Day 53: Interstates, Open Ranges and a Amazing Hosts

Tuesday, July 14th, 2015

Start/End: Pocatello/Rupert, UT
Mileage: 74.9
Weather: Morning sprinkles, with a hot, sunny afternoon

Today I have to tell you about some amazing hosts that we have had, 2 days in a row! This morning we woke up to a wonderful breakfast prepared from some of the members of the Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Pocatello. Not only did we have egg casserole dishes, muffins, coffee cake, freshly cut fruit, juice, coffee and sausage links. It is a rare occasion when we cannot finish the food, but there were definitely some leftovers here. It was an amazing breakfast that we cannot thank those who assisted with our entire stay in Pocatello enough for their generosity.

In honor of our stay, we wanted to dedicate today’s ride to Nancy, who we had met during our stay. Nancy is a cancer survivor whom we had interviewed for the portraits project a few years ago. Unfortunately she has been getting some tests done and was going to be receiving results back today. We want to be sending positive thoughts in her way and hope that the results are good.

We started our ride out with a little bit of rain as we left the town and some scary looking clouds, but they did not slow us down one bit. We got to a frontage road of a highway where we would stay for most of the day. We had mostly good roads, though they would occasionally be a little bit rough and we would be dodging patches or holes. Not long after our first break, we would ride on an interstate for the first time of the summer. Now, before folks from Chicago or another major city get too concerned, in the west, sometimes this is the only road in between two places and bikes are allowed on the shoulders. Additionally, there are hardly any cars that are on the interstate, especially when compared to I-90 or even I-57 between Champaign and Chicago. At our stayover this evening, some of the church members talked about how common it was for cyclists to be on the interstate. Anyhow, we only did that for a short while as we passed a canyon area with a beautiful river flowing through it.

As soon as we could, though, we returned to the frontage road where we would stop for lunch. We had a great view of the Snake River and even some swans on it. Before too long, we were off again, but this time be got further from the interstate and the river and entered into an open range area where we actually saw many cows! There were so many baby cows, who would get easily spooked by the bikes. The other cows would then follow- who knew cows were so quick on their feet? Sometimes we had to slow in order for the cows to cross the road, other times, just be sure to avoid their droppings on the road. It was all kind of fun.

As we arrived at our stayover for tonight, they had some wonderful cracker, cheese and meat snacks available with watermelon on the side. It was such a refreshing snack. Many of the riders then proceeded to take a nap, until dinner was called. They had prepared an amazing amount of lasagna, garlic bread and salad. Many went back for seconds and there was still enough to eat. Then they broke out the cake with icing and strawberries on top. This was so delicious and we are all, again, very happy and very full. Shortly we will be shuttled for showers, which is always appreciated!

It has been a good day for us, and we hope it has been a day of good news, love and support for Nancy. Thank you again for everyone who has made out trip so incredible. As the numbers of our days increase, we begin to realize how little time we have left on this journey. We cannot wait to meet more people and to continue to have positive experiences.
-LAH

Day 52: Another Century, Another State Line Crossing

Monday, July 13th, 2015

Start/End: Honeyville/Pocatello, UT
Mileage: 103.1+
Weather: Sunny and hot, with some late afternoon showers/hail

This morning was another morning with a long day ahead of us. Typically we wake up an hour early, but this morning we were dependent on the the timing of the sun…which would not be up before 5. So we started our day at 5:30 as the sun was starting to brighten the world :) As usual with camping, we had very generous helpings of milk and cereal.

Today’s ride was dedicated to Bill, a classmate of a few of our teammates. bill had a type of brain cancer as a young child and beat it, which is awesome. What many people may not know about beating cancer is how much it can still impact your life afterwards. Every year, Bill needs to go in and get some medical testing to make sure that it has not come back and that time of the year has returned. While there are no reasons to be concerned more this time, it can still be stressful, so today we ride for you, Bill. Congratulations on being cancer free for 18 years and we hope this winning streak continues.

In the morning, we started out in the shade of the mountains. The sun had not yet gotten tall enough to get over them, so this was very nice. Along the route, we found that there are a lot of horses in Utah and Idaho! In addition, there are a lot of adorable baby horses! They were so cute and most people enjoyed seeing them. We did see some baby cows, which are pretty adorable when they kick up their heals and run.

It was not too long into the day when we escaped the shade of the mountain and were on our way. The landscape really was not much different from what it had been the previous few days, with a very dry valley and mountains in the distance. As we came upon our first rest stop, we reached a new state: Idaho! We were on a frontage road for a highway, so unfortunately we did not have a very big sign, but alas, we took pictures and savor the moment, all hoping we would eat some potatoes soon….

As the day grew on, we definitely started to realize the challenge of the day. Not only would we be doing over 100 miles, but we would do over 3,000 ft of climbing while dealing with some heat. We did well to stick together in our groups and go at a pace that was comfortable for everyone. And we of course strived to stay hydrated. Before lunch, we started to do our major climb for the day. It was gradual at first, but then took on a very steep climb. Thankfully lunch was in sight and we kept moving along. We ate near the Devil Creek Reservoir which was a beautiful sight to see. There were even some baby ducks swimming on the water!

The rest of the day was pretty non-eventful. We had a very enjoyable downhill after our climb, but the rest of the ride was all up to our strength: physically and mentally. Some groups did encounter some light rain and others experienced hail (not fun on a bike), but we all made it through to an amazing stayover.

We cannot speak highly enough about our very generous hosts tonight. when we arrived, they had some fruit, veggies,McGee and crackers and drinks available for us to eat once we arrived. After that, they began shuttling us to the Idaho State University athletic facility where we got to shower! And how could our day get better? We returned to a pulled pork, chicken, potato salad, greens salad and some other awesome dishes ready for us to eat. And did we ever eat! By the time we were all full, they brought out some brownies and ice cream and we were just overwhelmed with their generosity. Somehow we found space for it all and we are all very satisfied this evening. Some of us have already slipped into a food-coma like state, while others are playing cards, journaling or just relaxing. We cannot thank our amazing hosts enough, whom this has been their third year hosting Illini 4000!

Well, I am definitely feeling my eyelids getting heavy and should make my way to bed. Here is to hoping we are not too sore tomorrow!
-LAH

Day 51: Thorns, Thistles and Flats, Oh My!

Sunday, July 12th, 2015

Start/End: Salt Lake City/Honeyville (Crystal Springs), UT
Mileage: 77.1+
Weather: Clear and pleasant in the morning with a lot of afternoon warming

This morning we were back on the road again with the regular routine of waking up and getting the van packed. We had a decent trip ahead of us for the day and we really did not know what to expect from the day! But we were excited. We are just so thankful for the All Saints Episcopal Church who graciously hosted us for two nights. We are so thankful that they had some mattresses for us to use, in addition to a shower and laundry machines on sight! (So basically I am saying that we now smell much better!)

Today’s ride is dedicated to a rider’s grandfather who battled a type of stomach cancer at an older age. He beat the disease but unfortunately due to the harsh treatments he received, he passed away. He had grown up in Salt Lake City so today we ride for him!

As we rolled out, we got to ride down a big hill that we pushed ourselves up just the other day. It was fun, especially since Salt Lake City seems to be very sleepy on Sunday mornings and not many cars were out. We got to ride through downtown this morning which was great to see, for those of us that did not go downtown for the day.

Shortly after that, we got on a bike trail that was pretty hopping on this Sunday morning. The trail was beautiful and shaded at the beginning. We crossed back and for over a small creek and even went through some sprinklers. After a while, we got further from town onto a trail that was not shaded and took a path along the interstate/highway in between small farms. It was a very nice path with a lot of friendly traffic. At one point, many of our groups were very close together and a cyclist came behind us and asked if we would be going any faster (as we casually road at 17-20 mph). We let him know that we wouldn’t, but he stuck with us for a while.

Before lunch, some groups had been cruising along, while others were experiencing what over 3,000 miles on a pair of tires can do (I.e. They get very worn out and prone to flats). Some groups got flats left and right from hitting sticks, thorns and thistles. While some were able to keep going, others put on new tires just to prevent more flat tubes. There were a few other weird mechanical issues with bikes today that will surely be fixed before too long! It is still a bummer to sag in the van when your bike is not working.

In the afternoon, we rolled past so many fruit and vegetable stands. They sold fresh, local peaches, apricots, cherries and so many other things, but unfortunately most of them were closed due to the fact that it was Sunday. One was in fact open though and some teammates took advantage of that. We also passed though a town called ‘Farr West’… Which is kind of an interesting, but cool named town to pass through on this journey- now we can say we are ‘Farr west’! We rolled through Brigham City where we stopped for our final rest stop of the day and some of us grabbed some extra food before arriving at Crystal Hot Springs where we will be camping for the night. There are hot/cold springs that many of our teammates have stopped at, in addition to showers!

We are very thankful for food donations of pizza from Little Caesars in Brigham City. We are very excited to start eating soon and get some good rest as this is our last full day in Utah! Tomorrow is a long day, but we will be ready.
-LAH

Day 50: Hanging Out in the Valley

Sunday, July 12th, 2015

Today we had a rest day in Salt Lake City and we sure did do a huge variety of activities, but we did all start off in the morning meeting with Trudy and Kevin who are supported by the Damon Runyon Foundation. Both are professors at the University of Utah who are working on very different aspects of cancer. Trudy works on research for lung cancer, developing different treatment options. Kevin is a surgeon who operates primarily on sarcoma patients, which tend to be adolescents. We had the opportunity to speak with them about their roles and how they saw cancer. It was fascinating and we are so happy we had this time to refocus our journey and to see directly where some of our fundraising dollars go (we are still fundraising during the summer, in case you did not know! Click on the donate tab above to learn more). We are also very thankful that Trudy and Kevin provided breakfast for us this morning. Thank you so much!

After that, we were free for the rest of the day to do whatever we pleased. Some folks went to visit bike shops to get any needed supplies, while others sought out a good meal. There were many other options though. Jason, Joe, Diego, Zack and Shutian got up around 4 AM for an early morning sunrise hike near our stayover. Zack followed this up later by going up Mt. Olympus, which was quite a feat. A larger group of people, including Alex,Sarah, Hannah B and Diego went to visit the sight of the 2002 Winter Olympics. There was a great zip line course that went over the park and some folks even tried out the bobsled course.

In accordance with rest days, we also did laundry, showered, did some regular bike maintenance, slept and caught up on tv shows. We were very excited to receive mail and packages from friends and family- definitely a moral booster. If you weren’t able to send stuff to SLC, check back in the blog for our next mail drop locations/addresses.

It was a fun day and we are excited to be back on the bike tomorrow, even though most of us found that we are very fond of this new city.
-LAH

Day 49: A Great Day, With a Few Wrong Turns

Sunday, July 12th, 2015

Start/End: Heber/Salt Lake City
Mileage: 73.4+
Weather: Beautiful, with a tiny bit of rain/lightning

Today’s route we started with two different route choices: one that went around the mountains and one that was much shorter through the mountains. Based on the feedback and safety concerns from last year’s group, we went with the longer route around the mountains. Absolutely the right course of action!

This morning into Salt Lake City, the ride was dedicated to Chris, a wonderful woman who one of our rider’s used to babysit for her and her husband. Chris amazingly beat breast cancer a while ago, but then it has unfortunately come back recently and she will be undergoing a double mastectomy in addition to chemotherapy. So today our thoughts are with her and her family as they support Chris.

We want to thank the Mountain View Fellowship Church in Heber for hosting us last night. They had not only an amazing amount of space for us to spread out in, but also had an awesome view of the mountains. We cannot thank them enough for their generosity.

As we rolled out this morning, we found that our first 25 miles were all downhill. It was amazing. It was a relaxing start to the ride and we got to go through a really cool mountain pass/canyon thing. The rock structures and colors changed as we went continued, but it was just honestly so beautiful. We did, though, need to pay pretty close attention to the road as it was a little busy. Thankfully there was a remarkable shoulder for us to ride in which rocked. As we reached our first rest stop, Ben, our ride leader who has done the ride before remarked that this stretch of road was the best he has ever encountered.

The rest of the day, we were going more through suburb areas of Salt Lake City. We bikes on some pretty cool trails which had lots of turns and surprising hills throughout. It seemed like it was definitely in a very nature filled area, yet there were houses nearby and corporate centers. It was amazing because we had gotten ourselves in a valley completely surrounded by mountains.

It wasn’t long before we saw some dark clouds making their way closer to us. They were certainly raining where they were located so groups kept moving as to stay out of the path of the rain. As lightning flashed, groups pulled off and waited for the weather to pass in gas stations or stores. It did not rain much, which was pretty anticlimactic, up the lightning did keep us off our bikes until it had ceased. We felt pretty glad that there were only about 10 miles left in the day after that, but during those 10 miles, many groups found themselves very lost on more bike trails in Salt Lake City, which added 6-10 extra miles of riding. This was a bummer, but we all eventually found our way to the stayover, which was right at the foothills of the mountains around the valley, meaning that we had a pretty decent incline right at the end of the day.

Glad to finally have made it in. Many of us went out for Dim Sun (Chinese food) to celebrate Tony’s birthday and others went and saw the new minion movie (well, they may have slept through it). Ready for a rest day well deserved, we think. We have crossed the continental divide, climbed mountains and are really getting ourselves further west, which is so exciting!
-LAH

Day 48: Another Crazy I4K Day

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

Another day in the saddle, another day with amazing views. Another day when things may have gotten a little crazy with Mother Nature, but we forged stronger, tighter bonds together as a group. It is getting late now on an already very long day, but I am, as always, happy to let you all know that we are all in for the evening, happily fed and very comfortable for a good night’s rest before we travel into Salt Lake City tomorrow where we will have an event day on Saturday!

Watch tomorrow for a full story on today- but do know that we have a very remarkable mountain view this evening that will be tough to say goodbye to tomorrow (something you never thought ‘kids from Illinois on bikes’ would say).

Day 47: The Day to Starvation (Utah)

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

Start/End: Vernal/Starvation, UT
Mileage: 61+
Weather: Another cool day with some sprinkles and thunder/lighting towards the end of the ride

Today we started our day at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Vernal, UT. We had some tighter quarters but we all slept remarkably well, especially after yesterday’s climbing and camping. It was a great space to have overnight that was very close to grocery stores and places to eat. Thank you so much for your generosity in allowing us to use this space!

Today’s ride dedication was a difficult one which shows how cancer impacts people regardless of their age or how healthy they may be. Today we are dedicating the ride to Megan, who recently lost her battle to leukemia, which she had been diagnosed at stage 4. Before she passed away, she was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish foundation: she wanted to see Taylor Swift in concert. Unfortunately because of her health, she was not able to make this trip, but she did get to talk to her favorite artist on the phone. Cancer is really cruel when it takes away life, so Megan, today’s ride is for you.

With that start of the ride, we continued to pass through Vernal seeing even more statues and figurines of dinosaurs. We are still not quite sure why these towns have latched onto the dinosaur craze, but it is pretty cool. After leaving town, we realized that there were many prairie dogs who lived near the road. They were definitely loud this morning!

We had a few good hills to climb today, but each was followed by an absolutely wonderful downhill section (not as steep as yesterday’s hills, though). It definitely made the ride go at a quicker pace and be very enjoyable. Unfortunately, we did have some interesting impediments to our usage of the shoulder of the road. While it was a pretty great size to accommodate cyclists, there was just a lot of debris that we were constantly on the lookout for. Unfortunately, we did not miss all of it and one of our teammates got a screw in their tire, leading to a flat. That did not stop us for to long! Additionally, there were just a lot of roadkill, which is definitely not something you want to hit on your bike.

Just as the day was starting to get a little warmer than we hoped for, the clouds rolled in just after lunch. We had a shorter day and had less than 20 miles, but it did start getting dark quickly. We were thankful for some downhills which helped propel us into town quicker where many groups took shelter either at the welcome center, a grocery store or a gas station to avoid the rain and the Lightning. There were some pretty intense lightning strikes!

Before too long, that had all passed, well for the time, and there was a break in the storms that many of us finished our last few miles into Starvation State Park. We quickly assembled our tents and crawled in, as to make sure they did not blow away but also to see how waterproof they were. We are happy to report that with the rain, there was minimal leaking! But we didn’t pay much attention to that, as many of us fell asleep for an afternoon nap.

Once the rain had passed, other groups who continued to hang out in town joined us and we unloaded the van. We were thankful to have really amazing shower facilities at the campground. Additionally, we are just very grateful to he Subway in Dechesne, UT (the town near Starvation) for generously donating a six inch sub for each of our team members as well as a cookie! I cannot remember the last time we had cookies, so they were very appreciated. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Tonight, we have gotten to see some amazing clouds, another double rainbow and enjoy our view over Starvation Lake. Some teammates are playing cards, while others have made a fire with which to make some s’mores. We had some rain and cooler weather, but we are definitely making the best of it and enjoying our time together as a team. The sun has set now and we have limited lights, so with this, I will sign off until tomorrow!
-LAH

Day 46: A Dinosaur Of A Day

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

Start/End: Maybell, CO/Vernal, UT
Mileage: 90.6+
Weather: Cool throughout the day, cloudy until the late afternoon, then it warmed up

Camping. Well that was interesting! We had a bit of a crazy evening as Lightning was seen in the distance and the winds picked up quite a bit early in the evening. Thankfully we all secured our tents/rain flaps well so no tent parts went flying away. This noise was a little alarming to some first (and veteran) campers, but remarkably, most of us had a pretty good night of sleep.

Today we had a very long day ahead of us, but we were pretty prepared, especially with the delicious banana- chocolate bread generously donated by the Texas 4000 alumni yesterday. Additionally, today’s ride was dedicated to a writer named Ray who frequented a restaurant where one of our rider’s previously worked. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma cancer and is going through a tough battle.

Today’s ride was a little bit different from other days because today we had absolutely no cues for the day. We literally stayed on the same road the entire day: U.S. 40. So we stated off in the morning headed west and we had quite a few big hills to both climb and go down. We always get excited when we see signs that indicated a steep descent to trucks because that means we can coast quite easily, and sometimes use that momentum to get us most or all the way up the next big hill. Not far from Maybell we passed a field of cows that seemed slightly distressed making quite a bit of noise. It was interesting… Even more entertaining is that many miles past that point, we encountered a cow that had somehow gotten out of their pasture and was just walking along the fence line. It came up to some team members and moo’d, but then continued on its journey, wherever it may have been heading. Sean was sure to report the cow to local law enforcement so that its owner could locate it. Kind of a fun morning!

After our first rest stop, it started sprinkling and was chilly, but it was not a significant amount of rain at all and stopped not long after it started. The clouds did hang around for a lot of the day, though. That did not dampen our spirits,methought, as we approached what appears to be the place to be for dinosaurs. We passed along Dinosaur National Monument, which is actually a really large park where fossils have been found. Many groups stopped for some pictures and to explore a little, but we did have to press on since our mileage was pretty high for the day. Our next stop was Dinosaur, CO where the street signs are named for types of dinosaurs, so that was pretty cool. Shortly after that, we reached our next state line of Utah! Oh. And their state sign had a dinosaur on it. Many team members did their best dinosaur impression with the sign, while others did their traditional state sign picture. It is fun to see that many people have a style, whether it is a selfie, a handstand or holding their bikes overhead.

We had about 30 miles left after reaching Utah. We saw some cool scenery of some very large geological formations, including high plateaus and some mini canyon formations that were pretty cool. It was a pleasant ride, and was nice towards the end as we began to approach Vernal and neighboring towns as it was much more populated than other areas we have travelled through for a while.

We all made it in safely and you can definitely tell how exhausted most of us are. Today we saw a sign that said Salt Lake City, our next rest day, is in 205 miles (less now!), so that is exciting and we are looking forward to seeing another city, but we know we have some great stops in Utah before then. Many of us were a little sad to leave Colorado and have plans to return at some point, but Utah may surprise us! The amount of dinosaurs everywhere sure have….
-LAH

Day 45: Adventures Post- Rocky Mountains

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

Start/End: Steamboat Springs/Maybell, CO
Mileage: 76+
Weather: some spotty drizzles but overall pretty good, not too hot

Today we started our day out in Steamboat Springs refreshed and ready to start another day of riding. We were fortunate to meet Dan And his wife, who had participated in Texas 4000 back in 2006. Texas 4000 is an organization which is similar in nature to ours as it is based out of the University of Texas. They wrote us an incredibly encouraging and real note that really brought the team together on the reason we are out riding. It brought a moment of reflection and some real emotions, but it was a nice moment. Additionally, they baked us 8 loaves of banana chocolate bread that we are saving for breakfast tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support of our group!

We had a great stay at the Euzoa Bible Church in Steamboat Springs and are so thankful that we got to stay at their amazing facilities. Additionally, we just had such an amazing view of the mountains in morning as we woke up and packed up the van. Thank you so much for allowing us to use your space to stay!

After we were ready to go and after sharing the note from Texas 4K alumni, we dedicated today’s ride to one of our rider’s Aunt Chris who has recently been fighting a battle with uterine cancer. It has been a more recent development and definitely has impacted the family, so today we rode for Chris!

Today was definitely a more fun, easy day than others as we were going downhill for most of the day. Yay! Don’t get me wrong, we had fun climbing, but days that are not based solely around climbing one “hill” for 20 miles…well, that can be tough. So downhill…. We move a little bit faster than our usual pace, but not too much faster. It started out pretty chilly in the morning and many of us were very glad to have our jackets with us.

During the day at several different points, groups saw antelope, whether they were crossing the road or more so off in the distance in a herd. They are essentially small deer as I have come to understand it, but they tend to hop as they move quickly instead of running as traditional Midwest deer do. This makes them especially entertaining to watch. Other than that, the scenery, while being beautiful, was not anything to write home about, especially after seeing the snow covered mountains. We are entering a more desert region with limited vegetation or greenery and a lot of smaller hills in the distance.

We stopped in Craig, CO for our lunch stop where we were generously donated 6-inch subs and a bag of chips for each rider which we would use for dinner from Subway. We were so thankful for their generosity, and this amazing timing because tonight we would be camping and not be able to cook dinner. Thank you so much for this huge donation to the team!

After Craig, we had a few big hills to climb (note: hills not mountains).it was kind of fun, because on one of them, a large bird of prey flew above us and squawked the way that Eagles do sometimes in movies. It was such a cool experience, especially to be so close to the bird and to be climbing a hill. At the top of the hill, we had at least 3 people get flat tires on the climb from glass or staples. Basically, we had two groups stopped off the road changing tires. It was great fun. Then from there, it was actually all downhill.

Tonight was different because we would be camping for the first night in the town of Maybell which has a population of about 70. Many of the teammates had never had a camping experience before so we learned how to assemble the team tents and how to fit about 4 riders and their bags all in the tent. It was a little crazy, but we’ve been on the road together for 44 days, so why not be a little closer? We learned the value of bug spray on this adventure and were so thankful for the showers available at the campsite. It was a good evening and despite the lack of cell service, we had a great evening.
-LAH

Day 44: Unconventionality Makes for Good Stories!

Sunday, July 5th, 2015

Start/End: Granby/Steamboat Springs, CO
Mileage: 83.7+/-
Weather: Cool morning, with increasing clouds and some rain

Today, like many of our rides this summer, some things happened that were just really crazy and impacted the ride in a way that past rides haven’t been. We were really looking forward to a day with decreased hill climbing and more downhill than uphill. Oh, and the beautiful views that we have heard about from cyclists whom we have met over the past few days. But, all in due time!

We are so thankful for the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist In Granby, Co for allowing our group to stay at their facility. It was very well set up for accommodating a large group, such as ours and was just very comfortable, especially after our later night at the rodeo last night!

This morning, our ride was dedicated to Dory, a co-worker of one of our riders who was very influence on their life. Additionally, Dory was a two-time breast cancer survivor and a huge supporter of the cause, and really about serving other people. So today, we are very excited that Dory is a survivor, and we ride to honor her fight.

Today’s ride was quite a bit longer than the other rides we have had recently, but there was a lot less climbing, so that was a welcomed message for the team. The morning started off kind of chilly and almost everyone wore their jackets. But the sun was strong and showed us some amazing views as we traversed through a valley between mountains. It was just beautiful. We saw the Colorado River near its start, so it was not too big. It is crazy to think that such a river could cut out a masterpiece like the Grand Canyon. While we aren’t able to see that along this ride, we entered Byers Canyon along this route. The river was rushing at the bottom and there were a set of train tracks running close to the river. It was a majestic scene and the morning light hit the canyon walls beautifully.

After that, it was off to the hills, where we followed US-40 through some hills around the larger mountains. There were quite a few people on the road for this holiday weekend, but most were headed in the opposite direction, likely heading home towards Denver. Biking this route is a lot of fun, because there are so many scenic views of plateaus and rocks along the route that driving in a car, one may miss. We passed some recreational areas, including a lake where people were out water skiing.

After lunch, we began our big climb for the day around mile 50. The clouds were increasing but definitely seemed OK for the time being. As we climbed Rabbit Ears Pass, which deceptively has two summits (as a rabbit has 2 ears), we were able to see a rock formation in the distance which resembled bunny ears. It was certainly fun to look at as we climbed. Some groups were not able to make it to the top before the rain set in, which was cold, but not too heavy, so we pressed on. We crossed the Continental Divide again on this pass, which was kind of fun, but again, may need to check out this map!

Some groups were fortunate to be able to descend the mountain, while others, once they reached the top, had been enveloped by a cloud. The visibility was very low (less than 500 feet). Even with the lights on our bikes, the combination of the low visibility, the steep decent and the slick roads, it just did not seem safe. A total of four groups reached this conclusion at the top and waited to be shuttled down into Steamboat Springs. It is never fun to ride in the van, or miss a well deserved downhill, but it was a safe decision that no one regrets. Whether in the van, or having gone down the mountain, it was really cool once we finally descended beneath the cloud and could see sunlight, but also just how high we were up in the mountains. The land extended for a very large distance that we could see and it was such a difference in weather conditions.

For the afternoon, the team had the opportunity to explore Steamboat Springs. We are so thankful for Steamboat Ski and Bike Kare, who generously offered to keep an eye on our bikes and let us store them at their facility. This was very nice to be able to explore the downtown without having to also keep an eye on our bikes. We went to shops, coffee shops and places to eat and just had a fun time…even if we were still all dressed in our cycling gear! We probably looked a little funny, but we had some great conversations with folks visiting the town. One woman,master we told her about e Portraits Project told us what a great idea that was, but that she had been blessed and has not been impacted by cancer. We sincerely hope that is can become a reality for more and more people through our fundraising and the fundraising and research by the great minds of this time.

Tonight we are all dry and warm ready to head to bed again. But before we did, we actually got to see a complete, double rainbow outside of our stayover! It was very beautiful and had such vibrant colors. So here is hoping to a great day tomorrow that maybe won’t have rain? Oh. And before I forget, tomorrow we are camping! Hopefully I will have service to post a blog, but if I am not able to, just hang tight and we will have something posted as soon as we can!

As always, thanks for following along on our westward journey!
-LAH

Mail Drop Information

Sunday, July 5th, 2015

Just for your information, there are a few different places along our route that our team is able to receive mail and packages. If you are going to send something, be sure to label it, “Name of Rider, Illini 4000, In care of (insert location)”. We will be at the following addresses or able to receive mail at the following:

July 10-11:
All Saints Episcopal Church
1710 Foothill Dr, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108

July 19:
Calvary Chapel
1775 Alameda Dr, Ontario, OR 97914

August 2-3:
First Presbyterian Church
1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Let us know if you have any questions and hope this helps!

Day 43: Crossing the Continental Divide and Independence Day

Saturday, July 4th, 2015

Start/End: Idaho Springs/Granby, CO
Mileage: 58.9+
Weather: mostly good. Stayed cooler, but there was an afternoon rain/hail shower that caught a few groups

Happy 4th of July and happy birthday to the United States. I cannot imagine a more patriotic celebration of this holiday the to climb a mountain, cross the continental divide and really just see how beautiful our country is.

We started our morning in Idaho Springs, and are so thankful to the private home owner who graciously opened up their house for our team to stay last night. It was a very comfortable place today and we are just very grateful.

Rolling out of Idaho Springs, we got to see this sleepy touristy town begin to wake up. We quickly joined with many other cyclists who were headed on their day ride. It is exciting to be amongst so many other cycling enthusiasts, especially friendly ones! The first part of our day, which was the main grind, was going up to Berthoud Pass, which had an elevation of 11,304 feet. Climbing today was much better than yesterday as the grade was much less on average. There was a lot of traffic but most of the ride had a very generous shoulder that not only allowed us to bike safely, but even to pull aside and take some pictures of the incredible views. As the mountain had many switchbacks, it was fun to be able to see just how high we had climbed in a short period.

Some groups had the great opportunity to see a family of mountain goats playing along the mountains. They were so comfortable jumping between the rocks, which seemed pretty unstable from where we were. Beautiful creatures, though!

Once we reached the top of the pass, we had our lunch stop and then many group members went exploring the Continental Divide Trail. It was a longer hike but very worth it. In fact, group mates even brought snow back from the peak!

As groups descended after their hikes, a few groups unfortunately encountered some inclement weather including rain, hail and thunder. One group on the mountain pulled off and was shuttled with the van safely, while another group further down the mountain was able to take shelter while the weather passed. We are always so happy when groups makes decisions like these to stay safe during the ride.

The rest of the ride was downhill and went by much quicker than the first half of the day. After getting off of the major steepness of the mountain, the riders were able to take in a few more scenic views. We passed through Winter Park, which seems to be the place to be if you are into skiing. There were a ton of lifts and lodges that are probably very busy during the winter. Winter Park also had a very nice little downtown area that was hopping with people who were out for the holiday weekend. As we rounded out the ride for the day, we got to go through a beautiful valley which was home to a lot of horse ranches. It was a beautiful sight to see the valley and the mountains.

Tonight many of us decided to go to Granby’s Rodeo! It was the first rodeo for many of our riders and we all had a great time. This was such a patriotic celebration as there was a huge horse and rider team that did many routines with at least 30 horse/rider pairs holding flags and dancing around the arena. There was so much going on but it was great to watch. There were lots of different events, including roping, bull riding, barrel racing, mutton chops/shoe scramble for kids and last but not least, a great fireworks show.

Long day with an absolutely wonderful ending. The lights are off and we are off to sleep! And although we may not go to a rodeo tomorrow, we have heard good things about our route to Steamboat Springs!

Apologies for the late post of yesterday’s blog….data connections aren’t always everywhere and we do not always have access to wifi. Thanks for your patience!
-LAH

Spirit of Adventure

Saturday, July 4th, 2015

Assistant Ride Leader’s Log. Bike Date 42.15-07-04.22:45

The past several days have all gone by in a blur of excitement and exhaustion. As we rode through Iowa and Nebraska on some of our longest days of Illini 4000, it was a strange blend of familiar flat land and unfamiliar large town spacing. We’ve completed 2 centuries and several 90 mile days since Rochester.

Riding into Denver was a really cool experience. We started seeing the Rocky Mountains that morning after coming over a ridge and kept approaching those sleeping giants. Despite some bike path confusion as we rolled into Denver, everything ran smoothly.

During our 2 rest days in Denver, I had the privilege of getting to go to Vail to see my family. My mom flew in to pick me up the night we arrived in Denver and I met up with my Aunt Stephanie and cousin Katie that night. Over the couple of days, I got to see my Uncle Bob and cousin Grant. I also had the pleasure of meeting the Womacks, some of my extended family. It was great spending those two days enjoying the beautiful weather, catching up with family, getting to know my newly met family, sleeping, and even riding bikes. I was so lucky to be able to spend that time with everyone and I really want to thank them for hosting me those couple days.

Our first ride on fresh legs was a 6,400 foot climb from Denver, over Squaw Pass, and down to Idaho Springs. The idea of climbing a mountain was quite daunting, but my group and I learned through out the day that such a continuous climb simply just required perseverance. We stopped several times for both water and great conversations with people that were also out enjoying Squaw Pass, but we made it to the top after a slow 40 miles of climbing. Yesterday seemed to capture the essence of Illini 4000: you set out to tackle something you’ve never tried before, but take the time to appreciate the people and sights around you as you do it.

Today I spent my first Fourth of July away from my family. It was really strange, but I also felt that I have a greater appreciation for the size and diversity of this country in terms of both geography and culture. My group and I hiked an additional 1,000 feet during our lunch stop in order to go play in some snow that hadn’t melted yet. Definitely a first for me to play in snow in July. I was fortunate enough to catch a couple fireworks just before going to bed, which was an added bonus to a great day.

From here, it seems like the rest of the trip is about to fly by. I intend to make a point of taking in as much as possible, because I know I’ll blink and we will be in San Francisco.

Day 42: Such Great Heights

Saturday, July 4th, 2015

Start/End: Denver/Idaho Springs, CO
Mileage: 59.8 +
Weather: Pretty good! Sunny and warm, but as we climbed it was a lot cooler and even rained a little, but not too much.

Denver. It has been a great couple of rest days that I think were very well deserved. The team did a variety of things while in Denver, including visiting family and friends in the area, visiting the botanical gardens, going out to eat, hiking and of course a little bit of bike riding. Additionally, we spent time in the mile-high city acclimating our bodies to altitude.

This morning we woke up ready to tackle a new day, with new heights and new challenges ahead. The mountains that we saw from 70 miles out from Denver? We would start crossing them today, something that most members of our team have not had experience with. With some excitement and maybe a little bit of hesitation, we prepared for the day.

Today our ride was dedicated to the father-in-law of someone whom we had met while in Palmyra, NY. The man who told us the story of his father in law had mentioned that this ride dedication would be very special. His father in law had lost his battle with cancer so today we remember him.

We rolled out this morning in groups of 3 or 4 so that we had a better chance of staying close together during the climbing. Leaving Denver was really not too difficult. We are realizing that most drivers in Colorado are very friendly to cyclists. It has just been awesome to ride here, because in addition to the friendly motorists, many of the roads have great bike lanes and/or shoulders for us to ride in. So all in all, loving Colorado so far!

Today’s ride was a big one, during which we would climb about 6,400 feet. We would literally be climbing a mountain. After leaving Denver, we entered into the Red Rocks State Park. There was a gradual incline that was not too bad at all, but there were beautiful rock formations all around us. It was really remarkable. But that was nowhere near what was still to come in our day.

We passed through Evergreen, CO, which seemed like a nice mountain town with plenty of shops. It was hopping during this holiday weekend. Despite all of the traffic, there were still very kind drivers who were very courteous to cyclists. Speaking of cyclists, there were so many cyclists out on the mountains and most of them were very friendly. After passing many groups, some would ask us what we were all about. There were a lot of really friendly people who were glad to see us and hear about our organization. After Everygreen, we began our climb which would last several miles and take much longer than we were used to biking. There were switchbacks and very steep parts, but as we got further along, we got on a road that was not as steep and this was very nice. During the steeper portions, sometimes we might be cycling 4 mph, which is ridiculously slow (or so it seems if you were cycling on flat land), but it really was as fast as we could go at points and was definitely challenging.

It was all worth it though, and not as hard as it may seem because when you are surrounded by beautiful mountains with great pine trees or the aspen trees, well known throughout the Rockies for their glimmering nature, it is not hard to get distracted. As we climbed higher and were able to see further, we saw mountains that still had a decent amount of snow cover on them. It was a magnificent experience to reach the top. There was the view but there was also just a huge sense of accomplishment. We are so thrilled that everyone who rode today made it to the top in great time. It is crazy to think of where we started as cyclists and how far we have come in terms of our physical and emotional strength.

After reaching the summit, for most of us, the ride was literally all downhill from there. All except for Sean, Kevin and Diego who took up the challenge of climbing Mt. Evans, reaching 12,500 ft. What an awesome accomplishment to do that after the rest of the climbing! They had a lot of fun and enjoyed some really awesome views.

During the day, some groups saw some crazy wildlife, including seeing a yak and a baby bear. Thankfully we did not see a momma bear anywhere… Most groups were not as fortunate, which others are probably just fine without seeing them.

It was cool to come into Idaho Springs through their main road. There were lots of shops and it had a very western feel to it. In addition to the shops, there were several restaurants, including Beaujo’s Pizza, who generously donated some gift cards, which we used to order some pizza t compliment our pasta and lentils at dinnertime. Thank you so much for your generosity! The pizza was amazing. There were tons of places to go river rafting and along our ride to our stayover, we actually saw several river rafting tours! Looked fun, but most of us were definitely very tired at the end of the day.

Today was fun and it was just so beautiful. Looking forward to tomorrow’s ride and of course a good nights sleep before that.
-LAH

Day 39: The Last Day of a Long Stretch

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Start/End: Ft. Morgan/Denver, CO

Mileage: 99.7+

Weather: Another hot day…

Greetings from Denver! Over the past 11 days, our team has biked 916 miles from Rochester, MN to Denver, CO, climbing up to the city which is a mile above sea level! It has been a long haul, but at the end of the day, we are excited to have 2 days off in order to allow our muscles some well deserved time off. We want to thank the United Methodist Church in Ft. Morgan for hosting us this past night. We are very grateful for their generosity in allowing us to stay at their facilities. We also would like to thank the local Pizza Hut and Arby’s for generously donating some food for the team’s dinner last night. It was a great meal and we are so appreciative of their support of our organization.

As we do with many of our longer days this summer, we left our stayover an hour ahead of schedule in order to avoid some of the afternoon heat. We all got up pretty quickly and were ready to go, likely because of the excitement of reaching Denver. Today, our ride was dedicated to Jack, a friend of one of our riders who passed away when he was just 1 8 years old. At 11, he was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer and fought the cancer for 7 years winning that battle. Unfortunately, though, he passed due to some complications from treatment. So today, our ride is for Jack.

It was really nice starting our day early as it took several hours for it to heat up. The morning started off very calm and serene as we passed through more farmland that was, well, very similar to the land we have been passing for several days now: a lot of wheat and some corn being grown. Not too far out of Ft. Morgan, there were not many communities that we passed through. One of our cues warned us that we would not encounter a gas station for 40 miles. There were few houses and just beautiful rolling hills. Not far into the ride, we began to look further west. There was a point in my riding group that it dawned on us that the weird-looking clouds ahead of us to the west were in fact not clouds, but snow covered mountains. Those, were the Rocky Mountains. This was both exciting and a little bit nervous for us, knowing that we would soon be climbing some of these mountains along the ride. I have never been to the Rocky Mountains myself, so it was a very awe-inspiring moment.

I don’t think we had any great wildlife experiences today, although right before we got to our lunch stop, we did encounter a 3 foot snake on the road which had met its end. That was really gross, but now we know to look out for giant snakes (ew). As the day grew on, it got hotter but we had spaced our rest stops to ensure that no one ran out of water and that we were all properly hydrated. It is interesting, especially for MidWesterners, because the air here is very dry and you cannot necessarily tell that you are sweating since it evaporates so quickly. Once we were about 20 miles out from Denver, you could start to see the skyline and we used bike trails to work our way closer. We followed a lot of the South Platte River, which was pretty high. Because of recent rains, the path even had a detour due to high waters. Oh! I nearly forgot, but we did come across a very small prairie dog colony along the trail! They are so cute, but watch where you step because you certainly do not want to fall in one of their holes!

Once we got into Denver, our route took up right by the stadium where the Denver Broncos play and close to the city. It is a very nice looking city that I know the team is excited to explore over the next few days. We arrived at our awesome stayover which is hosting us for the next 3 nights and 2 days. We are so thankful for their generosity in opening up their facilities for us. For dinner, the church provided some awesome pizza, chicken, fruit and some great desserts. It was very appreciated, especially as some of us took some scenic routes, extending the mileage of our journey. It was a long day of riding and a long stretch of riding for the whole team which was handled very well. It will be nice to be off our bikes for a few days, though some of us may be riding them a little bit over the next few days (we certainly wouldn’t want to forget how to!). I will be providing an update likely on Thursday evening and let you know what we have been up to over these rest days, but for now, resting is what I am going to do with my teammates. Well, that and eating. :)

-LAH

Day 38: Another Warm Day, Getting Closer to the Mountains

Monday, June 29th, 2015
Start/End: Wray/Ft. Morgan, Co
Mileage: 87+
Weather: Very warm, more clouds than yesterday

Today we woke up at the the WRAC in Wray, CO to some great pump-up music to start out our day. We had some great space that we could use for the night and morning. The staff were so friendly to our group and we had the opportunity to shower as well as have our laundry done for us. We woke up to our laundry all being very neatly folded and arranged so that we could easily find out clothes, even our socks were paired! It was great. Sometimes the little things really make a big difference :) We are also so thankful that the rec center not only let us stay at their facility, but also gave each of us an energy bar in the morning.

Today’s ride was dedicated to a woman, Jean, who is from Washington, IL. This community, including Jean, was impacted by a tornado a few years ago which destroyed many houses. Now after getting back to “normal”, she finds herself fighting a new battle against Hodgkins Lymphoma. So today we ride for her and her fight with cancer.

The ride started out a little bit windier than we expected, but as we rode out of Wray, we got to see some really cool rock, plateau formations that shaped the horizon. We also saw that to the south of us, there were some pretty dark clouds, that were thankfully moving away from us. We even got to see a rainbow! This was all helpful when it came to distracting us from the wind, encouraging us to move on.

As the day went on, though, the wind calmed and the clouds stayed pretty consistent for a while, providing a good amount of shade for the ride. This helped the temperature stay down throughout the day. Colorado was a lot flatter and arid on this side of the state than expected. There were some occasional hills and an unnoticeable incline most of the day, but I am not even sure we have seen the Rockies in the distance. That will surely change tomorrow as we ride into Denver!

It was another enjoyable day with nothing too exciting which happened. We did notice that there were some gecko/lizard things along the road which scurried off rather quickly as soon as we came along on our bikes. There were also some cacti growing in the cracks on the road….so we were sure to avoid those as to not get flat tires. Some groups were not as fortunate, though, as some groups learned about picking the thorns out of tires after getting flats on multiple bikes at the same tire.

We are very excited for dinner, which has generously been donated by Arby’s and Pizza Hut. We will be having roast beef sandwiches and pizza, which are some of my favorites, so I am sure the team will not go hungry.

Tomorrow we have another long day into Denver so we will be waking up an hour early, but we are very excited because our last rest day was 10 days ago…..can you believe it? After tomorrow, we will have biked for 11 days with no time off. Wow.

Also, again I thank you so much for your patience with blog posting being a little bit behind this week. It has been a long week.
-LAH

Day 37: Three States, One Day

Monday, June 29th, 2015

Start/End: McCook, NE/Wray, CO
Mileage: 94+
Weather: Hot.

Today we woke up at the YMCA in McCook, NE ready for a really nice day. It was tough to leave the soft floor covered with mats that we could sleep on, but eventually we all got on our way, packing our bags and eating oatmeal and biscuits for breakfast. It was a very solid breakfast for our long day ahead. Thank you so much to the YMCA who has generously allowed us to stay at their facility!

Today, we dedicated our ride to a special young lady who lived in a nearby town which we passed yesterday. Her name is Olivia and she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She recently was granted her wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation which was to go on a shopping spree for princess dolls and then she will be visiting Disney World to be treated just like the princess she is. We are so thankful to have met folks who know Olivia and her story and are honored to ride for her today.

We continued our journey today through very arid land with plenty of grazing cattle. It was really interesting throughout the day because at several times, the cows that were grazing would start running toward us or along the fence to keep up with us. It was very fun to see them do this! Along those lines, our first first rest stop was at a historical marker which was a memorial for the Old Texas Ogallala Trail, which was used for cattle driving from Texas to Ogallala, NE.

Our journey is starting to feel very western and rugged the further west we go. We encountered so many beautiful fields of wheat which were photo worthy (leading to several people stopping for pictures). Additionally, in some of the more flatter areas, the sky just seemed so big! There were some beautiful lakes, that were home to recreational areas and activities. Other than that, civilization was far and few in between. I think the team has been surprised that, even though we are out here, towns, even little ones, are not too far away. In previous Illini 4000 trips, our routes have not always been this way.

For lunch, we stopped in Benkelman, NE which boasted to be the birthplace of Ward Bond, an actor and singer. He played Bert in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but was in many other films and TV series throughout the 1930’s-1950’s. Seemed like a nice town, and everyone we met while at lunch was super friendly.

The rest of the ride was really nice. We were still riding along a railroad track and waved at several trains receiving a friendly reply, including waving at an Amtrak train likely making its way to Denver. It was exciting because we could even see some passengers waving at us. This was a lot of fun and helped distract us from the fact that we were biking and it was over 90 F and we were in the sun with very little relief from any type of shade. There were also some beautiful wild sunflowers along the side of the road which were quite friendly, as if greeting us.

About 75 miles in, we had the opportunity to go less than a mile off-course to visit Kansas, so why not? Many of us crossed another state off the list, jumped back into central time zone and then back into mountain times we crossed back into Nebraska. Not long after that, we also crossed into Colorado! This was just so exciting, though a little intimidated as we know we will soon be doing a lot of climbing.

Riding into Wray, CO, we were a little surprised to find ourselves over 3500 feet of elevation above sea level! So I guess we have been gradually climbing for a while, but thankfully not having too many noticeable hills. We were pretty excited to arrive at the WRAC, where we were kindly greeted and made away of the showers and hot tub facilities available. After a hot day, a hot tub may not seem awesome, Mobutu it is very nice for our muscles to recover. And showers? Well they are just really nice.

So that is just another day in the life of Illini 4000. It was a long day, but there is this great feeling of accomplishment among the team and everyone, though tired, is feeling pretty great at the end of it all. Relieved that tomorrow’s ride will be shorter…
-LAH

Day 36: Last Full Day in the Friendliest State

Monday, June 29th, 2015

Start/End: Holdrege/McCook, NE
Mileage: 73.7+
Weather: Warm, some nice clouds

There is something about Nebraska and fireworks, and I am not sure what it is but it has been fun to go outside at night and be able to watch fireworks in the towns we stay in. Many of us live in Illinois and are only able to watch fireworks on holidays or on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Before long, though, the fireworks cease and we went to bed last night.

When we woke up in McCook, we awoke to a kitchen that was bustling with some energetic members of the St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church were preparing an amazing breakfast for us once we awoke and had all of our things packed for the day. We had homemade casseroles with eggs, tomatoes, spinach, bacon and other great ingredients, homemade grits, biscuits and gravy and even bacon. They had so much food prepared for us and it was amazing and tasted really good. It was also nice because it was something that we had not had for a breakfast yet! We cannot thank you enough for your generosity in hosting us this past night, arranging showers, and setting up some really awesome meals.

Today was a shorter ride which was nice, so many groups took it easy and we’re sure not to rush. We were going through an incredibly scenic part of the country that was just beautiful to look at as we rode. The road was good and the drivers were very nice. This has made riding through Nebraska pretty awesome. We found a wheat field that was photogenic and took some pictures. It is funny, because many of us coming from Illinois are u enthused by corn fields, but give us a wheat field and the photos start.

Partway through the ride, it was exciting because one group met a Dutch photographer who was riding a motorcycle around the country in a giant loop in order to take portraits of people she met for a project. The group got to meet her and she did a portrait of one of our awesome teammates, and it was fun. She had a very professional setup. It was interesting to look at the differences of our bikes and our portraits project, but it was fun to meet her!

All in all, it was a good day, but then we arrived in McCook. We were staying at the YMCA, and we had access to shower and do laundry and that was all quite wonderful. After dinner, the team had a variety of fun activities planned for the evening. Many teammates went to Mac’s Drive In, and while we could not drive in, we went inside and sat at these awesome booths from which we placed our order by picking up a phone and pressing a button. It was so cool and the food was delicious. Other group members went to go see a movie in celebration of a teammate’s recent birthday. Many laughs were to be had.

Such a good day! But at the end of it all, we were all pretty tired and lights went out before our typical lights out time… It was nice to have a short ride and be able to do other things in the evening along with riding during the day. Some longer rides are coming up the next few days, but I know we can do it!
-LAH

Halfway There

Monday, June 29th, 2015

We’re a little over halfway through this bike ride, and today I thought I’d give y’all an update on things.

Illini 4000 has been for me so far an instigator of important mental processes that should’ve begun a long time ago. As some of you may know, I injured myself very early on in this ride, leaving me off my bicycle for a good 5 weeks. I’ve never been this seriously injured before and it’s been something new to deal with. But being unable to ride my bike and participate in the main part of this organization forced me to look at things from a new perspective, to serve my team rather than myself, and to work on waking up with a positive attitude everyday. When I first got this injury I thought: “this could have happened to any one of us, why me?” Now I’ve realized, “why not?”

I’ve also in the past had too big of an ego to accept any kind of help. But this summer I’ve been forced to accept help, because I’ve needed it.

Finally, I’ve begun to realize that the first step in having others accept you for who you are is accepting yourself.

So this summer has been so far an exercise in selflessness, positivity, and acceptance.

Also, with seeing this country I’ve realized how huge, diverse, and beautiful every part of it is. We’ve taken the back roads everywhere. I was surprised by how much I LOVED Nebraska, the people and the terrain.

I’ve also firmly decided that I’ve made the right turn in heading towards veterinary medicine as a future career. I know for a fact that I want to work with animals every day, whether that means I work with wildlife or large livestock. Why has Illini 4000 helped me make this decision? Because my interactions with different kinds of animals have been some of my happiest and most eye-opening moments this summer. I realized that animals play a huge role in humans’ lives (and vice versa); I want to make those roles positive and beneficial to both sides.

So yeah I ranted but this is what Illini 4000 has been for me so far.

Day 36: A Quick Update

Saturday, June 27th, 2015

I am going to apologize for the
Lackluster blog posting for today, but I wanted to let everyone know that we safely made it to McCook, NE today! It was a very good day and I definitely have things to share about the day, but it has been a very long day and we have a pretty long day ahead of us tomorrow as we cross into Colorado. We are very excited to start to see the mountains soon. I promise to update the blog as soon as possible, though I am not sure of our internet access to,or row. Regardless in a few days or less, we will have you all updated on the ride! Thanks for following and happy trails!
-LAH