British V8 2017?

[danmas]

Where?   When?   Who?   Any definitive plans?

[BlownMGB-V8]

We're looking at Elkins. Lewisburg was too expensive, ($169/night). We figure Elkins will have better roads, and lower accommodation costs. We hope to have some definite details by Townsend.

Jim

[danmas]

Great, I was hoping we could make an announcement at Townsend.

[BlownMGB-V8]

So are we. Dan should have some more info in a few days.

Jim

[lawnvett]

As a kid, in the 1950's, I often visited that area, my maternal grandmother lived in Parsons.  Elkins was the nearest "BIG" town.
I remember many twisty roads.

[Dan B]

Here is US 219 near Parsons:

[NCtim]

Where is Elkins? Idaho?

[MGBV8]

:-D

[NCtim]

Seriously, Carl. The only Elkins that come up on Google is in Idaho.

Tim

[RMO 699F]

Just east of I-79, and south of Morgantown W.V.

[MGBV8]

Okay, thought it was a West Virginia joke.    That Elkins Resort in Idaho looks like a nice destination, though.


Something strange with your Google. I type in Elkins & the first two results are about schools, then I get

3) City of Elkins
cityofelkinswv.com

4)Elkins, West Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkins,_West_Virginia

According to this there are only three cities in the USA with that name,  New Hampshire,  Arkansas, &  West Virginia.

Population 7094 as of 2010.  Looks like its in a valley between the mountains.

Number 3 on the list of The 10 Most Redneck Cities In West Virginia. Hold myuh beer & watch this!  

http://www.roadsnacks.net/these-are-the-10-most-redneck-cities-in-west-virginia/

[Merv]

Carl, Elkins can't be that small as they appear to have a LIMO service.

[MGBV8]

Oh yeah, it's huge. The city limits covers all of 3.6 square miles.

Probably like here, many more prefer to live outside the city limits.

[Mickey Richaud]

Small towns seem to be a prerequisite for the meet - Townsend has all of 452 people (including Janet and me)!

[Dan B]

The town is quaint and artsy.  Formed by railroad and timber barons raping the countryside 150 years ago, it used to be a railroad hub and is located in a mountainous region, so there is plenty of room to play.  The hotel we are negotiating with is walking distance from 2 liquor stores and several downtown bars and restaurants.  
The picture I posted is close to the Kingsford Charcoal plant.  Wanna cookout?

[Oldbloke]

Jeez guys, you ever have one of these events anywhere closer to the West coast...?  I know you're all supermen and have hard bodies , but some of us don't have nearly the stamina to flog a classic car with big engine for thousands of miles!

[Anarchy99]

Nice, Elkins is only 6 hours away, where as Townsend is 8 from me.

[danmas]

Jeez guys, you ever have one of these events anywhere closer to the West coast...?

The reason there have been none on the west coast is because no one from the west coast has stepped forward and made it happen. These things don't happen by magic. It's a 100% volunteer effort.

Of the twenty meets we've had, I hosted or co-hosted five of them. It's time for someone near the west coast to host one. No reason why we can't have one out west AND one here in the east.

[rficalora]

For me, it's a double edged sword.  I like seeing and catching up with everyone.  If/when there are separate events, it'll be more convenient for some, but will also tend to create two groups instead of one.  I guess best of both worlds would be informal east/west meets and still have an annual all BV8 - either on our own or possibly combined with the annual MG Owners group meeting (I've never been to that, so not sure if it'd make sense).

I'm no closer to the west than the east, but if someone wants to do a west event, I'm happy to help - I'm in the SF Bay area every 2-3 weeks. I'd suggest a less formal one to start with to see how it goes over.

[40indianss]

if i remember correctly a california member began to try to organize a left coast event for 2017. the route was proposed/suggested which seemed to be in the spirit of the events of the past.  multiple replies from members east of the mississippi thought it would be too hot to drive to california in the warmer months even with a/c through the plains.  he eventually dropped the effort as the east coast folks seemed to think it would take too much effort to participate.  the western states are large and wide open compared to eastern states, hell it takes a day and a half on a motorcycle to cross montana.  just my interpretation of that discussion.  i could be wrong

[Oldbloke]

A Hwy 49 tour following the route through the 49er gold rush towns from Colusa and Sutters Mill to Yosemite would be a great run any time of the year through the foothills of the Sierras.  (Google Snowball Rally)

[40indianss]

and over the top down the eastern side then to lake tahoe

[Dan B]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNPki1WVZdw

Tentative dates June 7-11.

[BlownMGB-V8]

I think you gentlemen out west should organize such a meet, or a run, or a combination of both, and the sooner the better, even if the first one is on a small scale with just a handful of members. If you can do that in 2017 I think that would be great. Even better if you can do it this summer in 2016.

As for the W.Va. meet, perhaps to avoid confusion we should start a thread entitled "W.Va. 2017 Meet"?

Dan has discovered a few trends of interest to any meet organizers, which I will try to post as that information is available to me. One such gem is that it seems the Motel/Hotel managers like to use a 330 day cutoff. In other words, they try to fill the next 330 days' reservations and aren't overly concerned with anything past that. Now I know that many of us like to make our plans for next year while the memories of this year are fresh in our minds, and as that particularly applies to places we go regularly the motels are often willing to take reservations a year or more in advance, but what Dan has found is that there just isn't a lot of incentive on their part to exceed that 330 day window. As we have just had the 2016 meet and next year's W.Va. meet is yet over a year away, this hampers us a little in negotiating our site and room rates for next year, and no doubt this sort of situation is factored into that 330 day window since the bottom line is, after all, the bottom line.

But what it means for all of us is that it may be another month or two before we really have solid plans for next year. Fortunately for us all, Dan has a job that frequently takes him around the state to various towns and on a wide assortment of roads and has him staying overnight in many of these accommodations that we would like to consider. This gives him not only a good range of comparisons and contact with the motel/hotel staffs, but he sees what they offer as their Government Rate for rooms, which we can use to help negotiate favorable rates for our group.

As matters now stand, we have several very good locales in mind and are in the early stages of negotiations for accommodations with all of them, but as of yet the quotes on room prices have not dropped into an acceptable range. We expect that to change for at least one or two locations, Elkins currently being the best choice.

To be fair, in reality we could go to any town in the state that has the accommodations we like and have a good location for a meet. It's been said, by a famous author who also happens to be from our hometown, that the W. Va. roads are,"...like a can full of worms with the St. Vitus dance..." and those of us familiar with them will vouch for that. So we will not lack for fun drives regardless of where we are. But as we have become a fairly large group those needs must also be considered. Tips on W.Va. driving etiquette will follow in a later post.

We have also been considering activities, and these are likely to take the form of, "Go somewhere and do something." activities. These largely depend on where we gather. For instance we have such things as the Greenbank Observatory, a wind turbine farm, a dirt track, scenic railways, interesting state parks, a local brewery, Seneca Rocks, Germany Valley, Cranberry Glades a bit farther away and even Blackwater Falls is within reach. As long as we are considering a wide range of activities, a whitewater trip is even a possibility should there be interest in that, as could be a caving expedition, as wild caves are common in the area. Some of us are getting a bit old for some of that, but then again some are not. Clearly we can't do all these things and we may have to consider a follow up meet sometime down the road. But there are enough activities to keep us busy. For those who like hiking and/or rock climbing, this is certainly the place to be. We'll miss the fall colors but Summertime in W.Va., especially up in the mountains where it is cooler, is one of the best times anywhere, particularly if you find yourself perched on a high ridge enjoying the breeze and the views. One of my favorite things has been to sit on top a large boulder atop the rim wall of the New River Gorge and watch little rafts full of people float through the rapids.

At any rate, we have plenty to look forward to and there will be lots of options regardless of where we end up and it is likely the challenge will be more along the lines of figuring out how to fit in the particular things we want to do to the time we have available. One thing we might want to consider is the option of having small groups go in various different directions for some of the activities. It strikes me that not everyone will want to do the same things at the same times and it doesn't hurt to be flexible, plus the drive is usually a bit more fun in smaller groups rather than one large parade. Maybe one or two large group activities and a lot of optional trips would work. Anyway that's just a thought for consideration right now, and something I've seen work before for large groups in the area.

Jim

[mowog1]

re:  Dan has discovered a few trends of interest to any meet organizers, which I will try to post as that information is available to me. One such gem is that it seems the Motel/Hotel managers like to use a 330 day cutoff. In other words, they try to fill the next 330 days' reservations and aren't overly concerned with anything past that. Now I know that many of us like to make our plans for next year while the memories of this year are fresh in our minds, and as that particularly applies to places we go regularly the motels are often willing to take reservations a year or more in advance, but what Dan has found is that there just isn't a lot of incentive on their part to exceed that 330 day window. As we have just had the 2016 meet and next year's W.Va. meet is yet over a year away, this hampers us a little in negotiating our site and room rates for next year, and no doubt this sort of situation is factored into that 330 day window since the bottom line is, after all, the bottom line.
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Not necessarily.

I contracted BritishV8 2015 hotel rates well over 18 months in advance.

I contracted MG2016 hotels three years in advance.

I am organizing a high school class reunion (my 45th) for 2017...and have a small block of only 20 rooms. Guaranteed rate, etc.

You should be able to negotiate good rates, free meeting rooms, internet access, complimentary rooms based on total room-nights (ie - one comp room for every twenty five room-nights)  Note that a room-night is just that. An attendee's reservation for an arrival of May10 and a departure of May15 would be five room-nights.

You should be able to negotiate car wash stations, etc.

You should be able to negotiate reservation cut-off dates (which then frees up unsold rooms in your block for the hotel to sell, at the going rate, to others outside of the group....or to those procrastinators from the group.) The cut-off is typically 30 days prior to the event.

A lot of variables come into play....the number of potential rooms/room-nights in your block being one of the most important.