So Obo it was more or less a positive experience?
Leaving the hotel out of it....
It's still hard to judge as I've got no other STOC experiences to compare it too. Judging it wouldn't quite seem fair.
That being said there were things I liked and disliked.
I wanted to meet some members in person and while not as many as I'd liked, it was more than I expected with a couple of months planning notice. Quality over quantity you'd say, so it was a success for me on that front. It also worked into my schedule as I was able to get one day off work to attend. I'd never have gotten two days or more. Distance was my friend here. It did end up conflicting with getting my daughter to university but I'd committed to WoodSToc so we (my family) made it work. They went to Univ and I went to WoodSToc.
The riding, stops & weather were enjoyable the 2nd day but the ride was rough for me the first day. Could partially have been the new suspension and only having 50km on it before I headed out, but the roads while scenic were not as enjoyable as day 2. I'd say that the riding was about 60% overall positive as I had good driving to and from the event, as well as day 2. It can't all be smiles and sunshine as we all know.
So overall it was more positive.
The million dollar question of would I do it again? Well, that's undecided.
I can ride most of these roads if I wanted with few hours drive to the area, or ride to similar areas of New Brunswick within a similar time scope. It then becomes a cost / reward scenario for me, with more weight on the "experience" things more than than just riding. Meeting folks, having things to do both during the ride to break up the day as well as to do in the evenings is what I imagine a STOC to be. I can ride these places on my own quite happily from home, sleep in my own comfy bed and not accrue many of the costs. If I'm paying money, I want something out of it, some ROI (return on investment), something tangible and different. Being closer to home makes that even more so vs vacationing some distance away. We did have 2 group type events (a dinner & dinner/get together (rain prevented a fire)) but there was some "awkward" dead time for lack of a better descriptor that I'd rather of did something as a group. For me I imagine a STOC to be about the "owners" getting together and not just about riding in a group.
Again, Kudos to Catcher for getting it all up and going in the short time frame. It's not a task I'd have wanted to undertake.
I hope this doesn't come across as complaining (It's not meant to be) & this is just MY perspective - realizing it's just a matter of it not fully meeting what MY exceptions/hopes/likes were going in. It's like any experience in this way. Two folks can have differing experiences of the exact same event. There is no right or wrong or perfect here.
I'll wait to see what Catcher has up his sleeves for next year as well my other factors & obligations at that time before I decide what I'll be doing. It's still a long ways off and I still have
@Uncle Phil's reciprocal invitation to the BRG to see if I can fit in sometime!! We have the dates though, so there's a plan in motion for 2024.
And for anyone who's still wanting to make it down for WoodSToc, my advice is if you want to do it, do it. Life's too short for "what ifs."
Obo.
