kgf3076

I agree that it can be a bit difficult to follow if you don't visit the Dragon forum on S2KI very often. Most drive leaders update the list of people attending their drives often. I check drives I lead at least twice a day to add the new people and to make sure that any changes are incorporated. Most other drive leaders do as well. There are a number of organized drives every year. Some are always held, some are one-offs. The drives that are always held are:

-Thursday Drive to Meet the OKI Group (open to all)
-Fridays are for Franklin (limited to 10 cars per group. Number of groups varies)
-The Group Dragon Drive (all participants)
-The Cherohala Saturday Lunch and Drive (generally limited to10 or 15 cars per group)

Other drives are organized and posted on the Dragon forum. Two years ago, I stopped including the drives in the itinerary because the size had grown unwieldy. I don't think there's an easy answer, but I'll consider all suggestions.

darcyw

agreed- maximum 10 cars. I try to announce gathering time and leave time on channel 4 leading up to the drive. I'm not about to wait around for people to decide to come- nor do I fault a drive leader who leaves at the appointed time on the dot or on the other hand, chats up the drivers and leaves a few minutes late. It tends to be pretty organic at times.

darcy

jeallen

That was a good idea, but there was no roll-up of the info or how the individual events fit in the overall plan for the weekend. The current approach just lacks cohesiveness.

Also... there were drives posted as not for newbys. This begs the question, if you want new drivers, what are the newby options for those days/times?
In the end, there more leaders and and more drives for more levels of drivers, but those were rather last minute additions.
.

kgf3076

Almost all drives have a day and time and meeting place. I agree there is no roll-up but I like to think that most people tend to follow most (if not all) posts in the Dragon forums and are somewhat cognizant of drives and the days they happen. Now, do I agree there could be more information? Absolutely! Dries are usually listed as "spirited", "moderate" or "Not for the faint of heart" and sometimes all in the same drive announcement. Sometimes you might select a group and find the pace is more spirited than you're comfortable with. That's the fault of the veterans. Most of us are familiar with driving styles of drive leaders and select accordingly. That information should be added and will be.

Some drives are lead by people who feel that moderate means 10 mph over the speed limit and some who think that 20 mph over is slow. Part of that is knowing drive leaders. I'l try to make sure that is taken care of. Other drives have inherent hazards (Devils Triangle for one). There are rudimentary (at best) shoulders and absolutely no room for error. Depending on who leads, even I might not go on that drive. That knowledge comes from knowing drive leaders. Again, see above. Somewhat akin to my Thursday night Dragon drive, I lead almost all the newbies. I know the Dragon (well, a bit anyway), and I know the road can be daunting at night for veterans to say nothing of newbies. That explains the "maybe we'll do the speed limit and maybe we won't" notice I always give at the beginning of the drive. As a (bad) example, if you're 5 years old and have never ridden anything faster than a tricycle and someone gives you a motorcycle, the best you could hope for is minor corollary damage.

Birdybog

kgf3076

If you register for drives you're interested in early, Scott, you don't have to worry about last minute changes. That being said however, there are always people who don't/can't/won't read the Dragon forums. There are always al fresco drive leaders who step ut at the last minute and lead drives for the "stragglers".

I'm going to add the planned drives to the itinerary for Dragon Fall Run and see how that works out. It won't be a list of participants, it'll just be the drives planned for that day. I generally send the itinerary out 3 to 5 days ahead of the event so that will give people who havne't been on the forum time to check out what's available. I'll also try to ensure that drives are posted on the whiteboard in the lodge lobby the day before they happen. I hope that will make things easier.

Birdybog

Lovetodrive2000

OK... help us out, what do we need to post so that new people understand what THEY need to do, to be ready for the event? It all needs to be done prior to the event. People need to understand, that they need to make an effort to make sure their weekend turns out great.

The organizers can't do everything, they need a hand from everyone who will be attending.

After the 1st event, most understand that they need to watch the forums, sign up early, etc....

But, what can we do to help the 1st timers out, that we don't do already? How to we get the point across to them to visit and interact on the forums, to sign up for drives, ask questions, etc.....

We really do want the 1st and 2nd timers to come back for more... that's what keeps this group/event going.

jeallen

Biggest thing for me would be to post a complete schedule in the main thread, include all events and drives with approximate start and end times. You could link drives in the agenda to where to sign up.

kgf3076

John, the thread that has links to all Dragon events already exists. Iti's at the top of the Dragon Forum. There are links to everything that is happening. It gives one place to find information about events during RtD and DFR.

You can find the one for Rock the Dragon 2018 here: http://www.s2ki.com/forums/dragon-ev...-find-1183822/
That thread should answer any questions about where to sign up, what drives are happening, what start times who's leading, where they're going, number of cars allowed, etc.