Ever Been To A Road Meet??

[rawmustard]

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.

[froggie]

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

[Hellfighter]

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

[US71]

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

I did that yesterday. Still had fun, though

[PAHighways]

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'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.

[bugo]

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

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?

[rawmustard]

Combo roadmeet/stormchase?

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

[PAHighways]

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?

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. 

[hbelkins]

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?

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.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

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.

[agentsteel53]

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! 

[Ian]

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

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

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.

[agentsteel53]

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

[Dr Frankenstein]

I have, just a week ago.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

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

Can't say you're missing much.

[Alps]

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?

[J N Winkler]

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.

[agentsteel53]

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.

[Duke87]

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.

[J N Winkler]

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.

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.

[Alps]

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.

[Dr Frankenstein]

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. ).

[agentsteel53]

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."

[corco]

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.