1) The New York City subway system is not designed to accommodate 27 people and their bikes. But it can be done.
2) Bear Mountain is a real place, not just from a Bob Dylan song! It’s also very beautiful and tough to climb.
3) An ice skating rink is a pretty okay place to sleep.
4) Flat tires will come to us all, but not everyone will be as lucky as to encounter a support van for a different cross country cycling trip to give you a nice pump to change it quickly (this did happen to me).
5) Everyone on I4K Ride America 2017 has at least one odd sleeping habit. Everyone.
6) Rain sucks.
7) May 26th is Illini 4000 Day in Rochester, New York!
8) Being a (relatively) recent vegetarian and visiting the birthplace of your favorite meat based food (Buffalo wings) is more challenging than any hill or headwind.
9) Lake Erie is a top tier great lake.
10) Sometimes you lose your wallet, and that’s bad. Sometimes you find it on the side of the road, and that’s good!
11) East Cleveland has some of the worst roads in the U.S.
12) No for real, they are no fun at all to ride on.
13) The Towpath trail west of Cleveland is lovely and lots of fun to ride on. 15% grade hills, not so much.
14) Rule #1 of I4K: The stayover is always at the top of a hill.
15) Snowcones are good.
16) Riding 100+ miles will make you do some strange things, like willingly eat Domino’s pizza.
17) Being 92 years old doesn’t inhibit dancing ability.
18) Riding into Champaign-Urbana from New York after riding in from a training ride a dozen times is a very surreal experience.
19) Route 45 is different than Old Route 45.
20) No matter how you set it up, your own bed will always be more comfortable than a sleeping bag.
21) New York is pretty cool. Chicago is still better.