These last few days have been cloaked in an indescribable feeling. We’re excited to cross the bridge, see our loved ones, and say “we did it!” On the other hand, we’re aware that our celebrations will also mark the beginning of the end, and that we’ll soon have to say goodbye to our teammates and our time with I4K. So, we’ve tried to spend our final days just like all the ones before  – in the moment and day by day, in appreciation of the people and places we’ve spent the past two months of our lives riding alongside.  

Ride Overview, Day 74

Mileage: 77

Elevation: 4,881’

Ride Dedication: Marie Kupferschmid

Points of Interest: Cotijo’s Market, Mendocino Headlands State Park, Navarro River Redwoods State Park, 

Quote of the Day 

Ride Overview, Day 75

Mileage: 51.7

Elevation: 1,155

Ride Dedication: Karle and Steve Flannigan 

Points of Interest: Cinnabar Theatre, Healdsburg Memorial Bridge

Quote(s) of the Day

“This is so I4K.” - Anthony, staring at a bicycle tube in the food box

“This has nothing to do with I4K!” - Lucas, while writing out our I4Prom superlatives in broad daylight

Tales of the Trail, Days 74 & 75

Our morning began with a mouthwatering breakfast spread donated by our unendingly generous hosts at First Presbyterian Church. In addition to the copious selection of everything from fresh fruit to baked goods, we were given sandwich ingredients to make our own packed lunches for later. 

Here at I4K, you may have noticed that we do not believe there is such a thing as being too grateful – so, we’d like to say another massive thank you to the people at First Presbyterian Church for getting up at so early an hour and fueling us with this delicious meal! As we hugged our hosts goodbye and took one last look at the board of pictures they hung up for us in their hallway, we felt an overwhelming amount of support. 

Cut to our morning activity: a helmet stacking competition hosted by Lucas. Team Upperclassmen (Anthony, Claudia, Emma, Kev, Lucas, Izzy, Anthony, and Olaf) won with seconds to spare. From there, we rolled out into much of the same Californian countryside that we’d grown accustomed to, incomplete without its reliably rolling hills and succession of sharp, winding descents through some of the nation’s most abundant farmland. 

Barring some mechanical issues that extended our time on the road by longer than some of us would have liked, our day went on just as any other. The elevation map on Ride with GPS forecasted most of our elevation gain toward the end of the route under the glare of the increasingly hot afternoon sun. Nevertheless, we powered through and made it to our lovely stayover at the Veterans Memorial Center in Cloverdale. 

Thank you to the neighboring Cloverdale YMCA Pool for allowing us to shower at their facilities, as well as to Logan’s parents for donating a Taco Bell dinner! This far into the ride, we’ve learned to appreciate the revitalizing effect of having showers and food at the end of a long day. 

The next morning saw the efforts of a secret group chat and some sneaky Walmart purchases come to fruition for Ride Leader Appreciation Day, an I4K tradition that recognizes our amazing leadership – Lucas and Olivia – and their tireless work towards ensuring everything goes smoothly for the team during the ride. For our activity, the team went around in a circle and shared some of our favorite memories with our awesome Ride Leaders. As we reflected on what we admired and valued about the individuals who step up and guide us through every day without fail, we realized the unique challenges of being a rider and a leader on a journey like I4K.  

That wasn’t the end of the day’s festivities, though. For one, the team witnessed our final and totally-not-last-minute promposal from Jack to Kavin. Lucas, Olaf, Olivia, and Riddhima also celebrated Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday by riding in matching socks dotted with the US Forest Service icon’s face. Plus, we brewed in excitement for I4Prom in the evening, where we would unveil our themed outfits, award the superlatives we had submitted for our teammates, and spend one last night together as a team. 

We rolled out into some bitingly cold weather, but meeting Izzy’s parents and grabbing a sweet treat from the box of donuts they had generously brought us at the first rest stop made for a great distraction from the elements. Following an obligatory Starbucks detour, the onset of some thankfully warmer weather, and a couple more miles of suburban riding cushioned by the handy infrastructure of consistent bike lanes, we eventually arrived in Petaluma’s charming downtown. 

A major thank you to Izzy for securing us showers at Planet Fitness, as well as to Neal’s mother for graciously donating an In-N-Out dinner to us! Finally getting to try the iconic regional fast food chain was the perfect way to mark one of our last days in California. 

We rushed back to the stayover to get ready for I4Prom, which would be held in the cozy upstairs attic of our lovely stayover at the United Church of Christ. This year’s prom committee (made up of riders who did not attend high school prom) chose the theme we dressed to: states we’ve ridden through. 

Our preparations felt like a hilarious combination of an amateur high school theater crew before opening night and a hastily but lovingly put together farewell party. Surrounded by orange and blue streamers, a fitting Minecraft-themed “Happy Birthday” sign, and shiny balloons that spelled out “Illini 4000” (shoutout to Lucas and Olivia for setting up the beautiful decorations), we all walked down the I4Prom “runway” with our chosen dates, outfits, and songs. The superlative awards commenced shortly after, followed by another I4K tradition – signing each other's jerseys. Then, the dancing began (with glow stick props, may we add!) We’ll let the pictures tell the full story.

We retired to bed at the latest we’ve ever done on the ride (a shocking 10:30pm), ruminating on the strange feeling of knowing you are doing something for the last time – little things like plugging in our phones, laying out our jerseys and bibs, and inflating our sleeping pads feel momentous before a day like tomorrow, which, on the contrary, would be a major first for many of us. As JB succinctly put it last year: “tomorrow needs no briefing. We know where we’re going.” 

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Tommy Gulumian

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling quite good! 

Which chore have you been doing for the team during the ride? Can you share your process doing this chore?

I am wakey wakey, and packy packy! For the audience at home, I am the chore that wakes people up, and I also pack the van in the mornings. My process for waking up, I set an alarm — I actually last night forgot my alarm, but that was the first time I’ve done that — I try to set an alarm 20-25 minutes before our actual scheduled wake-up time. I’ll usually have clothes set out next to me or whatnot. I wake up and I’m just as quiet as I can possibly be. I usually try to find a separate space to sleep, because I don’t want to bother people with my alarm because I wake up so early. But yeah, I wake up a little bit extra early with my chore partner, Kavin, shoutout! We wake up, we get all our stuff ready however we can, and then we go room to room. Earlier in the summer was definitely more about shoulder taps to wake people up, but people are looking more for music now, so we’re trying to find more California related songs… And then, for packy packy — usually what we do is, I’m the person who hands bags to Kavin, who is in the back of the van. He is an expert in organization with those bags, and with the backpacks, our green bags. Every now and again we rotate who’s inside, but I’d say he’s definitely more of the MVP for actual in-the-van packing. We have a whole system set up to make a wall of green, and then the sleeping bags on top. It’s fun, I honestly like doing that, it’s a bit calming in the morning.

What’s the best food you’ve eaten on the ride so far?

I think it was Murdo. There was an establishment that had actually won best burger in South Dakota, and so that was phenomenal. Overall, I’m definitely more appreciative of all of what the churches that we've had throughout this trip have had to offer. And as much as I can say I love the restaurant style food, honestly, it's really nice getting back from a long day and having home cooked food. Like, I definitely appreciate that a lot, so I don't know if I'd rank those one over the other, because it's always nice having what food would be provided to, like, a family. 

Do you have a favorite team memory?

I might honestly go with New York, just because everything was so new. We all like, kind of knew each other, but not entirely, and it was nice just having our first memories, and really planning where to go, and we were on our feet for a good amount of the day. There was a lot that we got done… I was looking at my camera roll, because it’s now stocked full of pictures, and seeing all that I took in New York, it’s like, “that was exciting!” 

Is there anything you’ve learned during the ride that you didn’t expect?

Expect the unexpected. There’s definitely been times where it’s like, you’re getting a really good stride in a day, and then a flat tire just derails wherever you were at. You don’t know what you can expect in a ride. You can try to predict timing and everything — I’m always really big on checking weather, and wind, and where we’re going, and the direction and elevation. Even with all of that, you don’t know what you can’t know. I guess it’s just being aware of the fact that you can’t predict everything. It’s just good to be aware in the moment of what’s going on, have patience and just appreciate the time that we have. Even if it does feel like a slow day, or a colder day, or if there’s so much climbing — we’re only getting each of these days once. I guess I’ve learned to appreciate things that I might’ve had less patience for earlier on. Not exactly that I’m always trying to get to the end point in the destination, but I have a more proper perspective on being appreciative of the day in total, not just the act of biking when we’re on the road. Every bit of it. 

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?

I’m gonna be in O’Hare at six in the morning. I don’t think I’m going to be asleep that night, so it’ll probably be just shower and passing out. Saying hi to my parents, and going right to bed like a bat. I’m just gonna be nocturnal for a day. It’ll probably just be that, just getting to my bed. Showering and getting to my actual, real, not sleeping bag — the mattress!

Anything else you want to talk about?

I didn’t really realize how close we were to the end until we actually finished this ride today. I got an email about my flight, and about checking in 24 hours before, and that’s literally in two days. I have to bike in, and get back on a plane. When I got that email, I had a flashback to the New York flight, and I’m like, “what? I thought this was just my life now!” It’s crazy. 

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