AARoads Forum

I want to

I have. I was at the NOLA meet last year that Froggie organized - the one cut short because Gustav was on the way.

I wish there was one some where close to ME

I've been to 2, technically 3.

First one was 4-5 years ago in Joplin and was just me and Richie.

I did 2 in 2008: 1 in St Louis, 1 in KC.

I'm planning to go to OKC in June, but not sure yet about KY in the Fall. I'd love to host one here in Arkansas, but there's not a lot going on right now, though in another year, there will be several I-49 projects in the works.

My OKC meet will be my fourth. My first one was in St. Louis last year, followed by Chicago in the summer and Kansas City in the fall.

The only other meet I am definitely attending this year is the one Chris Lokken is having before his wedding. However, Jeremy is considering a Tulsa meet which I would definitely be interested in attending.

Quote from: Scott5114 on May 27, 2009, 04:34:41 AM
My OKC meet will be my fourth. My first one was in St. Louis last year, followed by Chicago in the summer and Kansas City in the fall.

The only other meet I am definitely attending this year is the one Chris Lokken is having before his wedding. However, Jeremy is considering a Tulsa meet which I would definitely be interested in attending.

I am considering an Arkansas meet, but probably not until next year. Not a lot of major projects going on right now, but it looks like some I-49 projects may be starting up sometime this Summer. By next year, there may be plenty to see. :coffee:

Quote from: Scott5114 on May 27, 2009, 04:34:41 AM
My OKC meet will be my fourth. My first one was in St. Louis last year, followed by Chicago in the summer and Kansas City in the fall.

The only other meet I am definitely attending this year is the one Chris Lokken is having before his wedding. However, Jeremy is considering a Tulsa meet which I would definitely be interested in attending.

I guess I'm not the only one who started attending meets within the last year. I went to East Lansing last December and State College in April (so it stands to reason the next meet I attend might not be in a Big Ten city. :sombrero:) Still haven't made a decision about Charleston, but OKC and Indy are both out. But if Lokken is hosting a meet, that could fit, depending on when he schedules it. Of course, I'll likely make the "local" meet this fall as it will be held in the Grand Rapids area.

As far as the future, I would like to host a meet in Portage, MI, in 2010 or 2011 so that we can view progress of I-94's reconstruction through the area. (After all, it was selected as the 2,000th porkulus project, with a presidential announcement. :banghead:).

Been to a couple already - like rawmustard and Scott5114, I've only begun attending meets in the last year.  Chicago (Milwaukee) last June and State College last month. I don't have the pleasure of many meets happening around me so I just do an impromptu road trip every so often to satisfy my roadgeeking fix. :-P

Yes, two times :) In Europe though.

And I do roadtrips with other roadgeeks sometimes.

I've been to a number of them, have hosted two and (shameless plug) am hosting another one in a couple of weeks in Charleston, WV.

My first meet was in northeastern Kentucky (Greenup County area) and there were three people there: Sherman Cahal, Pete Jenior and me. Since then I've been to meets in Missouri (St. Louis), Michigan (Edwardsburg, East Lansing and Detroit), Ohio (Dayton, Cincinnati, Toledo and Youngstown), Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Milford, State College and Uniontown), West Virginia (Beckley), Virginia (Richmond), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro and two in Raleigh) and Tennessee (Knoxville and Nashville). And, of course, Kentucky (Northern Kentucky, Pikeville and Somerset). I may have missed a few. Plus we had an impromptu meet and road trip at Billy Riddle's wedding last year that was loads of fun.

I really enjoy the meets. Not only the camaraderie and the tours, but the chance to travel and possibly take new routes and visit new counties. I always enjoy the North Carolina meets because you drive through such beautiful country to get there, and lately I've been combining meet trips with my occasional road exploring trips to kill two birds with one stone.

I am planning to attend the Oklahoma City and Indianapolis multi-day meets in the next couple of months, and will also probably attend a rumored Washington DC/NOVA area meet if it occurs. And I plan to attend the Grand Rapids meet that is supposed to take place in Michigan this fall. I'm also thinking about doing a meet in Louisville later this year.

I attended the Atlanta 2004 meet (http://www.gribblenation.com/gapics/atlmeet04.html), the 2004 Harrisburg (http://www.gribblenation.net/meetings/harrisburg2.html) (Lancaster), PA meet, the 2005 State College, PA (http://www.gribblenation.net/meetings/statecollege.html) meet, and co-ran the July 2006 Orlando (http://www.southeastroads.com/orlando.html) meet with Justin Cozart. Also Myself, Carter Buchanan, Doug Kerr, and Lou Corsaro had a mini-road meet on October 3, 2004 where we checked out New Tyburn Road (http://www.northeastroads.com/new_tyburn_road.html) and the Doylestown bypass freeways (http://www.northeastroads.com/pa-611.html) among other things.

There are not really many organized road meets in California, but I've done several trips with Andy Field, Mike Ballard and Casey Cooper.

I can't believe I've already been going to roads meets for 9 years now!  Time sure flies when you're having fun on the roads!  :sombrero:

My first roads meet was back in 2000, when Chris Bessert, myself and three others met up for the first ever Michigan roads meet.  Since then, I've been to quite a few meets, particularly around the region -- Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and even internationally, into Ontario.  These are always a fun time, meeting up with other roads enthusiasts, exploring roads & projects in different areas, and especially checking out new territory.

I was out at the Youngstown meet earlier this month, which was a blast, and I'll be at both the two-day event in Indianapolis on 7/10-11 & at the Grand Rapids meet, which will take place in either September or October. 

Quote from: DanTheMan474 on May 27, 2009, 01:47:09 PM
I was out at the Youngstown meet earlier this month, which was a blast, and I'll be at both the two-day event in Indianapolis on 7/10-11 & at the Grand Rapids meet, which will take place in either September or October. 

Ah, so you finally got Indy away from Brickyard weekend (aka my high school reunion weekend). It's still very unlikely I'd make it, since I'm making a trip out to Chicagoland the weekend prior. It looks like June and July will be a busy time, as you'll have meets every other weekend from Charleston through Indy, and I'm sure some as of yet unannounced meets will pop up throughout the rest of the summer.

Three actually.

1. The 12/22/2002 NYC Meet: Mostly covered Queens area roads, meet point was in Jamaica Estates. This meet was most notable for an incident on the Belt Parkway involving Doug Kerr's CR-V.

2. The 07/13/2003 Edison NJ Meet: Held at the Edison Diner on US-1. The Comrade had photos from this one posted somewhere.

3. The 10/30/2004 Westchester, NY Meet: Held at Racanelli's Pizza and Brew right off of I-287. Notable because I have no pictures from it due to camera battery issues. That and that "Keith" character from MI kept trolling the MTR thread.

I've hosted and attended many including being part of the first documented one in Greensburg, PA in February 1999 and the first national in Pittsburgh in 2006.

Quote from: DanTheMan474 on May 27, 2009, 01:47:09 PM
I was out at the Youngstown meet earlier this month, which was a blast, and I'll be at both the two-day event in Indianapolis on 7/10-11 & at the Grand Rapids meet, which will take place in either September or October. 

Have you decided on a general location for each day's meet-up for Indy? I have two free nights I need to redeem at Microtel before the Micropass program phases out in August, and I'll probably use these for Indy if the daily meet-up location is near one of Indy's Microtel locations.

Can someone tell me more about or give me a link to information on the Indy meet.  Since it is a 6-7 hour drive from my house, I might be able to make it.

I went to that one in Michigan in 2003 that the 'Sesame Street' Krew missed out on.

I still haven't been to one.  OKC will by my first.  However, I have gone on roadtrips with several Road Enthusiasts.

HB, you are truly the king of road meets!

Quote from: bugo on May 28, 2009, 09:11:37 PM
I still haven't been to one.  OKC will by my first.  However, I have gone on roadtrips with several Road Enthusiasts.

HB, you are truly the king of road meets!

He must have a great expense account  :D

Someone should organize a big meet over in Philly  :sombrero:

I had no idea people ever even did such things until I joined this forum a few months ago.

Few things get in the way of me attending one:
1) I don't actually have my own car (though this will likely change in the near future).
2) Scheduling constraints would make it impossible for me to just up and go anywhere more than a few hours away.
3) I don't know anyone else who'd be at all interested and it'd be kind of depressing/awkward/unnerving to go by myself and be traveling around with a bunch of people I've never met before.

Quote from: PennDOTFan on May 28, 2009, 09:47:03 PM
Someone should organize a big meet over in Philly  :sombrero:

That'd be a good excuse for me to clinch all of Pennsylvania's counties. I only lack a dozen or so and all are in the SE corner of the state.

Believe it or not, Kentucky was not the first state I clinched. That honor goes to Delaware.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 28, 2009, 10:22:29 PM

Quote from: PennDOTFan on May 28, 2009, 09:47:03 PM
Someone should organize a big meet over in Philly  :sombrero:

That'd be a good excuse for me to clinch all of Pennsylvania's counties. I only lack a dozen or so and all are in the SE corner of the state.

I might do one next year since I only planned to hold two this year.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 28, 2009, 10:22:29 PMBelieve it or not, Kentucky was not the first state I clinched. That honor goes to Delaware.

I can believe it, as it was my first clinched state as well.

Quote from: PAHighways on May 28, 2009, 11:23:58 PM
I can believe it, as it was my first clinched state as well.

What? Delaware wasn't you first state clinched?  It's only got 3 counties!  :sombrero:

Delaware is actually the only state I've clinched all counties, but that's not a goal of mine.

Quote from: mightyace on May 29, 2009, 12:27:12 AM

Quote from: PAHighways on May 28, 2009, 11:23:58 PM
I can believe it, as it was my first clinched state as well.

What? Delaware wasn't you first state clinched?  It's only got 3 counties!  :sombrero:

It was clinched entirely on a family vacation in 1990 with Pennsylvania being the second clinched.

If anyone were to want to plan another southeastern road meet, I'd probably try to attend. You don't get many of them down here, and when Froggie ran his last year, I was not close enough to attend.

As far as I know, the Orlando meet in 2006 was the only ever done in Florida so far. We had six people for that meet.

I'm contemplating trying to put together a meet somewhere in the Southeast (anything more specific has yet to be determined), but I'm going to wait until after hurricane season to actually hold the meet.

Ideas would be nice... :P

I've been to plenty of road meets, from impromptu mini-meets to more grandiose road meets that have brought in well over a dozen people.  My first meet was a basic drive around the Rochester, NY area and into Wyoming County, NY with Nate Perry and Bob Williams back in November 2000.  Since then, I have hosted various meets throughout New York State, and also in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.  I have also attended meets in North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania.

Quote from: AARoads on May 29, 2009, 02:22:53 PM
If anyone were to want to plan another southeastern road meet, I'd probably try to attend. You don't get many of them down here, and when Froggie ran his last year, I was not close enough to attend.

Don't know is Louisville is "southeast" enough for you, but I'm thinking about doing one there later this year or possibly early next year.

Quote from: hbelkins on June 01, 2009, 01:01:33 PM
Don't know is Louisville is "southeast" enough for you, but I'm thinking about doing one there later this year or possibly early next year.

I'd probably make it, Louisville is only a 3 1/2-4 hour drive for me.

Whenever there is one within a 100 mile radius, im there  :D

Let's see...
I did a Columbus (OSU) meet some years back with Pete Jenior and Steve Hanudel.  And along the way attended meets in Toledo, Greensburg Pa, Cincy (twice?), and SE Kentucky (H.B. organized it).
would have made the Slidell/New Orleans meet last year but of the formentioned Hurricane Gustav.  :ded:

Quote from: froggie on June 02, 2009, 03:55:11 PM

Quotebut of the formentioned Hurricane Gustav.

Didn't stop the rest of us...

Bragging or complaining?  :biggrin:

I held the 2004 Harrisburg Meet as the remnants of Ivan pushed through the Mid-State.  Luckily I chose not to hold it at the same location as the first one, or we would have had to take boats to the restaurant.

I went to one with Alex in Atlanta, and one in Orlando. They were both fun.
I was slightly embarrassed in front of the hot waitress being with all the super nerdy guys passing around maps, but I got over it. I really want to go to the OKC one but I have to see if the significant other will let me.

Quote from: PAHighways on June 03, 2009, 09:39:04 PM
I held the 2004 Harrisburg Meet as the remnants of Ivan pushed through the Mid-State.  Luckily I chose not to hold it at the same location as the first one, or we would have had to take boats to the restaurant.

The day cleared up significantly from the morning onward. Carter and I parted from the group's exploration of the U.S. 222 freeway work at Reading to head to Harrisburg. We later all met back up at Centralia where the weather was bright and sunny (http://www.northeastroads.com/harrisburg/abn_pa-061_03.jpg).

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastroads.com%2Fpennsylvania080%2Fi-081_nb_exit_080_05.jpg&hash=32e09c5e113e7ba9e404a011f5027a35d5803b10)

Later on that night we went to Williamsport so Carter could clinch Interstate 180 and I could get Montour County for the first time. Flooding from Ivan's remnants closed the Pennsylvania 54 bridge over the Susquehanna south of Danville, so we had to detour. We took state highways all the way back that evening.

What about here in Michigan?    :confused:

Quote from: Hellfighter06 on June 05, 2009, 03:24:28 PM
What about here in Michigan?    :confused:

There was the one I went to in eastern Michigan in 2003, which the Sesame Street Krew missed out on.

Quote from: Hellfighter06 on June 05, 2009, 03:24:28 PM
What about here in Michigan?    :confused:

I attended one in New Buffalo in Spring 2003.  There have been others and no doubt will be others soon.

Michigan is a fairly strong state when it comes to roadgeeking.  There are a fair number of people around the state, especially in SE Michigan and around the Grand Rapids area, that are into the roads hobby.  There's usually one big meet somewhere in southern Michigan each year, and it's fairly well attended.  Last December, we did one up in Lansing, and had a dozen people in attendance, including roads enthusiasts from Kentucky and Tennesee.

We've got one we're planning for the fall in Grand Rapids, probably in either late September or early October.  Every so often, though, two or three of us might get together on the whim to shoot the breeze...a "mini" roads meet of sorts.  I've already done a few of them around SE Michigan here this year, either when some people have passed through town, or just in meeting up with some of the local roads enthusiasts.  We'll probably do a couple of them this summer, too, at some point.

How big is the US "roadgeek" community actually? Considering the Dutch road forum, there are only like 20 - 30 real roadgeeks active on the internet (on 16 million people), plus a bunch of professionals.

It really depends on how you do the count.  There are basically three methods:

*  How many unique posters are there in road enthusiast forums?

*  How many "regulars" (however defined) are there?

*  How many people show up in person to physical gatherings of road enthusiasts?

In the US it is hard to gather this data on a national basis because road enthusiasm has become highly regionalized (as a partial result of MTR's death throes, which have been in progress for close to a decade now), with meets, mailing lists, etc. geared to specific regions rather than the whole country.  For what it is worth, the one US road enthusiast meet I attended in Topeka in 2003 attracted about 10 people in a state of about 2.5 million.  The question here is whether to count Nebraska (1.5 million) and Iowa (2.5 million) as well because representatives of both states were also present.

In Britain (population almost 60 million), SABRE is the only widely known road enthusiasts' forum.  At present SABRE has about 1500 discussion group members, about 120 Active Members (i.e., discussion group members who have signed up for voting privileges and elect SABRE management on an annual basis), and draws between 10 and 20 people to awaydays which are geographically dispersed but are normally in an English region with the exception of the odd Scottish awayday.  Overall, I would estimate that there are between 40 and 50 people who have been to a SABRE awayday at least once in the last five years.  In my own case I have been to awaydays in Leicester (October 2005) and Preston (November 2008), as well as the AGMs (always held in Wolverhampton) for 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Quote from: austrini on June 03, 2009, 09:42:46 PM
I really want to go to the OKC one but I have to see if the significant other will let me.

You should try to make it. Scott's even holding a "class" on how to write for Wikipedia (if that's your thing) :sleep:

Quote from: US71 on June 06, 2009, 12:02:13 PM

Quote from: austrini on June 03, 2009, 09:42:46 PM
I really want to go to the OKC one but I have to see if the significant other will let me.

You should try to make it. Scott's even holding a "class" on how to write for Wikipedia (if that's your thing) :sleep:

I've heard that the Wikipedia session may be scrapped for some bridge hunting in the area.

Quote from: Duke87 on May 28, 2009, 10:09:52 PM
I had no idea people ever even did such things until I joined this forum a few months ago.

Few things get in the way of me attending one:
1) I don't actually have my own car (though this will likely change in the near future).

You could try to find somebody to carpool with.

Quote
2) Scheduling constraints would make it impossible for me to just up and go anywhere more than a few hours away.

Most roadmeets are planned months in advance.

Quote
3) I don't know anyone else who'd be at all interested and it'd be kind of depressing/awkward/unnerving to go by myself and be traveling around with a bunch of people I've never met before.

I went to the OKC meet on Friday.  It wasn't awkward at all.  Anyway, I had known everybody at the meet from the internet and MTR for years so it wasn't like I was riding in a car full of complete strangers.

Quote from: Duke87 on May 28, 2009, 10:09:52 PM

3) I don't know anyone else who'd be at all interested and it'd be kind of depressing/awkward/unnerving to go by myself and be traveling around with a bunch of people I've never met before.

My first Road Meet was in St Louis last year. I had spoken with nearly everyone on-line at one time or another, but it was the first time I had met anyone in person.

At OKC last weekend, I had met 3 of the people before but hadn't met the other 3. There were really had no major problems.

Oft times, we'll get together for lunch first to break the ice, then split up into 2-3 cars and go riding around.  :nod:

Quote from: Duke87 on May 28, 2009, 10:09:52 PM
I had no idea people ever even did such things until I joined this forum a few months ago.

Few things get in the way of me attending one:
1) I don't actually have my own car (though this will likely change in the near future).
2) Scheduling constraints would make it impossible for me to just up and go anywhere more than a few hours away.
3) I don't know anyone else who'd be at all interested and it'd be kind of depressing/awkward/unnerving to go by myself and be traveling around with a bunch of people I've never met before.

Can't help you with #1, but as for the others ....

Most times meets are announced a month to two months in advance. Gives you plenty of time to ask off from work if necessary.

As for #3, we've all been in that boat before. My first meet was in NE Kentucky and only three people, including myself, were there. My next one was in Charlotte, N.C., and I didn't know anyone there personally although many names were familiar through e-mails, Yahoo groups. misc.transport.road, etc. Didn't take long to get comfortable. Subsequent meets gave me the chance to meet more people in person and put names to faces; now many of us are friends and the meets are much like family reunions.

Don't be reluctant ... if there's a meet near you, if you are able to, go. You'll enjoy it.

Quote from: Duke87 on May 28, 2009, 10:09:52 PM
3) I don't know anyone else who'd be at all interested and it'd be kind of depressing/awkward/unnerving to go by myself and be traveling around with a bunch of people I've never met before.

When I attended my first meet (which is also the first documented gathering in the US) back in 1999, I only knew Bruce Cridlebaugh and Adam Prince through MTR.  Since then we all have become good friends and help each other with our respective sites.

Just look at it as a chance to meet new people who share a similar interest, so you already have something in common.

I've never been to a road meet, but have always wanted to go to one. 

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 :biggrin:

If ever there is a road meet out this way, I'll try to make it.  It would be nice to meet fellow road enthusiasts in person--I've only ever met one other road geek in person.

Quote from: roadfro on July 02, 2009, 12:36:21 AM
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 :biggrin:

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

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.

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.

Quote from: roadfro on July 02, 2009, 12:36:21 AM. 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.

If there is a Portland one, ill go :)

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

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...

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.

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...

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 17, 2009, 12:32:25 PM
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 ;)

Quote from: CanesFan27 on July 17, 2009, 09:25:29 AM
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.

Quote from: US71 on July 17, 2009, 12:57:27 PM
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.

Quote from: hbelkins on July 17, 2009, 03:30:06 PM

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  :-D

What exactly goes on at a road meet?

Quote from: burgess87 on July 24, 2009, 10:37:22 AM
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.

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.  :cool:

Quote from: hbelkins on July 02, 2009, 02:08:41 PM
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. :-P

Quote from: getemngo on July 27, 2009, 04:24:08 PM
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. :-P

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.

Quote from: getemngo on July 27, 2009, 04:24:08 PM
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. :-P

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

Quote from: AlpsROADS on July 28, 2009, 10:29:50 PM
And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

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

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

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

Quote from: getemngo on July 29, 2009, 10:09:44 AM

Quote from: AlpsROADS on July 28, 2009, 10:29:50 PM
And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

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

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. 

Quote from: bugo on August 05, 2009, 04:36:41 PM

Quote from: getemngo on July 29, 2009, 10:09:44 AM

Quote from: AlpsROADS on July 28, 2009, 10:29:50 PM
And I was from NJ.  That's somewhat national.

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

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.

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 07, 2009, 08:54:40 PM

Quote from: bugo on August 05, 2009, 04:36:41 PM
It's not a national meet unless H.B. is there. 

Or Oscar Voss.

Then I guess State College was a national meet.

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.

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).

Quote from: PCLV10 on January 04, 2010, 04:00:25 PM
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!  :sombrero:

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

Quote from: PCLV10 on January 04, 2010, 04:00:25 PM
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.

Well, if my finances and the timing of other events permit, I'd like to make it out to see the opening of the Hoover Dam bypass (currently scheduled for November 2010). I could definitely see some people from my half of the country make it out for this given enough lead time, and if a more specific timeframe comes about, I'll definitely look into booking a flight. Hopefully there will still be some sweet offers for motel rooms and rental cars around that time.

As for roadmeets in general, it's just like getting people together for any other purpose. You pick a venue; have good food, drink, and conversation; and if you want, go out and see something, be it related to road travel or otherwise. That's really all there is to it.

QuoteOn 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've done this sort of thing a fair bit, though mostly by myself.

Just went to one on Saturday. Freezing my butt off!  :-D

Quote from: Hellfighter on January 05, 2010, 03:40:39 PM
Just went to one on Saturday. Freezing my butt off!  :-D

I did that yesterday. Still had fun, though :)

Quote from: english si on January 04, 2010, 05:14:45 PMOn 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've met up with Adam Prince at the Carnegie Library on a few occasions when he was back in Pittsburgh.  Around Christmas, we'd decide to do one of these research trips or a small SWPA Meet.

Quote from: US71 on February 23, 2010, 11:57:33 AM

Quote from: Hellfighter on January 05, 2010, 03:40:39 PM
Just went to one on Saturday. Freezing my butt off!  :-D

I did that yesterday. Still had fun, though :)

At least the Oklahoma meets have both been during typical Oklahoma weather: hot and muggy in the summer and cold and windy in the winter.  There will probably be tornado warnings on the day of the next Oklahoma meet.  Combo roadmeet/stormchase?

Quote from: bugo on February 25, 2010, 05:47:21 PM
Combo roadmeet/stormchase?

There's talk of the Iowa meet being that way.

Quote from: bugo on February 25, 2010, 05:47:21 PMAt least the Oklahoma meets have both been during typical Oklahoma weather: hot and muggy in the summer and cold and windy in the winter.  There will probably be tornado warnings on the day of the next Oklahoma meet.  Combo roadmeet/stormchase?

I basically did that every summer from 2000 to 2002 out in the Plains.

When Marc Welby was contemplating a DFW Meet years ago, I tried to convince him to do it in May-June as a combination meet/chase. 

Quote from: PAHighways on February 25, 2010, 08:31:23 PM

Quote from: bugo on February 25, 2010, 05:47:21 PMAt least the Oklahoma meets have both been during typical Oklahoma weather: hot and muggy in the summer and cold and windy in the winter.  There will probably be tornado warnings on the day of the next Oklahoma meet.  Combo roadmeet/stormchase?

I basically did that every summer from 2000 to 2002 out in the Plains.

When Marc Welby was contemplating a DFW Meet years ago, I tried to convince him to do it in May-June as a combination meet/chase. 

I'd love to go on one of those stormchasing tours. Combining roadtripping with weather-watching. 'twould be an excellent way to spend a few days. I know Froggie has been on one of the midwest stormchasing safaris. Maybe others have too? Might make a good off-topic discussion.

In the 11 years I've been a member of the roadgeek community in general, I've been to exactly one road meet.

Pathetic and sad, I know.

I'm aiming to change that.  Heh, yeah, I've said that before.

I've never been.  I've certainly met up with other roadgeeks but I've never had much fun when driving around with more than one person.  One to drive, one to navigate - the rest are backseat drivers at best!  :-D

I'm now happy to say that I've been to 2 meets, Baltimore and Southeastern Pennsylvania. Hope to attend more!

Quote from: US-43|72 on June 22, 2010, 05:17:05 PM
In the 11 years I've been a member of the roadgeek community in general, I've been to exactly one road meet.

Pathetic and sad, I know.

I'm aiming to change that.  Heh, yeah, I've said that before.

And I changed it.  Made it to the Springfield meet during my big northeast trip. :D

I still have yet to go to one.  can't say I ever particularly intend to.

I have, just a week ago. :p

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 18, 2011, 04:30:19 PM
I still have yet to go to one.  can't say I ever particularly intend to.

Can't say you're missing much.

Quote from: Adam Smith on March 19, 2011, 12:59:32 PM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 18, 2011, 04:30:19 PM
I still have yet to go to one.  can't say I ever particularly intend to.

Can't say you're missing much.

Misanthropic much?

I have been to several gatherings over the years and while I think they can be quite good, I also understand why some others don't like them.  Looking at two pieces of a typical outing:

*  In the restaurant or pub--this is a good chance to look at road-related artifacts in person and to find and have in-depth conversations with other people with similar interests.  But there is also a reluctance to bring nice things or rarities like 1930's official state highway maps to establishments where people wind up with grease on their fingers, for example.  While the typical format of a SABRE Awayday is a pub gathering, where you can unwind with a pint in your hand, in my limited experience American roadgeek gatherings have been dry.  This means people are on their guard and cautious about opening up to others they know only from the Internet.

*  On the road--The person who does not have a camera or prefers not to try to use it through a windshield has to yield up-front seating to the person who wants to point a still camera through the windshield, who in turn has to yield to the person who has a video camera, etc.  I don't want the bother of trying to operate a camera from within a moving car, so I take the back seat to be gracious.  But it is still the back seat even on a twisty B-road through the southern fringes of the Lake District.  The on-road experiences connected with meets I have enjoyed the most have actually been the trips to the meets, where I have either driven myself or caught a ride with someone else, rather than the organized drives themselves.

I'm just not a big fan of driving around in large groups.  the ideal vehicle occupancy is one driver and one navigator, and if those two are the same person, that is not a problem for me.

Quote from: J N Winkler on March 23, 2011, 06:20:09 PM
in my limited experience American roadgeek gatherings have been dry.  This means people are on their guard and cautious about opening up to others they know only from the Internet.

Well, some people present are under 21. And it's not completely dry - some may have a beer or two. I do not, but my reasons are unrelated to your assessment:
1) Something just doesn't seem right about consuming alcohol right before I'm about to go spend the next several hours (and then some) driving.
2) I don't do beer with lunch, ever, under any circumstance. Too early. If it were dinner, I might be more inclined.

Quote from: Duke87 on March 23, 2011, 08:12:23 PMWell, some people present are under 21. And it's not completely dry - some may have a beer or two. I do not, but my reasons are unrelated to your assessment:

1) Something just doesn't seem right about consuming alcohol right before I'm about to go spend the next several hours (and then some) driving.

2) I don't do beer with lunch, ever, under any circumstance. Too early. If it were dinner, I might be more inclined.

I appreciate all of these reasons for not drinking, but it does mean that there is a lack of liquid lubrication.  I have personally driven myself to a meet only once; all other times I have either taken a train or caught a ride with someone else (who didn't drink).  If there is an organized drive, typically the driver doesn't drink while the passengers are free to do so.  (The majority of my experience is in Britain, where it is rarer for people to go on organized drives in their own cars.  People tend to carpool to split the cost of fuel and avoid complications when parking for stops.)  Meets don't have to be at lunchtime or in the early afternoon; they can take place in the evening, and they can be multi-day affairs.

At bottom I think roadgeek meets are pretty much like other social gatherings.  At their best they can be a meeting of like minds, and at their worst they are like being alone in the middle of a crowd.

A lot of the people at meets tend to know each other, and the only way to join that lot is to start coming out to them. I've made a lot of good friends through the hobby, and I think it's worthwhile to meet them even if you don't get all that much road sightseeing in during the drives. If you're the kind of person who tries to blend into the corner, this is a chance to break out of that shell - we're always interested in getting to know the new people. (I'm that type myself, and I've found road meets to be a great cure.)

At the upcoming Texarkana meet, if all goes as planned I'll probably see most of the meet sights the day before, on my own time, from my own angles. Not at all concerned about that. Look forward to seeing faces old and new.

Same here; I started going to road meets mainly for the "meet" part and not the "road" one. (Although seeing interesting roads, signs and other things gives me another good reason. ;) ).

I am far too specific in my interests.  Whenever a new freeway opens up, I tell people "I'll find it interesting in 30 years."

I guess it's a question of expectations- I look at them as an excuse to take a roadtrip with the added bonus of getting to hang out with some like minded people at the destination. I've only been to one roadmeet, but for me a giant chunk of the fun was the trip out there and back where I got to do and see what I wanted to do and see, but once I got to Tulsa I got to meet some cool people and look at stuff that may not be exactly what I'm super interested in, but is interesting nonetheless (and when you're with people who do know more about it than you do, it becomes educational and interesting in a way that just can't be replicated on the internet- I'm not much of a bridge enthusiast, but I really enjoyed bridge hunting during the Tulsa meet).

I probably wouldn't ever fly to a roadmeet, but as a destination-excuse for a roadtrip, that's about as good as I could possibly hope.

And let's face it- there aren't many people you can just start talking about roads to in real life without having their eyes glaze over. I've bumped into a total of one outside of the internet community at a geography bowl a couple years ago, and it turns out he was an AARoads fan who just doesn't use the forum. A roadmeet lets you open your vents a little bit and say those things that most of the population would find super boring without having to worry about being judged. That's always a good thing.

I guess you have to look at the whole package- sure there may be elements that aren't quite everyone's ball of wax (as nothing is!), but the whole experience is a fun one and I'm definitely looking forward to the next roadmeet I can make.

Quote from: J N Winkler on March 23, 2011, 06:20:09 PMWhile the typical format of a SABRE Awayday is a pub gathering, where you can unwind with a pint in your hand, in my limited experience American roadgeek gatherings have been dry.  This means people are on their guard and cautious about opening up to others they know only from the Internet.

I think there are other factors at play than just the availability of alcohol, and you touch on some of them.

• There's the informality of the setting - British pubs are rather unique and that aspect of our culture has helped. In the US (as you know) there's a different culture surrounding alcohol and pubs and stuff compared to the UK. Tee-totalers don't seem to mind going to the pub and having something else, and we've only had one problem with under-18s being in the pub (at the very first, where the pub had a problem, so they went to a different one that didn't and thus gained years of commerce out of us) and one problem, AFAIK, with someone getting noticeably massively tipsy (at the same event).
  
• Car-sharing (including to and from the event) make the occasions more sociable, especially with two-ways between the two or three cars and the banter coming out of that.
  
• There's the strong sense of community among the core of SABRE members - partially due to a lot of off-topic discussion on the forum, partially links via elsewhere (eg working in the industry, which is rather small in the UK). This is helped on by smaller gatherings/trips occurring, where you get to know people better (and car-sharing between events), as well as things like the several-day Scotland trips.
  
• Geography makes it helpful - 4 awaydays a year, of which at least two of them are going to be fairly easy day trips from most of the country, plus some road trips as well.

To Steve's point: It's been more fun for me over the years to do things outside of the meet with friends in the hobby.  Usually, we will go to a ball game, hockey game (sometimes including tailgating), or something similar the day before or evening after the meet.  I've grown to enjoy that a lot more than just the meet itself.

The recent DC meet - my fiance and I went up a day early met up with Doug Kerr and Adam Froehlig - walked around The Mall, checked out a number of monuments and hit a restaurant afterwards. 

Last year's Philly meet, Maggie and I toured Philly in the morning , then instead of doing ghe side tour, we hit Valley Forge, and then a group of us from the meet went to the Reading Phillies game that night.

Plus, as a result there are small trips we've taken over the years.  Steve has come down to NC for a photo tour and went to the hockey game the day before...and we're still trying to get him that T-Shirt. :-p  Doug, Jeff Kitsko, Froggie, and others have been down here in Raleigh outside of the meet for hockey or just about anything else, and sometimes our roadtrips, meets, or pseudo-meets occur more as a result of or for a hockey game, an event, or something odd like the (in)famous Flea Market Montgomery Trip that Billy Riddle joined in on.

Then again, that's just me and I tend to be more outgoing than a lot of folks within the hobby.

QuoteI am far too specific in my interests.  Whenever a new freeway opens up, I tell people "I'll find it interesting in 30 years."

Still, given what I've observed of your interests, you'd have appreciated most of the stops made at the 2009 DC gathering...

Quote from: froggie on March 24, 2011, 11:13:10 AM

Still, given what I've observed of your interests, you'd have appreciated most of the stops made at the 2009 DC gathering...

"most" being the operative term.  I could just grab a list of sights to see and cherry-pick them to my heart's content.

I think in general, I dislike large group settings.  I prefer to interact with people one at a time.

There was a lot more imbibing at the last meet I held compared to others I've held, probably due to the fact that where it was held brews the perfect ale (http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113) for a road enthusiast meet.

Quote from: CanesFan27 on March 24, 2011, 10:31:55 AMDoug, Jeff Kitsko, Froggie, and others have been down here in Raleigh outside of the meet for hockey or just about anything else, and sometimes our roadtrips, meets, or pseudo-meets occur more as a result of or for a hockey game, an event, or something odd like the (in)famous Flea Market Montgomery Trip that Billy Riddle joined in on.

One of these times I will see a Penguins' victory on RBC Center ice.

holy hell, a completely MUTCD-compliant beer label.

beats the Hell out of Rolling Rock, which has some pretty badly done US-33 shields.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 23, 2011, 07:34:53 PM
I'm just not a big fan of driving around in large groups.  the ideal vehicle occupancy is one driver and one navigator, and if those two are the same person, that is not a problem for me.

You can always drive solo on the tour.

Quote from: PAHighways on March 24, 2011, 11:07:00 PM
There was a lot more imbibing at the last meet I held compared to others I've held, probably due to the fact that where it was held brews the perfect ale (http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113) for a road enthusiast meet.

I think the restaurant employees who were trying to figure out the checks had been doing a great deal of consumption of adult beverages that day.

Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2011, 10:45:45 AM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 23, 2011, 07:34:53 PM
I'm just not a big fan of driving around in large groups.  the ideal vehicle occupancy is one driver and one navigator, and if those two are the same person, that is not a problem for me.

You can always drive solo on the tour.

Not always, when parking is limited at some of the stops along the way and so we need to consolidate into as few cars as possible.  Also, the more cars in the group, the more likely someone will lose the way.

Besides, when you go solo, you miss much of the commentary from people familiar with the area, especially about places we pass by but don't stop at.  That was a problem when I drove solo at last year's Kansas City meet (had to drive separately since I couldn't stay for the whole meet).

Quote from: oscar on March 25, 2011, 11:09:39 AM

Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2011, 10:45:45 AM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 23, 2011, 07:34:53 PM
I'm just not a big fan of driving around in large groups.  the ideal vehicle occupancy is one driver and one navigator, and if those two are the same person, that is not a problem for me.

You can always drive solo on the tour.

Not always, when parking is limited at some of the stops along the way and so we need to consolidate into as few cars as possible.  Also, the more cars in the group, the more likely someone will lose the way.

Besides, when you go solo, you miss much of the commentary from people familiar with the area, especially about places we pass by but don't stop at.  That was a problem when I drove solo at last year's Kansas City meet (had to drive separately since I couldn't stay for the whole meet).

AgentSteel is a special case. Letting him continue his one man show by his lonesome would be best for all involved.

Quote from: Adam Smith on March 25, 2011, 01:24:02 PM
AgentSteel is a special case. Letting him continue his one man show by his lonesome would be best for all involved.

it's a show now?

Quote from: PAHighways on March 24, 2011, 11:07:00 PM
There was a lot more imbibing at the last meet I held compared to others I've held, probably due to the fact that where it was held brews the perfect ale (http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113) for a road enthusiast meet.

I will take some of the blame for that, as I had discovered Route 113 IPA at a local beer store.