I'm sure many of the folks coming to ITR Expo 2002 are going to want to drive there in convoys that will meet in distant locations for the drive. So let’s talk about some possible meeting points for the convoys to ITR Expo 2002, okay?

I’m going to make some assumptions here to make things easier. Feel free to disagree with those and make your own plans. I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do, just trying to make the process easier by starting with some suggestions.

First, I’m going to assume that there’s going to be an optional dinner of some sort on Sunday evening. So I will assume that most folks will want to plan out these meeting points in a way that gets people arriving in South Haven by 5:00 p.m. or so on Sunday.

For each meeting point, we'll need a volunteer to be the "convoy coordinator" who will decide when and where the meeting will take place. Here’s an example of information the coordinator should identify so that it can be posted on the ITR Expo 2002 website:

<u>OH Meeting point</u>
Meeting Location and Directions: Service area on I-80/I-90 westbound, 3 miles west of Exit 8A (25 miles west of Cleveland)
Meeting Time: Sunday May 26, 12:00 noon EDT
Departing Here for Destination: ITR Expo 2002
Driving Time to Destination: 5 hours
Distance to Destination: 280 miles
Cars arriving from: Cleveland, NJ Convoy (via I-80), DC Convoy (via I-70/I-76/I-80), NC Convoy (via I-77/I-80)
En-route cell phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

I can see that we might need meeting points for the following convoys:

- OH (includes folks from OH, plus NJ convoy, plus DC convoy, plus NC convoy)

- NJ (includes folks from NJ/NY/CT and New England)

- DC (includes folks from MD/DC/VA)

- NC

- Detroit (for folks from MI, plus Toronto convoy)

- Toronto

- Atlanta (for folks from GA, plus FL convoy)

- FL

- St. Louis (for folks from MO, plus TX convoy)

- DFW, TX

- Omaha (for folks from NE, plus CO convoy)

- CO (for folks from CO, plus Southern CA convoy)

- Southern CA

- MN

Howzatsound?



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 6:25 PM 1/18/2002]

 

I'm down for a MN/WI caravan!

anyone else?

 

Drivers... drop me a line and we can talk about a rest stop in Charlotte on the Sat before.

Will
-who would love to have ~15-20 ITR's stop by the house for the evening

 

I am sure davidnyc from R-speed will come up with a NY/MA convoy once the number of attending members are confirmed.

 

I'll be in for heading up the New England group, meeting up with the NY/NJ people when I80and 90 meet like Ken said before.

 

any CT people are welcome to contact me for a caravan; we can meet up with early sunday. i believe davidnyc and myself will be joining up for the ride at some point.

 

Yeh, I can organize the NY/NJ drivers.

I have a question/request. Lets say that for a one day drive the furthest points are 15hrs away. Is there anyway we can plan the Sunday dinner to be late? I mean after driving 15hrs, I know most people will be tired, but they would be really psyched to hangout with other drivers at dinner. So lets say, the earliest someone would want to leave will be 5am, so that makes a dinner of 8pm doable for most drivers. Other further away drivers would have left on previous days and may be able to arrive earlier on Sunday. Just a suggestion, what do you guys think?

 

good point, i have 800 miles to drive which will probably take 11-13hrs, even if i leave at 8am i won't get there until about 8pm. i will definitely want a big feast with many beers after that bastard drive.
how many time zones do i cross coming from CT - 1hr back?

 

Time Zones ! (Duh!) I forgot about time zones. Do we save an hour driving west to Michigan? I'll check.

http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-usa2.htm

Michigan is in EST.


[Modified by davidnyc, 9:22 PM 1/18/2002]

 

what about the peeps in IL... how many are rolling up to gingerbread man's house.
and which route are you peeps from MN/WI taking?

 

I would suggest avoiding a dinner TOO late on Sunday, because you're going to want to get a good night's sleep before going to the track first thing Monday morning.

If I were leaving from NY/NJ, I think you might want to think about leaving on Saturday and staying overnight on the way. Just a thought...

 

I know there are going to be a lot of people going to ITR Expo 2002 from Chicago. But I'm not sure that it's worth worrying about a meeting point, since South Haven is only about 110 miles from downtown Chicago. (That's why I didn't mention a meeting point in Chicago.)

If we were going to set up a meeting point in Chicago, we could meet at the Skyway McDonald's. Plenty of parking and food, easy to find, and it's right on the way for everyone from the city, northern, and western suburbs. No big deal driving through the city either, since it will be Sunday in the middle of a holiday weekend, so there shouldn't be much traffic.

I'll be happy to be the convoy coordinator for Chicago, if folks want to drive out there together. We could meet at the Skyway McDonald's around 1:30 pm CDT and if we hit the road by 2:00, we'd get to South Haven between 4:30 and 5:00 EDT.

If folks meeting in the Twin Cities met there (in MN) around 7:00 a.m. and left at 7:30, they shouldn't have any problem getting to the Skyway McDonald's in time for our meeting point.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 8:36 PM 1/18/2002]

 

personally, i don't want to leave saturday night. i work saturdays until 6.30 (can't sleep in late to be rested for a long drive) and i don't want to pay for a 4th night in a hotel.

 

socal foos will be arriving in bentlys and hummers...haha...
i havent had enough interest from folks to have the cars trailored...so i probably head out there the fridaybefore...head through denver and nebraska....any of you fools can cruise with me if youdont mind doing the speed limit...

 

Obey the speedlimit. I don't want some foreign state troopers yanking my crank!

 

skyway meeting point for the chicago/mn/wi people sounds good to me.

cant wait to meet all the guys here, it should be fun

 

Skyway McDonald's

 

Good, and considerate idea Will!


[Modified by Darth VadeR, 8:10 AM 1/19/2002]

 

Hey EP, I am sure all of us Nebraska folks would love to head up there with you, even if you go the speed limit If you or anyone else is interested in crashing at my place for rest, you are more than welcome. By that time, I will be moved into my new house

 

BTW, I can't be there at the Chicago meeting point. I'm going to be coming directly from a track event at Mid-Ohio Friday-Sunday. Life is hard...

 

yeah the skyway will be a great point for all the midwest people to meet at. should only take me an
hour to get there.
oh yeah nsxtcjr, never under estimate the traffic of the windy city. not saying it's as bad as NYC or LA,
but sometimes it can sneek up on ya.

 

My house is available as well if anyone is coming from the West and needs a place to crash. I live conveniently just off I-80 so it wouldn't be hard to find.

 

No... not the.... SPEED LIMIT!

I can't go to work without going 90+ in a 35... Damn addiction.

(I'll be going to Expo... oh yes... but I won't be driving the speed limit...)

Actually, I'm just here to ***** for my 500th Post.

 

Skyway McDonalds sounds good to me.

jmb

 

Florida - who will hopefully stay at Willard's Friday night in NC, then off to ITR EXPO
FL + NC =