On Saturday before the ride starts, riders gather at the Hyde Park Golf Course in Niagara Falls. Some, like Jane and I, go there directly. Others leave their cars at Saratoga Springs (the end of the ride) and take a bus to Niagara Falls.

On the way to Niagara Falls we drove through a line of severe thunderstorms that were moving across the state. We set up the tent in the rain. I did a pretty good job of setting things up under the fly, but still had a small puddle of water in the tent when it was finally set up. Jane and I and a number of others had dinner at the Three Over restaurant in the Hyde Park Golf Course Club House.