Maaike approached me halfway through the ride today, wondering what we were going to write about on what had been an uneventful day for the team thus far. Well, the state of Ohio heard her remark and answered back with chaotic car traffic and the dreaded return of headwinds (she has learned her lesson and will never test Ohio again). As much as we enjoy dunking on Ohio — it’s become somewhat of a team bonding activity — we acknowledge its good parts as well, whether it's the fellow cyclists we meet or the state’s quaint natural beauty. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 73.6

Elevation: 2,454’

Points of Interest: Linville Community Church, Buckeye Lake State Park, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Soap City Laundry, Mona’s Eats and Treats

Quote of the day

Tales of the Trail

Morning activities have become a team tradition as of late, and are a great laughter-induced way to start the day with everyone. Today’s activity was decided by Tommy, who had us go around in a circle and scream progressively louder or quieter with each person. We swear these activities are more entertaining than they sound. 

Speaking of fun — or a lack thereof — we began the ride with a long stretch on a highway. It took us through gradual uphills and downhills, and was generally unremarkable apart from the occasional roadkill or tire-threatening nail in the shoulder. 

Here, we want to refer our readers to the first paragraph of this entry from 2023 I4K team journalist Jonathan Boudreaux. He perfectly describes the often overlooked aspects of the cross-country bicycling narrative. Even in a group, boredom and loneliness can envelop any rider — especially in a landscape as rural and spread out as the one we were experiencing. It takes persistence and mental strength to learn how to overcome these facets of the ride, and we believe the team did that today. Groups played games of “My Cow” that survived the entire ride (Dylan had an impressive number of immortal cows by the end of it), exchanged achingly relatable complaints about how much their butts hurt, and took breaks whenever or wherever.

Following the highway, we had the pleasure of discovering a trail encircling Buckeye Lake State Park. Groups were able to wave and say some “morning”’s to other faces, this time unhidden by the windshields of a motor vehicles. One group met a few cyclists at a stop sign, some of whom had biked across the country as well. We love separated paths for this reason — we get to come face-to-face with the community that we are an active part of.

Then, the traffic hit. Lines of semi-trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles impatiently rushed by us on one-lane roads. Groups did a stellar job of utilizing callouts and hand gestures to their fullest extent. One could feel each rider become alert, instantly forgetting their respective bodily aches and pains in order to ensure the safety of the entire group. It was one of those moments where a group transformed into a well-oiled machine, and all that we had learned from team meetings in the months before was now rising into action. The conditions made for some close passes from some drivers, but everyone handled them with as much caution as they could. 

We are now at our stayover, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (which is celebrating their 175th anniversary!), and grateful to say everyone is safe and healthy. After every group arrived, some teammates went to a nearby laundromat called Soap City Laundry and the local YMCA. We also stopped at a nearby saloon and Mona’s Eats and Treats (don’t forget to check out @i4kones on Instagram!). At the laundromat and the ice cream shop, we talked about our mission with some friendly and encouraging strangers, which leads us to point out a rare yet significant pro about Ohio — the people. Wherever we have gone so far, we are grateful to say we have been met with an overwhelming amount of kindness. 

As the team watches “The LEGO Batman Movie” and kicks their feet up for a welcome rest day in Columbus, we look forward to our annual I4K “Valentine’s Day” event tomorrow where we’ll split into pairs and explore the city together. The journals will be back after some good rest and our first intentional century of the summer on Sunday.

(Author’s note: apologies for the late post! We had some Wi-Fi issues on our end.)

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Jack Hutchens

How are you feeling today?

It’s been an exhausting couple of weeks. A lot of fun, but pretty exhausting between bike issues, not getting enough sleep — mostly my fault — I have a lot of stuff going on right now…trying to get my bike working correctly, which is a long story. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

When I bought it, I really had no idea what it was. I did some research — I knew what the brand was and knew it was a good brand. It’s a Calfee, they do custom carbon bikes. The guy hand-molds them, he has his own special process in a whole 50-page document that shows why he does what he does. But yeah, the bike’s carbon and titanium. It handles amazing. The problem is, the one I have happens to be from 2006, as far as I can tell. The frame might be older, but that’s the time frame the parts I’ve identified come from. Which means finding replacements is basically impossible in a lot of cases. And, gotta love tubular [tire]s! If you don’t know what those are, they basically have the tube vulcanized inside the tire itself, so if something happens, it’s impossible to repair — besides sealant, which actually works pretty well.

Before joining Illini 4000, how much bike training had you done, and did you have any other athletic background that you feel prepared you for this ride?

I have always been super into mountain biking. Mostly downhill, like pretty much exclusively downhill. I was into surfing, played varsity baseball for a few years, that was a lot of fun. Just whatever I felt like doing. I had the privilege of playing in SoCal, so a lot of time to be outdoors, and just like, enjoy the nature.

What has been your favorite part of the ride so far?

One time with Logan, we hit this kind of sketchy gravel-ish downhill trail. We hit 53 [mph] on it. That was sick. I wanted to go faster, but honestly it was probably good I was following someone for my own sake. But either way, we made it down. It was absolutely impeccable. But for actual cities, I really loved the architecture in New York City. It was so cool to see, you had the really old stuff, and how it changed through the eras, and was reflective of the city during that time. It was incredible.

Why did you decide to join Illini 4000?

I do definitely believe a lot in the cause, and having talked to a lot of people involved with the research beforehand, there’s a lot to be said about the financial pressure that the researchers experience, right? People going into this field are faced with incredibly low wages, a lot of pressure from funding sources to get results out quickly… So I do really believe in the fellowship program, because that helps actually give [the researchers] the time they need to do real work. Beyond just wanting to help the cause, I wanted a little bit of time just to reflect on how my past year went, and really think on what I actually want to be doing in the future. I do also think the Portraits Project is incredible too. I just wanted to experience all of America, and go through it slowly and really see all of the different places. Like, most people never see rural Appalachia, and talk to the people that live there — that was definitely an interesting experience, and I think it’s worth something. There’s no other real way to do it like this.

Is there anything you want to say to the people who are cheering you on during this ride?

Not gonna lie, I’ve been pretty quiet so far on [social media] and stuff, I’m just trying to take a break and live this up. But I will say, for whoever donated, thank you so much, it’s all going to great causes. I’ve met some of our beneficiaries, we are really doing great work here. I would like to definitely thank you for that. This trip has been incredible. And for my bros back home, I am looking forward to being back.

Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?

I will say, food has been a bit of a struggle…it’s just a tough situation, because money’s gonna be tight no matter what. 

(A reminder that any unfamiliar terms can be found in our handy I4K dictionary.)