For those of us that are part of the STAR planning and organizing team, arrival at STAR does not mean that our labors have ended and that we can just ride and relax, no sir! For some of us, the “job” is just reaching its crescendo. That’s especially true for the Registration Team, made up of Scott and Nancy Sneeden, and Tom Biggs. All of them arrived the Thursday before STAR so that they could spend Friday setting up the registration room and doing a dry run to make sure that process of registration and check-in would go smoothly. When we arrive at the STAR location there are always tables to be set up, boxes to be opened and inventoried, and computers to be turned on and checked to make sure all of the information needed is on them. In addition, other members arrived on Thursday and Friday to help with the process of opening up boxes, sorting through handouts, stuffing swag bags for attendees, setting up the bike wash, tearing sheets of raffle tickets into individuals, making sure that there was water in coolers for riders arriving over the next few days, setting up a GPS help booth, setting up the door prize room, making sure that the AV equipment was up and running well for meetings, setting up route boards
and information booth,,
and making sure that all the other details that come up were handled. it takes a team of people, and the more the merrier!
It’s work, but it’s also fun, and a great way to get to know your fellow club members. Dianne and Jim Park actually arrived on Wednesday and began working with the hotel staff to makes sure that things would go smoothly. I met them in the hotel bar when I got there Thursday.
With this year’s STAR being in the eastern part of the Central Time Zone, and I coming from the western part of the Eastern Time Zone, I found myself getting up very early each morning. Since it was light at 5:30 am, and we had all planned to meet for breakfast at 9:00 am and then begin setting up the registration room, I found myself with a couple of free hours really early Friday morning. So, I decided to take a ride and check out a little bit of the area. while I had time. I knew that I didn’t have time to do one of the supplied routes, so I improvised. I just put the destination of Marble Hill, which was about 35 miles west of the hotel, into my GPS and headed there. As I walked out to get on my bike, I noticed that it was extremely muggy and the sky was dark but having seen that there was only a 40% chance of rain, I decided to not worry about it and just go. Wearing some riding shorts and a t-shirt under my mesh riding pants and jacket, I was well prepared for the warm temperatures that we were experiencing even at 6:00 am. The ride out to Marble Hill was uneventful with no traffic. Riding roads, k, Z, OO, and 34 I was soon in Marble Hill, where I stopped to pick my next destination. By then the sun was actually coming up into the sky and looking westward all looked clear. I decided that Delta would be my next destination as it was southeast of Marble hill and on the way back to the hotel. I took a turn south on SR 51 and then a left on road N, which I could follow all the way to Delta. As I turned onto N and headed east, I noticed that the sky to the north had turned considerably darker. By the time I got to Delta, I was becoming seriously concerned about the change in the weather. it sure looked like we were going to get that full 40% chance of rain they had forecasted, along with some serious thunder, lightning, and wind! Leaving Delta, I turned northeast and across the fileds I could see lightning hitting the earth from the low dark clouds that filled the sky. I was in the middle of farm country and there was absolutely nowhere to find any shelter out there. However, I was still dry as all of the storm was still a few miles north of where I was. Looking at my GPS I realized that I-55 was only a few miles or so east of where I was. Hoping that there might be at least a gas station I could find shelter at, I headed that way as quickly as I could. I’m in luck! There is a truck stop there with a large, covered pump island and a convenient store! Just in time, as the sky overhead opened up and the winds hit hurricane strength, I pulled in under the cover and escaped the worst part of the storm. (Or so I thought) A few minutes later, clutching a hot coffee in my hand I got my phone out and checked the radar.
Looks like I’ll be sitting here for a little bit as I let the storm pass! But with cover overhead of me and my bike, coffee and a danish in my hand, and still a couple of hours before we are scheduled to begin setting up, I’m content to wait.
After about an hour, and the rain almost letting up completely where I was, I checked the radar one last time and decided to make the dash up the highway to the hotel. The radar showed that it was still raining there, but that there was a small window before the next heavy rain came in. However, Mother Nature must not have consulted the radar because I wasn’t even 1/2 mile up the highway when the winds picked back up and the rain started back in with all its fury. In case you’re wondering, mesh gear is not at all waterproof. By the time I got to the hotel I was soaked to the skin, my boots had water inside them, and my gloves were leaving black stains on my hands from the dye. Straight up to the room to hang my gear and get a hot shower. Then downstairs to get some breakfast and begin the day of setting up.
By the time we had the registration room set up and decided to take a late lunch break, the rain had stopped, the sun was shining brightly, and it was already getting pretty warm outside. Some other members had begun to arrive and like every other rally it was time to renew acquaintances and greet old friends. Attendees continued to trickle in all evening and the next morning I counted 27 bikes already in the parking lot. 
Several had kept my bike company overnight. The hotel staff informed me that they had 16 of our blocked rooms reserved for Friday evening, which meant that there was approximately 30 attendees already there. Fantastic!
next…..Saturday and the troop really begin to arrive!