Grand Rapids...

I should be in bed but...

I rolled into GR today at 1pm, which was just a little bit after all the riders came in. At least, I think so. The truck was already in place at the Prince Conference Center at Calvin, and it was busy "exploding".

People were already setting up their tents. Gear was everywhere, and large crowds of people. I found a giddy Gayle, and then Pieter. And after that bumped into Fred and Tim Nydam from our church, who had come out to ride this day with the cyclists. Later I saw the Wassink family, also from our church.

The "weird" thing was to start recognizing people based on photos from various blogs.

Bikes are being stored in one of the big meeting rooms at the Prince.

I bumped into Ralph, who was also camping (Pieter and Gayle were getting real beds tonight...) and I quickly grabbed my own gear from my brother's car and set up my tent near his. After that it as "so long" to my brother + Dad, and then I had to quickly bike way across camping to take the mandatory safety training.

I see the importance of training, and I gather there are some insurance requirements, but to be painfully honest I didn't really get much out of the classroom time. The outdoor exercises though, where we tested quick turns, rapid stopping, and so on, was rather fun.

My evening ended with being taken out to dinner by my friends the Osterbaans and Haarsmas, who are locals. Great food, great times, great waitress ... who was a lousy photographer.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day again, with our official registration and orientation. I've already snuck onto the truck and found my shelf -- prime location by the middle door!

Blessings, all
...art