BritishV8 2017-Country Roads, Take Me Home

[kstevusa]

Must be a lot to engage in around Lewisburg.  Dan visited a local brewery and distillery located within 1 mile or our hotel.  Their products were good and we enjoyed the brews. Look forward to the 2017 V8 meet. make your plans and reservation now. Join us the night before in Wytheville Va. for the "Warm Up". See separate thread later.

[Dan B]

Jim and I spent a very full day yesterday driving WV roads and checking out attractions within about an hour to an hour and a half from the hotel.  I think you all will be pleased with what we are coming up with.  Some of the meet will remind you of Palestine, but much more mountainous. Jim Williams met with us on Tuesday evening.  Jim W is a local MG and British enthusiast who has been on this forum before.  Every suggestion he has given us has proven to be awesome so far.  Jim B has all the information we have collected and is calculating driving times from place to place before we create an agenda.  People in the area have been very receptive, maybe even excited that we are coming in June.

[RMO 699F]

Sounds great Dan....looking forward to the meet!

[kstevusa]

The "Warm-Up" plans and location are w/i sight also.  Just need to get the contract and final details  worked out.  Stay Tuned!

[BlownMGB-V8]

What we have planned so far and subject to change, is the usual pizza in the parking lot on Wednesday evening along with a car washing spot set up. The Motel is an open room entrance type Quality Inn with a very nice bar and separate breakfast nook. A large second floor conference room fronted by a very nice sun room over the office and bar off to the side will do very well for out banquet. One light off the interstate in a plaza, it has a gas station/convenience and a chain restaurant on one side and just a short walk out the back door and across the lawn puts you at the door of the Wal-Mart. We suggest walking down the less steep part of the grassy bank there. Other useful places are right there also in easy walking distance. Main street is a few blocks further on. Jim Williams knows the local Chief of Police and will smooth the way for us a bit there, possibly even getting the Chief to show at our Meet-n-Greet. That isn't to say anybody can expect to get away with any monkeyshines, but it can't hurt. We will have a registration room in the strip across the parking lot from the Motel entrance and the Chamber of Commerce is going to set up a table there with flyers about all the local attractions and keep that stocked for us throughout the meet, so you will be able to find activities that interest you when you sign in, or later as well. Then Thursday and Saturday there are driving/sightseeing options which include:

1) a full day including a 2 hr drive on the loop to Cass where you can if you wish, take a ride up the mountainside on the Cass Scenic Railway to the 3rd highest point in W.Va. which is Bald Knob with a box lunch on the way. The view from there takes in 3 mountain ranges and includes the Green Bank radio-astronomy observatory which is only about 5 minutes from Cass and they do about a 1 hour tour which I believe costs $6. The train ride is about $60 and takes around 3 hours round trip. There is also a railroad shop tour which takes about an hour, they didn't mention a cost for that. There are 3 ways to get to Cass; Rt.92 is the quickest and straightest as it runs up through the bottom land between two ridges. That isn't to say it's straight by any means and any flatlander will find it interesting, and most others will as well. Higher speeds are possible. The more sports oriented drive is up Rt. 219 which is a slightly wider, more developed road with well executed curves and passing opportunities. This is the route we took on the way up and is a popular scenic drive, however we found traffic to be light. It is the road the Motel is on, and a main road into and out of Lewisburg so it does experience heavy traffic in town during rush hour, but the rest of the time it is lightly traveled. The 3rd route takes you into Virginia to Rt.220 and we hesitated to recommend it at first due to poorer roads and signage, and we just didn't expect much from it. However, what we discovered was a very nice section of mountain road about halfway down that really makes it worth recommending. There is also a nice but too short section at the far end that we followed down to the valley floor which is tight and twisty. A truck was polite enough to pull over and let us by so we could enjoy the drive. These sections are good enough to overcome the deficiencies in our opinions, including the congestion of a few towns on the route. You will also drive right by the famous Homestead Hotel resort in Hot Springs and the Greenbrier in White Sulphur. So overall, we recommend Rt. 219 going up, the Va. loop coming back, and if you want something a bit more sedate or quicker, then Rt. 92 is your best choice.

I think the train ride starts at about 11:00 AM so a relaxed morning still gets you there in time, with an Observatory tour or Cass shop tour either before, after or both. I think the observatory tours run every hour, and the shop tours would clearly be before and/or after the train ride. Or you could drive up, skip the train, find a spot for lunch and drive back. Plenty of options.

Our thoughts are to do this trip on Thursday as it is the longest day, and do the Hawks Nest run on Saturday, leaving Friday for things like a dyno session at K2 Motorsports, the Greenbrier Bunker tour, Organ Cave, or the swinging bridge run down to Paint Bank Va. on Rt 311 which shares part of the  Rt. 220 loop, or other drives or activities that you might wish to pursue either solo or in a group.

2) the Hawks Nest run is considered a "Must Drive" for motorsports enthusiasts. Part of the old Midland Trail, US Rt. 60 was the only way across the middle of the state from pioneer times up into the 70's and 80's when the last of the Interstate system was finally completed. It still remains a fine, well maintained Federal Highway winding through several mountain ranges on it's way east to the Tidewater Basin, originally connecting Virginia Beach with Los Angeles and including the famous stretch now known as Rt. 66. The run will take about an hour and a quarter give or take, depending on driving style and traffic and although the primary target destination is Hawks Nest Overlook, the run is not complete without the drive down the western side of Gauley Mountain into Glen Ferris where if you like you can view Kanawha Falls either from the park below the falls or from the Glen Ferris Inn above. We still haven't sorted out the exact plan for lunch. GFI is nice but expensive, however it does have a quite interesting history. There is also the possibility of a picnic at Hawks Nest, bring your own to the park below the falls, and a few other local options. Sewell Mountain and Gauley Mtn. are the most interesting parts of the drive, but you also pass through numerous small towns mostly starting with the letter "A" and there's a roller coaster section approaching Rt. 19 from the east. 3 lanes are common in the mountainous sections, giving good passing opportunities but do not be surprised to see a pass at any area giving adequate sight distance. You may or may not see a state trooper, they don't spend much time on lightly traveled roads. The curves on this road can be very entertaining, for variety, condition of banking, quality of pavement, and width of surface. The stretch between the ridges is less exciting but the drive at the end makes it worthwhile.

On the return you have many options. Follow the same path, or branch off to either north or south, although the northern route through Summersville is likely to take a long time and be very contorted where the southern route will take you through either Fayetteville or Beckley and have plenty of options to bail out to I-64 or back to Rt. 60. One such route veers off to the right at Chimney Corners on the way back up the mountains and will take you over the "Drys" and back to Fayetteville. (The Drys are a stretch of the New River below Hawks Nest Dam which during the summer months is bony due to the flow being diverted through the Gauley Mtn tunnel to a power station below. During Hurricane season this is a true class six whitewater run restricted to highly experienced and professional paddlers, including a one mile long continuous rapid known, appropriately enough as Mile Long and containing the infamous Multi-Ender-Bender Bowl Hole. It really is a massive bowl in the river formed by gigantic standing waves.) You won't see any rapids in June though, just a great rocky riverbed. The road winds up the other side of the gorge and joins Rt. 19 just below the New River Gorge Bridge and from there you can do many things including a drive down under the bridge to a sandy beach beside the last rapid in the Gorge, a small detour out to the "Ram's Horn" cliffs on the rim over the Keeney Brothers rapids (an initiate only sightseeing opportunity), return north to Rt. 60, or proceed south to alternate routes back to Lewisburg including I-64 and Rt. 3 up the Greenbrier river. There is also an alternate very twisty road down to Terry and back up Rt.41 towards Sewell Mtn.

We thought we would do this trip Saturday and your route could determine your starting time. Or, you could run a reverse route, coming back via Rt. 60, giving you a known return time to make it back in time for the banquet. Of course, once you have reached Glen Ferris, you do have the option of returning via the W.Va. Turnpike as well, and I believe you can head up Paint Creek from Montgomery to hit an access. I'd have to check though, it's been awhile. There is also a bridge below the falls that leads to a very twisty road up the other side to Fayetteville/Oak hill.

For those not so interested in driving, we are practically in the heart of Lewisburg and there are a great number and range of attractions to distract you. A few of the flyers we picked up include a small distillery across from a microbrewery, a hard cider facility, a BBQ called "When Pigs Fly", 2 local cave tours, numerous state parks and civil war battlefields, the Greenbrier River trail, theatre, local shops and restaurants, the state fairgrounds, and further out things like the Cranberry Glades and even Pearl S. Buck's birthplace, so there will be no excuse for boredom.

So all in all a most excellent scouting trip, and we have more to go. But I think you will all find things to enjoy and this could easily shape up to be one of the better meets we've done. Dan and I are setting the bar low. We would like everyone to enjoy their visit and don't expect any more than that, but we fully intend to leave most of it up to you. Yes, we'll organize the Banquet and the shirts and hats and make recommendations about what you can do, but the choices you make are yours. We'd suggest forming groups for the various activities, the ideal size might be anywhere from 2 to eight or ten cars, and would encourage considerable rotation among the groups formed but that's just a suggestion.

Oh, and a word or two about K2 Motorsports is in order. This is a brand spanking new facility, being completed as we stopped by. It is a "Destination" shop rather than a local garage, with state of the art facilities and equipment. As you walk in you are greeted by dark simulated marble epoxy floors fitted with carpet insets at the bay doors for the cars. An impressive rolling road dyno with large textured drums doubles down with a second movable set of drums for awd and 4wd dyno use. An engine dyno and motorcycle dyno are being installed as well, and these all have their own dedicated soundproofed rooms. The main hall is large and spacious with a 2 story overhead and a railed mezzanine around two sides. The complex forms a large "U" shape with individual garages forming two sides and the main hall and office the third with a conference type office at the other corner. Naturally there is plenty of parking out front which is adequate to accommodate our entire group. Neither of us had any idea that a facility of this type existed anywhere in the state, let alone within 5 miles of downtown Lewisburg, so we owe a great big thanks to Jim Williams for sending us their way.

Jim

[Dan B]

Great synopsis, Jim.  

More on K2....we don't know what kind of arrangements we can make with them yet, as it boils down to costs, but they have already hosted the Jeep folks and said they could create activities for a whole day just at their shop. It is a mother/son shop.  The brochure does say "for the discerning car owner" though.
We were thinking dyno day, something like Palestine.  We will have to get rates. http://www.k2motorsports.org

Also, the Cass Scenic Railroad park attendant told us it may be possible to get an entire car on the train reserved for our group, and the group rate for the train ride should come down from the regular rate if we have a large group.  We may arrange this as a group depending on interest.  http://www.cassrailroad.com

We visited The Asylum in downtown and they wanted to keep us....
actually it is a bar and grille and has pretty good food, craft beer on tap, an outside deck, parking, etc.  The town also has a gourmet pizza shop, an Irish pub, and several other eateries including Mike's favorite, "Food & Friends."
http://www.lewisburgasylum.com
http://www.foodandfriendslewisburgwv.com

[RMO 699F]

Will be visiting Food and Friends frequently while there....great food...

[John Hamilton]

Now that "Buck" is finished (in race car trim) I guess I need to think about lights and mufflers so I can join the festivities.  I'm pretty sure they would frown on the open exhaust.

[MGBV8]

You can join us, John, without a British conversion! I traveled to the 1998 & 1999 Meet in my stock 1979 4 cylinder MGB & to the 2000 Meet in my Dad's stock 1963 MGB.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Here are some photos I took on part of our scouting trip, riding in the Lincoln Limo. First shot is coming into the snake on Rt. 60, which as you can see is easy to dive bomb down the middle.



And I'd expect nobody in a LBC to have any problem with that but if you do it's possible to gather up a lot of speed so that the following curves can be quite exciting.




Only thing is, back in the 70's when quarry trucks made frequent trips here, the resultant slide into the center lane on this next curve;


had you riding the marbles all the way to the guard rail. The road was clear when we were there, but bear in mind it might not always be so.

Now, as you run this section you may wonder how one slides into the center lane? Well, combine a 1970 350 Olds Cutlass with a precocious 18 year old just learning how to 4 wheel drift and the picture becomes a little clearer. I wouldn't recommend it. That curve may not be quite as blind as it looks but it is close enough that going over the line at all there isn't really the sort of thing anyone should be doing for any reason, and the snake section is there to help you slow down before this curve so it doesn't happen. Some of us just have to learn the hard way I guess.

Jim

[PJPeterson]

Sounds like Fun!  My Wife and I will be there!

[tr302]

Made reservations for Lewisburg yesterday and just made reservations for Wytheville.  The Jag and I will see you there!!   Just installed Electric Power Steering on the Beast.  Unisteer came out with a unit for cars up to 4500#, unbelievable!!  Will be ready for the twisty roads.

Regards to ALL,

Ken Nicks

[Dan B]

Curtis has updated the "Meetings" tab: http://www.britishv8.org/British-V8-Meetings.htm

We have not yet finalized plans for the events, so the registration form is not online yet.  Jim is working with the vendor for the regalia also.  We have scheduled another site visit for Friday to try and get some of the venues set, in particular K2 Motorsports.  Stay tuned.....

[Dan B]

Working with K2 Motorsports, I talked to Kelvin today.  It is a brand new dyno.  He is working on grouting tile in the dyno room and working on the soundproofing. Our plan is for Friday, June 9th to spend a good bit of the day at K2, assuming we can work out the financial details.  Most likely there will be a rate for dyno day including maybe 3 pulls, with options for working with tuning at additional charges.  Kelvin says they do not have their rates set yet, but is going to send me something next week. Probably what we will do is put a place on the registration for you to register for dyno time, but pay K2 when we get there if that works for them.  Also Fridays are tasting and tour days at the local brewery.  They are eager to host us.  
June 8 is a Short Run day for Cass Scenic Railroad, which means a trip halfway up the mountain to Whittaker Station.  While the Bald Knob trip would be worth the extra money, considering driving time to Cass and back, plus a shop tour we are trying to set up, and the nearby Green Bank National Radio Observatory, the short trip is probably best.  We do need to make reservations and pay a deposit for that trip, and make the group purchase 30 days before our trip, so we will need to put the option for that on the registration form. The railroad should be sending us a contract soon.
Saturday, June 10th the West Virginia British Car Club has agreed to host us for a cookout/lunch at Hawks Nest State Park, near the overlook.  WVBCC makes that drive at least a couple of times a year.  It is a nice tour for LBCs.n Several members are anxious to see the modified/improved cars.

Making progress.  Jim has been working with TripleC on the regalia and there are bugs to work out with our WV British V8 logo, also holding up the registration form.

[RMO 699F]

Thanks for the update Dan!

[Mickey Richaud]

Sounds like we're gonna be busy!  Looking forward to it!

[Spitfire 350]

Dan,
Is this the correct K2? http://www.k2motorsports.org/
We may need extra days to take in everything.

[BlownMGB-V8]

That would be the one Phil.

Jim

[Dan B]

The Quality Inn has agreed to honor our meet room rate if you want to arrive early or stay longer.

[danmas]

Jim has been working with TripleC on the regalia ...

Interesting. When I contacted TripleC about doing the 2016 meet they said they weren't doing that type of business anymore. They did the 2011 meet, but made it clear early on that they really weren't interested in our business.  I found a local company that was very happy to have our business and worked with us well to see that we were satisfied. You might check around to see if there is a local company where you live and keep your money at home.

[kstevusa]

Everything looks great, don't forget the "WARM-UP" in Wytheville on 6/6/17 at La  Quinta.   We have special room rate also. Thanks Jim and Dan.

[Dan B]

We have been working on the regalia and lining out what meals we will provide.  Things are getting closer to complete, but not quite ready yet.  The hope is that before long we can get the registration online.  Meals provided by the meett: the welcome on Wednesday evening in the parking lot, a picnic at Hawk's Nest for lunch on Saturday and the banquet on Saturday evening.  Breakfast each day is provide by the hotel, and there are lots of local eateries in Lewisburg including Mike's favorite Food and Friends, the Asylum, Hill and Hollers, an Irish Pub and others, so we felt like it would be best to let folks try them out.

We have a price for the Cass Scenic Railroad, scheduled for Thursday, but do not have a contract yet.  That will be additional to the registration, but we will need to collect it because it needs to be paid in advance, so it should be added to the registration form.
 
 K2 is trying to get a sponsor for our lunch at the dyno day on Friday, but if that doesn't work out they said they could get a lunch truck where we could buy a sandwich or whatever  They are offering us a special rate for the dyno,  $100 for three pulls and you will pay that directly to K2.

Thanks to Carl for getting his brother to design a shirt logo for us.  Jim is working with shirt vendors to get a price.

I hope this answers any questions about registration.  If anyone has ideas or requests, please post, IM or email Jim or me.

[Dan B]

http://thesaltcaveandspa.com

This little spa is not far from Lewisburg.  Treat the gals to a relaxing day!

[Dan B]

On June 8th we will be driving on curvy roads to Cass, WV and will have the opportunity to tour the shops where they repair logging locomotives from 100 years ago or so, then ride that very train up the mountain.  Also in the near vicinity of the Cass Scenic Railroad, is the National Radio Observatory in Green Bank.  Your cell phones will not work there.  http://greenbankobservatory.org

The public is welcome to self tour the facility as long as all electronics are left in the car, but they also have guided tours for around $6.  On the 8th they also have a hi-tech tour.  Here is what they told me about that:  

Hey Dan,

How many are in your group? We have general tours every hour on the hour
in the summer starting at 9am and ending at 6pm (we're open from
8:30am-7pm). We have buses to accommodate groups large and small. Tickets
for the general tours are $6.00/person. Veterans, active service, and
children 10 and under are free. Persons 65 years and older purchase $5.00
tickets. You do not need to schedule a general tour in advance.

On the 8th of June we're offering a High Tech tour which requires
background screening for persons 18 and over, to do this you must call
with names and other personal information of everyone attending the tour
at least 48 hours in advance. On this tour you will see the lab where
receivers are fabricated and assembled and the control room where
astronomers and telescope operators work with the Green Bank Telescope
(GBT). Tickets cost $15.00/person and the tour starts promptly at 3:30pm

If you are also here on the 9th, we'll have a SETI tour where you explore
two telescopes and their control rooms on site that were apart of the
first searches for extraterrestrial intelligence in the 1960s. This tour
ends with a conversation with one of the astronomers working here about
the future of SETI and the GBT. Tickets cost $40.00/person and the same
background screening process as the High Tech tour is needed in advance.
This tour starts at 1:00pm.

You and your group are more than welcome to walk our grounds, exploring
all of our telescopes and learning about their current and historical uses
with our walking tour map. So long as all electronics: phones, cameras,
fit-bits, etc. are left in the car, there is nowhere you can't explore. If
you are wanting photos up close to the telescopes be sure to bring a film
camera or a disposable camera with you.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding this information, or if
you would like to schedule a High Tech or SETI tour for your group.

Best,


Sophie Knudsen
Public Education Assistant

[alanmoor]

A little late to the party, I've reserved my room at the Quality Inn.  See y'all there!!!

Al Moor