I worked from 6:00-2:30 today. I got home at about 3:00, cleaned up my bike a little, and headed out to the fairgrounds for registration. I met Joe outside, and we went in to register.
How exciting! Tons of folks. I saw Robert, but we went to take care of business before I spoke to him. We checked our bikes in in the same area Team Alliance had theirs. We decided to take care of exchanging our jerseys next to make sure there were extra larges left. Good thing we did, because we got the last two!
Then we registered. I was in the 500-599 line (Rider #595) and Joe was in the 600-699 line (Rider #619). I met the guy in front of me in line, another Joe. He was from the DC area, and an insurance underwriter. It was not his first ride, and he was very interested in my experience as a first timer. I shared that, and he was really nice and genuinely interested in how it had all played out for me so far. He said, “We’ll have to get together during the ride and talk more about it.”
While in line, Ashley Christensen checked in ahead of me, and was announced as the #1 fundraiser. She raised $55,000!!! Amazing. She was going for the national record in fundraising in this type of event, which was $51,000. What an achievement!
After registering, we stopped to say hello to Robert, who was checking in the Tour Corps. I gave him a big old kiss, which he told me later, he really liked.
Joe and I then went to tent assignment, and got our tent address, A047, in the Team Alliance Camp. After that, we got in the long line to purchase towel service ($15), but the line moved real quickly.
I ate a quick hamburger with Robert as he got a $5 voucher to the snack shop for being a volunteer. We left there around 5:00.
On the way back, we stopped by Rob’s and picked up the sleeping bag he’s loaning me for the ride.
At home, we had hot dogs, chips and green beans for dinner. My typical cooking. I packed up for the ride.
We left for Flex, for dancing, at about 8:30. Dancing was fun, but I was a little paranoid about getting hurt (like twisting an ankle or something, even though that has never happened). I didn’t want anything to keep me from the ride tomorrow.
At home, I finished up last minute packing. It’s finally here. Tomorrow! Three months worth of tied up weekends, and dedicated training. It’s a good feeling.