After a short hiatus while riders all traveled home, our final update is here! Around 11am on August 1st the team arrived at Chrissy Field to a large group of Alumni, family and friends. There was a fantastic greeting waiting for the team with many great people, bottles of champaign, and even welcome banners! The team mingled around the park for quite some time, enjoying the great food from the alumni club as well as enjoying the company of those that we missed for so long. Eventually it came time to depart, and the team began dispersing across San Francisco. For some team members that was the last time we saw each other, for others there was still our rest day to hang out together and think about what had just been accomplished. On August 3rd the remainder of the team set off for an early flight home, but not until after hugs had been given by all. The 28 riders of the 2010 Illini 4000 left New York City more than two months ago as strangers, but 72 days later, left San Francisco as the greatest friends.The Illini 4000 would like to take this time to thank everyone who made this journey possible. Everything, from the care packages on the road, to the warm buildings we were allowed to stay in, to the meals provided for us, made this trip so much more than what it would have been. As a team we discovered the warming hospitality of others across our nation, and relied on the support of loved ones back home while on the road for so many days. We would like to thank all of the cancer patients, survivors, and care givers for taking part in our portraits project. We wish good health on those still affected by cancer today, and we will continue to ride year after year for the hope that one day cancer will not exist. To all, our most sincere thanks.
Until Next Time
Transcribed from my journal:"8/3/10 United Airlines Flight 202SFO-->LAXLast nigth was punctuated with goodbye hugs to teammates. Promises to visit U of I ere long, before school starts. I will miss, oh how I will miss these people. Looking forward to training rides with the geographically similar ones. Visits and another marathon and/or triathlon in Champaign/Urbana are very likely. Said my last goodbye and packed and slept.--------------------------Up today at five, taking a train right there outside the church on Judah street, N inbound to Civic Center, then the BART to SFO. Half-awake and moving forward like a robot. The standard cluelessness regarding unfamiliar public transit lines: first pay here, then transfer here. This is free but this is $8.10. Adrian is a pilot so the airport is a routine experience by now. Square peg, square hole past ticketing and security toward my flight.At gate 81 I am third on the standby departures list: HUD/M on the LCD screen. A bagel and coffee later, it's exactly one minute to boarding and I am summoned by the ticketing agent: "Standby passenger Hoo-dets." I board with seating group two, an exit row and window seat to myself, highlighting the transition from "Teammate" to "Individual."I finish my book shortlyafter take-off. This is the fifth book I've read this summer, with most of the others lent out along the way: Cuckoo's Nest for Priscilla, Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for Diana, Oscar Wao for Bridget. I told Tracey I'd get this one to her one of these days, The Corrections is one of my favorites.I've got $11 to my name now and a headfull of memories I'm still processing. Soon I'll be in Arizona to see my grandparents. After that, Chicago. Then there will be the new apartment with Mike, school, work, reconnecting with friends back home (has it really only been 72 days?). I am thinking about how much I'm looking forward to all of these. Getting ecstatic over the little things: I will get to sleep on a bed basically every night.I am blessed, blessed, infinitely blessed and baffled and thankful to receive such kindness, and I think in the emergency row that yes, it was real and yes, life can be as beautiful as it has been. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you."
Home
Dear I4K,I think Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros put it best:"Moats and boats and waterfallsAlleyways and pay phone callsI've been everywhere with youLaugh until we think we'll dieBarefoot on a summer nightNever could be sweeter than with youAh, homeLet me go homeHome is wherever I'm with you"This summer has been the most incredible summer of my life! We have grown into one big, quirky, dysfunctional but amazing family. It's been an awesome trip, spending time with all of you biking across this great nation. We've struggled through mountains and headwinds and enjoyed it nonetheless. Every one of you is amazingly dedicated, talented, and I can't wait to hear about your continued adventures. As great as it is to be back home with family and friends, I already miss you guys and I know I'll have trouble adjusting back into normal society. Take care and stay in touch!I4K, we made it all the way :)
We made it
This was supposed to be posted 2 weeks ago. But we did not get Internet access, or more so I was lazy to find time to post it. We rolled into San Fran yesterday. I would still like to take some time to reminisce the last 70 days and hence this post.The following was written 2 weeks ago... With the trip coming to a closure in no time, there's been a sense of ambivalence in me. I want it to come to a full circle, so that 10 years down the road I can look back in life with no regret. It's hard to account for the conflicting feelings in me right now, harder than the struggle up the appellations, metaphorically of course. The tremendous sense of achievement and satisfaction I've gained along the trip is indescribable. It's not so much of doing a 80mile ride on rugged terrain in unforgiving weather, nor is it tolerating the knee pain with every hill we've to climb. It is waking up everyday having the mentality of not wanting to ride. (Just kidding!!) It is the inner strength that fights this mentality every morning and forces me to peddle. It is the extra stroke everyone puts in when we feel like throwing in the towel. It is venturing out of our comfort zone and constantly pushing to accomplish something we would have never thought to be able to accomplish on our own. It is committing to a common cause and never losing faith, both in the cause and ourselves, or having the courage to look for faith again after we've lost it.I feel like I've learnt a lot from this short span of 70 days, more than what I could from 7 months of school. The past few days (in Washington) have been hard. But would I have done it if I knew beforehand that it's this hard? I think I would.So today is Aug 2nd, one day after the last riding day. I still remember during the first few weeks, I would dread the journey on the road, wishing that this could come to an end soon. But now, I wish it had not ended. I miss the 6 am wake-up. I miss having to sleep on the cold hard floor in a room with 27 other people. I miss having cereal for breakfast. I miss having PB&J for lunch. I miss the van, yeah the smelly van. I miss riding my bike with 27 other riders across the Golden Gate. I miss the stories we tell on the ride. I miss the games we play (Contact, What would you do for a million dollars?). I miss the times we could not ride our bikes in a straight line because we had to laugh so hard at someone's jokes. I miss taking naps alongside the road waiting for people to change their flats. I miss being moshered and moshering others. I miss the moshers. I miss the times we complained so much about the 80% hills and headwinds and the unbearable heat. I miss packing the van. I miss copying cues that last for 80 miles on the same road. i miss the insanely long concerns meetings. I miss stopping for ice cream on the road. I miss the trail mix at rest stops. I miss going down the Big Horn at 40mph shivering in the cold. I miss doing portraits. I miss everything in the past 70 days. I miss everyone's smiles. I miss laughing at their jokes. I miss hose showers......There's so much more that I miss.So here we are, at the end of the trip. I'm really proud of everyone for having the faith to finish it, for taking this huge step towards fighting cancer and making such a great impact on society that we ourselves may not even realize.A month and half ago in Champaign we sang,"I4K, we are going to make it all the way." Now, it's "I4K, we've made it!"
T minus 15 miles
This morning we awoke, excited to complete our last "real" day of riding. Eamon had the Mosher and graced our companion touring cyclist Max with an Ilini 4000 jersey. We also played a game we had first played in West Yellowstone, which resembled a cross between tag and "red rover."Today's morning was rather flat and led us through urban areas, and once the sun came out in the afternoon, we were greeted with warm weather, hills, and lots of other cyclists on the road. We enjoyed our very last rest stop at mile 45, full of music and snacks and photos.The team arrived in beautiful San Rafael and prepared for a day of housekeeping. The van was completely unloaded, the out-of-control lost and found bin was emptied for the first time in ages, and a massively long and productive debriefing meeting was held. We paused for a dinner break, graciously donated by the Mazurski and Oden families at San Rafael's Joe's Italian restaurant. The meeting continued after dinner, well into the evening. Some riders went to bed at a reasonable hour, while others chose to continue the van cleaning party well into the night.
Wine Country
This morning woke up to cold weather and mist. After warming up with some oatmeal, Kevin asked us to share our favorite memories during the Mosher. We all reminisced about Pennsylvania, the Bighorns and the generous people we have interacted with along the way. At the end of the Mosher, Kevin passed Mono Roberto (his stuffed monkey) on to a touring cyclist we had met the day before. Jeffypants promised to take care of Mono on his trek to Cuba.By the time we reached our first rest stop the mist had dissipated and the sun was out in full force. The scenery transformed from a cold and windy, albeit beautiful, coast to rolling hills flanked by vineyards and narrow winding roads. At our lunch stop we met with Ana's mom and she brought us some strawberries and kettle corn. Om nom!With the clock ticking, we eagerly raced to Healdsburg where the Volkmans were waiting to greet us. Mr. and Mrs. Volkman took us all out for dinner at a local restaurant, which was a nice treat after a long summer of pasta and beans. It was a great last hurrah before we arrive in San Francisco in only 2 days!
Camping out again!
We beat the sun to an early wake up and prepared ourselves for the longest ride we have ever done - 107 miles! As we were riding from inland to the edge of the coast, we had to climb over some big hills. It was not an easy ride. There were two main big hills that we had to climb over. The coastline was beautiful, but it got really chilly. Some of the groups did not manage to beat the sun to the campsite. Thankfully, a great dinner of pasta, beans, our all-time favorite chips and salsa, and smores made a great end to our exhausting day. Thanks to Jaime's parents for sponsoring the dinner!
Cycling Amongst Giants
The team has been without internet for several days but put in a call yesterday with some details of their recent experiences.On Tuesday, the team woke to temperatures in the low 60s. Surrounded by clouds they rode through a reedwood forest, making their way inland and away from the fog. The rest of the day was pleasant, consisting mostly of rolling hills and warm weather.Yesterday was again cold in the morning with warmer weather in the afternoon as they headed further inland. The highlight of the day was riding through the Avenue of Giants, a stunning Redwood forest on Old Highway 101. The team camped last night, preparing for a 108 mile ride today.
California Dreaming
With a late wake up this morning (7:30am!) the team was more rested than normal for our day's ride today. Our recent birthday boy, Szymon, led us in an energetic game for our morning routine which left the team in high spirits. As we began our last ride day in Oregon the weather was cooler than expected, but the climbing early in the day warmed us up bit. The team continually found themselves surrounded by fog as we climbed up and down highway 101, with breathtaking views of the coast in between. Our second rest stop was conveniently placed at the California state sign offering us a chance for group pictures and California themed tunes before rolling into Crescent City this evening. Some riders used their time before team dinner to seek out much needed showers and laundry, while others chose to catch up on sleep instead. Every one is excited now that we have reached the coast after so many days of riding, it's hard to believe we only have a week left!
San Francisco Arrival Information
The Illini 4000 will be completing their cross-country journey this coming Sunday with their San Francisco arrival. If you would like to greet them upon their arrival, the San Francisco Illini Alumni Club has graciously coordinated an event for us at Crissy Field near the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Festivities begin at 10:30am and will last until 12:30pm, with riders scheduled to arrive around 11:00am. The alumni club is ordering box lunches for the event. If you would like a lunch, the cost will be $12, lunches can be ordered through the San Francisco Alumni Club's website in the link provided below. All lunch orders must be in by Thursday, July 29th.Further details about the event can be found at: http://www.sfbayillini.org/article.html?aid=266Questions about the arrival event can be directed to Sylvia Kung at 925.324.4221. We hope to see you there!
It's Christmas Time!
Well it's that time of the year again when gifts are given and a hearty feast is held in honor of the special holiday. Although the normal snow on the ground has been replaced with sand, the I4k still honors the Christmas spirit by celebrating Christmas in July.Last night some of the team huddled around mugs of hot cocoa, while our morning's normal routine was supplemented by traditional carols sung by Steve and Jaime. Throughout our ride today (a light 58 miles) some riders scrambled to find last minute gifts while others thought of interesting ways to wrap the ones they found. At one of our rest stops along our route, a forward thinking rider nabbed a small evergreen plant to use as our Christmas tree. Now the team is eagerly awaiting dinner so that the celebration can begin. To all of our followers back home, Merry Christmas (in July)!
Southbound on Highway 101
Now that the team has reached the west coast we are headed in a direction that we are not used to: south! From Florence, OR we hopped on highway 101 for most of the day enjoying some slight tailwinds from the north. Some detours along the route led groups to fields of elk, fresh donuts, or gift shops along our route. Riders are currently scrambling to find small trinkets and treasurers for our Christmas in July tomorrow, with some interesting results expected.
Hey Steve, I dare you to jump in that lake...Florence, OR7/24/2010
So I have not blogged about the last 22 or so days. This is mainly because of the lack of internet or the lack of time to access a computer in that timeframe. I hope to post information on the past three weeks later- perhaps after our arrival in San Francisco. But for now, I will finish out my blog on current events. No pictures today, for sure tomorrow.Today began nice and early at 5am because of a 5pm dinner and a 7pm portraits presentation at our stayover in Florence, 89 miles away. I was very proud of the cereal that I had purchased last night. Just gobs of cheap chocolate cereal. My father would have been proud.So began out venture to the coast and our final day heading west. It is amazing to ponder that there is only ten days left on the trip. After cleaning up the stayover and learning how to do the worm (or for me, the beached whale) we were off. I spread the rest stops out a bit so that one of our rest stops could be close to Triangle Lake at mile 46. On our accent to the top of one of our final hills of the ride, we found a memorial for a 17 year old girl. At a gas station a couple miles back, we had heard that there had been a recent accident that shook the town. She had been with a few friends driving fast up that same hill, took a curve too fast and fell out of the doorless jeep and off the side of the mountain. Scary. We took a few moments to say a few prayers good words. I imagined if my life had ended at 17 and at that same moment was thankful for how fruitful it has been.Our rest stop at the lake was well fought for with a more challenging route than hoped for. Midway through the rest stop, Greg DOUBLE dog dared me to jump in the lake. I had been planning on it anyway. First I jumped off a mini trampoline into the water followed by a creaky slide in. The water temperature perfectly complimented the hot weather outside and I was very happy I hopped in. Unfortunately, I put my shoes on in a rush when my feet were still a little wet. Needless to say, they smelled pretty bad after forty more miles and a pair of smelly bike shoes.We set off to mile 65 towards our next rest stop. On our way there, Shea was having problems with his crank being loose, so he often stopped to tighten it. During one of these stops, I checked my back tire which has been dangerously worn down and coming up on its last miles. There was a huge hole in it and my intertube was pertruding out of my tire. I couldn't ride my bike! Luckily, Lauren was nice enough to let me use her back wheel for the next ten while she rested her knee for that 20 mile segment.I changed my tires at the rest stop, ate some lunch, had a ginger beer and was off. Lauren back on the bike, Shea and I. We stopped at mile 80 for a quick bathroom break and water fill up. By quick I meant get ready to hop on the bikes and then spend thirty to forty more minutes talking to a crazy guy and a cyclist named Nathan. First the crazy man. HUGE hippy. I think he rolled his own ciggerette in front of us. He asked us what we were up to all dressed in bike gear and we tole him we were on a long journey raising money. He was very impressed. I asked what he was up to. He is walking from Eugene, OR to 1600 miles away to somewhere along the coast in California protesting the oil spill. This guy had been apart of the first Earth Day and dedicated his life to the environment. He is on food stamps, hasn't paid his taxes since 1975 and only has the cash and backpack that is on him. He plans to beg for work to provide him food and plans to donate any money he does earn. He is 57. I admired his dedication to his beliefs although he was a little self centered. We actually ran into him outside of a restaurant that offered him a job on their farm in return for food. His feet were bloody from his journey that he was only five days deep. I hope he reaches his destination safely.We met a cyclist named Nathan as well. His bike was sweet and I wish I took a picture of it. He has epilepsy. Because of this, he is on a couple of medications to alleviate the symptoms. One of his medications makes him extremely drowsy- so much that he is not allowed to drive. Thus, he bikes EVERYWHERE. He is not a crazy, fly up a mountain, winning ten tour de Frances in a row type of rider. He is however, one of the nicest cyclists I have met on the road and we were honored when he asked if he could join us on our road to Florence. We made it just in time for our meal at 5pm. Chicken, potato salad, beans, lasagna, watermelon, grapes and more. Afterwards, our portraits presentation. Following our powerpoint was a talk from a local man who started the organization Friends of Florence. This organization drives cancer patients to hospitals that are not close for their treatments. The man who talked to us (who's name was PJ?) founded the organization after experiencing how much money it costs to travel for chemo appointments first hand. It is a very cool organization and is very convienient for a town with a large elderly population to have a service like this. Finally, a sink shower. I SMELLED. But, now I don't. Time to buy some PPJ and breakfast for the team for tomorrow. I am excited to head south down the coast and to finally see the Pacific Ocean! I thought I was going to see it today but I did not have time. I think we are going to have some nice tailwind as well... AT LAST.
You like dogs? (Dog Eat Bike)
A very special day today, and a very special day deserves a 5 am wake up. Riders lazily woke up this morning, packed their gear, and attempted to do the worm dance move (Tracey's Mosher). We had a deadline today because we had to get to the church by 5 pm for a dinner they had set up for us. Also, the presentation of the Portraits project was scheduled for tonight at 7 pm. To top off everything our destination Florence is right next to the coast! The ride itself was a relatively painless 88 miles from Corvallis to Florence. However it seems that dogs in Oregon hate us. Big ones, small ones, fluffy ones, you name it. Unfortunately today a small black and white border collie-australian shepherd-blue heeler fluffy mix lost whatever thought process it had and bolted from the left side of the street, through a gate, in front of a truck and in front of Kyle Lindsay's front wheel. Kyle going 16 miles per hour versus 25 pound dog. Dog wins. Kyle gets hurt but not seriously injured thankfully. As fast as the accident happened the dog was gone. The owner of the dog helped us by providing a first aid kit.We got into Florence relatively early. Some of us chose to ride 4 miles to the coast just to see it an celebrate. The rest of us layed around and took some much needed naps before our delicious dinner at 5pm. We even got cupcakes for dessert that were made by the pre-schooler kids from the church! Very cute and yummy.At 7pm we did our first showing of the work we've been doing on our Portraits Project presentation. Some people from the town came to watch the powerpoint and share some stories of their own. We got to hear adiabout a group called the Friends of Florence and also the Van Fans. Apparently the hospital in Florence does not have the means to administer radiation or chemo therapy treatments and the people who live here have to travel to a hospital in Eugene to get their treatments done. For those without cars or the ability to drive this becomes a serious problem. So, the Friends of Florence come together to provide a van and a ride over to Eugene for those who need it. The van goes every single day and has for the last 25 years. They are fueled and supported by volunteer members of the community that help drive and do fundraisers. The whole organization is very inspiring.The Illini 4000 would like to reach out to the members of Bike and Build, a fellow cross country bike group that tragically lost a rider named Paige Hicks last week in an accident on the road. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the team in this difficult time.
9 Days. Or: Portland, The Fulcrum
With 9 days left, it's hard to believe we've made it to the western edge of the fourth largest nation in the world. The amount of miles for each ride seems trivial. No longer do we travel westward day-to-day moving toward the next rest day as a day off. On our next day off, we will have completed the journey that took us almost a year of preparation.Somewhere west of Chicago but east of Yellowstone, the novelty of the trip wore off. We weren't fueled by the adrenaline and excitement we left New York with. I found myself often wondering what happened to the novelty, the spark. It's easy to see now that the growth of our team occurred during the time when our novelty wore off. After reaching Portland, I understand that the novelty wore off to give us a chance to experience and learn. Suddenly our attentional resources weren't focused on the external aspects of the ride (excitement, riding our bikes). During this "down time" as I'll call it, many of us turned our attentional resources inward--to ourselves, our organization. As we left Portland and entered Corvallis, I realized that during the downtime, the novelty turned into wisdom, clarity, and confidence. Our souls of the trip aren't the springy, ecclectic, energetic youth we knew as we left Central Park nearly two months ago. We're older, taller, more mature in the context of the ride. We've learned so much and have truly, truly lived so fully these past sixty-three days.There's a chance I may not blog before the end, and if this is the case, I would like to extend my deepest grattitude to everyone involved in this trip. It could not have happened without your support.eamon
Yes! Yes! Yeeeees!
The morning was a scramble to pick up after ourselves because we just had a rest day and that's usually how things work out the next day. We managed to get out at a decent time, but before we left we played the Yes! game to get ourselves motivated since we were heading closer to the coast. The game is simply a big circle of people, while one person runs at another person across the circle saying Yes! enthusiastically and jumping up in the air to high five. Today's route seemed menacing at first glance because there were a ton of cues and it was 92 miles. The day however turned out much easier than expected. It was probably because of the tough week we had before with all the headwinds and so forth. So today was not too rough. It was flat, looked like Illinois, and there was some tailwind. To make a long story short, we reached Corvallis all safe and sound and are ready for tomorrow. To the Coasts!
FINALLY REACHED PORTLAND!
Yesterday morning we left from Cascade Locks School to head to the great city of Portland. The mosher before we left was quite hilarious and involved somersaults, being blindfolded, and sliding across the floor. After all that crazy fun we departed for our 40 mile ride into the city. Which turned out to be longer than expected, and colder. The first cloud in a week was seen, which grew into more clouds.Halfway through the ride we met up with Barbara Larrain, a fellow cyclist an alum of the University of Illinois. We were all impressed by her skills and the fact that she had just completed an Iron Man a few days ago and got 2nd place in her age group! She rode along with us and lead the group into Portland. It was a beautiful ride and some of the best scenery we have had in days.After we arrived, the alumni provided us Asian cuisine for dinner and gave us a 751 dollar donation plus a 500 dollar match. Later that night, some riders went to watch the movie Inception and the rest went to shower.9:25 am rest day: Went to the OSHU facilities which was on top of a giant hill. The team got to take a Tram from one building of the hospital to another, which was nothing short of a hanging space pod ski lift. Simply amazing. The view was great. We met with two representatives from the AYA (Adolescent and Youth Advisory Committee) which told us about their efforts to help people age 15-39 connect with other patients their age going through the same thing.We all had fun exploring the city for the rest of the afternoon. Some highlights of the day include hamburgers made on two grilled cheese sandwiches, a giant bookstore, a fantastic farmers market, and Voodoo donuts. This evening we met up with a team in training from the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. We heard some moving stories and got to complete many portrait interviews, All in all, a very successful day.We all wish had a bit more time in Portland, but we're excited to head out and get to the coast in two days!
I've been through the mountains on a bike with no name, it felt good to be out of Champaign
We're almost in Portland! It's weird how it seems like we just started the ride, but NYC seems like years ago. I also haven't blogged in forever (my bad). So last time I wrote was in Wyoming. Well, since then, my derailleur decided to break itself on the ride from Cody, WY into Yellowstone. Which was super lame because it meant 4 days in the van. I picked up a job as chauffeur of the riders sick with the I4K-plague, and then got sick myself. I was so happy to have my bike fixed, though, that I disregarded illness and rode anyway. And then we had a rest day in Missoula, which was fabulous.Since Missoula, we have had some pretty intense rides, but I've actually been having a lot of fun. It feels so rewarding to make it through both the mental and physical stresses each day presents and to look back at the end of the day and say to myself "I did that." In good company, any ride can be fun. Yesterday we biked 100 miles uphill into one of the strongest headwinds we've faced, but it was a really enjoyable day. We went blackberry picking on the side of the road around mile 80, and I fell up to my thigh into a pit of thorns. I now look like I've been attacked by an angry cat, but it was totally worth it because those berries were awesome. And thanks to Max for helping me out of the thorns... and taking a picture of me stuck in them.Additional note: hot springs are AWESOME. I highly recommend going to them at any available opportunity.
Port Land and the adventures of the West
Don't say I didn't warn you about the lack of personal blogging. It's just something about this section of our route that makes blogging difficult. Much of it can be blamed on our consistent lack of internet access, or increased amount of camping out west, or pure exhaustion at the end of the day. I think part of it is the fact that it is so hard to put what we're experiencing into words. Anything I write seems empty compared to what I've seen and felt since my last post.I last wrote before riding up the Big Horn mountains, a particularly hard 18-mile climb way back in Wyoming. Once again the I4k came and conquered the mountains and pushed on through the Rockies as we passed through Montana and then Idaho. As much as I loved the scenery in the eastern half of our country, the west surely blows it out of the water as far as expansive beauty. We have seen so many amazing mountains, fields of grain, plains as far as the eye can see. And the people out here have been just as generous as what we experienced in the east. Countless individuals made our stay in the west a very pleasant experience, many thanks go out to you. It was such a joy for me to meet some of the people that helped us out last year again this year. I feel very fortunate to have made these connections with inspiring individuals across the country, and especially to have the opportunity to meet them again. The small towns we pass through will forever have a special place in my heart because of the hospitality we have been shown.The weather out west has been a variety of conditions. Everyday has been hot by at least midday. The mornings may start out cool, but by the time the sun is overhead I'm always down to my coolest riding clothes. We had a few days when we knew the weather was reaching into the mid 90's so I rode with teammates who were willing to ride hard to beat the heat on those days. Everyone seems to have different strategies for those days, some prefer to take it easier throughout the day to stay cool, but I felt it sure was nice to arrive before the hottest part of the day. The weather yesterday as I'm sure you will hear more about was very tough. I have more than 9000 miles under my belt riding for the I4k, but yesterday was one of the toughest days if not the toughest. One hundred miles of headwind is tough physically, mentally, and emotionally. It takes steadfast determination not to give up in those conditions and the team really pulled through. We could have found a way to “shuttle” in to the campground, but that is not what the Illini 4000 does.As I mentioned above, the team has been camping a lot more in recent days. Camping on this trip isn't like a camping trip that you may take for a weekend getaway, but more of a challenge. After riding 100 miles the last thing you want to do is set up tents and cook for 28 hungry riders over a small camping stove, but it really shows team work at it's best. Some of the riders really stepped up while camping to make up for the extra strain on the team. This morning was especially tough trying to eat our cold cereal before the morning headwinds blew it away, but morale held strong in the morning. For our morning ritual we circled up and each spoke about our connection to cancer which really kept us going in the challenging conditions.Tomorrow we head to Portland, Oregon, one of the bigger cities we pass through on the west coast, and the final destination for last year's trip. It feels very unusual to head to Portland this time around knowing that I will continue to ride hundreds of miles before finishing the trip. Last year I had no need for bike shops in Portland because the trip was over, but this time I will need to find parts to continue our journey with. After having retraced many steps from last year's ride, the coast will be entirely new to me. This is both exciting and scary as we head in to the unknown. I am especially grateful that the team has become much more self sufficient now and will need less guidance than in the first two thousand miles. It has been a privilege to see the individuals grow in to the riders they have become as we push to the final stretch of our journey.
Ain't no thing but a chicken wing
After yesterday, I4K was ready for anything this morning. A not-so-well-rested team got up this morning to super strong winds (which flapped the tents loudly all night). As our cereal was flying out of our bowls, we were a bit wary as to how the day would end up. Luckilly, upon crossing from Washington into Oregon, the wind suddenly died and we found ourselves in excellent biking conditions. Yay for Oregon! The team stopped at McDonalds where some enjoyed ridiculous amounts of calories. After a mere 53 miles, we arrived at Cascade Locks School. Like Eamon said this morning, ain't no thing but a chicken wing. It was nice to have a free afternoon to chill out and not be completely exhausted. We're all extremely excited to get to Portland tomorrow (only 40 miles!) and to be the first I4Kers to trek (pun points!) from Portland to San Francisco!