On arriving at the Trade Center, I'm faced with a lot of waiting. There is a small breakfast for the riders (pre-packed bags with muffin, banana, and so forth). Rideout isn't until 7:30, and you can't even retrieve your bike until 7, so it's not clear what the early arrival was needed for. (To make sure everybody really was there by 7, I suppose.) Then they give some inspirational speeches (well, that was the attempt anyway; I'm awfully hard to inspire at that hour). The morning was a bit cool as we rode out (not quite enough to get me to break out a jacket), but it warmed quickly.
A bit past 7:30, the whole mass of riders (about 3,000) rode out of the Trade Center in a big pack. First we went to the South Boston Haul Road (the back route to the Ted Williams Tunnel that is normally reserved for trucks and taxis -- my first time on the road, since I hadn't ever taken a cab to Logan since the tunnel opened), and took that to near the Broadway T stop. Then we crossed the bridge into the South End, and rode through the Back Bay on streets lined with cheering people. What a rush - it was fast (because the streets were closed), crowded (riding in a pack), and having all those people cheer was a thrill.
The first half of day 1 continued quickly. I felt fast and strong. The day warmed up, and my muscles got nice and loose. The course was fairly flat; the hills that they had been warning us about hadn't put in an appearance yet. I stopped a couple of times at the pit stops, which were well stocked with snacks and water. I filled two bottles each time. I reached the lunch stop around 11:30.
The dark side of the first day came after the lunch stop. The day continued to heat up, and heat became the limiting factor to speed. (In that weather, I would overheat long before my muscles gave out!) And, just when we thought we were safe, the dreaded hills showed up for the last 20 miles, as we approached Storrs, CT, home of UConn. I finally dragged into camp somewhere around 6:30pm, making for a disappointing time of close to 11 hours for the century. (I count all the time, including stops, when I time my rides.) Still, I had made it.
Time to hit the showers. Pleasant surprise: they actually worked, and there was enough hot water! As for the dinner, about all I remember is that there was a lot of it, it was hot, and I didn't have to cook it. Really, the food wasn't bad for mass-produced stuff for 4,000 people (3,000 riders, plus the staff, the volunteers, and the employees of the catering company). I crashed before the entertainment.