Ever Been To A Road Meet??

[rawmustard]

Road meets seem to be a regional thing.  Most I see advertised are held in the midwest, New England and mid-Atlantic coast regions--or a little too far for me to go when starting from Nevada

Maybe you can host the meet that should happen whenever they open the US-93 bridge near Hoover Dam.

I think that there just is a greater concentration of roadgeeks within the northeast and midwest, plus a roadmeet within one of those areas is within a day's drive from the other, thus their relative popularity compared to ones held other regions. Although a meet can be hosted anywhere, you're more likely to attract attendees where they don't have to incur a whole lot of expenses. Typically, since we're roadgeeks, we prefer to drive rather than fly, so roadmeets will always tend to be regionalized in nature. Some people will try to say that some meets are "national," but really, that term just pops up arbitrarily. Even if you don't get to any meets, hopefully you still have fun on the open road.

[agentsteel53]

maybe some of us should put on a SoCal road meet.  I know a couple of people here and in the LA area that may be interested - it would likely attract Vegas traffic too.

[hbelkins]

. Some people will try to say that some meets are "national," but really, that term just pops up arbitrarily. Even if you don't get to any meets, hopefully you still have fun on the open road.

I would define a "national" meet as a multi-day meet designed to attract people from more than a regional area.

I'd go further to say that there have been three "national" meets with one more planned. I'd define the Pittsburgh, Chicago and Oklahoma City multi-day meets as being "national" and I'd further define the upcoming Indy meet as a "national" meet. Those differ from the one day lunch-and-tour meets in that they are intended as a "destination" event.

I am toying with the idea of trying to put together a multi-day national meet in Kentucky next spring. If I don't do a single-day Louisville meet, I may do a multi-day (Thursday, Friday and half a day Saturday) event and include the Louisville stuff in it.

[rawr apples]

If there is a Portland one, ill go

[Hellfighter]

Maybe I should set up a Detroit Meet. Check out the Gateway Project and some freeway stubs in the area.

[DanTheMan414]

The last time we had a major roads meet here (in the Detroit area) was in 12/2007, when we saw the preliminary work on the Gateway Project, and highlighted a number of other things in the area.  We usually do one big meet in Michigan each year (as we do in Ohio, etc.).  That was it 2 years ago, and last year we were over in the Lansing area.  This year, we're working on a big gathering over on the other side of the state in Grand Rapids, which will be coming up in either late September or early October.  Stay tuned!

Now, having said that, I've already done quite a few "mini" road meets this year in the area, when other roads enthusiasts have passed through town...more or less a simple meet-and-greet, but in one case it did incorporate a small tour.  I know there's going to be a couple of more opportunities like that coming up through the summer and into the fall...

[CanesFan27]

I've organized and put together or have gone to at least 40 meets over the past ten years.  Some have been small as few as three people..then there have been a number where we've gotten over 15 and close to if not over 20 .  Like a numer of meets we've had in North Carolina Raleigh 2004, Greensboro 2007 and Raleigh 2008 for example had 16-21 people attend.

For those that are timid about going there really isn't any reason to be - then again I'm pretty much very social and outgoing so that's just me.

I've taken a break from organizing larger meets because it is time consuming and exhaustive to plan at times.  You want to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves (particularly newcomers), you want to try and plan the side trip route ahead of time for stop ping points, and then if it is a large gathering you also want to make sure of ways everyoen stays together - sometimes we've used car flags and nextel's.  Plus, there is just so much of construction you can see everytime. 

It's good to see that the meets have included more non-road related events.  In the past, some of us after or prior to an NC meet have gone to minor league ball games - or I have invited folks who come early out to dinner.  And of course in the winter, some of us go to a hockey game prior to or after  a meet.  (The hockey road trip is the reason for the meet :-p)

Here in Raleigh, we have a local meet every few months at a local bar on a weeknight.  There are a lot of us that know each other - and have become very good friends - from the past ten years, and we usually have 6-10 of us out to eat.  More often than not (and may be to some here rather disappointing) we talk less about roads and more about every day things.  In fact some of us are going to the Carolina Mudcats game tonight. 

And in some cases we have a non-meet meet, this past February when Brian LeBlanc, Joe Babyak and I went to Atlanta for a hockey game - we met up with Jim K. Georges, Steve Williams, and Jason Ilyes (who was in town) for dinner and just to have a good time.  Then the next day, Billy Riddle met up with us in Montgomery, AL to see the infamous Flea Market Montgomery.  (It's a must do college like roadtrip!)

I guess in my case I have evolved from having a meet to doing more social activities with those in the hobby.

If you haven't had a meet in your area...most of them have involved folks that are part of gribblenation (Doug Kerr, Jeff Kitsko, and myself)...put one together.  My best advice is don't be upset if you only have three or five people there...sometimes they are the best meets as it's a lot easier to manuever and manage. 

You don't hve to make it a two-three day extravaganza like there has been recently in Oklahoma City or Indianapolis to have it be successful.  Start small and try to develop a local group within your city - so you don't have to rely on those traveling over six hours or cross country to attend.  That way you don't have to depend on those travelling far distances to have a meet. 

And finally - don't wait for someone to put it together in your area...do it yourself.  Because most likely the others in your area are waiting for someone else to do it also.

[Scott5114]

Here's how most road meets tend to start for me, anyway: I'll arrive at the meet site, and look around for a group of guys talking, and then think "Oh shit, what if they aren't the road meet, and they're just a bunch of guys talking about Commodore 64s or something completely normal like that? (Wait, I consider talking about Commodore 64s as being normal? What the hell is wrong with me?)" So I walk up closer to them and hear a snippet of conversation about something boneheaded MoDOT did or how to best clinch some county and I know it's the right guys.

Then there's a little bit of conversation, and suddenly someone slips a Carl Rogers or Tom from Ohio reference into the conversation and then everyone's right at home. And then you stand there for another hour in the sun talking about roads in states hundreds of miles away, and whether the state you are from or the state you are in now has better shields, and signs, and by the time everyone gets in the car and starts driving around you know everyone.

And honestly, where else would you get the opportunity to climb a parking garage to look at a reconstruction project, or walk around on six lanes of unstriped concrete, yet untouched by the wheels of any car?

Seriously, I'm as awkward around people I don't know as anybody, but when you walk up to a group of people talking about stuff that you spent a good portion of your life thinking nobody else was into, man, you can't help but feel like you belong to the community...

[US71]

Here's how most road meets tend to start for me, anyway: I'll arrive at the meet site, and look around for a group of guys talking, and then think "Oh shit, what if they aren't the road meet, and they're just a bunch of guys talking about Commodore 64s or something completely normal like that? (Wait, I consider talking about Commodore 64s as being normal? What the hell is wrong with me?)" So I walk up closer to them and hear a snippet of conversation about something boneheaded MoDOT did or how to best clinch some county and I know it's the right guys.

I usually wear a shirt with my avatar on it, so people who are lost know they are in the right place

[hbelkins]

And finally - don't wait for someone to put it together in your area...do it yourself.  Because most likely the others in your area are waiting for someone else to do it also.

Agreed. Once you've been to a couple of them, it's easy to get a feel for what they're like and what people generally tend to like/expect/want in a meet.

After attending several over the years, I finally decided to organize one and hosted it in Pikeville, Ky. in 2005. The main event was a 25-mile drive across new and old portions of US 119 and looks at some of the massive bridges built as part of that project.

When I did a 2007 one in Somerset, Ky., we got to see several projects, a completed bridge, and as a side trip went down to a Lake Cumberland embayment that was dry because the lake level had been dropped for work on the dam. I did that mainly for a diversion for people who are used to seeing high water levels, but we got to see road alignments and bridges that had been submerged by the impoundment of the lake and were visible for the first time in decades.

The Charleston, WV meet I did back in the spring actually viewed two separate projects, a new I-64 bridge across the Kanawha River and a section of US 35 freeway that was scheduled to open two days after the meet. We actually got to see some of the crews putting final touches on the route such as signage and striping and some touch-up paving.

I'm like Adam in that I want everyone to have a good time, and we had three rookies at Charleston, all of whom seemed to enjoy the day.

But if you live somewhere and are interested in doing a meet ... just do it. Find a restaurant, find something to see (doesn't have to be a road construction project, can be a new road or an unusual bridge or a historic alignment) and promote it. Just because Adam has taken a hiatus from doing a North Carolina meet doesn't mean that someone else can't pick up that ball and run with it. (I'm looking for an excuse to get back to NC and pick up some stray counties, anyway...)

I'm much more comfortable doing meets than I was four years ago and after having attended a few multi-day meets, I have a better idea of how to organize and structure one of those as a "vacation destination" for roadgeeks.

[hbelkins]

I usually wear a shirt with my avatar on it, so people who are lost know they are in the right place

And I usually have on an "East Coast Hive Mind" shirt although I decided to forego that for the Charleston, OKC and Indy meets. My wife says she needs to order me a new one because I've worn the one I got last year out.

[US71]

And I usually have on an "East Coast Hive Mind" shirt although I decided to forego that for the Charleston, OKC and Indy meets. My wife says she needs to order me a new one because I've worn the one I got last year out.

Except wearing an ECHM shirt and introducing yourself as Carl Rogers probably would have made the universe implode 

[burgess87]

What exactly goes on at a road meet?

[hbelkins]

What exactly goes on at a road meet?

For a single day meet, typically we gather at noon or thereabouts to have lunch and talk.

Afterwards, there is usually some sort of tour. Sometimes it's a construction project, or a road that is ready to open. Other times it's a visit to various parts of a community or a driving tour or historic aspects of transportation infrastructure (or some combination).

When I did the Charleston, WV meet a couple of months ago, we ate lunch and then took a look at the new bridge being built for the eastbound lanes of I-64 across the Kanawha River. Then we went out to see various parts of the new US 35 highway that was scheduled to open two days after we were there. We got to see some seeding and striping activity underway in preparation for the road's opening.

When we did the Somerset, Ky. meeting in 2007, we visited three separate construction projects ongoing in that area, saw a new bridge that is a bit unusual for the area, and also took a look at a couple of places where the drawdown of Lake Cumberland had exposed old roads and bridges that had been inundated when the lake was impounded.

The meets vary; the Youngstown meet was basically just a driving tour of the Youngstown, Ohio and New Castle, Pa. areas. The last SWPA meet I went to, we visited construction areas on the Mon-Fayette Expressway in PA and WV and also visited the old Searight's Toll House on US 40.

But all in all they are fun.

[getemngo]

I've been to two meets so far with one more planned.  Oddly enough, they've all been organized by Dan:  East Lansing in December 2008, Indianapolis earlier this month (half of it), and the upcoming Grand Rapids meet.  I would have gone to Youngstown in May had my schedule not interfered.

My advice as a rookie is to just be active online.  Post on forums, participate in chats, and soon you'll build connections or at least get to know names.  When a meet is announced, RSVP publicly if you're going.  Then meeting these "strangers" won't be as weird.  I've found that everyone is friendly and welcoming.  As shy as I normally am, I can be myself at roadgeek meets.  You'd be surprised at how many people have the same geeky interests as you. 

I would define a "national" meet as a multi-day meet designed to attract people from more than a regional area.

I'd go further to say that there have been three "national" meets with one more planned. I'd define the Pittsburgh, Chicago and Oklahoma City multi-day meets as being "national" and I'd further define the upcoming Indy meet as a "national" meet. Those differ from the one day lunch-and-tour meets in that they are intended as a "destination" event.

Considering that 5 of the 7 attendees at Indy were from Michigan, I would call it a local meet that happened to take place in a different state.

[rawmustard]

Considering that 5 of the 7 attendees at Indy were from Michigan, I would call it a local meet that happened to take place in a different state.

I'm glad that my dad could join us for some of Saturday's festivities so at least we could say we had a current Indianapolis resident, although, like most of us who attended, a Michigan native.

[Alps]

Considering that 5 of the 7 attendees at Indy were from Michigan, I would call it a local meet that happened to take place in a different state.

And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

[getemngo]

And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

True.  Between that and forgetting about Brian's dad, I should just shut up now.   

Too bad Scott Steeves from Ontario didn't make it down.  Then it would have been international.

[Michael]

I was at one in Syracuse yesterday!  I really enjoyed it!

[bugo]

And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

True.  Between that and forgetting about Brian's dad, I should just shut up now.   

Too bad Scott Steeves from Ontario didn't make it down.  Then it would have been international.

It's not a national meet unless H.B. is there. 

[Scott5114]

And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

True.  Between that and forgetting about Brian's dad, I should just shut up now.   

Too bad Scott Steeves from Ontario didn't make it down.  Then it would have been international.

It's not a national meet unless H.B. is there. 

Or Oscar Voss.

[PAHighways]

It's not a national meet unless H.B. is there. 

Or Oscar Voss.

Then I guess State College was a national meet.

[PCLV10]

Hey, everyone!  My name is Philip, and I'd like to know more about road meets.  I'm hoping to have my first exposure with at least one person, in regards to AARoads.  I hope someone this year can help me get started in the Las Vegas area.

[english si]

I've been to SABRE's London (2005), Wolverhampton (x3 - 2004, 2005, 2006) and Southampton (2006) awaydays, organising the Southampton one.

I've also done two SE road trips (2004, 2005), organising the 2004 one, a NW road trip (2005) and a visit to the National Traffic Centre.

On top of that, I've had archive/library trips, micro-awaydays (mostly involving looking at old plans and then a road trip to fill an evening when one member was away on business) with two, occasionally three people. I found these a bit more fun - the excitement of the docks-entrance of the M275, with it's general craziness was very good, ditto the unfinished junction further up and walking down an abandoned slip-road to the M1, only to end up a few metres from 70mph traffic. Finding the plans for Southampton's proposed motorway network, and the Portsmouth motorway loop, and reading through the evolution of the Bucks section of the Oxford-East Coast route were also great fun (it does explain a lot of current road building in the northern Home Counties, as well as partial pieces of the original route that exist).

[agentsteel53]

Hey, everyone!  My name is Philip, and I'd like to know more about road meets.  I'm hoping to have my first exposure with at least one person, in regards to AARoads.  I hope someone this year can help me get started in the Las Vegas area.

just keep checking this very subforum where people post scheduled events!  

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=21.0