Rants about the Thursday Night Cruise + Mid atl. Cara.

[AdamZ]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

I'm not sure how my section was so fast. But I was struggling to keep up at many points. I didn't meet you because I just met up in Dayton and took off. Then got lost when the caravan broke up there at the end (which actually worked out pretty amazing for me lol). Definitely would have wanted to thank you because you did a spectacular job at setting this up. Just didn't get the chance.

Don't get me wrong...this caravan was a BLAST. This was my favorite part of fest next to meeting my lounge friends. I definitely hope you set this up next year. I just think there were a lot of people trying to show off and whatever which lead to a mess.

[compudiva]

Yeah, I too received a 'gift' from the IPD. at the time I was pulled over - it was definitely more about a show of force since prior to being pulled over, I say the officer behind me and moved over and then he tried to go after two others ahead of me but when he was unable to cross over traffic to get to them he decided to get me instead. I can't say for certain that during the time he was behind me that I was not over the limit but I was basically keeping pace with traffic. Live and learn...

[compudiva]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

Ernie, thanks for setting this up. It was an awesome experience and my mom and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Breaking up the caravan into smaller sections sounds like an excellent idea too. Looking forward to the next.

[73camarolt]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

I believe the biggest problem was, a car would cut in, someone would fall behind and speed up to catch back up. As the gap got bigger, the speeds got greater. I was one of the last cars and I remember doing some speeds I've never done just to keep up. Overall Edog, you did a great job. Nothing wrong on your part. That was my first time driving in a group that large but I guess that's part of the fun of the Fest!

[fisherssmoke]

If you ask me it would have been safer without the escort. IPD did a good job with what they had but it was a constant game of catch the guy in front of you then slam the brakes on. The cruze should have just taken off at a easy pace and ya get back when ya get back. The motocops zooming past made everyone feel like it was a race to a funeral. We bowed out about halfway thru which was near my exit, 3 kids in the car I had enough.

[Pentatonic]

Good points to note.

[bhillakaiceberg]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

Thank You Ernie for your efforts in organizing the caravan from Han**** to Dayton to Indy. I had a blast.

Of course, there are always things to improve on for next time, but overall fantastic job.

[Awesome_SS]

The Camaro drivers cooperated with each other on the road, but the other non-Camaro drivers didn't so much. That created intensity for the camaro drivers to catch up or pass. Not that they had too, but it would have been much better if they did. That's what I saw out there.

[adamgl]

I was going like 85 at one point and a Cop waved me to go faster. Then brake check to 25 MPH. I pulled off and went to go eat after that.

[stikSS]

Originally Posted by AdamZ

I just think there were a lot of people trying to show off and whatever which lead to a mess.

This is it... I seen it first hand near the front of the line.... which starts the whole speed up and slam on brakes.... If we could all keep a steady pace, no big gaps, and less BS chatter on the radios.... The cruise would be alot better.

Edog and a few others handled communication really well on Thur from Dayton to Indy... It seemed like the info flowed from the front to the rear pretty good based on what I could hear on the radio.

[FurySS]

Being a local - we do a few police escorted caravans to the track each year around the races. Even with 50 cars or less it is quite dangerous on 465 with all the merging traffic and people crossing 5 lanes of traffic .

Once I got to the host hotel and saw all the cars I decided to pass on the cruise. In fact several locals bailed out early on and came back to the hotel after "near death" experiences. We even have police officers in our group that did not feel safe, if that tells you anything! For the record I did post beforehand that I felt cruising 465 would be challenging at best. Flashers on was just beyond stupid.. For the volume of cars there were nowhere near enough IMPD escorts.

And for anybody wondering, IMPD does not do these escorts for free - so props to whoever picked up the cost to pay them

[Mikk2K]

The cruse around 465 was terrifying. It started off really cool with the police blocking the freeway then it just got crazy when the other motorists started mixing in. I had my fiancee in the car, and like someone else said, the car was silent we were both focused on the road and using hand signals out the window. I should have just turned my flashers off. It took me awhile after the cruse to settle down and thank the Lord I did not get into an accident. I am really thankful I had upgraded brakes on my car, because there were times I had to slam on them hard.

Well now I know for the next fest. Stay in the parking lot.

[Infern0]

Originally Posted by edog

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

As the number two car during the Dayton-Indy cruise I can say speeds were under the limit nearly 98.99% of the time.

The hard brake checks were a result of inexperience. That isn't mean to be an insult, just a fact. Following too closely, or braking instead of coasting. Blocking out other vehicles, etc. I think it was all handled extremely well with that in mind.

FYI, traffic stops are not conducted to "show force". If someone was stopped it was the result of a perceived action on their part.

Feedback threads are greatly appreciated, but typically better received when solely facts are presented vs half fact and half speculation on other perceived events that you weren't a part of first hand.

[Darth_Emma]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

I'm not complaining, just offering some info here... I was the very last car in the Atlantic caravan when we left Dayton. (I was driving my truck and didn't want to break up the line of Camaros) I was right behind the car in front of me as we got on the on ramp in Dayton and I immediately had to go 90 mph to try to catch him on the ramp. I couldn't. I said "screw this" and slowed down to a still-not-even-close-to-legal speed. It took me 20 miles to catch the caravan. Then it was just like everyone said... high speeds followed by sudden braking.

I saw no fewer than 4 Camaros pulled over for speeding in both Ohio and Indiana. I went by the 4-car crash. I feel especially bad for that last blue car's owner. It was in a construction zone with tons of semis and no shoulder. It was an accident waiting to happen.

I eventually gave up trying to stay with the group. It was impossible. I just drove to the hotel and got off the expressway ramp right behind the Camaros in the caravan. I caught up in the end.

It was just too fast for that much traffic. Maybe the leaders weren't going that fast, but it was insane at the back of the pack.

The Fest cruise around Indy was a piece of cake compared to that. Especially because I was riding in the back of a friend's convertible (thanks to Chris and Susan!) and I didn't have to drive.

I agree with others. Cruising in a caravan with that many car on a busy expressway is just not a good idea.