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

[A.J. Bertin]

For those of us who have attended and/or hosted road meets over the years, we all know that different road meets attract different sizes of groups attending them.  Whether you are hosting or attending a meet, do you have any preference as to how large or small the group is?  Some folks are extroverts and may like it better when there are more people in attendance.  Others are introverts (some with social anxiety perhaps) and enjoy attending road meets but might become overwhelmed if the group is too large.  Some folks in our community may have no preference either way.  Maybe your answer depends on whether you are attending or hosting; maybe it does not.

I'm just curious as to what thoughts everyone has on this topic. 

[codyg1985]

I honestly enjoy the smaller meets in smaller towns because they are just more intimate. I enjoy catching up with people, but it's so hard to do when there are more than, say, 15 people at a meet. The logistics also becomes difficult the more attendees there are.

If a meet is happening in a large city and there are a lot of people attending, then I would hope that the host is prepared for that.

[Rothman]

Roadwaywiz did a good job managing the nearly 40-person attendance in Buffalo, but I was unable to meet absolutely everyone.  Saw a lot of people I had met before, and met others for the first time, though.

Been to a few smaller meets, too, one of which where people got lost on the tour, but we managed to regroup in the end, I think.

All in all, it comes down to the host's managing ability and the informal assistance they may get from attendees.  A poorly organized meet is bad at any level.

Grateful to say that no meet has been a regretful experience, though, for me.

Feel bad for that one guy some years ago, where some noob organized a meet, canceled at the last minute, and the guy was already on a multi-day trip to attend...yeah, don't be that host...

[Big John]

I haven't been to a meet for a while because of health reasons, but the last one was a bit too big for me.  I would prefer a smaller one due to social anxiety.

[74/171FAN]

I honestly enjoy the smaller meets in smaller towns because they are just more intimate. I enjoy catching up with people, but it's so hard to do when there are more than, say, 15 people at a meet. The logistics also becomes difficult the more attendees there are.

Yeah, I think I am in agreement on this though I cannot think of a huge meet that I have been too with major logistics issues.  (since I was not at St. Louis)

[JREwing78]

It's certainly easier on the host to have a smaller meet. There are more logistics involved in keeping the group together, particularly if you are trying to explore areas that aren't built for a bunch of roadgeeks to safely park and explore. Lining up dining options also gets more difficult with a larger group.

I certainly wouldn't discourage hosting a larger meet, particularly if the host has a history of well-produced meets. What I would encourage is to make sure to be prepared with solid maps & written directions, make an effort to locate and be inclusive to new folks who haven't been to a road meet, and plan out the tour carefully to ensure that everyone can have a good time. Having an assistant to help with planning and making sure the day runs smoothly is also a good idea.

[cl94]

Smaller is almost always better. The best meets I have been to all had under 20 attendees, with the best being small enough to fit in 2-3 cars, even if we didn't always consolidate that much. I hate large meets, just like I hate large social functions in general. Smaller allows for more spontaneity and chances to interact with people. With a small meet, you can add unplanned stops or tweak stuff to best meet the desires of attendees.

Do some people like large events with everyone? Sure. But you can do far more interesting things with a smaller group and don't need to stick to a rigid structure. A 4-person event doesn't discourage me. A 30-person event actually might.

[Max Rockatansky]

Ten or less feels like the sweet spot to me.  Usually everyone can easily stay together with handful of cars and parking tends to be way easier.

[oscar]

I tend to feel overwhelmed with more than 15 attendees, especially if I don't already know many of them. Name tags would help, with people I kind of recognize but am not sure, such as when I'm having a "senior moment" which happens even with large family gatherings.

It would help if I more often remembered to bring my own name tag, like the one I recycled from the 2018 Golden Spike meet for the completion of I-95.

[Rothman]

I tend to feel overwhelmed with more than 15 attendees, especially if I don't already know many of them. Name tags would help, with people I kind of recognize but am not sure, such as when I'm having a "senior moment" which happens even with large family gatherings.

It would help if I more often remembered to bring my own name tag, like the one I recycled from the 2018 Golden Spike meet for the completion of I-95.

Name tags would have been a great idea in Buffalo. 

[Great Lakes Roads]

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

[Alps]

my ideal road meet size is roughly 34 people.

[Brandon]

Small versus large really doesn't matter to me as much.  Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.  Some meets can be so small (i.e. fitting into one vehicle) that you are wondering why more didn't come.  Then, at larger meets, you don't meet everyone, and there can be logistic issues.

The logistic issues, I think, could be solved with better directions between stops.  I've been to large meets where there's barely any directions whatsoever (St Louis 2014 comes to mind), and ones where there's a novel to try to get through to figure out how to get from place to place.  Detailed bullet point directions seem to be best, especially with maps only covering the route between point A and point B.

[jpi]

Overall it does not matter to me, large or small, I am glad however that Steph was able to "co-host" my larger road meets with me in central Pennsylvania, good example the one I hosted near Sunbury in 2018 was my largest in terms of turn out at nearly 30, we had a room to ourselves at the restaurant and only one minor hiccup when we all stopped to check out the stub end at the Selinsgrove by-pass and I had an older couple follow us to where we stopped and they asked me "where is the road??" as for smaller meets yes, they are easier to manage, and you can socialize with everyone but like Brandon said if it looks like you are going to have a large turnout (15 or more) then make sure to have good directions on your tour print out. 

[Max Rockatansky]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

[hbelkins]

I've hosted both kinds. Around 20 people at my Tri-State meet in 2013 (KY-OH-WV) and five people at my 2017 western Kentucky meet. I didn't have any major issues at either one. Planning is the key; we had to scramble to find a restaurant at the Youngstown meet several years ago when the host hadn't done his homework and we learned upon gathering in the restaurant parking lot that they weren't open for lunch on Saturdays.

[A.J. Bertin]

my ideal road meet size is roughly 34 people.

That's oddly specific.  LOL

[jpi]

my ideal road meet size is roughly 34 people.

That's oddly specific.  LOL

I think that was the size of his Baltimore road meet in April 2010, Steph, myself and our nephew were at that one

[Rothman]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

[Max Rockatansky]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

[vdeane]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

And even if the points stay, Google recalculates the route between them each time, so if traffic or the algorithm changes, so can the route.

[Brandon]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

I take an image of the Google Map and paste it into a Word document.  That way, Google can't screw up the map.

[Max Rockatansky]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

I take an image of the Google Map and paste it into a Word document.  That way, Google can't screw up the map.

Trouble there is that you can't tap links from a Word document.  Fresno wasn't the kind of meet that required a bunch of printouts.  I might do them for Bakersfield next year given some of the non-state highways involved. 

[Rothman]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

And even if the points stay, Google recalculates the route between them each time, so if traffic or the algorithm changes, so can the route.

The solution is more via points.

[vdeane]

I experimented with map links in Fresno last year.  The trouble I found was that what you program in tends to get changed by Google.  I caught it before the meet started but I don't think it would work well in a larger group than what we had (given I gave out my phone in case anyone got turned around also). 

Use via points to prevent Google from messing with the route.

I did two weeks prior to the meet.  Google ended up erasing most of them when I clicked on the map links.  Basically almost all of the directions got streamlined into simply point A-B.

I take an image of the Google Map and paste it into a Word document.  That way, Google can't screw up the map.

Trouble there is that you can't tap links from a Word document.  Fresno wasn't the kind of meet that required a bunch of printouts.  I might do them for Bakersfield next year given some of the non-state highways involved. 

Were you clicking on the links on a phone, perhaps?  I do know that mobile Google Maps doesn't support via points and will always strip them out.