NC Piedmont/CLT Meet-Up Planning

[NC-Trooper]

Hey Guys,

I am John and I had the pleasure to meet many of you at Overland Expo East at the OLB booth. I am the Associate Ambassador for the Southeast Region. All that really means is that I help facilitate member activity in Carolina's for Overland Bound. This is a first for our area and I am really excited to grow the overland culture here.

We have made multiple attempts over the years, like this last fall, to have group get-together s but we have not consistently had good turnouts. I want to take the time while a lot of the trails are closed and the weather is not ideal to try and get a read on the pulse of the area and what I can do to make events more accessible and appealing to everyone.

We were meeting in Matthews, NC, once a month for some "mall crawling." We just hung out, drank coffee, and talked trips and trucks. Sadly, this died out because of a hurricane or 2 and people lost interest. I lean more to off-roading type of events because that is more of my roots but I know that not everyone has the interest or rig for that (which is no big deal)

SO...

What are your thoughts on meet-ups?
Are you interested?
What time of day?
Frequency. Once a month, every 2 months, etc.
Are you open to a large group weekend trip?
Are you open to a more traditional overland trip in a smaller group like a week long?

I am aiming for a mixed bag of meet-ups so that everyone has something they like.

 

[NC-Trooper]

Hey Guys,

I am John and I had the pleasure to meet many of you at Overland Expo East at the OLB booth (I had the black Australian Shepard named "Trooper"). I am the Associate Ambassador for the Southeast Region. All that really means is that I help facilitate member activity in Carolina's for Overland Bound. This is a first for our area and for much of Overland Bound and I am really excited to grow the overland culture here.

We have made multiple attempts over the years, like this last fall, to have group get-together s but we have not consistently had good turnouts. I want to take the time while a lot of the trails are closed and the weather is not ideal to try and get a read on the pulse of the area and what I can do to make events more accessible and appealing to everyone.

We were meeting in Matthews, NC, once a month for some "mall crawling." We just hung out, drank coffee, and talked trips and trucks. Sadly, this died out because of a hurricane or 2 and people lost interest. I lean more to off-roading type of events because that is more of my roots but I know that not everyone has the interest or rig for that (which is no big deal)

SO...

What are your thoughts on meet-ups?
Are you interested?
What time of day?
Frequency. Once a month, every 2 months, etc.
Are you open to a large group weekend trip?
Are you open to a more traditional overland trip in a smaller group like a week long?

I am aiming for a mixed bag of meet-ups so that everyone has something they like.

 

[ckkphoto]

Gmtn80 and i live in NW Georgia. We might be up for an offroad adventure.

 

[Eric Lane]

I’m interested in meet ups, talking shop, and going on adventures.

Best meet up time for me is Sunday late morning to early afternoon.

I live in Southend of CLT so really anything inside the 485 loop works

 

[NC-Trooper]

I’m interested in meet ups, talking shop, and going on adventures.

Best meet up time for me is Sunday late morning to early afternoon.

I live in Southend of CLT so really anything inside the 485 loop works

I am thinking about doing a meet-up at a local brewery while the weather is not so great but a Sunday morning brewery trip my raise some eyebrows lol

 

[Eric Lane]

Hmmm, I’m good with Friday or Saturday afternoon/evening for a brewery. Maybe Sunday too, but that’s usually my garage day.

 

[Borkinator]

I'm down for monthly meetups.

 

[ckkphoto]

I'm down for monthly meetups.

I can make monthly....too far to drive but if there is a trail ride may try to make that.

 

[Borkinator]

I can make monthly....too far to drive but if there is a trail ride may try to make that.

We could do monthly to bs and plan for future events. Then trail rides, camping etc can be in addition to monthly ones?

Would be nice to get a somewhat consistent meet up going. Possibly change the location of the monthly meetup so more people can attend. I drove an hour to the last one but some people drove 6 hours.

 

[NC-Trooper]

We could do monthly to bs and plan for future events. Then trail rides, camping etc can be in addition to monthly ones?

Would be nice to get a somewhat consistent meet up going. Possibly change the location of the monthly meetup so more people can attend. I drove an hour to the last one but some people drove 6 hours.

Where did they drive 6 hours from? I know the guy in the Isuzu came up from GA but I thought he was more of an outlier? I thought Matthews, NC was pretty good location wise because of it's proximity to I-485.

I think a monthly meet-up is great but we need steadier participation. Do you think the location was the problem for the last attempt?

Thanks for your input, I think a mix of monthly and then planned trips is ideal too

 

[NC-Trooper]

I can make monthly....too far to drive but if there is a trail ride may try to make that.

We would love to have a madman like you drive all the way from GA! I will make sure to get it right so it is worth the drive for you.

cheers

 

[NC Sasquatch]

A group I used to be a part of in high school would rotate areas to attempt to keep it fair to everyone. You could do like one meeting in hickory/Shelby area then the next one would be in Rock Hill then the next in Raleigh. That way the same guys aren’t always traveling.

 

[NC-Trooper]

Hmmm, I’m good with Friday or Saturday afternoon/evening for a brewery. Maybe Sunday too, but that’s usually my garage day.

Maybe we could do a bit of a mix between evening and morning regular meetings?

Once I get more of a pulse for the situation I will set up and Rally Point for a meeting and then everyone can input in person. Setting up events and only 2 trucks showing up gets old lol

 

[Shloogan]

Hey John! I’m up for whatever! I’m out at the beach so Matthews is a little far but I’d be willing to come out to at least meet some of y’all. Following the thread.

 

[Borkinator]

Where did they drive 6 hours from? I know the guy in the Isuzu came up from GA but I thought he was more of an outlier? I thought Matthews, NC was pretty good location wise because of it's proximity to I-485.

I think a monthly meet-up is great but we need steadier participation. Do you think the location was the problem for the last attempt?

Thanks for your input, I think a mix of monthly and then planned trips is ideal too

I think that's the same guy. I might be wrong on the time I just know he said it was a long drive. He's one of the ones that told me about overland bound. I honestly didn't know it was a monthly meeting or I would of been back again.

 

[MaximusPrime]

East Charlotte here. Being new to the group and the overland scene, I'd love to get out and meet you guys. Following!

 

[Retinens803]

What are your thoughts on meet-ups? Any are better than none
Are you interested? The wife an I are both eager to get to know the community especially those that are close.
What time of day? Weekends are probably the best but we are available after 5 everyday excepts Wednesday
Frequency? At least once a month, if we do more than that it should be 1 like cars and coffee and 1 type of event per-say
Are you open to a large group weekend trip? Absolutely
Are you open to a more traditional overland trip in a smaller group like a week long? Not completely close minded to this, but this year money may be an issue for us.

 

[MaximusPrime]

I suppose I should follow Retinens803's example and read! haha

What are your thoughts on meet-ups? Being new to the Overland community I think meet ups would be a fantastic way to meet everyone and grow our collective knowledge base.
Are you interested? Very
What time of day? Weekends are best for me. My wife and I both work Mon-Fri jobs.
Frequency. Once a month, every 2 months, etc. I think smaller monthly meet up would be nice depending on the location, and larger bi-monthly trail meet ups.
Are you open to a large group weekend trip? Yes
Are you open to a more traditional overland trip in a smaller group like a week long? Absolutely, as long as it were planned far enough in advance for me to make it work.

 

[Nchome]

I am new to OB but I’m very interested. I just got a new phone so not sure how to reply as others did. But I work swing shift and I’m very flexible. That being said I try to make monthly trip around NC so I am up for anything.

 

[NC Sasquatch]

I am new to OB but I’m very interested. I just got a new phone so not sure how to reply as others did. But I work swing shift and I’m very flexible. That being said I try to make monthly trip around NC so I am up for anything.

What part of NC?