The Ohio Grand Finale did not disappoint with the team’s first official century scheduled for our last day in the state. Before leaving, we got the amazing opportunity to spend a rest day in Columbus, where we celebrated I4K Valentine’s Day, a chance for team members to spend some one-on-one time together by going on “dates” across the city. The past two days have really brought us closer together as a team, as it feels like we’ve had endless adventures between the 100-mile ride and our scheduled relaxation time.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 104.1

Elevation: 2,554’

Points of Interest: German Village, Columbus Arts Festival, Columbus Museum of Art, Camp Chase Trail, London OH, Clifton Mill, Sinclair Park, Lewisburg Community Park, Indiana!!!

Quote of the day

Tales of the Trail

The team celebrated the annual I4K Valentine’s Day tradition on Saturday, as ride leaders Olivia and Lucas paired together teammates who haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time with one another yet and set us all out on the city. We truly covered everything — some “dates” saw the world’s largest gavel, some attempted to watch the latest Mad Max movie but accidentally bought the wrong tickets, and absolutely everybody got some good food. The Columbus Arts Festival and German Village both proved to be popular spots for our “dates” as well. It was really refreshing to spend some more relaxed one-on-one time with a teammate, as the big group can get a little overwhelming. The day was a huge success, and also brought us the rest we needed to tackle the upcoming week until our next day off in Champaign.

We got to an early start today after another thrilling morning activity run by Tommy — trying to guess what number he was thinking of between 1 and 100 (it took us four tries). We rolled out a bit before 6:00 a.m., bracing ourselves to ride over 100 miles in order to finally get out of Ohio. However, any dislike for the state was quickly forgotten by the stunning morning sunrise — Midwest skies are truly unbeatable.

The ride kicked off with some calm stretches of trail until we hit our first rest stop in London, OH (we’re starting to tally up how many European cities we visit on this trip! London is our second after rolling through Berlin, PA the other week). We saw some fun sights interspersed with all the farmland, including fellow cross-country bikers and multiple model trains! 

Our second rest stop took us to the Historic Clifton Mill, a beautiful brunch spot in Clifton, OH. Created in 1802, the mill is one of the largest water powered grist mills still in existence, and most importantly, serves excellent pancakes to hungry cyclists.

9 brave members of our team enthusiastically conquered the Clifton Mill Pancake Challenge, which presents the customer with two of the largest pancakes you will ever see and offers them a third pancake for free if they can finish the first two in one sitting. Our teammates took on a variety of strategies to try to complete the challenge — syrup vs. no syrup, buckwheat vs. buttermilk pancakes, Tommy even tried eating his Joey Chestnut style (which was disgusting but intriguing to watch. We admire your commitment Tommy). Congratulations to Neal, Lucas, and Joey for emerging victorious — although we’re not sure if “victory” is quite the right way to describe it, considering they had to hop on a bike for another 60 miles afterwards and Lucas was quoted saying “I don’t think I’m going to eat anything again, ever.”

The pancakes hit harder as we progressed throughout the day, although the weather was truly on our side for this 100-miler. In beautiful temperatures, the ride moved along quicker than predicted, despite the tummy aches that everyone was really really brave about. As predicted, we have been dealing a bit more with headwinds as we’ve moved into the Midwest. Several cyclists we’ve encountered along the road have reminded us we’re biking “the wrong way” across the country, which is a fair point, as we’ll be facing into the wind for most of the coming weeks. However, by creating a rotating paceline — riders cycle in a single-file line and alternate who is at the front every few miles — we can conserve our energy well while riding at a reasonable speed. We zoomed through the remainder of Ohio and across the border into Indiana, but not before Ohio decided to have one last bit of fun with us and stick a nail in Anthony’s tire just before we crossed the state line. Well played Ohio, well played.

We’ve arrived in Richmond and chowed down on some generously donated Jimmy Johns before bed. We’re staying in a gym again tonight, which is providing additional athletic opportunities for anyone who didn’t get their fill during the day — as I’m writing this, Olaf, Olivia, Lucas, and Anthony are pelting each other to death with dodgeballs. As I move to a safer location for now, feel free to ask any questions about the ride below that we can answer in future journals, and thank you all again for the lovely encouragement you’ve been leaving here and on our Instagram :) 

**Author’s note: Riddhima got pooped on by a bird today. She handled it like a champ. She is also very glad to be out of Ohio. Maaike would like to note that this is why birds (and Ohio) are the worst.**

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Lucas Dion

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling really good, it was a fun day! It was the first century for most of the team. A few of us stopped to get some breakfast food… they [the Historic Clifton Mill] had a lumberjack pancake challenge, and unfortunately it defeated me. But, I did get to bike most of the day and the pancakes were very tasty even though they ended up making me sag. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

A Giant Content AR 3 — total chick magnet. 

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 did some triathlon training, so I was kind of just getting into cycling when I found out about the organization. I did a lot of running before, so I think a lot of that cardio stuff carries over. Since joining I4K cycling has become a really big part of my life, and I really think I like getting a variety of exercise that isn’t super high-impact like running. So, cycling is a lot of fun — highly recommend!

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

It’s a pretty generic answer, but the people. They’re a lot of fun. I think the people on this team are a really interesting and fun bunch of folks that really look out for each other and make doing this crazy thing possible. I think that with the power of teamwork anything is possible. 

Why did you decide to join Illini 4000 the first time, and for a second time as a ride leader?

I had a lot of cancer in my family, just a lot of people who were impacted by it… being a part of Illini 4000 not only allowed me to give back to cancer by fundraising and the Portraits Project and all the aspects of the organization that are specifically focused on cancer, but it also gave me something personally to train for and work towards. The first time I had to train for and did it was something that really gave me some focus and was just an incredible experience. My second time around, I wanted to continue to give back to the cancer community through the Portraits Project and fundraising, but also just help bring that experience to other people, since I know that it’s really not easy to help make sure the team has a super successful and fun summer. 

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

Thank you for all the kind words and support! I really appreciate it, it goes a long way. I’ll make sure to send some postcards soon!

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

Make sure to watch your portions.

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