North-East / East-Central R.O.C. 6/26/05 Meeting Is On!

The first of two Ridgeline Owners Club gatherings in the North-East / East-Central region is on for Sunday June 26, 2005. Plans and details are being finalized now. Additional comments and ideas are more than welcome from everyone. Nothing is set in stone yet. What we have so far is the following:

(copied and edited from a different thread)
This is the preliminary plan for the June 26th meet.
I hope that I get this right, please correct me if I am wrong. Ladyridge's son races go Karts. These are not the kind of Go karts that I built as a kid that were made out of wood and powered like the Flintstones. They are serious racing karts and the race is a formal structured race on a very real race track. This will be a lot of fun to see. Maybe we can get a pit-pass and an autograph. Remember, there were some pretty young drivers at Indy this year - you never know what could happen!

For the days events there are many options to choose from. This is meant to be fun so do whatever you like.

I looked at mapquest and it appears that the Grove City Outlets (http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.asp?cntrid=1024), 1911 Leesburg Grove City Road, Mercer, PA 16137
and
BeaverRun MotorSports Complex, (http://www.beaverunkarting.com/), 201 Penndale Road, Wampum, PA 16157 are 37 Miles / 49 Minutes away from each other.
It is also only 35 miles / 33 minutes from the Grove City Outlets to Quaker Steak and Lube (http://www.lubewings.com/default.as...ation=cranberry (http://www.lubewings.com/default.asp?fldLocation=cranberry)) 1298 Freedom Road, Cranberry Twp, PA 15247.

I suggest that we informally meet at the Grove City Outlets in the early afternoon and spend a few hours there. That will allow for various arrival times, lunch, some shopping and generally taking it easy. We can plan the details later. There is a large parking lot in the rear that we can use as a gathering place. There are a number of places to get lunch nearby and inside the food court as well. There are even stores there that guys can tolerate like, Sony, Black & Decker, Timberland, and Eddie Bauer. Actually, it is a very nice outlet mall. Later, we can then either go to the kart Races at BeaveRun with Ladyridge or goto Quaker Steak & Lube for dinned and a good time. There is also a very nice Steak House just outside the Outlets parking lot. I have never been there but it looks decent. If we can make it to Quaker Steak & Lube, I am sure that we will have a great time there, especially for those people that have never been to one. It all depends on timing and Ladyridges schedule as well as what will work best for everyone else. There may be other things in the area to do that I just don't know about yet.

Consider that the 26th is a Sunday so we do not want to plan a late night event for those that need to travel home and work the next day. I think we can put together a nice day out and a nice road trip in our Ridgelines.

For those that are not familiar with the area, Grove City (actually Mercer, PA) is close to the intersection of I-80 and I79, North of Pittsburgh. It is very easy to get to. It is very close to the Ohio / Pennsylvania line. I live in the dead center of Pennsylvania. We are 158 miles / 2.5 hours away. We have made many day trips to those outlets over the past several years. It is an easy ride. Sometimes we take the bike if the weather is decent. If you draw a circle 160 miles in diameter from Grove City, you cover a lot of area and a lot of population. What do you think? We should be able to get a few hundred ROC members to meet, right? Well, maybe that many next year. This year, it doesn't matter. I'm going!

I have a few additional ideas to make the meet interesting and fun that I will add later. Maybe Ridgeline Hats and ROC window stickers for those that attend. If Honda does not want to step up to help with this free marketing event, I have another friend that has a screen printing and embroidery business, we can make our own hats or shirts if we need to! :p

In addition to the June 26th meet, we will be planning a meet on August 14th somewhere in North-East Ohio, partially to help with a Toys For Tots event that Ladyridge is involved with. Ladyridge can provide the location details later. The main event is a Go Kart Race that benefits the Toys-for-Tots. We can plan additional events around the main event for everyone to enjoy. Again, Ladyridge can provide information and details about the event so watch this thread (or a new thread for the 8/14 gathering) for more information.

If there are any other members that can help out, PLEASE DO!

More details, maps and directions to follow as the final plans come together.

I'm there with bells on!! :D :) :p ;)

This is where our event will be held August 14th. www.ckra.org
Keep in mind if you are interested in attending this charity event, seeing or meeting for the first time fellow ROC members and have a family vacation coming up, we have Cedar Point and Geauga Lake ( both amusement parks ), Splash Lagoon and Great Wolf Lodge ( both indoor water parks ) are all within a few hours of the charity event location.
We are located in Thompson, Ohio in Geauga County, the heart of Maple Country. There is a map on the website.
I sure hope we can make this happen. Would truly be a wonderful way to meet.

I hope more than U-H, Nick and I are going to meet. Sure would be nice to meet all the wonderful people on here!!

For those that are going to attend, please respond so that we can fine tune the plan and make sure that we have stuff on hand for everyone. Of course I am assuming the sale... that Honda or H & A will step up and donate to the cause (free marketing event for them, a good time for us).

Ultra-Hog and Ladyridge, as for now...plan on a nice drive to possibly meet you guys on Sunday, June 26...Nick

Ultra-Hog and Ladyridge, as for now...plan on a nice drive to possibly meet you guys on Sunday, June 26...Nick

Great...looking forward to seeing that tonneau cover!! :D

Who is coming to the ROC meet? Please reply so that we can get a reasonable head count. I have had a few PMs but a simple reply here will do. I will be posting specific drections and times real soon. Ladyridge, can you PM or call so that we can work on the last minute details. Anyone have any special requests or ideas? I do expect to have the Retrax cover installed and will bring the "Hitch Hand" thing that allows you to carry long loads in a short bed truck, and maybe some ROC window decals and....

Planning on being there early Saturday evening and staying at a local motel in New Castle area. Hope you don't mind my "wrecked" Ridgeline... :(

I won't be there, the Molly Bish Ride (Warren, MA) is that day. Have fun though! :)

I can't make it either - I have way too many household projects that are demanding my attention. SS, if the route is the same as previous years, you'll be riding right by my street. Have fun and ride safe.

:( Sure hope more can meet with us in August. I don't mind coming your way as well at some point this Summer or Fall. We do have plans to go to Charlotte, N.C. for an National Kart Race, maybe we can try something then.
Hey..with almost 12K on the odo, do you think driving is an issue for me?? Not on your life. ESPECIALLY when I'm behind the wheel of Lady Ridgina. :D

Ok, here is the plan, unless someone has a better idea or a schedule conflict. Given that it will be a Sunday night, Nicholas will be traveling to arrive in the evening, Ladyridge will have been out at the races all day, and my wife and I will be traveling about 2 1/2 hours, how about if we meet for dinner at Hoss's directly across from the Grove City outlets at 6:00PM? There is also a steak house type restaurant within sight of Hoss's if anyone prefers that instead. We could go to Quaker Steak & Lube but it will add about 1/2 hour to Ladyridges trip home, I think. I have PM'd both Ladyridge and Nicholas my cell phone number. If anyone else would like it, just send me a PM. We can move the time up or back and change the meeting place if you prefer, depending on your schedules. If we can get away early enough, we will go to the races for a few hours then head to the outlets for a few hours (I promised). Nicholas, or anyone else, please let me know if you would like me to bring the "Hitch-Hand". No problem to bring it but if there is no interest I will leave it at home. At the outlets, there is a large rear parking lot that allows for an easier exit through the rear exit. I will park back there, several rows in and far enough away from other vehicles to avoid door dings, big trucks and people with keys. I am excited to meet everyone and look forward to a great day!

From a previous post:
For the days events there are many options to choose from. This is meant to be fun so do whatever you like.

I looked at mapquest and it appears that the Grove City Outlets (http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.asp?cntrid=1024), 1911 Leesburg Grove City Road, Mercer, PA 16137
and
BeaverRun MotorSports Complex, (http://www.beaverunkarting.com/), 201 Penndale Road, Wampum, PA 16157 are 37 Miles / 49 Minutes away from each other.
It is also only 35 miles / 33 minutes from the Grove City Outlets to Quaker Steak and Lube (http://www.lubewings.com/default.as...ation=cranberry (http://www.lubewings.com/default.asp?fldLocation=cranberry)) 1298 Freedom Road, Cranberry Twp, PA 15247.

I suggest that we informally meet at the Grove City Outlets in the early afternoon and spend a few hours there. That will allow for various arrival times, lunch, some shopping and generally taking it easy. We can plan the details later. There is a large parking lot in the rear that we can use as a gathering place. There are a number of places to get lunch nearby and inside the food court as well. There are even stores there that guys can tolerate like, Sony, Black & Decker, Timberland, and Eddie Bauer. Actually, it is a very nice outlet mall. Later, we can then either go to the kart Races at BeaveRun with Ladyridge or goto Quaker Steak & Lube for dinned and a good time. There is also a very nice Steak House just outside the Outlets parking lot. I have never been there but it looks decent. If we can make it to Quaker Steak & Lube, I am sure that we will have a great time there, especially for those people that have never been to one. It all depends on timing and Ladyridges schedule as well as what will work best for everyone else. There may be other things in the area to do that I just don't know about yet.

Consider that the 26th is a Sunday so we do not want to plan a late night event for those that need to travel home and work the next day. I think we can put together a nice day out and a nice road trip in our Ridgelines.

For those that are not familiar with the area, Grove City (actually Mercer, PA) is close to the intersection of I-80 and I79, North of Pittsburgh. It is very easy to get to. It is very close to the Ohio / Pennsylvania line. I live in the dead center of Pennsylvania. We are 158 miles / 2.5 hours away. We have made many day trips to those outlets over the past several years. It is an easy ride. Sometimes we take the bike if the weather is decent. If you draw a circle 160 miles in diameter from Grove City, you cover a lot of area and a lot of population. What do you think? We should be able to get a few hundred ROC members to meet, right? Well, maybe that many next year. This year, it doesn't matter. I'm going!

I have a Ridgeline Owners Club window sticker for Ladyridge to ease her pain from the parking lot incident. I have one for Nicholas for his encounter with a big rig.
I have 13 Ridgeline Owners Club window stickers for the first 13 members that I see. Unless we are surprised, nothing from Honda or H&A yet that I know of - but you never know...

So how was it?

Well, this didn't work out too well...was there last night (Saturday 25th) and found the race track (one heck of a nice track). Got up early this morning and went back to the race track where we "found" Ladyridge, her better half, (Todd), and their children. We stayed for a while and decided to visit my father since we could travel back thru his area without going too far out of our way on our way home. Ladyridge and her family are really a very nice group to have met...sorry we didn't meet the others who thought of coming! Maybe the "next" time around??? And for the record...it was really hot !!!

Well...Part one was meeting Nick and his very nice lady friend. They were "totally" ( sorry, my kids have a way of rubbing off on me ) nice people. It was great to meet someone I had communicated with for so long then finally get a real hug. Nick wasn't kiddn'...it was hot. A blistering 98 degrees out at that track with no air moving around but the warm stuff that follows you as you walked. We chatted for a while and checked out each others "rides", consoled each other over our booboos, and all too soon, Nick and his lady were off on their way to Nick's Dad's. Thanks for coming to see us Nick. It was a long trip for you and your Lady friend and we really appreciated you being there for us. We all had a very nice visit and we wished you could have stayed longer.
Now..here's part two of the day. Mr. Ultra-Hog and Mrs. Ultra. I would have said Mrs. Hog but I got to know her a little today and she definately deserves the Ultra part of that name. Ok, Ok, Mr. Ultra-Hog was ok too!! ;) I can't begin to tell you the instant bond I felt when I met Ultra-Hog today. To me, it was as if we were long lost relatives. We talked in the parking lot of Hoss's Steak House by our Ridgeline's, which spilled into the dining room while we ate. I just realized I forgot to have Todd take our picture. :( Anyway, It turned into a couple hour eat and meet session which again, ended all too soon but I did get hugs again. I sure love those ROC family hugs. My children commented several times on the way home what nice people you were and Todd and I whole heartily agree. Thanks for driving so far to see us B & C. I'm looking forward to August if not sooner. Sure would love to see you two at Warthers.
All in all it was a wonderful day, one I will treasure always. My son placed 7th out of 16 drivers at it was the first time he drove the road course at Beaver Run. Lots of great things to see out there. The motorcycle stunt show was fantastic. Looks like we may be there again July 17th. I better close for now. I here Todd pacing back and forth in the kitchen trying to put things away from the days travels by himself and here I am with my addiction.
Good Night Ridgeline Owners Club. Thanks for coming into my life!! :)
p.s. Have Ridgeline...willing to travel to meet more new ROC family members. :D
p.s.s. Thanks for the sticker B. It means a great deal to me!!

Wow! What a great time we had with some really great people! For those that missed the opportunity to meet Ladyridge and family, you really missed something special. In my humble opinion, it is Ladyridge that puts such a genuinely warm, yet fun personal touch on this Ridgeline Owners Club site that helps to makes it so unique and so good. It seemed more like Thanksgiving day catching up on family events with the relatives than meeting someone for the first time. We even talked a little bit about Ridgelines. We did talk about how much this Ridgeline Owners Club site and the extended family means to us.

August 14th is the next scheduled meet. The main event is located at the race track located, it think, in North Eastern Ohio near the Ohio / PA line, with other ROC events such as dinner after the race. Ladyridge's son races high performance Go Carts. See the thread here http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=841&highlight=cart Please excuse me for not knowing what the correct term is for them. I do know tht they are as close to Formula-1 Racing as you can get for less that a million dollars! I saw the cart and it looks like the real thing! If you come, maybe you can get an autograph. You just might be meeting the next Jeff Gordon or Dale Ernhardt! Anyway, the August 14th date is a charity event for Toys-for-Tots that ladyridge is involved with. She can provide details far better than I can. With the help and input from ROC members, I think that we can plan a really great one or two day event that can be a lot of fun for everyone. Please contribute your thoughts and ideas, and plan to attend!