Day 19: Back in Familiar Territory

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

Start/End: Rockville, IN/Champaign, IL
Mileage: 76+
Weather: Definitely sunburn weather…hot and sunny!

Today was a rather bittersweet day as we departed Rockville, where we had definitely gained a new family and perspective on how cancer can impact communities. This single church showed us so much kindness and generosity through emir actions that we just could not be more thankful. This morning we were treated to a pancake, scrambled eggs, ham and fruit breakfast, which tasted amazing.

This morning our ride was dedicated to the woman at the church who had started the tradition of the snack bags, as I had mentioned yesterday. She had passed away from cancer and so today we rode for her.

So we began what would turn out to be a long, hot ride and a busy day. One of the groups of riders had a visiting rider who was actually a kidney cancer survivor. At 65 years young and on a sweet recumbent bicycle, he had no trouble keeping pace and a solid conversation with the group. It was a pleasure riding with him.

The day hit a little bump in the road when we had realized that most of the entire team had missed a cue, finding themselves 3-6 miles off course. This was a bummer since we were on a tight schedule, but the team fought the winds and got back on cues and on track with the time. We were so grateful for the Cross family, who provided lunch on their equine rescue farm for the team. It was amazing and we got to learn about the farm, which is currently home to a blind horse that uses an echolocation box to see within a 15 foot radius. How cool!

We were pretty bummed that there was not a sign at the border of Illinois and Indiana for a photo opportunity like many of those that we had taken previously, but we continued into familiar territory where we had training rides in the spring. The land was flat and the corn is growing. We noticed that the rivers and lakes are at very high levels, damaging some crops, unfortunately.

Before going to the Alma Mater on campus, we all reconvened at a house near campus so that we could all ride in as a single group. It was an amazing feeling to be back on campus and to be greeted by so many friends of the organization. Additionally, there were reporters from WCIA and the Daily Illini who spoke with some of the riders about their experiences. All in all, it was a great experience.

After that, we mostly dispersed as many riders were staying with friends and family in this “home base”. Several met up for dinner, which was generously provided by a research group in the Hydro Systems Laboratory on campus, home to a previous year’s rider, Blake. We got to eat so much pizza, in addition to cookies, brownies and homemade ice cream from a gentleman who is actively involved in the Champaign-Urbana Bike Project. He explained how their organization is working towards a more bike friendly community and how we hope this will expand to other areas. So this was super cool.

So this is our first night apart and tomorrow we will be meeting at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center on campus at 7 AM, so if you missed us today, join us there! We will be heading to Bradley, IL tomorrow.
-LAH

Day 18: A Trip Through Time

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

Start/End: Indianapolis/Rockville, IN
Mileage:68.7+
Weather: Calm and cooler, with warming in the afternoon

Today started off a little slower than normal. Some of the high mileage days seem to be wearing us out a little bit, but that is ok because today was just a rather pleasant ride. We woke up and did our normal morning chores and ate breakfast. This morning we enjoyed our typical oatmeal in addition to some delicious watermelon, cantaloupe, cherries and grapes that were generously provided by a rider’s grandparents.

This morning the ride was dedicated to a rider’s family friend, Lola, who had passed away from cancer. So throughout the day, this is who we thought about.

Leaving Indianapolis was a little more exciting than we wanted, with several groups getting multiple flat tires on the way out. Due to our training and many of the flats we have already gotten along the journey, we have gotten much better at changing the tubes. We also encountered a few overly friendly dogs who weren’t on a leash. This is always a little bit scary to tell which dogs are friendly or aggressive, but today’s dogs just wanted to play. We also passed another drag racing track, which was a lot more established than the track we passed a few days ago. This one had a serious wall built in order to prevent any cars that could not brake from going into he road (the other one had large hay bales).

After Indianapolis, there was mostly a lot of flat land with farms. The team got to see heir fair share of farm animals, passing cows, goats, sheep and horses. At this time, there were still plenty of baby animals that were pretty cute to look at. The route more so resembles Illinois at this point with the flatness. So the route was traversed a little quicker than some of the previous days, also because there was not much wind resistance at all. Additionally, we passed a very aromatic lumber yard and through a community that used a lot of horse power for drawing carriages, plows and other farm equipment.

Towards the middle of the day, a lot of the rider’s stopped at Casey’s, a gas station in Roachdale. The folks there were so nice and donated ice cold water to refill our water bottles.

From there we continued on, had lunch, met a wonderful gentleman who generously gave us a portrait of his experience with cancer. He was about our age and a few months ago was told he had a cancerous brain tumor. Just yesterday, though, he was told that he was cancer free. The initial diagnosis was a little confusing, but for anyone, being told that you have cancer is just scary. He received a ton of support from his family, friends and community, so it was super awesome to hear about all that.

Arriving at our stayover was wonderful for several reasons. Many members of the congregation at the Rockville United Methodist Church were waiting for us with refreshments ready. When we arrived, we unpacked the van and got some fruit, banana nut muffins, and drinks. After that, members of the church volunteered to take us to other locations with a pool and showers and even volunteered to take our laundry to get washed. Some members of the team even had a great opportunity to explore the town, finding a cafe, ice cream parlor, G & M store, which apparently you can find just about anything you want, and an antique store.

All of this was incredibly generous and the team is just very thankful for their generosity. I will say, though, that the church did not stop here. They prepared a very large spread of different foods for dinner, including pulled pork, deviled eggs, macaroni, salad and many other great items. Additionally they had several dessert options available, including angel food cake, brownies and a banana pudding.

In addition to the amazing meal that made us, “Illini 4000 full”, we also had some awesome entertainment from Dorothy, a member of the congregation who is 88 years young who performed a delightful tap dance routine. It was wonderful. Then, above all of that, we were all given the opportunity to grab a bunch of snacks for us to pack in our individual bags. This was a tradition started many years ago by a member of the congregation when Illini 4000 first came through the town. Unfortunately, this church member has since passed away but he church continues this tradition in her memory.

We are so touched by the generosity that we have experienced today, and really throughout our entire journey. Somebody along the route told us, and I may have mentioned this before, but it is easy to find the bad people in the world, but it really is tough to avoid all of the amazing, wonderful people. So as you are reading this, I do hope that you can appreciate all of the awesome people in your life, as I know that is something that many of us along this trip are learning about how important close connections with others are.

That’s all for now- tomorrow we will be rolling into Champaign and anticipate being at the Alma Mater (Wright and Green Street) around 2:30 PM so if you are able, feel free to meet us there!

-LAH

Day 17: Hello Indianapolis

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

Hello All! We have a busy week ahead. The details for the Chicago Ride Along and BBQ are as follows. Please come out and support the 2015 team! Read on for details on this year’s Ride Along and BBQ. It is a fantastic opportunity to support the 2015 team as they reach their milestone destination- Chicago! We are asking that all participants in the ride along and or BBQ bring a $10 dollar donation.

Annual Ride Along and BBQ: Sunday June 14th

Ride Along Time- Arrive 7:30 am,

Where- Buckingham Fountain to Turnbull Woods

Bring- A Bike, Your Bike, Helmet, Water, Snacks, Patch Kit

What- 27 Mile Ride North to Turnbull Woods

CookoutTime- Setup 10:30am, Lunch 11am-2pm

Where- Turnbull Woods Picnic Shelter, 1627 Greenbay Rd. Glencoe, IL

Bring- Please don’t come empty handed! Fill out the Google Doc to let us know what you are bringing- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17sIggzAR7gsO6CaUNP_8mZhB6QfJTKxdxZJKVJq_XwE/edit?usp=sharing

What- Annual Ride Along Picnic Lunch with the team! Any and all are welcome, even if you are not participating in the day’s ride!
Ride Along Details-This year the Ride along will depart at 8am from Buckingham Fountain. Please arrive at 7:30am tires pumped and dressed ready to go. The route will be 27 miles north to Turnbull Woods, near the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Rain or Shine!) Those wishing to participate in the ride along MUST WEAR A HELMET. We highly suggest you bring water, a snack, as well as a spare tube and patch kit. (If you do not make it to Buckingham Fountain by 8am the ride will need to leave without you. If you are running late please call Maggie at 630-936-8126) If you are riding Maggie will be collecting any food donations at Buckingham Fountain to take with to the Picnic site.
Cookout Details-The ride along will end with a cookout lunch in Turnbull Woods- 1627 Greenbay Rd. Glencoe, IL. ALL Illini 4000 supporters are welcome, even if you are not participating in the ride along! Please don’t come empty handed!

Fill out the Google Doc to let us know what you are bringing-https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17sIggzAR7gsO6CaUNP_8mZhB6QfJTKxdxZJKVJq_XwE/edit?usp=sharing
For any questions or more information contact illini4000alumni@gmail.com

Turn of the Century

Monday, June 8th, 2015

Assistant Ride Leader’s Log. Bike Date 16.15-06-08.17:35

Yesterday I officially joined the century club! It all started off great as there was minimal wind and we had plenty of room to cycle. However, as the day went on, the wind picked up, making the last 20 or so miles quite tough. However, after completing those 103 miles, I fully understood the extent to which Illini 4000 is a test of mental endurance. There were many moments where I began doubting myself, but I kept reminding myself that I can keep going, that I can always do 5 more miles.

Today was another day for the books. I started the day as the support van driver – each day we rotate van drivers – and found a spot for our first rest stop. When their groups made it to the first rest stop, some of my teammates couldn’t ride anymore, be it knee problems, not feeling well, what have you. To both make room in the van and because I really wanted to ride, I decided to ride the remaining 55 miles. My cleats were accessible, but not my cycling shorts or socks so rode wearing my running shorts and no socks. Surprisingly I didn’t get any saddle sores, but I still don’t think I’ll be trying that again.

One other milestone of the day is that the miles from today pushed my odometer for the trip past 1,000! I still can’t fully believe that I’ve ridden over 1,000 miles already, but that also means I still have over 3,000 to go. Here’s hoping each mile is more fun than the last!

Day 16: Living Through a Century

Sunday, June 7th, 2015

Start/End: Columbus, OH/Richmond, IN
Mileage:,103.6+
Weather: Warm and humid with cooling and clouds which came with some wind in the afternoon

Living through a century can take you a lot of different places. It can take you to Springfield, London, South Vienna, Verona and a variety of other towns, all of which were along our route! But let me back up and start from the beginning. Last night we stayed at the Broad Street United Methodist Church and it was awesome. Great location to sleep and eat and get ready for our longest day yet.

The ride this morning was dedicated to the aunt of one of our riders. This aunt had passed away from breast cancer and was very obviously loved, so that was who this ride was for.

Now, I will try to do my best to remember the day, but it was pretty lengthy and I just had an amazing dinner (more on that later). It is kind of fun to watch how much the goslings along the route have grown up. When we started they were cute, and now they are bigger and look more and more like their parents. We started off leaving Columbus, and when we got outside of town, it looked a whole lot like Illinois, flat. But that did not last all day. We encountered a few hills, but nothing too challenging. The main challenge was the large mileage for the day! We visited what might be the last Tim Horton’s on the journey at lunch time, where we are our PBJ’s, but many on the team grabbed some donuts or a frosty from Wendy’s.

We biked through Dayton, passed their airport. And again we were in the country. So nothing too exciting that we saw today unfortunately. Oh. There was a water tower painted like a hot air balloon which was cute. Towards the end of the ride, things will were getting tough. We had some extra rest stops and due to the generosity of a rider’s parents who brought granola bars, we had extra snacks. At the end of the day, we were all running low on energy. A few miles before our rest stop, though, we crossed the Ohio/Indiana border, which provided not only a photo opportunity, but also a great boost of excitement to get us to the end of the journey.

Today’s ride greatly depended on the team that you road with. I know that incould not have done it without my amazing teammates and I am confident that sentiment is shared among my teammates. So thanks team, for being just so amazing.

Tonight we are staying at the generous location of the First English Lutheran Church in Richmond. There are showers! Always great news after a long, hot day. Two members of the congregation most graciously cooked us three types of lasagna, garlic bread, prepared salad and even dessert. This meal had a personal meaning as the husband had done a cross country bike trip before and he wanted anyone else doing a trip like that to really have a wonderful experience.

We had some of our group head out on a Walmart run for some supplies, and other teammates are watching Monsters University. A decent number, like myself, are already getting snuggled into our sleeping bags ready to rest from the hard day. We look forward to tomorrow’s ride to Indianapolis and look forward to anyone we might meet along the way!

Day 15: Getting Into Buckeye Country

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

Start/End: Zanesville/Columbus, OH
Miles: 56
Weather: mostly cloudy and cool

Today was a very uneventful, pleasant ride into Columbus, home of another member of the Big 10, the Ohio State University. We didn’t let that phase us, though. Part of that definitely had to do with how we started the day at Westwood Baptist Church. We were treated to an omelette bar. It was amazing and every rider greatly appreciated the generosity of the church. With that we had some orange juice and milk.

Today’s ride started out with a ride dedication to a rider’s family friend who passed away from pancreatic cancer a few years ago.

The ride started off with a nice decline, leading into quite a hill to wake up our muscles in the morning. From there we biked through Zanesville, crossing their “Y-Bridge”, which literally has a Y in it. From there, we experienced a few good hills but we took things pretty steady throughout the ride. There were more beautiful flowers along the road, which are always amazing diversions from the hill climbing, but especially after the first rest stop 22 miles in, we didn’t have much climbing. Along the route, we did pass a drag racing track which was in fact running some races. A few groups got to see some of the cars, which was pretty exciting, and loud.

After getting into Columbus, we spread out as a group doing all types of things, including watching a professional soccer game and finding an art strip with lots of people and activity, so it was fun. We had pizza donated for dinner from Little Caesars, which we are incredible grateful for. Tonight we are getting snuggled in at the Broad Street United Methodist Church who was generous to let us stay in their space which is equipped with showers and even some laundry facilities! We are preparing for tomorrow, which will be our longest ride so far (more than 100 miles!) into Indiana….so another state line crossing, here we come!

New Frontier

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

Assistant Ride Leader’s Log. Bike Date 15.15-06-06.22:10

After several days of intense cycling, hospital visits, and opportunities to grow closer as a team, so much has already happened over the past 2 weeks. I’m still partially in shock that we’re already in Columbus, OH and are tackling Indiana next.

An unexpected surprise occurred two nights ago when staying in Canton. Just as I was about to do some grocery shopping for the team, our hosts approach some of my teammates and I. They were trying to film a commercial of sorts for Dad’s day for the church. The premise of the commercial was a daddy-daughter basketball game and one of the daughters couldn’t make it. Since I wa the only girl around, I was asked to be in the commercial. Despite the cycling tan lines and borrowed gym shoes that were 3 sizes too big, I think all went well. Fingers crossed the commercial thing turn out well for them!

My teammates and I have also been able to accomplish more and more each day. Yesterday my group and I were able to tackle hills we never expected we could. Today I rode with some teammates that really pushed me to go faster than I had ever gone before. As I mentally prepare for our century ride (100 miles) tomorrow, I am reminding myself that I’ve been able to accomplish so much more than I ever would have expected and that I just have to take tomorrow one mile at a time.

Day 14: Following Butterfly Paths through Rolling Hills of Green

Friday, June 5th, 2015

Start/End: North Canton/Zanesville, OH
Mileage: 83+
Weather: Sunny and very warm

Today we woke up at the Family Faith Center in North Canton and enjoyed breakfast consisting of some cereal donations and some leftover chocolate. Yum!

Today’s ride was dedicated to a rider’s family friend who was well known in their neighborhood for the cheery attitude which was shared with all. He passed away recently from cancer and is very missed.

And with that we were off on the ride, navigating through the morning traffic in Canton. Once we got into the country, though, it was smooth riding, kind of. We encountered so many hills that were quite challenging. But going downhill! Lots of fun. We passed through some beautiful parts of the country. If you didn’t know, eastern Ohio is very hilly. This is not something that I was aware of. So needless to say, it has been a very tough day and we are all tired. It was also rather warm today, so hydration was super important and taking some breaks in the shade were more than welcome. Even at some times,mothers were a few drips of rain, but just enough to keep us cool.

We encountered some rough roads, which we fought through like champs, which can sometimes just mean getting off of the bike and walking down the gravel road, which we did for much longer than we’d have liked, but it was just too challenging to do it any other way.

Today we saw so many butterflies along the ride which was just so nice. We also met the most friendly, happy horses that greeted us and walked with us along the gravel road we walked down.

Nothing too exciting happened today, but that really can be a good thing. We came to stay at the Woodcreek Baptist Church in Zanesville and were graciously shuttled to a nearby gym to shower. Upon getting back from the wonderful showers, we were fed by food provided by the church from Chipotle. It was the perfect end to a great day of riding. Additionally they had snacks and dessert for us. It was just amazing and we were so thankful for their generosity. Later, rider’s parents brought over ice cream for us which was also thoroughly enjoyed. They also provided some bracelets which can be used as rope in any emergency situation. They were handmade and a very thoughtful gift, thank you!

We are happy campers tonight on cots in the church, very full and very happy. Tomorrow we will be heading to Columbus, which will be a shorter ride,so that will be nice. Going to bed before too long. Long day….

Day 13: A Pleasant Ride to Canton

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

Start/End: Cleveland/North Canton, OH
Mileage: 53+
Weather: Warm and a little humid

We truly cannot thank the staff and members of the Nehemiah Mission of the United Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH. They were just remarkable hosts and provided us with amazing food that sent us off on our journey well.

Today’s ride started off with a dedication, which went to a rider’s uncle who had been diagnosed with a type of prostate cancer which had been surgically removed over a year ago. Unfortunately within the last few weeks, he was re diagnosed and began cancer treatments just yesterday. So throughout our ride today, this is who we reflected on.

We had just a short hop-skip over to Canton, OH. My group,mans hopefully other ride groups, experienced a ton of nature. We rode on bike paths for a good portion of the day which took us through densely wooded areas as well as some grassy openings, and even along waterways. We saw a river-otter and turtles in the water, a few geese with a group of at least 20 goslings, a mama dear with a very small spotted fawn, a turkey that was not very intimidated by our presence, a very small groundhog and of course a few alarmed bunnies. We were not terribly rushed by time, so I know many of us took some scenic pictures.

We arrived into Canton at our stayover and one of the riders discovered that a Harry London/Fannie Mae chocolate factory was located nearby and that it offered free tours. About 20 of the riders shuttled over to the factory using one of the rider’s parent’s vehicles for a tour. We learned a lot about the process of chocolate making and what made their chocolate so wonderful. From reading about some of the history of the company, I learned that both companies had been greatly impacted by cancer, whether it was through their philanthropy or passing of notable company leaders. Going through the factory, we saw the confections being made. We couldn’t figure out how the employees didn’t eat chocolate all day…. At the end of the tour, we were able to share with the guide and other visitors what we were doing with Illini 4000, and the guide was so generous and donated a few trays of the chocolate, with toffee and a type with marshmallow and caramel. This was a very unexpected and generous gift that I know the team thoroughly enjoyed.

In addition to this, we received wonderful food donations from local restaurants for our dinner from Donatos Pizza (definitely an Ohio thing), Little Caesars and Subway. Everything tasted amazing and was just so appreciated. I feel like I say this a lot, but this trip would not be possible without the generosity of others and this trip has really just changed my perspective of others and how much kindness and generosity can be found throughout our cross-country journey.

Tonight we have a very comfortable space to stay at the Faith Family Church with great spaces to hang out, get internet and feel refreshed for another ride tomorrow! I am crashing from eating just a few too many sweets, and I am guessing I am not the only one!
– LAH

Day 12: Meaningful Rest and Exploration of Cleveland

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

To start off with, I wanted to let everyone know that I added more information to the blog for day 7 in regards to visiting the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge and Gylda’s Club, so definitely check that out because they were amazing hosts!

Today was a beautiful day. Like our very first day in New York City, this was an event day. This day was well deserved after our 10 consecutive days of riding, or so I would think. It started off pretty casual with a later wake up at 8 AM….amazing. After that, we were able to eat some cereal provided by our amazing stayover, and some of us walked to a nearby coffee shop to indulge just a little bit. I have honestly been pretty impressed that a group of almost 30 college students has made it so many days with a 5:55 AM wake up without coffee!

Afterwards, we were shuttled by members of our stayover’s congregation to the University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland. While we were visiting, we got to spend time with some of the folks that run the center from an operational standpoint. We got to tour treatment bays, where patients can receive chemotherapy. This was not something that many of the students in Illini 4000 had not seen. During my tour, we were told about how the space was designed to really feel open and comfortable for the patients. And they really did think of everything, from easily moveable walls for added privacy between patients, to the window view for all, seats for caregivers and heated seats for patients that often feel chilled during treatment. There was artwork around the facility as well. Additionally, patients can receive art and/or music therapy. We got to see where longer term patients stay and the amenities provided that are comfortable for both patient and caregiver. This facility really did seem to put a huge emphasis on the patient’s experience.

Additionally we got to see other areas, including radiology, which though typically housed in the basement of buildings, was on the second floor. We met a doctor who showed use around, explaining the different uses for a PET scan, CAT scan and MRI. One really cool program that they told us about was that for $99, a patient who is between a certain age range who smoked for 15 years or more, could come into the hospital and be scanned. What this program could do is potentially detect a cancerous tumor before the patient experiences symptoms, which can really be life saving. If a cancerous tumor is detected, they can remove it and you can be cancer free without symptoms. This really led to a discussion of the different types of ways to be proactive about cancer detection and prevention. One of the biggest things to know is your family history, this can often dictate what age and how often you can checked for certain cancers. If you have any questions, this would definitely be a great conversation to have with your parents and/or doctor!

Next we visited the Rainbow Hospital,the children’s hospital associated with the University Hospital. It was an exciting day for the hospital as it was Leonard Horvitz’s birthday, a large donor to the facility, who initiated that on his birthday they have a huge birthday party in the hospital. There were balloons and a DJ and gifts for patients- it did look like a great celebration. We proceeded upstairs where we visited part of the Angie Fowler Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Institute. We had the opportunity to speak with the father and sister of Angie a Fowler, who had passed away at a young age from cancer. The institute created in her namesake was a wonderful tribute. Some important things to know is that, although this is a children’s hospital, patients even in their 30’s can be seen, especially if they have a cancer more often seen in children/teenagers, which means that the cancer institute needs to be able to provide for the very different needs of this patient age range. There are spaces with fun painted walls and toys, whereas other spaces are geared towards older patients who may need computer access to keep up with work or school, or just spaces to meet with friends and family that do not feel like a hospital. We visited the rooftop, called Angie’s Garden, which was just a beautiful place to enjoy the open air and relaxation of the beautifully created surroundings. We were so thankful that we were provided a wonderful lunch provided by the University Hospital which gave us the wonderful tour and information.

After that, the day was ours. Some of us went to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while others went to an art museum, or a bike shop, while others returned to the mission to do laundry or rest. It was a beautiful day and many of us had the opportunity to perform some general maintenance on our bikes. Be sure to ask any rider you know what their bike’s name is! Many have names…and mine was just given a name the other day: Firestorm (because of it’s color).

Again we are just so thankful to our hosts at the United Methodist Mission here in Cleveland who provided us with a taste of Cleveland themed dinner tonight. It was amazing, consisting of pirogies, potato pancakes, chili, sausage/sauerkraut, salad and just a great dessert of ice cream cups and blueberries/strawberries/pound cake/cool whip mixture, many of us left dinner almost uncomfortably full, but very happy. We could not have asked for more wonderful hosts and are specially thankful for the food and gift bags they gave us. Thank you! We really are not exaggerating when we say that we could not do this without the generosity of those who we encounter.

We also just want to give a shoutout to those at the hospital who shared their stories with our team for the Portraits Project (portraitsproject.org). It has been such an exciting trip for portraits- which is one of the main purposes behind the ride.

So with that, tomorrow bright and early we get moving again! Here’s hoping for a smooth ride!
-LAH

Day 11: Light Winds, Rolling Hills and Sunshine

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

Start/End: Ashtabula/Cleveland, OH
Mileage: 63+
Weather: is it too soon in the trip to say perfect? Highs in the lows 60’s

The past few days have been tough and there is no doubt about it but today was a great pick-me-up kind of day. The sun was breaking up the clouds and showing itself really for the first time in several days and we had a bit of a tailwind. Additionally, we experienced quite a few rolling hills which did not necessarily require a lot of climbing if done right. Alas, I am getting ahead of myself again.

Today we woke up from a great night’s stay at the First Presbyterian Church in Ashtabula. The pastor and a member saw us off on our journey today. Today’s ride was dedicated to a rider’s great aunt who passed away recently. She had battled a few different types of cancer, but she had been fighting brain cancer which had caused her to forget the names and memories associated with loved ones. So today we rode for her.

It is a really strange feeling when you get to the point where you are lie, “only 60 miles? What am I going to do with the rest of my day?” It is just a remarkable evolution to have seen as we have grown in strength in this trip after 10 days of riding.

As an mentioned, we had some nice hills and a tailwind so we were moving pretty fast. And when that happens, you don’t quite notice as much. I did catch that we went through a town that was once home to President Garfield, so that’s kind of cool. When we stopped at our lunch stop, we were outside of a Walgreens and they just had the most soft grass to lay upon. Many of us took advantage of this and rested before we knocked out the last 20 miles.

Rolling into Cleveland, we took the Lakeshore Boulevard which was quite a sight to see. There were some beautiful mansions that we passed and were a lot of fun to look at. Then getting closer, we went along a lakefront park. Pretty much every group stopped at the park for varied lengths of time and took pictures and hung out. Continuing on the journey, we encountered a rather rough road which we managed very slowly to avoid any accidents or flat tires. It was not a great road. We went past the Cleveland Browns stadium which was pretty cool and then navigated through downtown, across the veterans memorial bridge to our stay over.

We are living in style for the next day and a half. We are at a Mission property that is used to accommodating mission trip teams, equipped with bunk beds and showers and an amazing staff that welcomed U.S. and provided an amazing dinner. Showers- it has been days. And a group of us went to a nearby laundromat to wash our clothes which may have been even more necessary than the showers. We are so so thankful for the generosity of this host and I am sure that I will talk more about them tomorrow.

So far, I have already slept a few hours but why not just keep sleeping? Tomorrow is our first official event day after NYC, so we get to rest a little bit and stay off our bikes. I will keep you updated with the happenings, though!

-LAH

New Month, New State(s), New Perspective

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

It’s incrediby hard for me to believe that today marks day 11 of this 72 day journey. I wish I had it in me to write the highlights so far, but the most important thing I’ve come to realize is that every single day this summer is turning into an adventure within itself and the best thing I can do is live up to the goals I set for myself by being present in every moment and leaving it at that. At this point we have less than 4,000 miles until San Fran (we started with 4,519 miles to go) and I’ve already started to fear the days I won’t wake-up with this team every morning. Within 11 days we have bonded, provided each other with support, and approached every obstacle with an open mind to do what needs to be done and get through it together. Obstacles thus far have included minor bruises and bumps, ridiculous wind trying to knock us over, and cold rain that makes you shiver to your core when you ride in it. Despite this, our team has also found huge success by means of kindness from every place we’ve stayed, unexpected food donations, and a willingness from many to share their stories of cancer with us as we work to collect more snap-shots of the American cancer experience for The Portraits Project.

With May behind me I find mysef looking forward to the first full month on the road. On the first day of June we finallly made it out of New York and crossed two state boundaries landing ourselves on the other side of Pennsylvania in Ohio! By the end of the month we will pass through 8 more states and continue our journey West from Colorado. The biggest challenge I’ve faced is adjusting to time passing. On a bike I find myself looking less and less at the clock and more and more at the miles that have gone by. What day of the week it is has become less important than knowing the name of the next town we’ll be sleeping in and how many days until our next event day. Within the first few days everyone was on the same page in terms of distance: 75 miles or less is considered a short day and typically not thought of as hard — more than 75 miles will be a challenge, but nothing we can’t accomplish. I’ve also been surprised to realize how much of the ride is mental versus physical. Of course you need strength to keep you legs moving in circles as you pedal, but believing you can do the ride is half the battle. Believing you can get up the monster hill in front of you is what keeps you going. Knowing you’re capable of standing up after a fall puts more miles under your tires.

I can’t say thank you enough for all of the support that I’ve continued to be showered with! Knowing care-packages are heading my way and that people are cheering me on helps tremendously with the 5:45am wake-up every morning. A few days ago on our way to Niagara Falls, New York I had a bit of a fight with the road, curb, and ground and dented my bike frame. Not only did this take a literal bite out of my bike, but it was a bit of an emotional hurdle as my bike has become something I’m attached to. I love my bike as much as I love my team. I’ve been in the van for a few days while figuring out how to proceed, but I’m beyond happy that I’ll be rolling again as soon as Zanesville, OH. My accident sucked, but it has affected my perspective in a positive way. My first post was about being a type-A personaity and I now find myself learning to roll with the punches. In the words of our ride leader Ben, “Stuff happens and it’s going to keep happening. What matters is that you keep going. Today will end and tomorrow you’ll start again with a new adventure.” For years I’ve seen signs that say things like “Don’t stress the small stuff,” and I’m sure most everyone is familiar with the’ “Keep Calm…” phenomenon. This has been the opposite of me for years! I think the details are the most important and often stress about getting them right. I now find myself learning that as much as you try to get everything right, it is also importnat to know that in reality every hill is just a bump in the road.
(Thank you to Kevin & Sam for that saying.)

Illini 4000 is…

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

…where you meet your best friends
…where you learn what the word “team” truly means
…where you are humbled and inspired
…where talking to strangers isn’t necessarily a bad thing
…where those strangers become friends
…where “home” becomes the place where your bike and your teammates are
…where you see parts of the U.S. no other tourists actually see
…where “the country” becomes the people who inhabit it and give it character
…where you learn to see the country through its people’s eyes
…where you discover those people makeup an incredibly diverse group
…where every hill is just a bump in the road

…where everyday is a new day

Day 10: No Longer in an Empire State of Mind

Monday, June 1st, 2015

Start/End: Westfield, NY/Ashtabula, OH
Miles: 75+
Weather: Chilly and cloudy but overall nice

To start off, I want to make sure that everyone knows that Illini 4000 is totally all over social media. If you are looking for photos of the trip (lots of group pictures!) can be found at Instagram.com/Illini4000 . So feel free to explore that!

Ok. Now to today. This morning we were so spoiled by the First United Methodist Church that provided us with cereal, milk, juice, bagels, cream cheese and bananas. It was amazing. A member from the church also came to check in on us and also to share her story with how cancer has impacted her life. We are so thankful that she was willing to do this.

Our ride this morning was dedicated to Javier, an uncle of a rider who passed away from cancer four years ago. Cancer is just so widespread and impactful that it is heartbreaking. So today, this ride was for Javier.

It was cold and misty when we started the ride. All of our riders put some oil on the chains and prepped our bikes for the ride. And with that, we were ready to go! Right out of town, we passed a Welch’s factory! We eat so much jelly at lunch….good thing to keep in mind. At first I thought this was an odd place for this factory until the next several miles (like 30) were just filled with vineyards. It was a beautiful view to see rows of grapevines in front of Lake Erie. There were also just so many beautiful houses overlooking the lake, many having watchtower/lighthouse fixtures built into the house. They were beautiful.

And then we passed our first state line, if you don’t include our short hop into New Jersey. We passed through all of Pennsylvania today- feeling rather accomplished. We stopped for lunch midway through the ride at the Lincoln Community Center, the public library. They opened up a room for us to sit in out of the cold and eat our sandwiches. That was so incredibly kind of them. Thank you!

Before too long we entered into Ohio! Not long after crossing the state line, my group saw a groundhog in the distance….I am pretty sure that Puxatawnee Phil was on vacation or running away…or secretly a buckeye. But don’t tell anyone.

It was a very fast day for the group that I was in, and many groups really just knocked out the ride today. Yesterday we got some rest in our muscles that made us all just ready to go. We were thankful that it was not raining.

Also, if anyone is riding next year, I challenge you to count the number of ice cream parlors that you pass on the ride. From an economic standpoint, it is remarkable how many ice cream shops exist. Crazy.

It is an early evening, but many of us are headed to bed a little early. Tomorrow we will get to Cleveland! But for tonight, we are staying in the generosity of our hosts at the First Presbyterian Church in Ashtabula!

-LAH

Improvisation

Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Assistant Ride Leader’s Log. Bike Date 9.15-05-31.21:55

After several fairly uneventful days as the team has started to hit a routine, quite the curve ball was thrown today. Ashley, one of the current directors of Illini 4000, sent us out into the world on our own after being kind enough to devote a week of her time to getting our team to adjust to the Illini 4000 lifestyle. Unfortunately, this also coincided with a weather forecast of really cold, very windy, and raining. The Enterprise and the other members of the fleet braved the conditions until mile 25 of 90, where it was deemed unsafe to continue. In spite of being stuck inside as the van is making trips back forth to get everyone to Westfield, today ended up being yet another fun day of Illini 4000. In the end, we did what needed to be done to keep the team safe, which is what I admire about the leadership of Illini 4000. Fingers crossed the rain will hold off tomorrow!

Day 9: Slowing Down and Shuttling

Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Start/End: Niagara Falls/Westfield, NY
Miles: 25-92
Weather: We’ll get to that…

Today we woke up at the First Presbyterian Church in Niagara Falls ready to start a great day. This was a great location for us that was really welcoming to us, and in a great location in proximity to the Falls! We had a great route planned that would follow the Canadian-US border! Our ride today was dedicated to a organization’s friend from U of I whose mom passed away from brain cancer about 2 years ago.

The ride started off at a temperature of about 45 degrees. So…a little chilly. Additionally there was light rain, but definitely nothing too challenging. Some of our training rides this spring were pretty cold, wet and windy. But as the ride went on, the the rain increased and our hands got colder, our clothes even wetter. Around mile 20, my group pulled off the route into a McDonald’s in Buffalo, NY. It was cold and some folks were just not feeling awesome. Our group thought we had filled behind, but most groups had already pulled off and was across the street at a Tim Hortons warming up. Others were at a Burger King not too far up. We are so thankful for these restaurants for being welcoming to such cold, wet cyclists. We eventually had to make it at least to the same location at mile 25, so eventually we had to go back in the cold for just a little longer.

We stopped at the gift shop in Buffalo, NY for the Naval & Military Museum, attached to a restaurant called 716. They were really accommodating and let us hang out in a corner for several hours. At this point, the decision was made to shuttle the team and the bicycles to our final destination so that we were safe and healthy. This was definitely a hard decision to make that the team doesn’t take lightly but was the best decision in this situation. It took several trips to get all bikes and all riders safely to the final destination. Everyone is now dry and warm…a much better state than we were a few hours ago.

We are incredibly thankful for the generous pizza donations that we got to feed the team from CJ’ Pizza & Subs in Westfield as well as Pizza Village in Dunkirk, NY. These were absolutely amazing after a pretty tough day.

Tonight we are staying at the First United Methodist Church in Westfield, NY which has been amazing. It is a great facility with so many different rooms that we can stay in and spread out and keep warm. They have a fireplace which has been so useful for warming our selfs and drying out some of our clothes. Additionally, they have given us some coupons for some yummy treats at the McDonald’s across the street! Many of the group is headed out now. Very excited to eat the wonderful breakfast tomorrow that they have left for us.

Now that everyone is back, we have to do some slight reassembly of the bicycles so that we can be ready to ride again tomorrow. Looks like it is going to be cold, but hopefully not rainy! And, we will be leaving New York and hoping for a more smooth ride.

-LAH

Day 8: Fighting the Wind to get to the Falls

Saturday, May 30th, 2015

Start/End: Rochester/Niagara Falls, NY
Mileage: 86+
Weather: Rather warm. Very windy, great clouds!

Today was our 7th day riding. One week in the saddle. This has been quite a ride and I am so glad to say that we have all made it and are in good shape. Some of our bikes are in much rougher shape, but hopefully they will be fixed in no time with everyone back on their bikes.

Today we were so excited to make it to our destination that we woke up at 4:55, leaving the church at 6 AM, one hour earlier than normal. This was good for a few reasons, but one meant that we dealt with less traffic and less wind earlier in the day. Our ride was dedicated to a rider’s family friend who recently passed away from cancer earlier this week.

The ride was probably the most flat route that we have had all summer and it was refreshing and relaxing to our muscles which were not strained to climb big hills. At the very beginning of the ride, we passed by Rochester’s airport and a plane passed directly over my riding group- it was so loud and big.

Other highlights from the day include lunch. We stopped in a town called Medina,Monica is a cute, historic looking town. There was a small courtyard with old time music playing across from a historic opera house. Many of the riders indulged in a small ice cream cone from Meggie Moo’s. Let me tell you. This was the biggest cone I have ever eaten and the price was ridiculously amazing ($1.75). I am slightly surprised that I had no after effects from the ice cream when we had 45 miles left to ride.

We passed through towns like Gasport where the population was “Just about right” and later came upon Lockport, the location of our final rest stop for the day. Riding into town, a cookout fundraiser was going on and this man was holding a huge rack of ribs out with him by the street to attract more customers. Smelled amazing, but we kept going. While at our rest stop, we were able to see one of the Erie Canal locks drain and fill back up. They are huge.

Riding into Niagara Falls, we followed the Historic Niagara Trail. Once everyone was in, we went to the falls and took a team picture. Next we ate an amazing dinner that was generously provided by the Church of Faith Love Center, whom we stayed with yesterday. We had pasta and bread, with our additional lentils. Yum!

Afterwards, many of us got to do some fun activities and explore the area. It’s been a fun day, despite the huge headwinds, but it has certainly been a fun,successful journey. Tomorrow is another long day of riding and more sleep is never a bad thing, so I am going to hit the hay.
-LAH

Blog Location Note

Friday, May 29th, 2015

Hi Friends,

For some of you, you may be wondering, what happened to Lauraleigh’s blogging, but I want to let you know that it is still happening just in a slightly different location. I am blogging through the front page of the website (illini4000.org) and my blogs can be found under the news and events. I try to sign my blog posts with my initials, but will be retaining my format for posts, with the day, title, start/end, mileage etc. let me know if you have any questions through the comments below and thanks for reaching out! I do apologize for any confusion.

Happy trails!

Day 7: Mix of Riding and Interaction

Friday, May 29th, 2015

Start/End: Palmyra/Rochester, NY
Mileage: 25
Weather: pleasant

Today was a very busy day. We combined 20 miles of riding with a bunch of great events. We have a very early start to the day so I may keep this a little bit brief and then return to add details later, as I took many notes throughout the day so that I could remember things!

The ride this morning was dedicated to Mike, a local newscaster (in Palmyra) who had passed away from a type of colon cancer a few years ago. He was very well known throughout the community and well remembered.

Many of the team members who qualify must, at a time, rotate through the responsibility of van driving. Today was my chance to drive the van! Part of this task is to follow the cues for biking to make sure that the route is available for the riders and correct. Sometimes construction can block a route or make it unsafe, so a re-route is required. Today, part of the ride was on a bike trail, so obviously the van could not check that path very well. Despite some construction on the path with being closed, all the riders made it safely to our stay over. During the ride, our riders encountered another cyclist from Wisconsin who was riding from there to New York with all of their belongings on their bike. This young woman was a friend and future roommate of one of our cyclists, so that was super cool to run into her and have someone know about our organization.

After rolling into our stay over, the Church of Love Faith Center we enjoyed our lunch, which was the Chipotle burritos that were generously donated to us. This was a very wonderful donation appreciated by all and we are so thankful for the generosity of restaurants and businesses.

Afterwards, our group split up on two very different journeys. One group travelled to the Gilda Club while the other went to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. I want to stress that both of these organizations were incredibly generous with their time in showing us about their organization and facility in addition to organizing portraits for us to collect on our trip. Additionally, they both we so generous in providing us with some great snacks for our afternoon to prepare us for our walk to the University of Rochester where we met a current Principle Investigator (PI), or a professor who runs a research lab and one of her current post-doctoral students. Both were fortunate to have been/currently be a Damon Runyon fellow. They spoke about their research work and answered questions that we had.

I will be adding more about the Gilda Club and Hope Lodge once I speak with more riders about their experiences, since I do not posses the power of time travel, so watch for an updated version (see below).

For dinner, we enjoyed some wonderful dishes prepared by Pastabilities in Rochester that were generously provided. There were quite a few great types of pasta, and again we just cannot thank these businesses enough.

All in all, still doing great. We are so excited be biking to Ankara Falls tomorrow that we are waking up an hour early so that everyone can hopefully get to spend some time at the falls. Tomorrow’s update should be fun, may be slightly delayed because it is a very long day….
-LAH

Gilda’s Club and Hope Lodge

So this part of the post was added later, but I really wanted to make sure that I spoke about our visit to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge and Gilda’s Club in Rochester, NY.

The American Cancer Society has Hope Lodges across the country near cancer treatment centers in order to provide housing for patients and caregivers who must travel a large distance to receive treatments. They are similar in concept to Ronald McDonald houses, if you are familiar with those. But they are set up like a hotel, in a way, where each patient can have a room with their own bathroom, all designed around the comfort of a patient receiving cancer treatments. There are also many community areas so that visitors can interact with each other. The facility had a library and a kitchen for the guests to eat in- many of the meals during the week are prepared for by volunteer groups, though the option exists for guests to prepare and keep their own food. All of the appliances in the kitchen and laundry room are provided by Whirlpool across each of the locations and refreshed every few years so that things do not break with their extensive use. ACS also has a “Look Good, Feel Better” program, which allows patients to pick out a wig free of charge if they are going through a treatment where they experience hair loss. This can be very tough for a patient, so this is just a great service. Many of the wigs are donated through Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, which is where some of the members of Illlini 4000 have made hair donations to in the past! The Hope Lodge was just amazing, though, and made getting the proper treatments easier and hassle-free for patients.

Part of our group visited Gilda’s Club, a clubhouse of sorts which is named for Gilda Radner, the late comedian who passed away from cancer. It is a cozy house setting, as opposed to a sterile environment where patients ages 3 and beyond can come for various types of programming free of charge. There are support groups, but their are also different classes for hobbies offered, such as art or cooking. There are rooms that are geared towards different age groups so that folks of all walks of life can be welcomed. I did not personally go to Gilda’s Club, but the group that went really enjoyed their tour and experience of the facility and even got some great t-shirts to commemorate their visit!

Both of our hosts for this day’s activities were incredibly generous with their time and in providing us refreshments throughout the day. We really did learn a lot about part of the cancer community that many of us had not experienced before, so we are glad to have made such wonderful connections in Rochester and look forward to possibly seeing them again on future trips with Illini 4000!

Building for Days to Come

Thursday, May 28th, 2015

Assistant Ride Leader’s Log. Bike Date 5.15-05-28.22:20

Yesterday and today were days that demonstrated exactly how much the team has learned already in terms of what needs to be done in terms of logisitics as well as how to improve as a cyclist. On day 1, even the slightest incline would seem huge. Now I know I can get up them so long as I just keep breathing, pedaling, and using my full range of gears.

Tomorrow we are going to do a super short ride of about 25 miles so we can visit a hope lodge and meet with some Daymun Runyon researchers. I’m not quite sure what to expect as I’ve never seen anyone as they are undergoing cancer treatment. I hope that I am able to find a way to make my visit pleasant and give off good vibes without annoying or exhausting who I’m talking to. Fingers crossed!