorf hosted it. There were only three of us who attended, and one guy got lost before the first stop on the tour and we hadn't exchanged cell phone numbers, but it was a meet.

I think Atlanta's prime for another meet, given all the construction that's going on down there. I'm not sure if Steve Williams (the Georgia Road Geek) or Jim Georges (FreewayJim) are on this board or not, but they could definitely host an Atlanta-area meet.

It's unusual that I'm doing two Kentucky meets this year. I had only done two Kentucky meets prior, and had been doing a meet every other year since I started (Pikeville in '05, Somerset in '07 and Charleston, WV in '09) but I hit somewhat of a lull and even though I'd scouted the Ashland area meet for a possibility in '11, I didn't actually do it until this year. When I realized that part of the new US 460 route will open to traffic next year, that's when I decided to go ahead and do a meet this fall while construction is ongoing.

If I do something in the Louisville area concerning the bridges construction, it's quite likely that we would eat across the river in Indiana. I've been to meets in Indianapolis (two-day) and Fort Wayne.

Lastly, I've always wanted to drive the Merritt Parkway. I have only been on a small portion of it, and that was after dark, so I'd love to see it. I'd definitely be interested in such a meet. Even though you may be intimately familiar with a place (like I have been with the places where I've hosted meets), that doesn't mean what's there wouldn't be of interest to someone else.

A few years ago, it seemed like the concept of road meets was dead. They're back with a vengeance, and that's a good thing.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

US81

 I'd love a Texas meet.  :D

I'm not likely to have the time or $$ to go much farther anytime soon...but someday....

Dougtone

Quote from: hbelkins on September 30, 2013, 10:08:43 PM
A few years ago, it seemed like the concept of road meets was dead. They're back with a vengeance, and that's a good thing.

I'd argue that the creation of the AARoads Forum was the best thing to happen to road meets.  It broadened the potential audience for meets and therefore made meet more popular.

Alex

Quote from: NE2 on September 30, 2013, 05:27:09 PM
Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM
  • Florida. Another state of huge roadgeek interest.
I think you mean sprawlgeek.

Quote from: getemngo on September 30, 2013, 05:11:15 PM
The Titusville mini-meet last weekend very well may have been the first ever. Why??[/li][/list]
There was one about 6 years ago that filled two cars IIRC.

Indeed, it was held by Justin and I in Orlando in 2006. You, Gene and his partner and Rob Droz rounded out the meet. We looked at the 429 construction and afterwards you, J and me walked around downtown and drove some of the Disney roads.

froggie

QuoteSeems like the Wisconsin/Illinois people would be all over this, especially with the size (and number of freeways) of the Twin Cities.

FTFY.

KEK Inc.

Take the road less traveled.

dgolub

Quote from: Duke87 on September 30, 2013, 08:48:36 PM
Connecticut is a tough state because interesting stuff does not quite occur in clusters that make for a nice afternoon tour.

Although one potentially attractive idea does come to mind: Merritt Parkway meet. Anyone interested in that? I should be able to organize it. It's all ordinary stuff to me since I grew up in the area, but might be interesting for some people who didn't. 

I can also show you a bridge in Stamford that's about 110 years old and has been abandoned for nearly 80 of those. :)

Sounds good to me.  If we're going to be in the area, I'd propose also including Super 7 and the mountain tunnel on the Wilbur Cross.  Maybe checking out the end of the CT 25 expressway would be cool as well.

NE2

Quote from: dgolub on October 01, 2013, 08:39:07 AM
Sounds good to me.  If we're going to be in the area, I'd propose also including Super 7 and the mountain tunnel on the Wilbur Cross.  Maybe checking out the end of the CT 25 expressway would be cool as well.
*ahem* Route 34?
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

corco

Quote from: KEK Inc. on October 01, 2013, 01:23:48 AM
Seattle should have one.

I feel like we'd easily have enough people to pull a Seattle meet- it would just be a matter of somebody organizing it.

jpi

Quote from: Laura Bianca on September 30, 2013, 08:52:13 PM
Quote from: Duke87 on September 30, 2013, 08:48:36 PM
Although one potentially attractive idea does come to mind: Merritt Parkway meet. Anyone interested in that? I should be able to organize it. It's all ordinary stuff to me since I grew up in the area, but might be interesting for some people who didn't.  :)
A Merritt Parkway meet would be fun. I would go.

Mike and I have played around with the idea of doing a Delmarva meet. We were thinking of various points along Maryland's Eastern Shore, but it might easily be possible to extend the tour to Delaware or Virginia.

It has been over 15 years since I travelled the Merritt PKWY, I spent 2 weeks in Milford, CT at a new Barrel opening and got to travel it then. I would be game for either one of these meets if I am in central PA at the time. :-)
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

1995hoo

I've never been to Seattle and would love to give that a try if the time and money worked out; it'd also be a chance to visit the Museum of Flight.

When people say "Texas" my immediate reaction is, "Dang, there's a HUGE possible world unto itself" due to the size of the state making the idea of a "Texas meet" a rather broad generalization. I tend to think the 85-mph stretch of Route 130 is probably an obvious choice. Either way, I'd love to go down there and turn it into a longer trip. I was born in Texas but we moved when I was 1 year old and I've never seen where I was born and such, so it would be kind of neat to take a few days and go there (my father says our old house looks pretty much the same on Street View as it did 40 years ago....I'm not sure whether that's good or bad).
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

agentsteel53

I'd be willing to host a Baja California meet.  I've taken certain members of the road community down there before and I believe each and every one of them can attest to its awesomeness.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

hotdogPi

Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 01, 2013, 06:10:30 PM
I'd be willing to host a Baja California meet.  I've taken certain members of the road community down there before and I believe each and every one of them can attest to its awesomeness.

Or Chihuahua. They have roadgeek dogs.

Or Niedersachsen.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.