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| Day Zero Thursday, June 20 North Carolina State University arena Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Registration was very well organized. Here, riders work their way through several lines for registration, tent assignment, and towel service, among others. We would all come back to the arena for Opening Ceremonies the next morning. |
| Above and below: Riders had many opportunities to express their emotions during the AIDSRide, even while waiting in lines on Day Zero. |
| Holly and me, meeting on Day Zero. We look so rested and dry! Holly is the rider I directed donors to after I had made the minimum $2,400 goal. Holly made goal! |
| The Confederate-festooned state capitol grounds in Raleigh. Just a few blocks from the hotel. |
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| My former Iowa State supervisor, Terri Houston, visiting me at my hotel on Day Zero. She now works at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is working on her Ph.D. in higher education. It was great to see her, though it was a short visit because I needed sleep and she needed to get home after a long day. |