Paging SWriverstone to the White Courtesy Phone - Winter Meet in 2009?

[HappyRiding]

Are you fine folks in Region 6 going to have a winter gathering again in 2009? I heard you had an outstanding event in 2008. Will there be an encore?
 

[Scratch33]

Hell yeah!

[SLK50]

  Well, I certainly hope so. I had a great time at the first one! I rode about 400 miles that weekend and loved every minute of it. I'd be up for a 2nd.

[JamminJere]

CCCCCOUNT MMMMEEE IIIIN!!!

[JReazor]

CCCCCOUNT MMMMEEE IIIIN!!!

Me too! I wanted to go this year but it didn't quite pan out. I am now much better equipped to handle a long ride in cold weather thanks to winning an ST.N/New Enough drawing (Thanks Skipper).

[kendenton]

Freezing temps, a bit of rain, gravel everywhere, truck-stop dining.....yup, count me in again.  

[SWriverstone]

Oh yes! We'll definitely be doing another winter meet again! Now...   ...does anyone remember what weekend we had it on last year?  

There was a bit of discussion about this at ESTN...and me and a few others all think we should have it at the Cacapon Resort Lodge again---that's a really nice place, with a great "living room" to hang out in and a good restaurant right on premises. (And pretty cheap-but-nice rooms too.)

What says everyone else? All we have to do is pick a weekend and reserve rooms!  

Scott

PS - I'm totally open to having the meet somewhere else too...if anyone has suggestions.  

[kendenton]

Saturday, 1/5/08 was the date last year.  Cacapon would be fine again, it was cheap and very conducive to hanging out.  I'm open to other ideas though.

[SWriverstone]

In my experience, having a great place to stay/eat/hang out is almost as important as finding good roads to ride! If we stay at the Cacapon Lodge again, we have two great areas to hit for riding that we didn't use last year—farther west into West Virginia (like down towards Canaan Valley and Western Maryland)...or we can always shoot east into the Shenandoah Valley and up/along/over Skyline Drive and lots of great roads in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge.

Scott

[JamminJere]

Yep... it was January 4,5,6th... Friday was super cold.. like 15F when I left to come down from PA.. then the temps moderated on Saturday and Sunday into the 40's I believe..

Cacapon was a great place.. good food, good service, good waitresses even Scratch approved of.. We had a great time there.. in the living room.. or the upper deck.

A great ride Saturday on ball bearing gravel that was a blast...and great lunch at the Gateway Buffet in Breezewood, PA with waitresses even Scratch approved of...

Anyone wanna borrow my pocket knife?  

Jerry

[Cablebandit]

Yeah,  I vote for the same place.  Since it gets dark so early it's nice to have a warm place to hang out for dinner/ drinks.  I also like Scott's idea of heading further west in WV instead of heading up into Bedford County.  

[ZZR Rob]

I'm in just need to break out the heated gear if the day starts out like last year. Brrrrrrr

[HappyRiding]

    I guess I better be finding a new heated jacket then.

[Scratch33]

    I guess I better be finding a new heated jacket then.

Uh oh.    I've heard you're a cop magnet.

[HappyRiding]

Uh oh.    I've heard you're a cop magnet.

Apparently I'm getting to be.   I'll just ride out before you guys and head a different direction. You fellas won't see a cop all day.

  Maybe I shouldn't have put that donut potpourri in my Strom's exhaust.

[JamminJere]

Apparently I'm getting to be.   I'll just ride out before you guys and head a different direction. You fellas won't see a cop all day.

  Maybe I shouldn't have put that donut potpourri in my Strom's exhaust.

Nah.. we don't have to worry about the cops.... I'll just call the local farmers and have them place a few hay bailers around at strategic points.  

[HappyRiding]

Nah.. we don't have to worry about the cops.... I'll just call the local farmers and have them place a few hay bailers around at strategic points.  

Good thinkin'! I still giggle just a bit everytime I pass that hay field.

So when are we going to WV?

[motospeed9058]

We had a COG national at Cannan Valley in '07.  Fairly decent place.  Not sure it was worth the money though.  Pretty steep prices for rooms and not a whole lot of return on investment.  If I remember correctly, the food was outrageously expensive as well, but they knew they had you because there isn't much else around them.  I think it was $30 for meal that wasn't as good as our trusty local diner.  Just some thoughts to consider.

[JamminJere]

If we stick to tradition for the 2nd Annual Region 6 Winter Meet it would be January 9,10,11 at Cacapon State Park. Since New Years Day falls on a Thursday this year I wouldn't think we'd want it to be the 2, 3, 4th... But then again.. I'm just guessing..  If everyone thinks that the 2,3,4th would be better because of the long weekend possibly already.. then speak up..

Lets try to decide on the dates and if Cacapon is a go again (it gets my vote) Lets book it and get things rolling..

I'm sure Scott could easily set this all up again if he's willing to do so.

What dates and location is everyone Ok with???????

Its almost Halloween.. lets get cracking!

Jerry

[kendenton]

If we stick to tradition for the 2nd Annual Region 6 Winter Meet it would be January 9,10,11 at Cacapon State Park. Since New Years Day falls on a Thursday this year I wouldn't think we'd want it to be the 2, 3, 4th... But then again.. I'm just guessing..  If everyone thinks that the 2,3,4th would be better because of the long weekend possibly already.. then speak up..

Lets try to decide on the dates and if Cacapon is a go again (it gets my vote) Lets book it and get things rolling..

I'm sure Scott could easily set this all up again if he's willing to do so.

What dates and location is everyone Ok with???????

Its almost Halloween.. lets get cracking!

Jerry

What he said.

[motospeed9058]

Not that it would impact attendance at all, but you might consider that the Cycle World show is in DC during the proposed weekend.  

[kendenton]

not that it would impact atendance at all, but you might consider that the cycle world show is in DC during the proposed weekend.  

That might impact my attendance....

[SLK50]

  1) I'll have my hands full of wee'uns the weekend of 2,3 & 4. I vote for 9, 10 & 11.

  2)Cacapon SP was perfect: convenient location, great roads, etc. 'Nuf said.

  3)The IMS? Another reason NOT to go to D.C.  Hasn't been worth the trip since they moved it to it's present location.  Half the vendors and no demo rides! Ken, if you decide to go to D.C., I'll miss you.

[kendenton]

Ken, if you decide to go to D.C., I'll miss you.

   Aw, shucks.  I suppose I could hit the show on the way to the meet....

[JamminJere]

   Aw, shucks.  I suppose I could hit the show on the way to the meet....

Ken... did you hear Robert?.. There's NO DEMO RIDES!!!!! What could you possibly see at the DC show that you couldn't google up? It just wouldn't be the Winter Meet without ya.

JJ

[kendenton]

Ken... did you hear Robert?.. There's NO DEMO RIDES!!!!! What could you possibly see at the DC show that you couldn't google up? It just wouldn't be the Winter Meet without ya.

JJ

I went the last 2 years with my young son, and we had a good time.  No one cares if he sits on a bike and goes "vroom vroom".  Or, for that matter, if I do the same.  Last year at the show I met up with one of our winter meet brethren, tomsfz1 (who left us when PO closed).  I don't plan on missing the winter meet.  Of course if the weather is REALLY crappy I wouldn't make the slog from NJ.  I don't care how cold it is, but it's gotta be dry for that long a ride in the cold.

[Sandbag]

All I need is a date & place & I'll be there as long as there is no snow.

[HappyRiding]

All I need is a date & place & I'll be there as long as there is no snow.

+1  

[kendenton]

Bueller?  Bueller?

[EricJ]

Count me in!
Eric

[keppyou812]

Well,  depending upon weather, I could meet with Cablebandit, and Rob.  The SV is naked, and when it's really cold, it feels like I am too..   Maybe I can draft Rob down..    

Thinking of route 26 down to 30W to Bedford, 220S into MD. then 68W to Cumberland, then back roads to PawPaw, WV. and Route 9E to Cacapon.    That or we could do 22E in Huntingdon, to 655S to Hancock, MD., (drop daughter off at sisters, he he he) 522S to Berkeley Springs, WV. and Route 9W to Cacapon.  How's that sound, Rob???

Course gonna have to wait till closer to date.

[kendenton]

Course gonna have to wait till closer to date.

'Course we still need to pick a date.  

[SLK50]

  Well Ken, Chris and I would be happy to meet you for the ride down.

  My preferred route ( and I think Chris' also ) to Berkely Springs ( from Altoona ) is 36S to 26N(E) to 915S. This is a nice stretch through Buchanan SF. Turn right at 30 and left onto 915 again. Continue straight after passing under I-70. This will pass over I-70 and become 643 which will end at 522.
Turn right toward Warfordsburg. 522 merges with I-70 for about 4 miles then splits off again for the last stretch into Berkely Springs.
 
  For one of the group rides last year I took 655 down and found that winter maintainance left it covered with loose gravel, not much fun on a 700# bike shrouded in expensive plastic! LOL
 
  220 from Bedford to Cumberland is straight and heavily trafficed. I'd prefer 96. But neither is good enough reason to ride into Cumberland I'm afraid.
Although there are some nice roads east from Cumberland to B.S., even Scenic 40/144 isn't bad on a bike. No reason to take I-68.
 
  I like to ride 26, or better yet, 326 on the ride home as it provides a nice anchor to a day or weekend of riding. However, I strongly recommend you don't ride any of these roads at night, bounding deer are omnipresent.
  
  It's nice to see this Winter Meet gaining momentum. I had a great time at the first one and hope more people turn out for this one. If anyone has any doubts about attending, don't let it stop you from coming. You won't regret it.

  Looking forward to seeing everyone.

[SLK50]

'Course we still need to pick a date.  

   I may have stated this before, but I'm going to push heavily for the weekend of Jan 9/10/11. No scheduling conflicts for me and for the most part it avoids the Post Taumatic Holiday Stress Syndrome that afflicts many.  

[kendenton]

   I may have stated this before, but I'm going to push heavily for the weekend of Jan 9/10/11. No scheduling conflicts for me and for the most part it avoids the Post Taumatic Holiday Stress Syndrome that afflicts many.  

I second that weekend.  Let's make it official, then.  The Winter Meet will be the 1/9 - 1/11.  Gather at dinner on Friday for those that are staying, breakfast on Saturday and plan for a long day riding on Saturday.  

OK, Scott?

[Cablebandit]

Any idea how many rooms we should block off?  I could give Cacapon a call and get the ball rolling.

[keppyou812]

If I go down there, I will probably end up staying at a friends place in Hedgesville.  Only about 15 miles from Coolfont.  That and it lets me ride route 9 to get warmed up (or cooled off  ), for the twisties when we meet up in the am.

Man I hope one of those unseasonably warm fronts rolls in for that weekend.    Gotta start looking for a place in Florida, to move to for the winter.

[Cablebandit]

OK, my lovely and talanted wife ( ) has made contact with the Cacapon Resort and she is waiting to hear back from the group coordinator to see what kind of group rate, if any, we can get for 1/9- 1/11/09.  Now I just need to get a headcount for rooms.  I'll assume double the amount of rooms as last year just to give them a rough idea but I'd like to get a better idea as soon as possible.

I may start up a new post if this one gets out of hand trying to keep up.

PS:  The resort remembered us from last January.  Not sure if that's good or bad.  

Tentative list:

Cablebandit
SLK50
JamminJere
SWriverstone
kendenton
Scratch33
ZZR Rob
EricJ
HappyRiding
JReazer
keppyou812 - no room needed?
runhog


Maybe:
Sandhog

[runhog]

I will say I am in for now

[JReazor]

I'm pretty sure I'm in. I just need to check the vacation schedule on Monday.

[JamminJere]

I'm ready!    Lets do this again!

JJ

[Sandbag]

definite maybe

[Cablebandit]

OK, so the Resort called back this morning and said that the only weekened they had free between New Year's and MAY was the weekend of February 6-7-8.  There is also no discount unless more than 10 rooms are booked in which case they would knock the golf view rooms down from $69 per night to $64 per night.  

So....should we try to find other accommodations for the weekend of the 9-11, or push back until February?  I think pushing back until February could be a little risky.  Any thoughts as to other lodging?


Chris

[kendenton]

They were full?  That's pretty surprising - the place was a ghost town when we were there last year.  Bummer.  I'm no help for other locations....

[SLK50]

  Unbelievable! I hate to sound incredulous but I simply can't believe in the present economy that all 48 rooms are booked every weekend. Last time we pretty much had the run of the place. This bites.

[JamminJere]

Gee and we even tipped well at dinner!.. Man the place was completely empty short of a few book-reading ladies in a few of the other rooms... Someone call them back and tell them Scratch will be there... All the receptionists and waitresses were mere putty in his hands.

Thats bunk... no way that place is full all winter.

JJ

[Cablebandit]

Don't worry the call has been made to double verify what she said in her message.  I too find it hard to believe that place could be booked all that time, unless they are doing some kind of renovations that would keep them from renting the rooms.

[kendenton]

How about Blackwater Falls state park lodge?  It's in a great riding area, doni't know anything else about it.

[JamminJere]

Blackwater Falls State Park Lodge looks pretty cool... Check out the rooms..

http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/tours/lodgeroom.htm

Maybe a little farther to ride to... but it surely looks alot like Cacapon... Ken's right.. its in a great riding area. Good choice kendenton!   Anyone else know of a place that would accomodate us hooligans

Jer

[Scratch33]

Blackwater Falls State Park Lodge looks pretty cool... Check out the rooms..

http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/tours/lodgeroom.htm

Maybe a little farther to ride to... but it surely looks alot like Cacapon... Ken's right.. its in a great riding area. Good choice kendenton!   Anyone else know of a place that would accomodate us hooligans

Jer

2nd vote for Blackwater Falls.  IIRC there's a brewpub both there (Blackwater Falls Brewing Co.), and in nearby Thomas (Mountain State Brewing).

[Cablebandit]

It does look like a nice place.  I guess my only concern would be that it has quite a bit of elevation and they really pimp their "snow packages".  I wonder if, because of the elevation it sits at, they have snow up there from december on?

[SLK50]

I guess my only concern would be that it has quite a bit of elevation and they really pimp their "snow packages".  I wonder if, because of the elevation it sits at, they have snow up there from december on?

  My guess is that's a real possibility. Blackwater Falls SP sits about 2,000 feet higher in elevation than Cacapon SP.

  Has Cacapon responded to your further inqueries?

[Cablebandit]

Haven't gotten a return call yet.

[JamminJere]

It does look like a nice place.  I guess my only concern would be that it has quite a bit of elevation and they really pimp their "snow packages".  I wonder if, because of the elevation it sits at, they have snow up there from december on?

  My guess is that's a real possibility. Blackwater Falls SP sits about 2,000 feet higher in elevation than Cacapon SP.

  Has Cacapon responded to your further inqueries?

Good point guys... I didn't realize that Blackwater Falls was that much higher in elevation. Of course we were lucky last year with no snow anywhere... but 2000ft higher would be highly probable for the white stuff.. OR worse yet.. Have some settle in WHILE we're there..  

Maybe a lowlander approach would be better?  How about the Flatlander Riverbottom State Park?  

Actually it wouldn't matter to me where we meet... but i think we were spoiled at Cacapon... it will be hard to top if we cant get back there..

Jerry

[kendenton]

Should we be looking further north?  What's the split on attendees in regards to latitude?  I wouldn't want to pick anything close to Denny's in Clearfield - we'll be there in the spring - but maybe we should look in PA.

The roads are certainly better in WV, but if they are covered in snow....

[keppyou812]

Instead of Cacapon, what about Coolfont??   I've stayed there before(camping), but I think they have a "hotel", and I know they rent out cabins.  If the roads are clear, but snow on the ground, they have a sledding/intertube area. Nice restaurant!!  Only about 4 miles from downtown Berkeley Springs off of Route 9W.  
There is also a new(read 2 yr old) motel in Berkeley Springs. I'll check into it within a couple of weeks, when I'm supposed to head down that way.


SLK..   Did you say 700 Lbs???     If you leave the refridgerator at home, might help the MPG...  

[Cablebandit]

Ok, Here the deal with Cacapon.  Angie (group coordinator) just called back and said that the same weekend we had last year (the first weekend in January) is dead for them because of the holidays.  They were booked up solid last year as well just like this year after that.

That being said, if we want the place for the first weekend in January this year it’s ours.

So…if we decide to change the date to January 2,3,4 we can get the Cacapon with no difficulty.  Discuss among yourselves and let me know.  If changing the date is no big deal I’ll get some rooms blocked off for us.

I have no obligations so the date doesn’t matter to me.

Chris

[JamminJere]

Those dates are ok with me... just sounds like a nice long holiday weekend.. how about everyone else????

January 2,3,4th is good for me...

I talked it over amongst myselves are we are unanimus...

Jerry

[kendenton]

I'm good with those dates.  Pretty much anything except the weekend of the 24th.

[HappyRiding]

Works for me! After dealing with a houseful over the holidays, It'll be GOOD to escape that weekend.

[SLK50]

  Well OK. I would have preferred the following weekend but sometimes you have to go with the flow. Jan 2,3 & 4 it is then. Let's nail this one down before it get's away. Book Em - Dano!   er...I mean Chris.
 
  And no wimpin' out! I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at dinner Fri night.

[keppyou812]

   The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th???    

Was planning on being hung over till the 6th.    

[championsound]

Gimme a time and place and I'll be there!

[Cablebandit]

Wheels are in motion.  

please go here http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,32897.0.html for the official thread.