My MS Bike Ride Journal Day 1

I arrived in Logan today, OK, actually I arrived in Brigham City. You see, when I was planning this little adventure I was feeling pretty tight. So I decided I could save a few bucks by staying in Brigham City instead of Logan where all the other riders stay thus driving the price of hotels up.
So, I arrived at the Crystal Inn Brigham City at about 3 pm. I checked into my room and immediately took a 1 1/2 hour nap.
I then drove through the canyon to the epicenter of the MS event: the Logan fairgrounds. Arriving just after 5 pm the check-in line snaked down the street about a hundred yards. I decided to walk around the "village" a while and wait for the line to get shorter (check-in started at 5 so this was the initial rush.)
The village is a hodge podge of gazebo style tents consisting of teams gathering for meals and relaxation and vendors hawking their wares. I decided at the last minute to bring up one of our tents and a credit union banner and got permission to set up camp on the edge of the village -- kind of a squatter I suppose.
I went back to the check in line which had shrunk by that time and checked in. I had reached my goal of $1,000 just a few hours earlier and made the cut for the Ruby Spoke Club. But as I opened my gift bag just a few minutes ago I noticed that they gave me the wrong jersey, doh!
As I went to set up our team tent the heavens opened and gave us what I hope will be the last bit of rain for at least a day or two.
We had a team dinner at an Italian Pizzeria in Smithfield called Callaway's (very good), located about 10 miles north of Logan. Our entire team raised just under $9,000 but we should have some more donations coming in which will put is over $9,000. The last time I headed this we raised about $4,000 so this year was a big success.
The ride starts at 7 am sharp. Because of my decision to stay in BC I will have to get up between 5 and 5:30, ugh, to make the 30 minute drive to Logan. We are meeting at 6:40 for a team picture and then will move to the starting area.
If all goes well, I hope to finish in about 6 hours. I know my training hasn't been as good as last time and I won't have Bret, my riding partner, along to pace me so I'm setting my goal lower than last time.
Well, better hit the hay. Morning will be here before I know it.