I headed downtown in the afternoon to retrieve my registration package as I've done in prior years. I hoped to see Henrike, my friend from Germany, but I did not see her this year. I did look, really. I parked a good ways away and walked to the Convention Center via the hike & bike trail. I detest paying for parking, hence the real reason I parked so far away. Ok, the truth is out... Now don't tell me I'm cheap, it's just one of those things...The weather worked out rather well this year with only a bit of rain Saturday morning. I also wondered if I'd run into my team leader, the world famous, mega blogger, Elden Nelson, aka www.fatcyclist.com. I didn't see him Friday but met him the next day at the Team Fatty Lunch.
At registration, I picked my ride packet, which most importantly has your bib number. Given the fundraising level I attained, I was also eligible to receive some added incentives. Thanks everyone!
Just after registration, I went to Tribute Wall and added the names for the folks I rode for this year. Unfortunately, I had to ride In Memory of my father-in-law and a good friend from work. I carried a list of all the names with me during the ride. I thought of them alot knowing they would help me complete my Challenge.
After visiting the Tribute Wall, I wandered around a bit looking at the various booths. I'd been eying the Cycles Gladiator cycling kit for several years, and decided to purchase one this year. What can I say, I like their logo.
Again this year, at the Nissan booth, Chris Carmichael, Lance's coach, was signing autographs. I did my duty, got in line and got his autograph.
He was signing his current book, the The Time Crunched Cyclist, I need to spend some time and read it, given the title is quite appropriate for most of us. Not that I will rise to pro ranks once I do, but I can dream...
I spent a little more time looking around and then decided to head over to Mellow Johnny's. They had posted to their facebook wall that some of the RadioShack pro team would be available to sign autographs. The shop was more or less on the walk back to my car, so why not. The shop was very busy (I expect they get a whole lot of extra business this time of year).
The riders signed a single item, folks were moving thru the line at a pretty quick pace so no one waited too long. If I showed up about 15 minutes later, there was no line at all. One of the local TV stations was present filming two gals about why they participate in the Challenge.
I looked around the shop some, didn't buy anything before heading out to get home for the evening.
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