Today, I just ran errands and got ready to do the "Run For The Wall" portion of my trip. I stopped by the "T-Bags" headquarters and got the netting that was supposed to come with my T-Bag. The receptionist, Julie Pantolino, was so nice and so helpful. She got me all taken care of quickly and got me on my way. Thanks Julie!
After I went to the T-Bags headquarters, I needed to head up to the Run for the Wall Registration. I didn't want to have to worry about registering on the morning of the event. If you were pre-registered, you needed to be there between 6:00 and 6:45 in the morning. I just thought 8:00 was a little early to be up and ready to ride almost 400 miles. I didn't need to get up any earlier than I already am if I didn't need to.
I went to the Mall where I thought the registration was taking place and I couldn't find it. Finally, after about an hour, I called the California State Coordinator, Jim Frost, who said that the registration at the mall wasn't until the day of the ride. The pre-registration was at the host hotels, but they just closed at 4:30 pm, but if I wanted to meet at Rancho Cucamonga Central Park, I could still have the pre-ride dinner.
I went over to the dinner and there were about 250 people there for it. They had a really nice taco dinner with a lot of sides. I went home full.
The Pre-Ride Dinner
I sat next to a really nice couple named Craig and Leigh Lewis. Craig's brother was also there and will be going on the ride with us. They talked about the ride and that there was supposed to be over 500 people at the end of the ride. They went over some of the guidelines and highlights of the trip. It all sounded pretty neat! They also said that they were going to extend the pre-registration until 9:00 so that the people had hadn’t had a chance to register were able to do that tonight.
Leigh and Craig Lewis
I decided to go over to the hotel and pre-register before I went down to get the backrest. When I got there, there were only a few people that were there registering so I got to get it all done pretty quickly. I got all set up with a group and a wristband that would get me into all the RFTW events. I’m all good to go for tomorrow.
After I got done registering, I went down to pick up the backrest from Michael Craig. He lives down in Lake Forest, CA. It was about 45 minutes to drive down there. I got down there and picked up the backrest and it turns out that it didn’t fit my backrest. I decided to take it because I think I can make it work.
I stayed and talked to Michael and his roommate for about an hour. They are fun guys. They said they would love to go on my trip and will follow my blog... “Hi guys!”
I headed back to the park where I was supposed to camp. I made it back up there about midnight and everything was dark. Putting up your tent for the first time in the dark is not the way to go. Anyway, I got it all put up and now I need to get to sleep because I have a big day with the RFTW part of the trip starting.
After I got done registering, I went down to pick up the backrest from Michael Craig. He lives down in Lake Forest, CA. It was about 45 minutes to drive down there. I got down there and picked up the backrest and it turns out that it didn’t fit my backrest. I decided to take it because I think I can make it work.
I stayed and talked to Michael and his roommate for about an hour. They are fun guys. They said they would love to go on my trip and will follow my blog... “Hi guys!”
I headed back to the park where I was supposed to camp. I made it back up there about midnight and everything was dark. Putting up your tent for the first time in the dark is not the way to go. Anyway, I got it all put up and now I need to get to sleep because I have a big day with the RFTW part of the trip starting.
