NC M3 Meetup

[Casa de Mesa]

Hey all,

Mayan-Viking and I have been scheming. The weekend of Oct 21/22, we're planning on exercising our cars. Saturday Oct 21 is the primary date, with Sunday Oct 22 as the rain date.

Loose plans so far are:

• Meetup mid morning somewhere in the Statesville/Winston-Salem area
• Go hit some mountain roads that we know which are epic this time of year (or anytime of year,)
• Grab a lunch somewhere, likely NORTH of Statesville
• Hit some more roads
• Head home

Pulling some names off the Southeastern US sub-forum that I think are within a stones throw:

slavik1988, M3Gallo, Apex_80, ///Mac, pawa_k2001, bimmerfan08, Hollywood, BMWE46M3, DaveD, gheorghe, stephen

More to come, we are putting this together somewhere quickly, but Mayan-Viking and I both know some killer roads and some good lunch spots. We've been wanting to meet more of the forum members but like all of us, life and work get in the way.

Let's use this thread to build to some interest and coordinate it.

-Casa (Bryan)

[Casa de Mesa]

Edit 10/14: Details updated below.
Edit 10/19: Corrected error on arrival time with Leg 1 (incorrectly was 11:30am, arrival is more like noon)

Confirmed:
Casa de Mesa
Mayan-Viking
tmaxx445
David325is
slavik1988

Tentative:
bimmerfan08


Below is the current route per Google maps as of Saturday the 14th. Please don't feel like you have to do the full drive - for example if you're coming in from Western NC, peeling off from Damascus to home might make more sense. The point is to start to get people on this forum together and again, this is a pretty impromptu / last minute trip.

That said, these roads are pretty fantastic and also *should be* less traveled comparatively.

Meetup location: Hamptonville Park & Ride @ 9:00AM Saturday Oct 21.

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/faxFAtEpZwDoVxRy9
• 1513 Asbury Church Rd, Hamptonville, NC 27020
• There is an Exxon around the corner with a decent convenience store attached.

Leg 1: Hamptonville P&R to McGrady's Grocery to ALVIN EATZ Damascus, VA | 2 hr 17 min | 96.5 miles

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZeSexDLMvXLX84pb8
• Depart: 9:30AM arrive 12:00 (15 min break somewhere)

Leg 2: ALVIN EATZ to Southern Scoops & Sandwiches, Jefferson NC | 1 hr 9 min | 43.0 miles

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/VjTK756m25jkTzBX7
• Depart 1:15PM arrive 2:30PM

Leg 3: Southern Scoops to Sparta, NC | 38 min | 27.4 miles

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/RfurpdtXEhiM2RWWA
• Depart 2:45PM arrive 3:20PM

Full loop of above legs: Hamptonville P&R to Damascus, VA to Jefferson NC to Sparta | 4hr 12 min | 167 miles

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/hT5yVSfDbK3JNjS29
• Depart 9:30AM arrive 3:20PM

[Mayan-Viking]

I'm looking forward to this...

[tmaxx445]

Im planning on joining, whether im in my M3 or S62 powered E38 is still up in the air 😅

M3 needs tires really really bad....

[Casa de Mesa]

I'm looking forward to this...

Hell yes, me too.

Im planning on joining, whether im in my M3 or S62 powered E38 is still up in the air 😅

M3 needs tires really really bad....

Awesome, looking forward to meeting you! Sounds like a good excuse to buy some new sneakers for your M3 😁 Although the E38 sounds pretty intriguing...

[BMWE46M3]

This sounds awesome, and I appreciate the invite and you putting this together. I'm not sure yet if I can attend but will let you guys know either way. Do you have a location and time selected to meet at? BTW, it appears that ///Mac and I have the same car. I too have a 2002 steel gray with imola with Koni/Eibach.

[Casa de Mesa]

This sounds awesome, and I appreciate the invite and you putting this together. I'm not sure yet if I can attend but will let you guys know either way. Do you have a location and time selected to meet at? BTW, it appears that ///Mac and I have the same car. I too have a 2002 steel gray with imola with Koni/Eibach.

Awesome, hope you can make it!

At the moment, I'm thinking that a 9:00AM meet up at the Hamptonville Ride & Park is a good central location:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DQgm87CoZ5mgoxwf9

I know that's a hike for the folks in Charlotte and elsewhere, but it's a great "gateway spot" that puts us within spitting distance of some fantastic roads.

I put together some very initial routes that includes some spectacular views, runs UP mountain roads (safer than going down!), and riding along higher mountain plains/rolling hills. If we have a lot of people coming from a certain area, we can tailor the routes accordingly.

Here's an example of something that will work well for a single day drive, with potential bail-out options if people do not have a full day:

• Leg 1: Hamptonville P&R to Damascus, VA for lunch (about 2hr 15 min / 95 miles)
• Leg 2: Damascus to Jefferson, NC to a TBD stopping point (about 1 hr 10 min / 40 miles)
• Leg 3: Jefferson to Sparta, NC (about 40 min / 28 miles)
• Leg 4: Sparta, NC to your respective home (depart back home)

This has us leaving Sparta around 3:30PM, so you can figure return legs from there.

We also are likely going to pick up some BMW guys/friends from out of state (PA) who got wind of this and want in. So we should have a good group for the day!

[BMWE46M3]

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it but hope everyone has fun and thanks again for the invite. Please post some pics...

[Casa de Mesa]

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it but hope everyone has fun and thanks again for the invite. Please post some pics...

Will do!

If your plans change and you can join for part of it, bring it!

[gheorghe]

Man, this sounds like a fun drive and I've been waiting for something like this to pop up ever since I moved to NC.
Unfortunately I will be out of the country till Nov 10th. If this event somehow gets postponed till after I get back I would be all in.

[bimmerfan08]

Hey all,

Mayan-Viking and I have been scheming. The weekend of Oct 21/22, we're planning on exercising our cars. Saturday Oct 21 is the primary date, with Sunday Oct 22 as the rain date.

Loose plans so far are:

• Meetup mid morning somewhere in the Statesville/Winston-Salem area
• Go hit some mountain roads that we know which are epic this time of year (or anytime of year,)
• Grab a lunch somewhere, likely NORTH of Statesville
• Hit some more roads
• Head home

Pulling some names off the Southeastern US sub-forum that I think are within a stones throw:

slavik1988, M3Gallo, Apex_80, ///Mac, pawa_k2001, bimmerfan08, Hollywood, BMWE46M3, DaveD, gheorghe

More to come, we are putting this together somewhere quickly, but Mayan-Viking and I both know some killer roads and some good lunch spots. We've been wanting to meet more of the forum members but like all of us, life and work get in the way.

Let's use this thread to build to some interest and coordinate it.

-Casa (Bryan)

Just saw this. Thanks for the tag. I assume everyone you tagged is in NC?

I'm a maybe. Looking at potentially going westward that weekend to Asheville and the surrounding area. If plans change, I can let you know.

[bimmerfan08]

Side note: do any of you ever meet up in the Lake Norman area?

[Casa de Mesa]

Man, this sounds like a fun drive and I've been waiting for something like this to pop up ever since I moved to NC.
Unfortunately I will be out of the country till Nov 10th. If this event somehow gets postponed till after I get back I would be all in.

This is coming together on the fly, so apologies for the short notice. We'll plan further out for the next one and hopefully pick up a larger group.

Just saw this. Thanks for the tag. I assume everyone you tagged is in NC?

I'm a maybe. Looking at potentially going westward that weekend to Asheville and the surrounding area. If plans change, I can let you know.

NC or close to NC... I think. Tried to do our best to get a shout out.

Our route and plans aren't set in stone. That said, our reason for venturing north: that weekend is prime leaf peeping season and Western NC gets crowded on the weekends. The roads we'd hit are just as good, at elevation but hopefully less crowded. It's also easier for folks in Winston, Raleigh, etc.

Keep us posted!

[Casa de Mesa]

Side note: do any of you ever meet up in the Lake Norman area?

Not me but certainly could.

[slavik1988]

Thanks for the tag...


The wife is working that weekend (nurse) so I have the kids on me. Is this adults preferred event (I don't like to send it with the kids in their respective seats) or is it just a cruise? That said, my kids are 6 and 3 and used to going sideways on the M3. The younger one is a pain and wants to talk to everyone. Testing the waters for the first time by going with him to Petit LeMans...

I would prefer a drive without them though...