We’ve made it to a new state — Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland (as many of the license plates we saw today put it). As if to mark our departure from the flatter section of the Midwest, our route took us through an incredible variety of terrain. We crossed grassy, flower-lined shortcuts, bumpy gravel trails, and paved main roads. The team did all this under the leer of a sweltering sun, but generously-applied sunscreen, plenty of electrolytes, and collective resolve got us through.

Ride overview

Mileage: 73.1

Elevation: 1,902’

Points of Interest: Des Plaines Trail System, Potawatomi Woods Picnic Grove, Deerpath Park, Long Grove Confectionery Co., Prairie Trail Loop, Lake Geneva, Kilwin’s

Quotes of the day

“I love you Ellie Beck, but what the heck.” - Maaike while biking through a field of daisies

• For context, Ellie Beck is our Director of Logistics and plans many of our routes for us. We are incredibly grateful for her hard work, without which most of what I4K does could not happen. However, that can sometimes be hard to remember when you’re fighting for your life on an unexpectedly bumpy section of the ride. 

“A rash everywhere equals no rash!” - Kev

“They’ll have to forgive us, we’re bringing fun flavors of jam!” - Claudia, arriving 20 minutes late to the lunch rest stop

Tales of the Trail

Today’s morning activity was decided by moi (Riddhima, in case you haven’t yet learned our respective writing styles), and I of course made it about the journals. Split up into batches of five-ish, every group was instructed to pick a journal entry, read it, and leave a comment. It was fascinating to see Maaike and I’s work be actively perceived, as well as to see riders and their loved ones re-live the events of a certain day together. 

From there, we picked ride groups and everyone rolled out. A few family members, friends, and former I4K-ers joined us for part of the first stretch — shout out to Lucas’s father, who rode with us for the entire day! It’s always refreshing to have the company of people outside of the team. It’s easy to forget the novelty of what we are doing when we are over three weeks into it, but we get to re-experience it all over again through their eyes.

These initial miles were a taste of the environmental diversity to come, what with the cicadas that swarmed us (rest in peace to the one caught in Emma’s bike chain) and the chunky gravel beneath our road tires. We also have to mention the genuinely impressive playgrounds we came across. On two occasions, some groups couldn’t help but stop to enjoy the zip-lines, swings, and merry-go-rounds that they had to offer — if there’s one thing we always love to do, it’s unlocking our inner child. 

At our second rest stop, Peter, our fundraising chair, joined us for the rest of the ride! This unfortunately also marked the beginnings of hotter weather. Thankfully, much of our route consisted of trails. Trees poured over us on either side, providing shade and a satisfying wind-tunnel effect that quickened our speed. At times, the trees would step back and reveal the beauty of the countryside. Seeing anything other than an ocean of corn fields was a welcome sight.

Overall, today’s ride was one of balance. We’d endure the gritty heat of the traffic-filled main roads for a few miles and then retreat into the safety of the trails. Unlike some days in Indiana or Ohio where we’d follow the same road for what felt like an eternity, today we were never really allowed to feel bored. We’ve also reached a point in the ride where we’ve been deemed safe enough to bike with music playing, so that certainly helped too. 

Tailwinds and a slight descent supported us toward the end of the ride, and the stifling heat of the last distance made the joy of reaching our stayover, Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, all the sweeter. Glacier Freeze Gatorade has never tasted holier. After showering at homes generously provided by members of the church and eating an unbelievably delicious dinner (think bratwurst, beans, lasagna, and cheesecake — is your mouth watering yet?) made by our hosts, we made our way to Lake Geneva’s charming waters. A few of us took a dip, then headed to Kilwin’s for some ice cream. A massive thank you to Lucas’s father for treating us! 

Today was by no means easy, but we learned a lot. For one, Citgo ice after a long day of riding in the heat is equivalent to bathing in the Fountain of Youth. In all seriousness, though, we always emerge from these days as better riders and teammates. As we slowly but surely approach the more unfamiliar terrain of the West coast, we have a feeling we’ll appreciate the hard-won lessons of these first few weeks. 

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Tommy Gulumian

How are you feeling today?

Definitely tired! I honestly think the challenge of [today] makes it a little more exciting. Yeah, I think it’s just like finding motivation, finding positivity. We talked to new people today, because of a little bit of a ride along, and apart from the cicadas, apart from the heat, honestly this is a day that I think I’ll be looking back at. It was fun.

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

That is a good question. It is a Domane, I believe they’re called an AL2. I’m not gonna say that I’m very big on knowing all parts of the bike, but I can tell it’s just so much lighter, the ride is a lot more smooth. I’m rockin’ more gears, my first bike just had the back gears, one to ten, but now I have a little more of a variety. 

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’d say the main thing that prepped me was running in high school. One thing I learned with running, is there’s a level of discomfort that comes with the enjoyment of the sport, and there’s a discomfort that can mean pain, and you quickly find the difference between the two. But running is a very challenging sport that gets easier the more you do it. That was a good mindset I had for this summer, is that like, this is going to suck, for everyone, but we’ll get used to it, and it’ll make each ride a little easier… So I think that was a big thing that helped. For biking, ironically, when we were just at the tippity top of Illinois, we were on a path that can connect all the way back to my neighborhood. Me and Kavin, roughly three years ago, plotted how to get here from our house, and we found that route. So we were at the third rest stop today at a gas station, and I walked up to Kavin, and I was just like, “this is it. We’re actually here right now!” Me and him spent a lot of time on the paths just going all over the towns in our area. I definitely enjoyed biking for leisure before this.

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

I don’t know if I can pin it down to just one. Honestly, I just like getting to stayovers. We’ve had stayovers that have been very generous with different food donations, there’s others where we get there and it’s a little more just figuring out what we’re gonna eat, or where we’re gonna shower. But honestly, I kind of like those little moments. We’re in a pocket of the town. I think my favorite part of this ride has just been going to each spot. Whether or not we’re there for an additional rest day, it’s still exciting just seeing places I’ve never been. 

Is there anyone you’re doing this ride for, or any specific person you think of when you’re on the ride?

My friend’s mom actually is going through chemo now for tongue cancer. That has been a little bit of a thing going back and forth. Over the winter, a different friend has had skin cancer in his family, and he found a spot. It’s not active, they got it removed. There’s just been a lot of close calls recently, both with family and with friends. I feel like when I was on campus, I felt very away from home, and that was a big struggle for me. And while this isn’t home, I feel like I’m riding for them. It makes me feel a little closer to home even when I’m not home.

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

I’m sorry for being gone an entire summer! I’ll be back! I really appreciate all the love and support I’ve been given. My birthday was on the ride, so I had a lot of family members contact me for that, and ask me follow-up questions to see where I’m going. That’s been really special. I’m not seeing my family, and I was a little bit sad at first, but I still know that I have a network at home that’s still reaching out. So I just really appreciate the messages that I’ve gotten.

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

I think if there was one thing about this summer that I find a little bit tough is the lack of rest days, because I really wish we had uneventful rest days. I feel like I’ve had a lot of good times going and seeing a bunch of new [places]. D.C. was a lot of moving around, and it’s like, I just want to binge a show with the team. Have an afternoon where we’re doing a board game kind of thing or something like that. I don’t know, I’m just really looking forward to maybe, hopefully having opportunities for that later in the ride. That’s just one thought that I’ve had recently. I’ve had a lot of fun, but I also want to get to know people a little bit more off the bike too. 

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