Zach had the ride dedication today for his friend Max who passed away as a result of cancer.

Today’s ride: 71 miles, hot but not too hot, lots of cornfields and slight hills.

Logan Orr is one of our graduated senior riders. His degree is Bioengineering and he is one of the resident team Dads. His spirit animal has been chosen by the team as the Golden Retriever.

Describe your home town: So I’m from Reddick IL. It’s outside of Reddick actually. On a good day it has 200 people in it. It’s a small farm town. I went to high school in another farm town in the area. Reddick has a bar, a post office, and a school that is closed down now…and a couple churches.

What are you going to be doing after this trip? I will be working at Eli Lilly Company in Indianapolis. I’ll start there a couple weeks after the ride.

Your older sister did this trip. How did your prior expectations compare to the reality? I knew it would be a lot of fun from hearing stories from my sister and that I would see a lot of things that I wouldn’t normally. But I underestimated the friendships that I would make. I really enjoy our team and getting to know everyone on it. I also underestimated the kindness of random strangers. I knew that the people at the stayovers would be super nice, but I didn’t expect receiving a bunch of random stuff from strangers. And how many people that thank us when they are the ones that are hosting us. It has really surprised me and it makes the trip really rewarding.

Have you noticed any changes in yourself since we started? My legs have gotten stronger and I’ve gotten to gain a new perspective on a lot of things. Our team is full of people from different backgrounds and walks of life. I’ve gotten to hear what they think of things and what they call things, and how they don’t know a lot of farming terminology (laughs). Gaining perspective on how I myself have changed and gaining more of an appreciation for people.

What have you enjoyed most so far? I have enjoyed getting to know the team. I feel like we have a lot of cool people who are all really different. I really liked meeting the mayor of Rochester with a police escort. Any time that there’s been a pool, we’ve all gone back to the days of being 12 and acting like little kids and that has been really nice to see.

Where has been your favorite spot we’ve stayed so far? I think my biased answer would be… Kankakee. Just because I got to see my family and old teachers and friends from home and my family took me out for ice cream after. Showers, really good food, and family were the best.

What are you still looking forward to? I’m really looking forward to being out west. My sister said her favorite state was South Dakota because of being able to ride through the Badlands. I’m also stoked for the National parks we’re going through like Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I’m really excited for Portland because my brother lives in Seattle and he’s coming to see us ride through there.

What do you do while riding? I talk a lot, probably too much. Sing, play hot seat, I try to look up as much as I can. Every once in a while we’ll pass through parts of small towns that are really pretty and I know I’ll probably never go to the same places again. I want to see as much as I can.

Do you see yourself continuing cycling after the ride? I see myself riding around Indianapolis just for fun because they have a lot of trails. Possibly biking to work. I don’t see myself doing any races or another cross country trip anytime soon (haha).

Describe I4k in one word: impactful

Don’t want to leave Madison with its prime stayover location and beautiful Terrace views.

Will accept Spotted Cow donations.

MB