Day 31 & 32: Minneapolis, MN to Hutchinson, MN

After our historic 120 mile ride, it was only right to have another lovely rest day!!! Our rest day began (after waking up from some AMAZING sleep) with a homemade breakfast made by Zane’s aunt Debbie, and then some relaxation before we went on a little cruise! Debbie was so amazingly kind and rented us a boat to go out on Lake Minnetonka for a couple of hours to see the sites and eat some delicious lunch. We honestly felt like we were on vacation! It was so lovely and relaxing and just what we needed. After the boat trip, several team members went to a bike shop. Minneapolis is the last big city that we will be in for a long time, so it was important to get some extra bike gear before we truly head to the wild west.

Some other teammates saw family members and went to dinner or the Mall of America. I personally went to the Mall and it was a really fun experience! It wasn’t as busy as I figured it would be, and I got to spend a lot of quality time with my aunt and friend. After the rest of the rest day, we had team dinner, which was truly a delicious homemade Thanksgiving style meal again made by Debbie!!! We had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and gracy, and it was absolutely amazing.

We woke up this morning refreshed and ready to head toward less populated places! Zane’s aunt and my aunt loaded us up with some snacks: cookies, apple butter, fresh strawberry jam (to keep those PB&J lunches from becoming too boring), and Dots Pretzels.

We dedicated today’s ride to Vern Schewe. Vern was the grandfather of Andy, whom we met yesterday while on the boat on Lake Minnetonka. We got to know Andy a little bit and told him about why we are riding and our mission statement, and he told us that his grandfather had recently passed away from lung cancer. It is always an honor to get to hear these stories and remind us that even in our off days, there are still stories to hear and impacts to be made.

Today’s ride was a breeze in comparison to our last ride: only 47 miles – we arrived at the stayover before lunch! We got to take a couple of really nice, paved trails almost the whole way and met some really cool bikers along the way. At our rest stop, they thought the van was a food truck, so a lot of them came up to us and we ended up having a lot of meaningful conversations.

The stayover today is absolutely amazing. We are staying at the Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, MN. They are so kind and shuttled us to the local water park where we got to go down waterslides, fly on the zipline, and do over a mile in the lazy river. It was a beautiful and relaxing summer day. When we got back to the church, one of the church members Will had made us gumbo! He is from Texas, and figured we would want to change up our diet a little bit from the typical midwestern cuisine. It was really delicious and everyone went back for seconds!

Today’s rider shoutout goes to Erin. Today the route lead the group to a gravel road (which doesn’t really work well with the types of bikes we have since we have such small tires meant for paved roads!), and Erin found a good re-route and sent it to the whole group so they could use it and have a more pleasant ride.

Today was a great day, and really cool because I can remember during our 50 mile training ride when we were all nervous to go that far in one day. Our training leaders told us that on the ride, a 50 mile day means lunch at the stayover because it is such a short day! We didn’t believe them back then, but it is awesome to see how much we have grown and how truly 50 miles seems like a breeze now.

Day 29 & 30: Rochester, MN to Minneapolis, MN

The team spent the rest day yesterday… actually resting? We truly all were able to relax and recharge on the rainy day off. Some teammates met up with friends in the area, others went to coffee shops, others simply napped and took another warm shower. It was a really great day and a much needed rest before our longest ride yet that occured today!!!!!!!

Our longest ever ride was dedicated to Doriette Gauci. Doriette was the grandmother of Viraat’s friend Stefan and she unfortunately lost her battle with colon cancer. We kept Doriette in our thoughts all throughout the day.

If you are familiar with Minnesota you might be thinking, isn’t Rochester a little bit far away from Minneapolis, even by car? The answer is yes. Are you wondering, did the team absolutely crush all 119 miles of the journey, even on bikes? The answer is a HUGE yes! We may have had a few flats today, but every single person was able to complete the ride, and in good time. We set out for Minneapolis at 6 this morning and rolled up to the stayover at 6 this evening. A big deal when we have long days are taking fast rest stops. The team gets a rest stop every 20 miles or so – today we aimed for 23-25 miles between each rest stop, because those few miles really add up! Teams did a great job keeping stops under 15 minutes today. Everyone also did an amazing job supporting one another and going into the ride with a positive mindset, and finishing just as strong.

We have another (extremely necessary after today) rest stop tomorrow, and are so blessed to be staying in Zane’s Aunt Debbie’s beautiful home. She has provided us with meals on our rest day as well as our own mattresses to sleep on (complete with pillows and blankets!!!) (very important because a lot of our sleeping bags kind of smell like feet at this point in the ride…). We are so thankful and can’t wait to take a rest on the lake tomorrow.

Today Cari is getting a shout-out! Cari was one of the riders today who unfortunately got a flat tire. When she went to change the tire, she could not quite get her wheel off. Several teammates tried and also could not budge the wheel! However, Cari kept trying and had other riders try, and finally Marc was able to help her. Instead of giving up and getting in the van on our longest and most challenging day, she sought out a solution and got back on the bike and did that century!!!!

Someone can fact check me on this, but from what I understand, today was the longest ride in Illini 4000 history. There are professional riders who do not ever do 120 miles in one day like this. To say that I am proud of this team is an understatement! The day was filled with so many smiles, stories, and genuine goodness despite how challenging the day was.

Day 28: La Crosse, WI to Rochester, MN

Today’s ride was dedicated to the mother of Hannah Rose, one of Cari’s good friends. Hannah Rose’s mother struggles with cancer, and we biked with her in mind this morning as we set out from Wiconsin to Minnesota.

Today was originally set to be an 85 mile day – but because we had a tour scheduled for 4pm at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, we shortened the day to 44 miles and then shuttled the rest of the way! It worked out pretty well because there were some really strong headwinds on the route that would have made arriving to Mayo by 4 impossible. It was really fun packing all of the bikes up into the van – like a really fun puzzle! The Mayo Clinic was a sight to see. It is so large and so successful, and it is great that people have access to such a wonderful place.

For today and tomorrow (because tomorrow is a rest day!) we are at the Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester. They have such a beautiful facility with showers accessible to us at all times!!!! We are very excited to relax here this evening and tomorrow.

Today, Steven is getting a big shout-out! Steven helped out a ton with figuring out the logistics of this day, and packed the van full of bikes in an efficient and safe way. He also helped his teammates through the very strong headwinds.

Day 27: Reedsburg, WI to La Crosse, WI

Today’s ride was dedicated to Maria’s great-aunt Annie. Annie is a breast cancer survivor, she survived her diagnosis many years ago. She is currently facing some health complications unrelated to her cancer, but we biked today thinking of the strength it took for her to overcome her cancer diagnosis as well as her strength right now.

We had an amazing day today! The weather in Wisconsin was beautiful all day, sunny and 70 with a slight breeze. We had a long day in front of us with 85 miles, and it took us a full 12 hours to get to the stayover, but that was because we were exploring and making memories. We had lunch at a really cool park next to Bailey’s Diner – where some of the team got some delicious tacos! We also were able to eat some famous Wisconsin squeaky cheese curds and famous ice cream. It is a good thing that we burn so many calories throughout the day!

The second half of the ride was through a lot of really fun tunnels – one of them was a mile long and we couldn’t even see from one end to the other. We walked our bikes through that one with our lights on. The trail used to be a route for train tracks and trains, but now is a famous biking trail. We also had an adventure at our last stop where a cute dog emerged from the trail and we went on a mission to locate its owner! Luckily their owner was looking for them and we reunited the duo before heading to the stayover.

Our stayover tonight is the First Presbeteryian Church in La Crosse. We were greeted this evening by the smell of a grill and got to eat some delicious hot dogs and cheeseburgers tonight for dinner, complete with watermelon and potato salad. It really feels like summer here surrounded by good friends and good food :) we also got showers at the neighboring YMCA – some even took advantage of the steam rooms and other awesome amenities. Then, the church let us do loads of laundry! There is no better feeling than going to sleep with a full stomach, clean clothes, and clean hair!

Today Anisha is getting a big shout-out! Across the team, everyone knows that riding with Anisha is riding with someone positive. Today I personally overheard several people say that she is a great teammate to ride with because no matter what, she is just excited to be riding and taking it in. No matter if she is in the first or last group, she is always smiling and making the team laugh.

Day 26: Madison, WI to Reedsburg, WI

Today’s ride was dedicated to Bridgette. Bridgette is the god daughter of a man we met along our route a couple of days ago. He himself was a biker, and noticed our support van and all of the bikes, and came over to ask about what we are doing. He talked to us for a long time and we truly enjoyed his company. We hope with everything we have that his god daughter can overcome her stage 3 cancer diagnosis.

Today was not a dry day. The first 20 miles of the 61 mile ride were through drizzling rain. The next 20 miles were relatively dry, but we decided to take our lunch break at Devil’s Lake where we got in the lake and kayaked! It was a little chilly but we were thankful that the rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy the state park and some quality time together. The last 20 miles of the ride were also through some rain, but spirits were high as we rolled into the stayover!

We are thankful for St. Johns Lutheran Church in Reedsburg Wisconsin for hosting us tonight and feeding us! Tonight we got to eat barbecued hamburger with lots of different salads and desserts. We also got to take showers at the nearby municipal church. We are extra comfortable, clean, and finally dry tonight!

Today Maria is getting a major shout-out! In Maria’s group today, all 4 of her teammates got flat tires (some more than once), and she was the only one to not get a flat tire. It might be some luck that her tires were okay, but it was her awesome attitude that accounted for her supporting her teammates down to the last mile. One of the flats occurred only 1.8 miles from the stayover, but she was there to help however she could even though it was not her bike that needed the help. Maria is killing it out there on the roads and it is always a good day when you get to spend time with her!

Day 25: Lake Geneva, WI to Madison, WI

Today’s ride was donated to my aunt Marla. She has been a huge inspiration for me as an incredibly strong woman who has already beat breast cancer, skin cancer, and kidney cancer. She has recently once again been diagnosed with cancer but is staying strong and battling once again. I am inspired by her and her resilience and was honored to dedicate today’s ride to her as we rode north.

Today we also dedicated the ride to Tommy Matassa. Tommy has been enduring bladder cancer, and we recently ran into his significant other, who is a University of Illinois alumni. We biked today for both Marla and Tommy.

Today was a beautiful ride through the countryside of Wisconsin! We were thankful to be on some more rural roads compared to yesterday’s more stressful route. Toward the end of the day we saw some lightning and followed the protocol to ensure that nobody was biking in the storm. Luckily for us, the storm blew right over and we were able to make it to our stay over in a reasonable amount of time.

Our stayover tonight is the Calvary Lutheran Chapel in campus town Madison! It is a beautiful facility right above the university bookstore. They provided us with an amazing lasagna dinner complete with garlic bread and fresh salad. We also had the chance to explore the UW campus and downtown area this evening. We would never change loyalty from the University of Illinois, but we can’t help but admit that this lakeside campus is stunning. We even got to catch up with some I4K alumni and eat some more delicious food on the terrace.

Overall, this was a wonderful day!

Today Viraat is getting a shout-out! He had a wheel malfunction in the very beginning of the day but he did not let that bring him down. Our mechanic Marc fixed it up and Viraat rode the rest of the day safely and with confidence.

Day 24: Chicago, IL to Lake Geneva, WI

Today’s ride was dedicated to Padma. Padma was Anisha’s grandmother, who lost her battle with cancer two years ago. We were honored to be able to dedicate the ride to her with Anisha and her parents alongside us in the team circle this morning.

The team left our friends and family at Buckingham fountain as we set out for the 71 mile journey to Lake Geneva! The route today was initially going to be 98 miles long on a beautiful lakeside bike path, however due to the immense amounts of rain that the midwest has been receiving, we had to reroute our journey today. Instead, we biked the busy Chicago streets and some major roads in the suburbs. We received some remarks from drivers today that were less than friendly, but we think maybe they just had a case of the Mondays.

It was nothing that a nice meal and place to rest couldn’t fix, which is exactly what we received this evening at the Lake Geneva Camps and Conferences center. We got a nice dinner of chicken, Mac n cheese, green beans, and a salad bar. We also have real beds to sleep in (bunk beds – just like a real summer camp!) and showers! It’s a nice transition from home to get to stay at a place with nice, homey amenities.

Rider shout-out: HUGE shout-out to Nathan, our route master, for using his rest day yesterday to safely reroute us out of Chicago and to this stayover. He had to change the entire route, which is no small task. Bikes are only allowed on certain roads depending on what state law declares, and since safety is our priority, Nathan even scouts the roads we are allowed on and checks for traffic patterns and road conditions. We are lucky to have him on our team and owe our safe and timely arrival to him today!

Day 22: Elmhurst, IL to Chicago, IL (& Day 23, Chicago Rest Day!)

It has been a crazy few days seeing family and friends in the Chicagoland area! Our ride on Saturday morning was dedicated to a young woman named Gina, who is a patient of Marc’s father. Gina is currently battling stage 4 adrenal cancer, and doing so with the attitude of utmost optimism and strength. Gina is 23, which is very close to the age of everyone on the team. We don’t often have the chance to hear from people our age about their journey, so it hit extra close to hear of her battle. Gina was initially told that she would not survive her diagnosis, but a year and a half later, she is still fighting hard and has even gotten to go back to work. It was an honor to bike into Chicago in dedication to her.

The ride was only 20 miles, and for the last 10 we had the privilege of riding along with some friends and family! We all arrived safely to the bean and were greeted with cheers, food, and a banner. There were even several members from past Bike America teams who came to support us and give us some advice and share stories about their year.

Yesterday we had a rest day in Chicago where we got to recharge and see family and friends. I personally did a lot of laundry and a lot of sleeping in. We begin our trek out west today! Coming from New York, every day we were biking closer to home. Now every day we bike, our goal is San Francisco. More updated of today’s journey to Wisconsin will come when the team is safely stationed in Lake Geneva for the evening!

Day 21: Kankakee, IL to Elmhurst, IL

Today’s ride was dedicated to Thomas Thomas Senior. Thomas was a friend Viraat’s father, and after beating colon cancer earlier in his life, he recently passed away. We rode in honor of both his strength and for those who miss him.

Today we woke up to a homemade breakfast made by the lovely Adventure Christian Church! We want to thank them again for being such amazing hosts and waking up so early to make us all breakfast. It certainly made the 71 miles easier on us. Today was quite an adventure! While many of us have GPS systems installed on our bikes, we also rely on paper directions that we call ‘cues’ that attach to our bikes for us to read. Usually, there are maybe 1-2 sections of cues, but today there were 7 sections – meaning that we had a whole lot of different directions to follow! We were fortunate to be on paved bike paths through much of the day – until one of the bike paths happened to be underwater due to the recent influx of rain in the area. No worries though, all groups went around the water and made it to our stayover safely!

Speaking of our stayover – we are so thrilled to be staying in the home of Marc’s parents tonight! They have been extremely generous and given us a day we will never forget. As soon as we rolled into their driveway, they had friends and family lined up to cheer us on and greet us. Not only that, but they also organized an entire dinner complete with a taco truck and delicious guacamole. It was so amazing to be surrounded by friends and family who are so deeply supportive of our journey. It is also so amazing to be sleeping in such a comfortable and welcoming home – I know we all feel very fortunate to have such wonderful accommodations.

This evening we also had a wonderful opportunity to interact with community members. We were able to attend a local Relay for Life event and speak about our mission, as well we conduct a couple of portraits. There is nothing more inspiring than hearing the stories of those who have been affected by cancer.

It is only right to give Marc and his family another shout-out today! This morning, Marc certainly woke up with extra pep in his step and was excited to show us around his home today. After meeting his parents, friends, and neighbors, it is no wonder that Marc turned out as awesome as he did – he grew up around some great people!

We are excited to roll up to Chicago tomorrow! It is crazy that we left Union station over 3 weeks ago on a train and will now be back after biking from Central Park. Time is flying, and we are ready for another rest day with friends and family before departing for the west.

Day 19 & 20: Champaign, IL to Kankakee, IL

Yesterday we all had a rest day in Champaign. We used part of our day to take our bikes into the shop and get some repairs and/or adjustments done, and pick up extra supplies. Because the next part of our trip is out west and there are less bike shops out there, we need to stock up on extra tires, brake pads, and bike chains. We put an extreme amount of wear and tear on our bikes and want to be prepared! Big thanks to Neutral Cycle and Champaign Cycle for hooking us up with supplies and adjustments. Another huge shout out to Steven, Brad, and Marc who made a lot of calls to set up the logistics of these shop visits. They all really made our rest day truly restful.

For the rest of the day, we got to relax and see any family or friends on campus. It will be a long time until we are back, and we enjoyed getting to relax on our home campus.

This morning we rolled out with several ride-a-longs tagging along! We had a great time hearing stories from other bikers as they completed the first 30 miles with us. The ride today was dedicated to the father of one of our ride-a-longs who passed away from cancer very recently. The ride was also dedicated to Ann Nardulli. Ann was a researcher studying the role of estrogen in breast cancer, working toward understanding the disease and helping to find a cure. She passed away from cancer just last fall.

We had an extra special lunch stop today at Zane’s house!!! His mom and sister hosted an amazing lunch of pulled pork, Italian beef, fruits and veggies, corn, and dessert. We felt so at home and enjoyed the food and company. We had the absolute honor to conduct a portrait with Zane and his mother and talk about why Zane rides, and how they have been affected by cancer. I think that this article says it best: http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/starting-line/2019-06/honor-my-father.html

Zane (as well as his wonderful family) definitely deserve the rider shout-out today. A home cooked meal, good company, and stories of remarkable strength and love makes the hardest days worth it. I know I am inspired and moved by Zane’s story and will remember it always as I go throughout the rest of my life.

Tonight we are comfortably housed in the Adventure Christian Church in Bourbonnais! This facility is really awesome: it has an indoor turf soccer field where we are able to sleep. They so provided us with a taco bar for dinner!!! (I have been craving tacos since we left for New York, so this was very exciting for me)

Today was an 85 mile day, and we are ready for tomorrow’s much shorter 72 mile day. We are closing in on Chicago and are excited to see some more friends and family before we head out west!

Day 18: Rockville, IN to Champaign, IL!

WOW, we are so blessed today from all of the support we received throughout the day. We want to once again shot out the Rockville First United Methodist Church. This morning, they loaded our van up with fruit and snacks and also made us an AMAZING breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit. We have been staying there for 12 out of the 13 years Illini 4000 has been in existence. We are blessed and thankful, and were honored to dedicate our ride to our Rockville Family today.

Today’s ride was really a blur, we were all so excited to get to Champaign! It was 77 miles, which is no small feat, but it went so fast. We felt like celebrities on our ride today, some of my own family was stationed along the ride to say hello as we rode, and then we had so many people greeting us at the Alumni Center when we rolled in. We were introduced by the Cancer Center and were given snacks and good company. It is so crazy that we are already back where we began, 18 days later! We are excited for our rest day tomorrow catching up on sleep, and catching up with friends and family.

Today I am going to shout out every single one of us :) this team means the whole world to me already. I have never been around such a funny, quirky, nerdy, somewhat unathletic (but very very determined), kind group of people. I felt so proud to be biking into Champaign surrounded by these supportive people! The rest of the ride is going to fly by I can already tell, but I’m thankful to have so much time left in the summer with them!

Day 17: Indianapolis, IN to Rockville, IN

Last night, we had the chance to hang out with Rebecca, who completed the ride in 2017. This morning, we had the honor to dedicate today’s ride to Rebecca’s Uncle Larry, who is getting ready to start treatment for his cancer.

Today was a fairly short ride, only 66 miles from Indianapolis to Rockville Indiana. We are pretty excited to be back in the midwest where the roads are flat and we have views of cornfields. It reminds us a lot of our training rides and it’s really awesome to be able to ride side by side instead of in a straight line. The days go a lot faster when you can talk to one another!

Our stayover tonight is an Illini 4000 favorite: the Rockville First United Methodist Church. This stayover always takes such good care of us with homemade meals, showers, access to a poo!!l, and entertainment! This evening we were able to watch the ding-a-lings perform their unique bell concert for us we were relaxing. We loved having a short day and having so much time to be with the members of the church and do hang out with each other!

Rider Shoutout: when we are rolling up to Champaign tomorrow, look out for our awesome painted van, done by our very own Cari! Cari is an amazing artist, and an overall amazing teammate. Biking with Cari is great because she always starts up the best conversations which helps pass the time and keeps the day lively.

We will be in Champaign TOMORROW and can’t wait to say hello to some of our friends and family at the reception at 4:00!

Day 16: Richmond, IN to Indianapolis, IN

Today’s ride was dedicated to Marie’s uncle Clay, who celebrated his birthday today! Clay is currently undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer. Marie says that his strength and resilience inspires her every day, and we were honored to get to ride for him today.

The ride today was a cool 71 miles, which was significantly shorter than yesterday’s century! Our legs were a little worn out from yesterday, but all of the teams made great time biking straight west on Route 40 to get to Indianapolis. We were welcomed by the Tabernacle Presbyterian Church who opened up their beautiful building for us to stay in! The YMCA at the Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis offered for us to take showers in their incredibly nice facility, and we took full advantage of those before dinner.

Dinner was extra special this evening because we were able to eat with some I4K alumni who brought in a delicious dinner of chicken, baked potatoes, fruit salad, veggies (a rarity to find on this ride!) and brownies with ice cream! It was a ton of fun to share our stories with them and hear about their experience with Illini 4000. While we do similar things each year, it was cool to see how every ride is unique and our own.

One of the alumni even had a bike shop opened up after-hours just for us to do various repairs and tweaks to our bike. We feel very fortunate to have such an amazing network of alumni all over the country to help us out in any way that they can.

Rider Shoutout: Anisha is a rider that we are so happy to have on our team! She is a great teammate and does an excellent job stepping up as a leader on whatever team she is put in. Today, her group arrived to the stayover first and Anisha was so quick to come out and help unpack the van and was willing to help out wherever she could.

Day 15: Columbus, OH to Richmond, IN

Today’s ride was dedicated to a man named Matthew who we had the honor of meeting in Cleveland at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. Matthew had an incredibly powerful story that resonated with several of the riders on our team. We are thinking of him as he fights his battle, and used his story of courage today on our ride.

Today was our first century ride, coming out to a grand total of 105 miles. For most of us, this was the first time biking more than 90 miles in one day. We typically average about 10 miles per hour when you factor in rest stops and other small breaks, so we were facing at least a 10 hour day when we woke up at 4:45 this morning and rolled out in the fog. Honestly, everybody killed it out there. We rode efficiently enough to be able to watch the Liverpool vs. Tottenham game in a gas station, and made it to the stayover in time to eat dinner and shower. Biking is such a physical sport, but it is also very mentally challenging! I feel lucky to be on such a team that is strong on both fronts.

We are thankful to be staying at Central United Methodist Church this evening, who have opened up their facilities and provided us with showers!!!! We also want to give a HUGE shoutout to Dawn from O’Charley’s in Richmond. She provided us with AND delivered to us a delicious hot meal of rolls, cajun pasta, chicken strips, sandwiches, and vegetarian meals. I think it would have been quite a challenge to have to cook our own food tonight after such a long day, and her meal raised morale significantly.

Rider Shoutout: Sisi is a member on our team that is always full of surprises and stories. She is currently working toward earning her PhD and will likely have it by this time next year. I love being around Sisi because she has such a positive outlook on life and has a variety of so many unique experiences to share with you.

Day 14: Zanesville, OH to Columbus, OH

Today we dedicated our ride to Marie’s Aunt Kathi. She is a breast cancer survivor and today was her birthday!

Our ride today was relatively short: just 56 miles into Columbus! It’s good that it was a short ride, because tomorrow we have our first century (100 miles) and it rained pretty hard in Columbus after our ride was done for the day. Everyone did a great job today, and our resident Flat Stanley (Zane, who has had at least 6 flat tires since we began) got some new tires, so we are not expecting as many flats in the future (although he is an expert at changing them now)!

Our stayover tonight is in downtown Columbus at the Trinity Episcopal Church where we are thankful to be in from the rain! We also got some delicious pizza from Milestone 229, and showers from the Schiller Community Recreation Center. We have honestly been so lucky so far to find so many food and shower donations. Maybe we will be the cleanest team in Illini 4000 history? Stay tuned.

Rider Shoutout: Brad crushed it out there on the Ohio roads today! He is an extremely supportive teammate who is always happy to help out everyone on the team in any situation. He is also one of our team mechanics and is always checking up on bikes to make sure that everyone is safe.

Day 13: Wooster, OH to Zanesville, OH

Today’s ride was dedicated to Marc’s aunt Nancy, who lost her battle to Multiple Myeloma in 2014. Nancy was the oldest sibling in her family and always had the most positive and optimistic outlook on life that inspired those around her. Her diagnosis was very surprising, and Marc described that it was very hard to watch her go through her battle. However, she stayed positive throughout it all and got to see many milestones in her family, which brought her joy. Today we rode for Nancy and her whole family.

It was a tough day today, filled with lots of hills and hard rain at times. However, it was also filled with beautiful views, nice trails, and the prettiest sunset that we have seen yet! It was a pretty long day totalling 80 miles, but everyone powered through and got to the stayover safely.

Our stayover tonight is the Westwood Baptist Church in Zanesville, Ohio. Our hosts graciously provided us Chipotle for dinner, a ride to a facility with showers, and cots to sleep on – which will be a nice little break from our sleeping pad! In the morning they will be making us omelettes, which we are all very excited for! The memory of a tough day fades when we have food in our stomachs and a place to sleep, and we are thankful to have both tonight.

Rider Shoutout: Zihao is someone you absolutely want to bike with each day. He is so positive and optimistic, and always has something funny to say to help pass the time. He is also a very strong biker and is someone you can trust to be on your team. We are thankful for him and hope that the Raptors win the basketball game this evening because he is rooting for them.

Day 11 & 12: Cleveland, OH to Wooster, OH

Yesterday, we had our first rest day! We got to begin our day by sleeping in well past our usual 5:45am wake-up call and heading to a Hope Lodge in downtown Cleveland. It was so amazing to get to see another Hope Lodge, that was different than the one in Rochester, but equally beautiful and meaningful. After visiting the Hope Lodge, we went out for a team lunch and cupcakes for Kirby’s 22nd birthday!!!! Then we split off into groups and explored Cleveland: some went to the lakeshore, some hit up the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, some just went exploring, and others took the time to go to the bike shop to fix some issues for the next leg of our journey! Overall, we had an amazing and restful day all hanging out with each other.

Today we rolled out of Cleveland and dedicated our ride to a man named John. We met John’s daughter in Cleveland on Monday night and she confided in us that John was going to be put on hospice this week due to his battle with cancer. We thought of him, his daughter, and all of his loved ones as we rode today, and will be continuously thinking of them throughout this summer and beyond.

We began the day under the impression that we were going to ride through some pretty severe thunderstorms! Some of you at home may be following the weather and know that Ohio has been hit pretty hard with storms over the past few days. But there is no need to worry, we drove through a lot of mud today, but no storms. If it were to storm, we have a safety protocol in place to make sure that every rider arrives to the stayover safely (though, they might not be dry)!

We got to change up our lunch thanks to T-Roy and the River Styk Market family! They provided us with deli meat sandwiches, homemade cookies, chips, pudding, applesauce, homemade pasta salad, drinks, and all sorts of fixings for a delicious lunch. They were so welcoming and friendly and supportive, and donated directly to our cause on top of already donating lunch. Today was a tough day for a lot of riders, but that lunch helped us make it the 81.2 miles into Wooster and our awesome stayover!

Tonight we are staying at the Westminster Presbyterian Church who have graciously provided us with a nice, air-conditioned place to sleep in. We are also going to bed with full stomachs thanks to C.W. Burgerstein’s, who invited us into their beautiful restaurant and served us salad, chicken alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs, and their famous delicious cheeseburger. It is so amazing when places donate food to us, because then we get a little break from our usual diet, and can save up even more money to donate directly to beneficiaries. We are ALSO going to bed without any mud on us, because the Wooster YMCA allowed us to use their showers free of charge. We are loving Ohio and the kindness of everyone we have met here!

Today’s Rider Shoutout is Erin! Erin is, first of all, an amazing and strong person who is so great to have on our team. Second of all, the is a GREAT teammate to bike with. Everyone who gets to bike with Erin knows that she is great with calling out obstacles in the road and watching for cars behind us. It is so important to trust each other on these busy and unfamiliar roads, and we trust Erin so much. Also, Erin is super smart and is going to get her PhD at MIT after finishing this ride…. She is pretty much a big deal.

Day 10: Ashtabula, OH to Cleveland, OH

Today was Memorial Day, and therefore we dedicated our ride to David, an individual whom we conducted a Portrait with a couple of days who also served our country several times in the military. David has been through so much in his life, it was the least we could do to dedicate this ride to him.

Our ride today was 59.6 miles from Ashtabula Ohio to Cleveland Ohio, but it ended up being about 6 miles more with the re-routes we had to do! Many of Ohio’s roads are under construction, and we always have to make sure that we are riding on a bike-safe route, so we had to do some improvising today. Luckily, we are becoming more confident on our bikes and are able to do that! We were also able to stop at Sheetz, an iconic east coast gas station with food that is definitely way above average for gas station food. Maybe it was not the most nutritious, but it was definitely delicious!

Our stayover today AND tomorrow is the Peace Lutheran Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They have graciously opened their doors to us for two days, because tomorrow is our first rest day! Having a rest day means that we do not have to get on our bikes, and is important for our health, as biking is extremely mentally and physically touch. Peace Lutheran Church provided us with showers and a Memorial Day cook-out, and we are extremely thankful for that.

Today’s rider shoutout goes to Kirby!!!!! Kirby’s birthday is tomorrow and we are excited to spend our rest day celebrating him! He runs our social media and does an excellent job recording what we do each day through photos and posts. Kirby also is an extremely strong biker and it is great to catch a draft off of him, or to keep up a good pace with him.

Day 9: Westfield, NY to Ashtabula, OH

We dedicated today’s ride to Becky Gates, the mother of two of my brother’s best friends. My brother and his friends just graduated this weekend, and I know that they felt the loss of Becky as she passed away after her battle with cancer several years ago. She would have loved to see this milestone, as well as the milestones of her daughter. We rode with her and her family in our minds and hearts.

Today was a longer day than yesterday, 76.4 miles. We crossed TWO state lines: Pennsylvania and Ohio! We had some more awesome rest stops near the water and at an ice cream shop, this is truly a beautiful area that we are thankful to have the chance to explore. During our last 16 or so miles into the stayover, it poured on us, but we all rolled up with a smile on our face.

Our stayover, the First Covenant Church in Ashtabula, helped us warm up with a homemade meal (including a casserole, meaning we are really back in the midwest!) and access to showers!!!!!! This is the first year that First Covenant Church has hosted an Illini 4000 church. When we talked to the pastor, he told us that he didn’t even know too much about what our mission was, but knew that he wanted to help our a group of college students. We are continuously blown away by the blind kindness the stayovers show us! I may sound like a broken record saying that, but it is so true. There is so much goodness in this world!

Our rider shoutout today is Maria! We have an amazing team, and part of the reason why is because Maria is on it. She is a great person to bike with because she is kind, positive, and is always making us laugh. Also, today she managed to get peanut butter on her eyebrow, which is honestly just impressive and something only Maria could do.

Day 7: Rochester, NY to Buffalo, NY

We dedicated today’s ride to Bev, an incredibly inspiring woman we had the honor of meeting yesterday. Bev has the most positive outlook on life of anyone we have ever met! She once swam across all of the Finger Lakes here in New York to raise awareness for skin cancer. We know that Bev had to have a lot of determination and resilience to accomplish such a feat, and we decided to channel her energy into our ride today.

It definitely worked, and we had a lovely 70.9 mile ride through the countryside of upstate New York. There were several flats today on the route, but we are getting much better changing them quickly! Even with the flats, we had time for (very fast – I’m talking 2 minutes or less) showers, a Portrait, and a team trip to Niagara Falls! For a couple of us, this was our first time in New York at all, and most of us had never seen the falls before. It was so awesome to spend time together doing some sightseeing before heading out in the morning.

Stayover Shout Out: we want to extend a HUGE thank you to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Buffalo NY for hosting us tonight. We received a home cooked meal complete with the best rice Krispy treats in the world, and ample place to sleep. We are even spread out over several rooms tonight which is very exciting – and we will have breakfast provided in the morning!

Rider Spotlight: Jonathan does an excellent job taking the lane and holding back cars while biking. Taking the lane is a term that we use when we go from being in a single file line on the shoulder to biking in a ‘car formation’ in the lane. This is useful when we are coming to stops or making turns. Jonathan is confident in his actions and signaling and helps keep our whole team safe. He is also quite the character and never fails to make us all laugh each day.