Well hello there family and friends!First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for my lack of blog postings thus far. I have not been nearly as vigilant in securing the time or equipment to sit down and keep you all posted on this ride as I should be. That said, I do prefer talking in person, and I've loved keeping in touch with each of you by phone or through email and text. So, thanks.I should also apologize in advance for the relative brevity of this post; It is currently 11:40 pm, and I've got to go through the usual groggy routine of waking up in 6 hours and getting ready for an 85+ mile ride tomorrow to LaCrosse, Wisconsin.For now, let me give a brief account of today's ride. I will catch you all up on the past few weeks with several lengthy posts when time permits, and I am currently in the process of transferring a few hundred pictures to a hosting site. Keep an eye out.This morning we left Fitchburg, Wisconsin - just south of Madison - and headed northwest for Reedsburg. Honestly, my aesthetic expectations for Wisconsin were not too high, and the early portion of today's ride seemed to be on its way to keeping those expectations in place. I rode in the front group with Conor, Eamon, and Erik, and for the first 15 or so miles our route led us through mostly crappy suburban roads, riddled with construction sites and patchy shoulders.Once we moved further out into the farmlands, though, we were all very impressed by what we encountered. Rolling hills, green pastures dotted with cows, horses, goats, and even a few goofy llamas, and looming rock formations made the rest of the ride quite enjoyable. The hills weren't too big, the roads weren't too bad, and the traffic wasn't too heavy. It was one of the best pure riding days so far on this trip.Before lunch, the four of us stopped at a roadside rock face that jutted out ominously over the road. Conor and I climbed all the way up to the base of it, but after getting stabbed by thorny weeds and pricked by annoying bugs, we gave in to our hunger and headed to the lunch stop.We had almost made it to our designated lunch stop when we approached a roadside pasture of fenced-in goats and llamas. The llamas weren't too friendly, but once these goats saw that we were willing to feed them grass, they were falling all over each other to eat from our hands. We must have spent about 20 minutes just feeding these silly looking animals straight from our palms. Conor kept remarking about how their eyes had a soul-sucking nature; I took about a dozen pictures, so when I post those I'll let you decide.We eventually left our goat friends behind for the delicious lunch that Mary Russell's family provided for us. Having an ice-cold coke and a turkey sandwich in the middle of the day instead of the usual PB&J is so much more of a treat than I can describe, so, thanks Russell family!After lunch we only had about 15 miles left til our stayover in Reedsburg, so we pounded those out pretty quickly. It just so happened that the local pool was about 4 blocks away, so nearly all of us threw on our sandals, grabbed a towel, and headed over. Naturally, I was challenged to a diving contest by the local, chubby pre-teen, and naturally, he embarrassed me. Oh well.For dinner, Jordan looked up a local Chinese restaurant that about 15 of us drove over to. Diana - who is from China herself - told us that today was a traditional Chinese holiday, so we all headed over to celebrate. I stuffed myself with four plates of food, and promptly hopped back in the van to pass out.And so, I've got a full stomach to sleep on and a comfy couch to lay my head upon tonight. I'm off to bed. I'll catch up on everything else in the next several days.And, well, this post wasn't quite "brief," but who am I kidding? Brevity's never been my strong suit.
Fitchburg to Reedsburg, WI (And apologies for lack of posts thus far)
Let me first start out by apologizing for my consistency (or lack thereof) with my blog posts so far on this trip. Partial internet access combined with hectic and eventful days has caused me to put my blog on the backburner. Needless to say, I am going to try and make more posts from here on out. So far, I have been having an amazing summer. Seeing the country is great, and the experiences I have shared with both my teammates and with random people along the route have really been memorable. PA was gorgeous but mountainous, OH was hilly but quick, IN was the most hospitable, and IL was simply home.Now, we are done with the first 1/3 (approx) of the trip and into WI. Most of my extended family is from here, so I have always felt as if it were a second home state. I am even a diehard Packers fan (please, save your rotten tomatos and cheesehead jokes). However, I have never gotten to see southern and western WI like I am on this trip. It is simply beautiful! The rolling hills help keep the route interesting, as well as add a bit of challenge that was lacing in some of the flatter states (ahem Land of Lincoln). Today, we left from Fitchburg (which is just outside of Madison) to Reedsburg. After a night of exploring the state capitol and UW campus, I was ready for another day of biking. The started out great, but was quickly derailed (pun points) by another flat tire; this is now my 5th one in 3 days (2 on a new tire). On the bright side, I am getting a lot faster at changing them.After the flat however, it was smooth sailing. Today I rode in a small group of 3 with Max and Greg. The weather was fantastic, and we had a great time interacting within our group as well as with other groups we passed along the way (shout out to Conor). We did lunch around mile 52, where Mary's family brought us some delicious sandwiches (a needed change from pb and j). We then proceeded to nap for at least an hour in the shade. We ended up rolling into the church arond 3:40.After hanging out a little, we went and swam in the local pool for free! We had a great time just messing around with each other, and challenging some of the younger kids to competitions on the diving board. It was a much needed refreshment. Then, some of us got dinner at a Chinese buffet with Diana for a Chinese holiday that was today. I dont know if I fully understood the meaning of the celebration, but she was very happy we joined her for it.Finally, on a very serious note, we discovered the church had an Nintendo64, and I proceeded to get first place in my first 4 consecutive races. For those who have ever doubted my domination at the game, I welcome all challengers.Peace out for now.
CHINESE BUFFET
So I had another post from a few days ago but unfortunately, the internet went out before I could actually publish it. Time for a short recap.We made it to Champaign!!! I was welcomed by my cousin Jessica and her roommate Lindsay. It was great to see them there and our ride into Champaign was really fun because it included a nice tailwind. The Alumni Center treated us to a bunch of snack foods that I made into a huge meal. We made it to Dos Reales and all of us ordered 1 of everything on the menu. The food was delicious and the service was great, as always. I got to see my sister Anna for a little bit which was nice (even though our time was majorly cut short) because I really miss her. I stayed at Ana's condo with Ana, Jeff, Jillian, and Diana. We all took real showers and dried off with real towels. We slept on some comfy beds and her brother made us a delicious breakfast. While in Champaign, I learned that I share an all-time favorite movie with my fellow teammate, Bridget. Both of us love The 10th Kingdom--a 800 hour long TV movie that combines all fairy tales into one story.This trip has made me realize that I do love Illinois for many reasons, but one of the reasons is for all of Illinois' flat land. It's so wonderful. But I do not love all the wind that gets blown our way.So fast forward a few days to our arrival in Chicago. It was a short ride but a lot of us got lost and my group (Bridget, Michell, and Erik) ended up going into Indiana about 4 times. As Michell would say when we pass swamps: "Ewww." We were welcomed by our families and friends and even a few Blackhawk fans. I heard that 2 million people came to Chicago just for us. It was an amazing feeling to see all of our loved ones there. My mom and younger cousin Sarah were there for me and I was so happy to see them. After some pictures and after we all got our bags, my family and I left to grab a bite to eat at the Cheescake Factory. It was delicious and I ate everything in front of me plus more. Afterward we stopped at R.E.I. where I was able to buy a few things I needed, including a brand new sleeping bag that is so amazing. Before I was using a sleeping that only unzips about a foot down my side, so not even past my hips. But now my sleeping bag unzips all the way down to my feet so I can breathe at night!!! I spent the rest of the night with my family and got to bed early. Then I woke up early to seize the day and get some errands done during our rest day. I got a tune-up on my bike which is great because my bike is actually pedaling better than it was when I first got it. In the evening, I went back to Chicago and was able to meet up with a few friends that I hadn't seen in a while which was great but I was definitely ready to get going again on our journey.Our ride leaving Chicago was also our ride-along. This is when friends and families of the riders come with us on a 30 mile ride to Highland Park. This ride was fun and we were pretty much on bike trails the whole way. The church that we stayed at in Highland Park is the church that Kyle and his family attend. They provided us with dinner and breakfast. Even though dinner was provided, a few of us couldn't pass up the Chipotle that was just down the street. Fortunately, all of our burritos were free because the manager there thought that what we were doing was really awesome. Free burritos mean happy cyclists. But really it's just the random acts of kindness people do to support all of us. After our burrito fest, a few of us went to Barnes and Noble for free wi-fi. Myself, Ana, and Michell were very happy because it was the first time we got to use our wonderful laptops on the trip (we picked them up in Champaign/Chicago). Plus we started a super cool club because we are all Macbook users. I think Bridget captured what our club is all about on her digital camera.While in Highland Park, all of us also had the honor to talk to John--one of the co-founders of the I4K. It was so awesome to talk to him and to hear him speak about the I4K and its creation/the very beginning. He is an extremely inspiring person. Me and a few other girls spent the first 15 miles of our ride the next day talking about how cool he was. We also tried to plan other awesome adventures because John has us convinced that we can achieve anything we want, which is true.Fast forward to yesterday. I took my first big spill. It was raining and I crossed over some railroad tracks too fast and at the wrong angle. So I flew off my bike and did not have a gracious fall. I landed on my left side and then bounced off the asphalt to land flat on my back. It was pretty scary because when I opened my eyes I was laying on the other side of the road. I have some scratches on my knees and on my left arm. My back is also very sore from the fall. Yesterday I felt like I was going to vomit because it was a very sharp and constant pain. But the girls I was riding took really good care of me, especially Ana and Diana. Thanks ladies.Because of my fall, I volunteered to drive the van today. Pi also joined me because he woke up feeling pretty bad in the morning. As the day progresses, I am feeling less and less sore so that's good. I hope all is well for those hills tomorrow. Anyways, driving the van is actually pretty cool. It was awesome to see everyone riding their bikes and it made me so proud of everyone on our team! I also liked being able to see the rest of the team more often during the day. But being in the van made me realize how much I really do enjoy what we do each day. Even though there were tons of hills, I wished that I could have been out there with everyone. There's nothing like a granny gear in the morning or throughout the entire day. I love my granny gear.Tonight was a wonderful night. I showered at the local pool, watched a few minutes of Lord of the Rings, and went to the local Chinese Buffet with 13 other riders: Jillian, Megan, Jeff, Maxwell, Conor, Nate, Kyle, Tracey, Kevin, Szymon, Jordan, Diana, and Michell. The other day Diana told me how a Chinese holiday was coming up so I told her we should get some Chinese food to celebrate and Jordan made it all happen. The food was great, all 9 billion plates. Jillian really enjoyed the doughnuts. Conor really enjoyed the crab rangoon. Max and I really enjoyed the honey chicken. We all ate so much food and they definitely had to refill a few items because of us. Right down the street from the buffet was a carnival and I really wanted to go. Conor said he would go on the Tilt-a-Whirl with me because a) it rocks and b) it would have been a nice contest to see who vomits first. Max wanted to give the Tilt-a-Thirl a go too but we didn't go because the others were on the burst of popping with each breath and eye blink. I will be going to the next carnival we see because I love carnivals and all carnival rides. Except the Gravitron. The Gravitron is a recipe for disaster. It was an interesting van ride home from the buffet. With every bump, several groans followed. Nate freaked me out when he almost made himself vomit.I have 1 pun point. I hope to increase my score soon. I was given another one, but Lil John took it away.Thanks for reading this. Sorry for any typos.
Me llamo Mono Roberto
Hola!! Me llamo Mono Roberto. Mientras no ando en bicicleta todos los dias como los estudientes del Illini 4000, soy un parte de este equipo. Vivo en el frente de Rooibus (Rooibus es la bici que Kevin usa todos los dias). Quizas, me preguntas porque hablo espanol solo. La verdad es que soy de la selva de Peru pero un dia, vine a los EEUU en una operacion complicada, una operacion de payasos y animales de circo. La cosa mas importante es que estoy aqui ahora y soy parte del Illini 4000 por Cancer. Gracias por escuchar y permitir que me presente!!
The Return of the Hills
The rains have dried up and the sun has finally come out from behind the clouds. Despite a little headwinds in the morning, we had great weather, smoothly paved roads and beautiful scenery. It was not an easy ride though; we had to climb some BIG hills. All the mountains in PA have trained us well and we managed to conquer these hills like champions. Lunch was a delicious meal of home-made subs, chips, and cookies provided by the Russel family (Thanks so much!!). Everyone ate to their fill and took a good rest/nap on the grassy hill. After arriving at our stay-over, we went swimming at a local pool. The kids at the pool were jumping off the diving boards like Olympic medalists, putting us college students in dripping bike shorts to shame. As it is a Chinese holiday today, a group of us went for a Chinese buffet dinner while some stayed behind for a simple, home-cooked meal of spaghetti, garlic bread and leftovers. Overall, a great Wisconsin day full of sunshine, rolling green hills and great food!
Chapter Deux: Exodus
So much has happened since my last post, so for expediency's sake, I'll forsake some details, but here it goes. Riding into Champaign was absolutely ridiculous. The alumni were so excited to see us. But for me the most intense part of it all was when I realized that I had made it back to home turf on my bike. That moment, riding in familiar territory, put it all into perspective. We made it back to school from NYC on our BIKES. I guess a part of me deep down inside continually doubted the entire endeavor, but now the immensity of the task has set in, and I think I'm more than ready for it. So champaign was great, seeing friends, albeit brief, was needed.We rode into Clifton the next day, and went out to a local establishment to catch the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup. Fast forward two days, and we're riding from Homewood to Millennium Park. That was another moment on this trip I will never forget. The whole team, as one unit, riding along the lake front trail barreling down on Millennium Park.Seeing all our families and supporters at Millennium Park was INSANE. So much pride and joy in everyone's eyes. Personally, it meant so much to me to see my father and sister there to cheer me on (and a close family friend). Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this great endeavor.We are now in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. I can't speak for the rest of the team, but the past three days, since we left Deerfield, have been rough. Two days of riding in the rain and a poor meal choice for lunch have amounted to me being sick today. Unfortunately, I had to sag in the van, but after a full day's rest, I am feeling much better and should be back on the proverbial horse tomorrow.
Wild Wisconsin
Just a quick update here from Fitchburg, WI. Even though it's already late (11:30pm used to be early for me!), I wanted to write a quick post because I'm pretty sure we won't have internet readily available tomorrow.It's hard to believe we're already in Wisconsin, but it's also exciting. All of the riding before Chicago seems to be focused on getting to Chicago and getting home. But now that we've departed from Illinois that means we are finally on our journey west and to our final destination. Even though these first days of Wisconsin have brought rain and dirt, the scenery here makes up for it. I think Wisconsin can be compared to Pennsylvania except for much smaller hills here. And now I'm wishing for those hot and sunny days we had out east. Being close to Madison, I stopped by a nice bike shop that I remembered from last year and brought some of the new riders along as well. It was really fun being in a new city and enjoying the clear skies in the evening. Of course the fantastic meal provided by the Russells' certainly helped our morale.More updates and Minnesota soon!
First Post
There is too much to say about the trip so far as everyday is filled with new memories and inside jokes so quickly. I have enjoyed being detached from a computer for the past couple of weeks, and therefore fallen far behind in blogging. The biking aspect of the trip has both been a struggle and a release from my life back in Champaign- Urbana. We have all gotten so much stronger that at least I can now feel a little less stressed about heading back into the hills.As far as what we are biking for, the ladypack's interview with the florist a week ago was the first time that it actually sunk in that we are biking to raise cancer awareness and do more with our days than just bike. Before then, I felt like it was easy to lose sight of our purpose. After John (the creator of I4k) came to talk to us a few days ago about this ride and why it was started I feel even more motivated to talk to people that I meet along the ride. Hearing personal stories, visiting patients, etc. is what I now aim to contribute more time to. I look forward to our visit to Mayo Clinic in a few days and I pledge to try to do more with the portraits project for the remainder of the trip. I am also going to try to blog more, so look for posts in the near future posts that are more descriptive and hopefully not written so late at night.
Coming Soon to a theater near you...
A blog post is on the horizon for all to see. One so captivating none will be disappointed. Release date TBA but you will not be disappointed.Anyways, I've slacking on the blogs i know but I'll get you all caught up on everything you need to know what's been going on with me and I4K. Seriously. I had some technical difficulties trying to log in to blog earlier.
Highland Park, Lake Geneva, Madison 06/13-06/15
Hmm. Cortisoned up and ready to go on Sunday morning, we departed from Millennium Park for the family and friends ride along. Aunt Mel and Uncle Ted surprised me to see me off :) and my Dad joined the team for the 30 mile trek into Highland Park. What I thought would be a quiet, easy ride ended up being a bit more stressful than I would have imagined. I experienced my first crash, a head on collision on the lake front bike path. It was interesting to say the least, I ended up tangled in a number of bikes… After hearing a woman yell out that “omg she broke her leg” I ever so eloquently, requested that the bikes be removed off of my body. Fortunately, I was absolutely fine, just causing a show for the surrounding 60 people… and no, my leg was not broken, just missing some skin. Thank you to the mystery man who pulled me out of the bikes! The second half of the ride was much more enjoyable, Dad gave me a run for my money and we were one of the first families to arrive into the train station. We headed out with the Odon’s and Russell’s to a Corner Bakery for a nice lunch before the rain came in. Mary, Steve, and I then finished our ride to the church and per usual, we got lost.The ride into Wisconsin was definitely one of the hardest for me. Leaving Chicago, it was pretty much decided that I’d be heading out to Arizona straight from San Francisco, meaning that I won’t be back in Illinois until Thanksgiving or Christmas season. Megan had the mosher and we all went in a circle each talking about why we are riding, and I think this morning was the perfect day for it. Remembering my Aunt Laura’s drive to live life to the fullest, I was able to take off for the day knowing that life is about taking chances and living while we have the opportunity. 63 miles (+a few extra unmentioned by the cues, typical), a ton of crappy dirt paths, a solid downpour of rain, and a crazy downhill later, we arrived at the Topol’s summer residence in Lake Geneva. Hot showers and burgers were my favorite highlights, as well as sleeping on a futon… and I was out by 8:30 or so…Now, this is the day everyone is probably waiting to read about. One question I’m often asked when speaking about this journey is “So does everyone get along?” or “Do you guys ever get into arguments?” Well folks, I like to keep it real on this blog and since this is slightly hilarious (in my opinion, but it’s a touchy subject), I’ll share one of the first I4K disputes. We often snack at rest stops along the way, and today I was riding in the 2nd to last group when we pulled up to the 2nd rest stop. In our snack drawer, there were about 6 half baggies of trail mix. I’m not going to lie about what I did. I ate all the M&M’s out of each of those baggies, I’d guess about 6-8 M&M’s per bag. It was suppose to be a joke… I even convinced Jill and Tracey to join in on the fun. Upon arriving to the lunch stop, the team was collected and well, very upset… no seriously, like mad... So there you have it, our first I4K dispute, and yes, it’s all good now, I believe. I suppose it was selfish of me, and arriving to the stay over I came to 2 conclusions: 1. No one jokes around like the Mazurski’s do and 2. There is a foggy line between serious and funny when it comes to jokes, and this line, wellit's drowning in M&M’s. Lessons learned.Our stay over tonight only has 1 shower, and arriving late in the game soaking wet, I decided to head out for my first run since the knee issues began. While the rain was refreshing, I realize that it’s going to be a while before I’m back to where I was before in terms of running. I ran out in reverse order of our route for the day and once I couldn’t run anymore, I turned around and headed back. As advised by everyone, I promise to take it easy on my knee, but as other runners know, it’s addicting… and I miss it. Mrs. Russell and mini-Mary came up to provide us with some dinner tonight. It was absolutely fantastic: eggplant parm, chicken, green beans, and some other fruits and veggies. I hear we won’t eat as well once we head out west so I’m really enjoying being spoiled while we are!I think that’s the update for now… until I have internet again, peace (:
Oh my! My first blog. :)
I made it to chicago! woOoOoOo! I'm ashamed that this is my first blog, but I'm going to try to blog more often for the rest of the trip. The ride from New York City to Chicago has been quite an adventure. I'm gonna try and do a quick recap of my ride so far, but I will have more detailed blogs more often after this one.Ok, Ready. Set. Go.Exploring New York City during our rest day was fun, it was my first time there! One day is definitely not enough to get a good grasp on the city, but I got a good taste of it. Quick recap of some of the things I did: visited Central Park, Times Square, Soho, the 9/11 memorial and saw the statue of liberty from a distance. I'll upload pictures later, promise!Lets just say, going through Pennsylvania was quite memorable. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL! There was just so much green everywhere. The mountains were tough to go through, but I think they definitely kicked our butts into shape and helped us in the long run. I'm not gonna lie, there were some dreadful and long days when we were going through Pennsylvania, but I got through them with the help of my teammates. :)We were all excited to go to Ohio and ride on some flatland. I feel like the days after Pennsylvania flew by really fast, and we were flying from state to state. Arriving in Champaign was an awesome feeling. The last part of the ride to Champaign was the same route as one of our training rides, it felt like deja vu! I was excited to see my friends in Champaign and share random stories with them. I took a long shower and went out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, ate twice as many wings as I normally would, and then had some ice cream to top it off. Basically, I just ate a lot of food and relaxed with my friends that night :D. It doesn't sound that exciting, but it was much needed.I was pumped to ride to Chicago and see my family. The ride days in between Champaign and Chicago were shorter and more relaxing. The view was pretty boring though. I can only look at corn fields for so long.... We did a pretty good job of keeping each other entertained with crazy stories, singing songs, and talking about random things. Arriving in Chicago was a day that we were all looking forward to for a long time. I had never ridden my bike on the Lake Shore Trail by the city before, but let me just tell you... it was great! Not only was it sweet to avoid the crazy Chicago traffic, but we got great views of the city and the lakefront from there. I definitely plan on going back there after the trip for a long bike ride. The Blackhawks parade drew such a huge crowd into the city that we were not even expecting to encounter. By the time that we made our way to Millenium Park, the parade had just passed by there. I was really excited to see my mom at Millenium Park when I got there (I still have no idea how she managed to get there on time after work with all the traffic). We then took a two hour car ride home to Schaumburg (which should have only taken 40 minutes). I didn't do much in my day off at home. I took my bike in to the shop where I got it from and I was told that I needed a bunch of stuff fixed on it. Once I got my bike fixed up, I felt like I was riding an entirely new bike ... it was great! I got to spend some time with my parents and tell them all about the past couple of weeks, so they don't have to worry about me as much anymore since they know that I have adjusted to this new lifestyle: wakeup. eat. ride bike. eat. sleep. repeat.The ride-a-long was the next day, from Chicago to Highland Park. I was lucky enough to have my friend Amy come and ride with me. The weather was great for a bike ride, and we got to ride on some really nice trails ... so it was basically just destined to be a really fun day.After Highland Park, we crossed the border into Wisconsin. It rained and the trail we were riding on suddenly turned into a muddy path. Our clothes/bikes/helmets/hair were covered in wet sand and we looked very disgusting at the end of the day. We stopped at Lake Geneva that night and I got to see a little bit of the lake and area, which I was excited about because I had never been there before. We rolled out of Lake Geneva this morning and into Fitchburg/Madison. The ride today was rainy and cold. And of course, the sun comes out a few hours after we finish riding. The fun gets taken out of going downhill when its slippery everywhere. Hopefully we'll have better riding weather tomorrow though! I'll keep my fingers crossed.P.S.- please ignore all the grammar errors and bad wording!and expect another blog really soon! :D
What am I riding for?
This is my first post. It was supposed to be written yesterday. But I was too tired. Excuse! I know, but whatever. One of the founders of our organization came by the day before and talked to us. He said one of his biggest regrets was not journaling his experiences along the trip. Honestly, I haven't been doing much of journaling since the beginning. Should I start doing it now such that I remember some days more clearly than others? I don't want an incomplete memory. Or should I just rely on my brain and risk having a not so vivid memory? What details will I remember and what are the things I will forget 10 years down the road when I look back in life? I have no idea! Dilemma.But here I am writing my first post. It may well be my last! We started our ride yesterday with strong emotions in our hearts. Megan's mosher was indeed impactful and inspirational! She had us say our reasons for joining the ride. We reconnected with our cause. Everyone rides for different people and different purposes. But we are all doing it for a great cause. Some ride for loved ones who have lost their lives to cancer. Some ride for dear ones who are in the midst of their battle against cancer. What Conor said is true. We are riding for hope. When there's hope, there's faith. When there's faith, there's a way! Hope is what makes things happen. I know these are big words and it's easier said than done. I just hope I could remind myself of this whenever I feel despondent.Before yesterday, I rode for family and friends who lost their lives to cancer and also for myself as I see it as a challenge. But since yesterday, I found more purposes for the ride. I ride for my team mates (it's their persistence and optimism that make me realize the greater purpose in the ride). I ride for their loved ones. I ride for hope. As I sit in front of the laptop and reflect on what everyone said yesterday morning, I think I'm glad I realized the true reasons which I'm supposed to be riding for. I also have a fear. I fear for losing my family and friends to cancer, although currently they are fine. I think it's also the fear of loss that makes me wanna ride. But I wish my hope overrides my fear.
Ride Along
Ride Along Day:The night before the ride along my mom dropped Jeff and I off at the UIC dorms so we would have to get up super early the following morning. We woke up around 7 the next morning and packed our stuff, went outside, and said hello to the whole team. Around 9 we started riding over to the Bean and waited around to start the ride. My Mom flew in from San Antonio, Texas to see me and my brother for a few days. We decided she would go on the ride along with me and the team. She was riding on my older brother's old mountain bike that didn't work. We had a great ride along the Lake and saw a different side of Chicago. When we got to Roger Park I said goodbye to my Mom and headed to Highland Park. We were staying at Kyle's church. We got hungry so we went to Chipotle and the nice manager ended up giving us all free burritos! We spent the rest of the night talking to the awsome John Slesinger the founder of our organization and went to bed.
Madison, WI
wow, so i haven't blogged in a long time.i'm gonna go back awhile, to champaign, il. i stayed with my lovely friend annaka, got a nice hot shower and went out to dinner with some i4k friends (delicious mexican food.) we kicked off from the alumni center and stopped in both clifton & homewood, il. then onto chicago! we rolled in around noon - it was tough to navigate up the busy bike path and through the traffic of the blackhawks parade. friends, family and former riders were waiting to greet us. i had a nice and busy rest day. i had an appointment at athletico, a physical therapy firm in andersonville at 730 am. an awesome trainer named amy showed me some stretches for my hips and knees and some exercises to strengthen them - i'm going to pass on these exercises to other riders and hopefully it will help all of us! i watched a movie and hung out with family and friends - very restful! i also ate about a whole bowl of guacamole :)the next day was the ride along from downtown to highland park. my parents and sister came, and our family friend susan and my aunt bridget joined us for parts of it. thanks for coming, guys! i had so much fun and it was really nice to have the them ride with us for a day and get an idea of what a day on the i4k is like.the past couple days have been rainy - today was particularly rough. the first 20 miles were fine (i kinda like riding in the overcast weather as long as the rain holds out) but the sky opened up around mile 30. we rode away from the blue sky and into an area where the sky was dark blue/purple...we noticed this, but obviously had to follow the cues. ana got a flat after it started raining, and then a few miles later gabrielle wiped out on some railroad tracks. her tire got stuck in the track - her knees are scraped up & her back is hurting her. we think it might be bruised where she fell. i hope she feels better soon!! we missed her for the rest of the day.bottom line, we all made it to fitchburg, WI safe. not dry, but safe. and now i'm sitting here writing this is nice, dry clothes and it feels amazing! 2 more days in WI and then onto MN - rest day in Rochester and a visit to the Mayo Clinic. i am very interested to learn about their oncology unit and more about the treatment cancer patients receive there.another thing i forgot to mention is the awesome portrait that my group got to do in greencastle, IN. we went into a florist shop to use the bathroom and ended up talking to the owner, a breast cancer survivor, about her experience with cancer. it was a wonderful opportunity -- the i4k is about raising money for the american cancer society and camp kesem, raising awareness and also largely about the portraits project. with portraits, we talk to those who have been affected by cancer throughout the US and record their experience so that later we can make some sort of chronicle to show how cancer impacts everyone around the country. talking to this woman really brought us all back to the reason we're doing the ride. remembering why we are all here and why this cause is so important makes the long, hilly days much easier and more rewarding. i'm so happy to be part of the i4k this summeR!p.s. i apologize for my poor grammar, there is a computer line, so i did not thoroughly spell check. i'm also lazy.more to come soon!
Rain Rain Go Away
Rain rain go away, come again another day! Everyone was yet caught again in the rain today! We got drenched from top to toe! But other than that and some baby hills, it was a good ride. We are going to Reedsburg tomorrow and will be having a long-awaited rest day on the coming Saturday in Rochester,MN. Hooray! All the way I4K!
goodbye IL, hello Wisconsin!
No more miles of endless cornfields! We were on dirt bike trails for most of today's ride though. They weren't fun at all. Rain + sand/gravel = resistance and danger. I unexpectedly veered to the side of the gravel path and ended up splat on the ground. Not another fall... I was surprised by how much blood was flowing from my knee, but it was not painful at all. Although it was only a 63 mile ride, it felt like it took us forever to get to our stay-over.The morning started off good. We were chatting and having a relaxing bike ride. The last 20 miles after lunch were especially hard for me. My knee started acting up again and every pedal was painful. I hope this knee problem isn't permanent. I cannot imagine not being able to run anymore because of a bad knee. So many girls in I4k are having knee problems. I wonder if there is anything we can do to prevent this.
To Wisconsin!
After a fantastic breakfast this morning the team set off from Deerfield with a special guest, Jon Schlesinger, one of our founding members of the Illini 4000! The weather held out during our ride today until about noon when scattered showers tried to sour our ride. Our route into Lake Geneva took us through many small bike paths with beautiful scenery, and with our arrival the sun is starting to shine again. The team is currently staying at the Topol residence where we have already been given a fantastic welcome. Tomorrow we head deeper into Wisconsin!
Ride-Along Day!
Today was the day of our anticipated ride-along day out of Chicago. After one of our few rest days, it was nice to hop back on the saddle with family and friends as we rode out to Deerfield, IL.It was certainly an interesting experience starting out as a huge pack of more than 40 people. We definitely had lots of fun interacting and chatting with families about our endeavors. Knowing that there are so many people supporting us, both in action (ride-along) and in spirit is what keeps us peddling. Going beyond merely riding our bikes across the country, we are truly touched by the tremendous support given to us in our fight against cancer. Let us once again express our most heartfelt gratitude to those of you out there who have not only helped us but also the lives of those we are helping. Thank you!We arrived at our stayover which Kyle, one of our riders, arranged for us. We were welcomed with a delicious I4K meal with fantastic desserts and excellent hospitality!
1st time apart!
So today was our rest day in Chicago, and most of the riders are spread out at their respective houses/stayovers. There has been much talk of how much we all miss each other! I think this is the first time we have all been apart for this long. It feels quite strange to not be sleeping on a floor surrounded by 27 of your best friends (although we are enjoying beds!).But we have all been having a great time with family and friends - and getting much needed rest im sure. It feels slightly surreal to have taken a train to NYC, then rode our bikes through fields/mountains for 17 days, and magically be back home where we started. But the trip is far from over and we are all looking forward to the next 3/4ths of the summer!Cant wait to be reunited with the team tomorrow for the ride along day! Should be a great easy ride from Millenium Park to Highland Park, and a fantastic day spent with the adventurous people who have decided to join us!
Chitown...back in the saddle again (tomorrow!)
Since leaving the hills of PA our team has really come together. The flatlands of Illinois have given us room to destress and focus our attention on something bigger than simply making it to our next stayover. When we were in Homewood we had a great team meeting. Stephen and Jordan were elected as our new ride leaders and I have such faith in their patience and vision.At the meeting we talked about goals of the organization that we can implement this summer and ones for the future. One of the main goals is for all of the riders to get out in the community more and Lauren assigned us all a town along the way so that we can look up cancer centers and try to plan hospital visits ahead of time. We all agreed that making a 28 person hospital visit happen isn't as feasible as a 3 person visit because of privacy laws, etc. so we are going to do these things in shifts. Gabrielle is in charge of our portraits project and she mentioned that we should make an effort to find more diverse portraits, so we're going to use our flip cam and try to get some of those on the road along the way. I'm so excited about all of our ideas and hopefully the team will collectively take initiative and make it happen.Yesterday around noon we rolled (actually walked) our bikes into Millennium Park after a fun ride getting lost on the way. We were greeted by friends, family, and tons of Blackhawks fans. Even though the city was so hectic it was great to take in the energy of all the people around us. I was greeted by my parents, my sister Carolyn and my neighbors the Juarez family (Janet, Miranda, and Conor). The team got a kick out of Conor and his refreshing water bottle fan. Some I4K alumni riders also made us a sweet cake shaped like the United States, complete with crumbled brownies to represent the mountains. We all took pictures near the bean and then headed home.I've had fun chilling at home so far even though I spent a while last night waiting to be seen at urgent care. Turns out the cut on my leg from my chainring got infected so I'll have to pop some antibiotics the next few days so that the infection doesn't get into my blood. Fun! My dad is currently tuning up the family bikes to prepare for the ride-along tomorrow. Should be a fun time.