Day 31: Behold, THE CORN PALACE!!! | Sioux Falls, SD to Mitchell, SD

We have to admit that not much changed after we rolled into South Dakota yesterday. Our routes here have straightened into long lines — at times, the team follows the same road for a majority of the ride. As we bike through these expanses of the nation’s agriculture, we find we have a lot of time to think. Today, many of our minds were in reverent anticipation of our unique destination — The World’s Only Corn Palace. An aptly named corn-adorned multipurpose facility and our stayover for the night, The Corn Palace is an undeniable highlight of the ride’s Midwestern stretch. Given we are an organization based in Illinois, there’s nowhere we feel more at home than a stayover whose walls are covered in multicolored corn mural art. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 71.3

Elevation: 1,307’

Ride Dedication: Karen Johnson, Maaike’s late grandma, a breast cancer survivor who often took family trips to South Dakota.

Points of Interest: The Corn Palace.

Quote of the day

“Corn!”

— Olivia

Tales of the Trail

Following Tommy’s morning activity of group trivia, the team rolled out into the linear rural terrain of South Dakota. Although the lack of scenery was sometimes daunting, small things like generally pleasant wind conditions and the occasional field of majestic wild horses kept us going. Plus, now that we have our speakers, there is no shortage of ways to entertain ourselves. Whether it’s a classic hype song or an entire musical soundtrack (a surprising number of team members know every word to “Hamilton”), we appreciate the distraction. 

The majestic wild horses mentioned above, captured a la Joey’s camera.

A rarity this year — AFAB GROUP!!!

Our time on the bikes was ultimately uneventful, which translates to a good day in the I4K sense. At the almost halfway marker of our journey, we’ve gotten to the point where we’re in “the groove” of the ride. This also means that today’s journal entry will be relatively shorter (and Maaike and I will get a healthy amount of sleep).

Michael has found his way back to Emory!

Taking advantage of the shade at a rest stop.

Joey caught lackin’ at a rest stop.

Things got interesting when we finally arrived at The Corn Palace, whose hallowed grounds deserve a paragraph of their own. 

A look into how we transport 18 people’s stuff — a freight elevator!!!

Corn pals at the Corn Palace :D

Ah, The Corn Palace — where to begin? As we rolled into town, it was hard to miss it (for one, it had a gigantic yellow “CORN PALACE” sign with an oversized corn-on-the-cob out in front of it, but that’s beside the point). Its architecture sticks out in its non-adherence to the classic structure of the American downtown that surrounds it, as well as in its constantly changing skin. You see, each year, the talented artists of The Corn Palace choose a new theme — this year’s being famous South Dakotans — and recreate it on the building’s walls with, you guessed it, corn. While that may seem limiting at first, the end result is genuinely artful. The history of The Corn Palace is equally fascinating, grounded in a longstanding acknowledgment of indigenous relationships with Western settlers. Some of the team learned more about that background in a short but insightful 15-minute walking tour of the premises, while others explored the area around it. 

The corniest ride leaders.

This one made Riddhima and I say “awwww” out loud :)

From the corn art, to corn hats that say “shuck yeah!”, to the fact that President Barack Obama has visited this place, we are all in awe of the corn-centered spectacle that this stayover has presented us. Thank you to The Corn Palace for enlightening us with its agricultural extravaganza, and we look forward to more radically new experiences like this to come. 

On our way out to ice cream to end the day right :)

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Kev Murphy

How are you feeling today?

Today was a great day! I love South Dakota so far. It was a good ride, some nice scenery. I mean, it doesn’t look too much different from [the rest of] the Midwest, there’s just a little less corn, and I think that makes it a little prettier, just seeing grass and cows instead of corn and cows. There’s still a lot of corn, I mean, we’re sleeping in a corn palace. But less corn than usual so, it’s cool. You can see for miles on these roads, and the roads are not busy at all.

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

I hosted a live music DJ event to raise money, and it was very successful. We raised over 3,000 dollars. I think it was impactful because it didn’t just help my donation goal, I was able to have teammates help me with that so each teammate that helped got about 300+ dollars for their fundraising goal. So it was really nice that not only I was able to raise a lot of money for my goal and for the cause, but also I was able to help out my teammates, and they were able to help me with that event. I also want to thank my mom for her constant Facebook posts, that really helped with getting me to my donation goal. So thank you mom!

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

My legs just move. It does get tough often. I try to think about it just in the 20 mile, 25 mile stretches of the rest stops, which helps. I’m like, “OK, I only have this many miles to go until I get to hydrate and have a snack,” and this and that. But even that sometimes gets hard. Like the other day, we had that very rough 22 mile stretch — that was probably the worst stretch ever. Read the journal on that day! The day into Spirit Lake, the first 20 miles out of Mankato. Terrible. Terrible. So I think during that, having my teammates really motivated me. Thinking about why we’re doing this, the cause. Anytime something goes wrong, or something isn’t going to plan, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, because we’re doing this for a different reason. Like yeah, we’re biking across the country, but if there’s parts we can’t bike…we’re being able to do something that many people can’t do, and we’re doing something for the fight against cancer. So it’s just having my teammates, and having the cause, helps.

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

Ooh, this is hard. I have a lot of accessories. Every single day I wear my bike earrings. Love them. I have my bike hat, which I love, that I put on after biking. I have pins on my bag on my bike. I put some pins on there, which is my favorite part about my bike…I have an Illini 4000 sticker on my bike, I have an Illini 4000 sticker on my helmet, that’s fun. 

What’s your rest stop routine?

I am so excited when I arrive, my energy like skyrockets. Anytime I see the van in the distance, I’m like, “OMG, that’s SAV,” I’m so excited. So energy skyrockets, I get to the rest stop, I’m a chatter. I chat too much. Then I remember to fill my water. Then I sunscreen. Then I have at least one or two granola bars, and fruit — fruit, grapes, apple, watermelon, whatever, something healthy if it’s available, and then I treat myself at the end to a cookie. A cookie or brownie or something like that. And then I usually have a ton of other things to do, like I forget to sunscreen so I have to sunscreen before I roll out, or I need to refill my water bottles. And then I chat a lot, dance a lot, chat more.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

I’m really excited for San Francisco. It’s really far away, but I’m really excited. Other than that, I’ve never been to the West coast, so I’m excited to see the West coast. I’ve actually never been to South Dakota. So this was kind of a cool spot, the Corn Palace, is kind of a cool spot to be sleeping in. I haven’t been that far West, so this next stretch, it’s what I was really excited for about the ride. Like the first stretch was cool, but now we’re entering the part where like, it’s all the states I haven’t been to, it’s all the national parks. So just in general, I don’t think there’s a particular one other than San Francisco, but I’m just so excited for everything.

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

We’re watching a corn documentary as we’re doing this interview, and I think it’s really stimulating my brain in the right way to be having great answers to this interview. Other than that, we’re sleeping in the Corn Palace, which is crazy. This ride has been an adventure, and every day surprises me, like “oh, we’re sleeping in this spot.” Now it’s like okay, we’re sleeping in a Corn Palace. Or all the people we meet. It’s just so cool, it’s crazy. It’s a crazy adventure, it’s a crazy life, it’s a crazy bike ride.

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

Day 30: Following the line to the falls | Spirit Lake, IA to Sioux Falls, SD

We’ve been warned for weeks about conquering the state of South Dakota. Today, we understood why. Despite riding almost 90 miles, today almost felt like a rest from the days prior, with cross-tailwinds accompanying us almost the entire day. Rather than an extremely difficult physical challenge, the day proved to be much harder mentally, as we spent over 60 miles of the day riding on one road in a completely straight line. As teammates, we’re growing stronger and more unified than ever, from supporting one another on the bike to candidly sharing our bathroom activities. Let our week in South Dakota begin!

ride overview

Mileage: 88.9

Elevation: 2,619’

Each day, the team takes a moment in our morning circle to dedicate the ride to someone who has experienced, or is currently experiencing, cancer. Riddhima and I have decided to begin including these dedications in the daily journals. If there is anyone you would like us to ride for, feel free to leave a comment.

Ride Dedication: Molly McDermott, the sister of a friend of Claudia. Molly was recently diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

Points of Interest: Triple View Drive-In, Sioux Falls Bicycle Company, Sioux Falls

quote of the day

“If you can’t shower in under five minutes, we will shave your head. New rule.”

— Dylan

tales of the trail

When we began our cross country bike ride, our teammate Neal was constantly singing a song from a movie he watched before leaving for New York, Smokey and the Bandit. It goes a little something like this:

East bound and down,

Loaded up and truckin’,

We gonna do what they say can’t be done.

We’ve got a loooong way to go,

And a short time to get there,

I’m east bound, just watch ol’ Bandit run.

We chugged up and down the Appalachian mountains along the East coast, and without fail, Neal could not stop singing this song. So, we did what we had to do — and watched the movie. Now, all eighteen team members can sing “East Bound and Down” from heart, and it’s become a team favorite, even if the movie wasn’t exactly a cinematic masterpiece.

So why do I bring this up, when we are very much rolling West, and none of us are planning on future careers as truckers? Believe it or not, we feel that this earworm represents our journey across the country fairly accurately. The van is loaded up and truckin’, we’ve got a looooong way to go  — and a short time to get there, if we want to get enough rest for the next day of riding. But most importantly — we’re gonna do what they say can’t be done. There are days where this trip is daunting. Seeing a 90 mile day, following a 101 mile day, which was preceded by a 95 mile day, was daunting. But, like the endless cancer patients and survivors we ride for, we’re gonna do what they say can’t be done. Boy did we push today.

Luckily, we had a fairly uneventful ride compared to the adventures of yesterday’s century. Our morning started with an activity from Logan, who hosted a fix-a-flat presentation, demonstrated on his own bike with his brilliantly pink tubes. Logan’s expertise earned him a round of applause from the team — we truly don’t know where we’d be without our trusty mechanic. We rolled out to six miles of Spirit Lake, and then turned on to State Highway 9, a road we would soon get to know very well.

An attentive circle around Logan’s morning activity.

Joey captures the bell in front of our stayover last night, which we of course rang after our daily morning chant.

The battle of rerouting around flooding was much less intense than the day before. We hit one small ocean early in the ride, but thankfully found very few problems after that. The water may be a small issue for us on our bike trip, but the flooded farm fields that steadily rolled in and out of our field of vision reminded us of the huge impact they have on people's lives. The damage we’ve seen has left a mark in our memories, and while it may drive us to a ride a few extra miles, this is little compared to the other issues they are causing. We’re thinking of the people in the Midwest who have seen damaged property and other problems caused by the flooding we’ve witnessed.

Olaf and Michael survey the day’s flooding.

Even when we’re rolling through endless farm fields, we still manage to find little gems here and there. About 40 miles in, we hit one of our favorite food spots on the trip so far, the Triple View Drive-In. We filled up on burgers and ice cream, and pinned ourselves on yet another map of the United States! Huge thanks to the Drive-In for their delicious treats and very reasonable prices. We also rolled our way past the South Dakota state border and got another classic I4K sign picture. We enjoyed our small stay in Iowa, but were somewhat okay with leaving its endless flooding and very long day of riding behind.

Kev makes sure to represent Illinois on the map!

Neil makes sure to consume his daily protein intake.

Kev, Joey, Olivia, Logan…

…Jack, Anthony, and Emma roll into South Dakota!

We’ve arrived safe and sound at our destination here in Sioux Falls, and enjoyed having some free time this afternoon as opposed to the past couple of days. We stopped by the Sioux Falls Bicycle Company for some spare equipment and repairs, and journeyed to the falls themselves for a little bit of sightseeing after dinner. Tomorrow will be a much shorter day — only 71 miles, yippee! — which our bodies dearly need. We’re looking forward to our somewhat longer stretch here in South Dakota as we get closer to being halfway done with the ride, and thank you again for following along with us :)

A very excited Maaike looks out on the waterfalls!

The team takes it all in.

Shoutout to Joey and his camera for the gorgeous landscape shots :)

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Kavin Prashaad

How are you feeling today?

Pretty good. It was a good ride. Good dinner. Good nap. I have a headache though, from when I hit my head doing pull ups. But, yeah, good! 

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

When me and Tommy were out on the quad, we sold a bunch of Curtis Orchard donuts and a bunch of Jewel cookies and a bunch of other stuff. We were out there for like literally all day and it was hot that day and I was twirling around a big whiteboard… I don’t think we raised that much, but it was still cool!

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

I think about it case-by-case. Each ride is different and my reasons for each are different. Usually, I want to ride and I like to ride when I feel good and I have the energy and I’m motivated or if I know it’s gonna be an interesting route or whatever. I don’t necessarily force myself to ride if it gets hard, because logically it doesn’t make a lot of sense – I’m here to help fight cancer... Whether or not I am or am not riding any particular day doesn’t affect that. If I really don’t want to ride, I don’t push myself to ride because it’s probably not good for my body or my energy or my attitude! So, I don’t know, I just listen to whatever I want to do for the day. As far as what pushes me to want to ride, just in general, I like to ride and it’s usually nicer outside than inside. Also, the mission is important so I think about that – but I also think about that when I’m in the van too, so that’s not too specific or particular to just riding.

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

I don’t have many accessories. I mean, I wear my watch and I wear these bracelets, so I guess just that.

What’s your rest stop routine?

Usually, I take my gloves off, helmet off, hand sanitize. Then, that’s about it. I’ll go inside whatever building that we’re at, assuming there’s a building there, because there’ll probably be air conditioning and that’s nice. Go to the bathroom. Go buy a drink or something. Yeah, there’s not much of a routine past the first 20 seconds! Somewhere in there I’ll fill up my bottle, and then that’s about it.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

I don’t even know all the places that we’re visiting! I haven’t checked that since we found out, I’m pretty sure. I was trying to kind of have it be a surprise during the week-of because we usually find out during the week-of… the national parks… the Redwoods, the Grand Tetons. All the nature places! 

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

Day 29: How did we get here? | Mankato, MN to Spirit Lake, IA

(Alternate title: The Adventurey Century!)

When the going gets tough, the tough get biking. Riddhima and I have done our best to not keep too much of a positivity bias with our journalism — we save the pretty things for the Instagram — which means when things are hard, we’re going to admit they’re hard. Today was quite possibly the definition of hard. After a 95-ish mile day yesterday, we conquered an official century today, with a ride that was intended to be 101 miles — but ended up having multiple detours due to continuous flooding in Minnesota and northern Iowa. The beauty of this journey is getting through these harder days, and being able to appreciate our teamwork at the end of the day. As I just heard Izzy say outside in the hall, “I’m in shambles, but like, I’m fine.”

Ride Overview

Mileage: 101.7

Elevation: 2,240’

Points of Interest: Minnesota River, Grogan, MN, W Mankato Trail, Le Sueur River, Blue Earth River, Mills Lake, Saint James Lake, Watline Trail, Elm Creek, Des Moines River, Spirit Lake

Quote(s) of the day

“While we’re just standing here, why don’t I grab as many worms as I can and just put them in my hand. It’ll make a great pic!” - Olaf

“I ride with Kavin for ONE day, and I end up on top of a random mountain.” - Neal

“Some days you master the route, other days the route masters you.” - Maaike

“Medically speaking, this thang can’t thang right now.” - Claudia

“I’ve never been applauded for flushing the toilet before.” - Anthony

Tales of the Trail

Our day began with a delicious breakfast provided by the Hosanna Lutheran Church in Mankato, which fueled us well for our long day ahead. We got our morning activity from Kavin today, who had us pair off and create a handshake to do at every rest stop along our ride. This proved to be a great idea, as a ride of over 100 miles requires many stops. We set off knowing that our day might become a bit complicated due to the flooding we’d seen yesterday, having been warned to expect more. 

Mornings are hard.

For this next portion of the journal, I need you to picture these events with a dramatic Hans Zimmer soundtrack. Things are about to get adventurous. Ready? Helmets on, let’s go!

We started the day with three groups, who gave themselves team names after the first stretch of the ride (about 22.5 miles): Team Easy-Way-Out, Team Reroute, and Team Commit (it’s worth noting that Team Commit quickly renamed to Team Regret. More on that in a minute). Our first obstacle came only seven miles in, as our main road became completely submerged underwater. Team Commit, as our name states, committed to squelching across this stretch. Teams Reroute and Easy-Way-Out wisely routed around the small lake formation. 

Some of the squelching mentioned above.

On a later detour, all three teams encountered a fallen bridge across our bike trail. Team Commit — unfortunately — committed, and squelched once again through about three miles of incredibly deep mud, which promptly turned Dylan’s white cleats a shade of brown that they will likely stay forever. Team Reroute again wisely rerouted, finding us a safe detour to the rest stop using on-the-spot mapping skills. Team Easy-Way-Out, probably the most wise in this situation, called on SAV and shuttled to the first stop.

Neal and Michael wishing our team name was I4Kanoe.

Our second stretch of the ride proved to be equally adventurous, as we were forced to reroute yet again due to a flooded downtown area. We received our first official I4K police escort of the ride, as we were kindly accompanied along a very short stretch of the interstate in a mega group consisting of the entire team. We were then treated to a very uneventful portion of the glorious farm fields of Minnesota — the flat expanses of corn were a welcome reminder of home.

Our carriage awaits!

The mega-group, captured by Logan.

Stretch three brought fewer adventures for the team, and perhaps more so for SAV. Because we can’t ever have a peaceful moment in I4K, while the team enjoyed a fairly uneventful segment of riding, the van found itself stuck for the second time this year. 

Jack, Claudia, and Emma get ready for the van to be towed!

The rest of the ride saw much less chaos, despite some small sprinkles of rain and extremely powerful headwinds. We’re starting to get to a difficult portion of the ride that many have warned us about — while the climbs in the Midwest are few and far between, the flat plains leave little to look at and entertain ourselves with. Biking on a straight road for miles on end can be a huge mental challenge, which we are still working together to combat. We worked on our therapeutic screaming, listened to everything from Hamilton to Taylor Swift, and played some surprisingly low-scoring games of “My Cow.” As we hit the final dozen or so miles, the focus came more on encouraging one another and not falling off the bike, which can be much more difficult than it sounds. We’ve rarely been so excited and exhausted when we hit a stayover as we were today.

One of many obstacles we met today, this time in the form of road construction!

Izzy, Riddhima, and Dylan demonstrate the tried and tested rest stop routine of simply lying down.

Lucas, Izzy, Kev, Emma, and Dylan roll into Iowa!

A picture from the last stretch of the ride. Don’t be fooled — those bodies of water aren’t lakes, but flooding.

Our singular night in Iowa is being hosted by the First Presbyterian Church here in Spirit Lake, where we have been showered with amazing food and endless kindness. I know we sound like a broken record at the end of these journals every night, but the love we see from people across the country is really amazing. Riding through so many different states and areas, it’s such a beautiful thing to find kindness everywhere, without fail. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the members of the First Presbyterian Church as well as every single person who has hosted us, cooked for us, provided us with showers (you’re not only serving us but the whole community with that one) for everything you have done. We’re off to bed before another long day tomorrow, where we will spend 63 miles of our ride in a completely straight line as we roll from Spirit Lake to Sioux Falls. This will hopefully mean a less eventful day — we have to admit, today felt like enough adventure for quite a while.

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Joey Shepin

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling very tired. We had a century today. I didn’t bike the entire thing, but it was still really hot and humid and it was pretty rewarding to do. I think I did like 85 miles so I’m pretty happy with that, but I’m super tired and ready to go to sleep!

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

I think one of the most impactful fundraising experiences that I had was from some of my friends that were really close to me. They didn’t have a ton to donate because they’re college students, but it meant a lot to me to tell them about what I was doing and they were so supportive… Their donations meant a lot to me because they’re people that I’ve known for so long and I really appreciated that. They knew that what I was doing was gonna impact a lot of people and I’m really happy that they supported me. 

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

For me, it’s small goals. I’ll set a destination – Wall, South Dakota is one of them – and when it gets tough, I think about just getting to that next spot. I feel really happy when I make these increments. Just also thinking about the cause that we’re supporting gives me encouragement, and I think it’s also knowing that it’s a personal challenge for myself. Everyone on this team, it’s a personal challenge in their own unique way… and our team has proven that we’re great at biking, so just thinking about our track record and how much we’ve trained for this… I know that we can do it, so being able to push through sometimes – I think that goes a long way. 

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

At the start of the ride it was my UV sleeves, and maybe I should start wearing them again because I got sunburned today and I can’t imagine how it happened because I put on sunscreen so many times! But, my favorite ride accessory is probably my camera… it’s a little precarious carrying around such a fragile object, but being able to take a photo with like a nice high quality I think is really fun sometimes and I get some cool photos.

What’s your rest stop routine?

It usually involves laying on the floor for a little bit, for like a minute. And then once that period is over, just like the usual – water, sunscreen. And then, sometimes I’m not super talkative at the rest stops, I just like to be in my own space. I know some people love to talk or do stuff but sometimes I’m just like more secluded at the rest stops because I’m just trying to relax and rest. But I think laying on the ground is a really great way to spend your time at the rest stop! Sometimes I’ll take photos if it’s at a pretty spot, people doing goofy things, or just like the landscape, or whatever I think could be cool. 

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

At this point in the ride, it’s Wall, South Dakota, and we’re almost there! The Corn Palace looks incredible and I’m so excited to go there. And then after that, it would be the national parks. I think Yellowstone is up there. I think we’re all excited for the West, as people have been telling us all along, that’s really where a lot of excitement on the trip and natural beauty [is]. But in the short term, it’s Wall.

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

Dollar Generals are amazing. The prices are crazy low. And, today I drank half a gallon of whole milk in a couple minutes and it was a big mistake! So don’t do that! 

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

Day 28: Wet socks in Waterville | Rochester, MN to Mankato, MN

In the simplest of terms, we got wet. It turns out that torrential downpours have consequences, which often take the form of widespread flooding. Many Minnesotans we spoke to warned us of deep puddles and fallen trees on the paths we were taking. Their words gave way to our direct experiences – we rode past overflowing lakes and roads blocked by errant water. This meant a lot of wading and rerouting, as well as soaked socks, squelchy cleats, and splattered backs. Ultimately, though, we ended the day dry and with the sense of another day accomplished. Our bellies are full and we have a roof over our heads, two things that we have learned not to take for granted. We look ahead to a century tomorrow and our rolling into South Dakota, the final Midwestern state of the ride. 

ride overview

Mileage: 94.8

Elevation: 2,228’

Points of Interest: Cascade Lake, Douglas State Trail, Middle Fork Zumbro River, Straight River, Cannon River, Sakatah Lake State Park, Waterville, MN, Elysian, MN, Richland Town Hall, Singing Hills Trail, Scoops Ice Cream

quote(s) of the day

“Susan B. Anthony would have wanted me to fart.” - Emma

“I fully intend to be in The Oval Office in my lifetime.” - Neal

tales of the trail

This morning, we opened a series of handwritten cards we had received from The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, one of our beneficiaries. Various families had written thanking us for our donations, showing us pictures from their lives and telling us their cancer stories. There are many moments on the ride where our organization’s mission takes the forefront of our minds, set apart from the physical challenges of biking across the country. As we read these families’ words aloud and felt the significance of our work wash over us, this was one of those moments. 

Following that, we of course proceeded with our morning activity – decided once again by me! I had the team split up into groups and choreograph original moves to a section of the song “Karma” by Jojo Siwa. I then judged which choreography creation was the best. Seeing each group interpret the song in their own endearingly offbeat way was highly entertaining for everyone, and kept spirits high in light of our early wake-up and long mileage. 

Emma, Olivia, Claudia, Kev, and Logan show off their moves. We apologize in advance to any passersby who had to witness this with absolutely no context at six in the morning.

The initial stretch of the ride was much like that of the Minnesota we had loved the day before – foggy and forested hills slumped over expansive green squares of rolling farmland. Our first rest stop was at a road obstructed by flooding. The water formed somewhat of a river over the asphalt and was actually quite picturesque. We ate fresh watermelon generously donated by our stayover from the night before and took in the first sign of the terrain to come. 

Olivia and Maaike enjoy watermelon slices by the flooded road.

The landscape then transitioned into the more mundane. We rode by some minute town halls, their modest quarters defined only by humble plaques indicating their purposes. The sun brightened its gaze above us as we made progress on these country roads. A few groups opted to ride in the steady silence we had grown accustomed to before we earned music privileges, while others passed the time with some energizing tunes. 

A classic side-of-the-road rest stop, which will grow increasingly common as we head to the sparsely populated and spread-out West. Note Joey absolutely tearing up that bag of shredded cheese.

We eventually made a turn onto a bicycle trail, which always serves as a break from the constant looking back of car traffic. This time, however, we had to keep watch for stretches of flooding or collapsed trees. Our Slack channel, I4K’s staple form of communication, was active with groups noting certain obstacles to go around or be careful when crossing. At worst, we got our lower bodies wet with the water and dirt that our tires would throw up at us. Generally, though, we made it through safely and in lighthearted moods. After the events of previous days, getting a little bit wet and muddy feels like a minor inconvenience to us. 

Dylan, Anthony, and Maaike haul their bikes over one of the many fallen trees we encountered today.

Lucas, Izzy, and Emma enjoy the otherwise interrupted paths of the bike trail.

At a Dairy Queen rest stop, we aired out our sopping wet cleats and socks outside and spoke with some helpful locals to plan for the upcoming road conditions. After that, we felt a little more comfortable tackling the expected fallen tree or deep puddle here and there. We followed the trails for a decent amount of time, allowing us to make quick pace of the last few miles with relative ease. 

Finally, we arrived at Hosanna Church, our generous stayover in Mankato. They greeted us warmly with an enticing array of snacks and a helping hand with unpacking the van. We were then driven to Bethany Lutheran College, who kindly opened up their showers to us. An enormous thank you to our hosts for making sure us and our belongings are clean and dry, especially after a long day like this one! We are also incredibly grateful for our donated dinner, without which we would not have the energy to tackle the mileage of tomorrow’s century. 

We ended the night with a Portrait the team did with a few church members. With that, today was quintessentially Illini 4000. We bookended our day with reminders of why we get up and bike such long distances each day, from the letters we read in the morning to the firsthand stories we heard at our stayover. Many of us have reached a point in the ride where its reality has finally set in. We’re actually doing it – we’re biking across the country, and we get to make a unique impact on so many people’s lives as we do so. We could not be more in awe of the work this team is carrying out to fulfill the mission of our organization. 

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Izzy Perpich

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing well. Yeah, I feel pretty good. We’re in Minnesota, I have a lot of family here. It’s been a great stayover in Mankato, really awesome people. We just heard some awesome stories from a few people here at the church, their cancer experiences. Today we had great weather — besides the flooding, that was pretty intense. But yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. Just getting ready to slumber!

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

As a college student, time can be limited, so you really have to select where you’re gonna put your time, and obviously take a lot of time to fundraise, but it’s all very important. It feels great to be able to help so many people. I feel like some of the events that stand out as very memorable — I ran concessions at basketball games, which I know a lot of people did on the team, but those were about five to eight hours on a random Tuesday…it was kind of fun because we could see some of the basketball game… We had a couple hockey fundraisers, like with the women’s hockey team — that’s my team as well when I’m not doing I4K stuff, I’m on that club team. It was really fun to be present at the game, and just bringing together two passions, that was really a good time. We did chuck-a-puck in between periods… chuck-a-puck just always is a vibe.

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

It’s a lot of biking. I think it was mainly just having the exposure from training rides that made it doable. So shout out to our leaders from I4K at the school! But I think on a day-to-day basis, just trying to take it one segment at a time — we do it in about 20 mile segments. And then just talking with the people in your group, checking in, laughing, cracking jokes, listening to music now that we can do that, always lifts spirits. I know rest stops are a motivator for me because we have lots of fun snacks in the van. I feel like when it gets hard, I know everyone’s really accepting if we want to pull off and take a break… Most of the time, I feel like it can be enjoyable when it’s flat and not uphill. So just talk with friends and hang out. And it’s also really pretty, so just looking around. Most of the time. Recently in Wisconsin and Minnesota, it’s been pretty.

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

I have Chicago socks that my dad got me for my birthday before the trip started. I feel like they’re like, cool homesick socks. I feel like I’m bringing that Chicago pride around the country. They have the stripes and the four red stars, and I wear those a lot… I have these Machines for Freedom bibs — they don’t make this brand anymore, but I got them from the gear program, and they’re amazing quality. I have my pink helmet too. So that’s my bicycle style.

What’s your rest stop routine?

So I lay my bike out, chain up. Don’t you worry Logan, the chain is up. Usually I have to pump air in my tire, because I have a slow leak. I eat like, three different types of snacks. I probably have one sweet little snack, one salty snack, and then probably more. I check in with the other teammates that are not on my team for the day, just say hi, because you don’t get to really see people a lot unless you ride with them. And yeah, I talk with Claudia as well. Fill the water bottles, that’s a classic.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

This whole time, I’ve just been like, “Oregon. I can see it now.” I feel like it’s in the Pacific Northwest, parts are desert, parts are forest… I’m really stoked for the whole state of Oregon that we’re going through. But I’m also really excited for all the national parks like Grand Tetons, Rainier, Crater Lake. I feel like there’s just so many pretty areas that — living in the Midwest — we don’t really explore very often. I think that’s gonna be big for a lot of us. But I would say first and foremost, Oregon. 

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

I’m just really grateful for, honestly, Logan’s family’s beef jerky. [It] has gotten me through a lot of hard times on the ride, so shout out to them. And also, thanks for reading and supporting Illini 4000. And I hope you have a great day!

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

Day 26 & 27: When it rains, it pours | La Crosse, WI to Rochester, MN

What number state are we on now? Welcome to Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and a LOT of water. We had a great time playing in the mud, crossing the Mississippi river, and getting some long climbs in as we rolled to Rochester. Unfortunately, our adventure was cut short by some severe thunderstorms, which forced us to shuttle the last 14 miles of Friday’s ride (always better safe than sorry). We enjoyed a lovely rest day today, and saw some of the sights in our last big city for quite a while. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 81.9

Elevation: 2,686’

Points of Interest: La Crosse Hy-Vee, Trempealeau Public Cemetery, Great River State Trail, Onalaska WI, The Mississippi River, Entering Minnesota (!!!), Winona MN, The Blooming Grounds Coffee House, Viola MN, Rochester MN, The Mayo Clinic, Midwest Vintage Toys, Janky Gear, Central Park, Rochester Cycling, New Spin Bicycle Shop

Quote of the day

““I’m gonna do flash cards. The MCAT waits for no one.” ”

— Emma, while stopped on the side of the road for a bike repair

Tales of the Trail

Friday morning saw overcast skies and an ominous weather forecast. We bundled up in our rain jackets and took to the trails with excitement, after a quick morning activity from Claudia. Claudia, president of UIUC’s Crossword Club, had us split into small groups and complete the daily New York Times mini crossword — some teams had much more success than others. We rolled onto the trails for the first portion of the ride again, and saw a more or less completely dry first stretch.

An artsy pic of SAV, looking out into the distance. Probably thinking deeply about whatever support vans think about.

Our first rest stop brought us a beautiful surprise at the somewhat spooky site of a foggy cemetery (we’ll stop to snack anywhere and everywhere!). Our lovely van crew for the day had stopped at a local Hy-Vee to pick up our staples of pasta and peanut butter, and received a food donation of truly too many baked goods to count. We had an amazing picnic full of muffins, cake, bread, and cookies — all of which was quickly covered when it started to rain on us. Our team is happy to embrace every type of weather — a lesson we learned quickly after the downpours of our first day in New York City — and we splashed through the trails energetically as ever as we rolled through our last few miles of Wisconsin.

Tommy and Kavin with the Hy-Vee haul. Fun fact, the conversation leading to this donation began with someone complimenting Kavin’s Scooby Doo shirt.

Izzy, Logan, Olaf, and Joey feasting on our baked goods.

Bridge pic! Credits to Olaf for being the fabulous photographer.

Bridge pic part 2, but this time as a classic Emma 0.5.

We crossed the Mississippi river shortly before our second rest stop, and were abruptly welcomed into Minnesota by a delicious coffee shop and a flat tire for Logan. The rain let up and gave us a break as we stopped at a gas station for snack refills and our first MinneSODAs of the trip (see what I did there?). The landscape of Minnesota has proved to be beautiful so far, with huge rolling hills and small towns in between. We’re reminded of Illinois but with some sort of elevation — not nearly as aggressive as the Appalachians, but enough to give us an equally beautiful view.

Logan managed to captured the effects of the mud. We’re so glad he did.

Another angle of our muddy backs, captured at the intersection of Minnesota and Wisconsin!

Riddhima and Claudia welcome you to Minnesota City!

The past two days of our trip, we’ve had some lovely Wisconsin stayovers, but have been largely unable to shower. Apparently, the weather gods above decided we smelled a little too bad, because oh my goodness did we get the shower of a lifetime. As we rolled out of our third rest stop, the rain began to pour relentlessly. The pros of this? A free bike cleaning! The cons? The thunder and lightning that quickly followed. Our small groups pulled off wherever they could — one group was incredibly lucky to be sheltered in the garage of a very kind family just outside Viola, thank you for keeping us safe!!! We waited for SAV to retrieve us and our bicycles and shuttle us to the stayover, and took the opportunity to meet a lovely cat and some equally lovely people.

Taking shelter from the rain with the newest member of the team, Priscilla!

Neal, Olivia, and Michael staying as dry as they can!

The stayover itself has provided us with a large and beautiful space, which has allowed us to spread out last night and during our rest day here in Rochester. As we journey across the country, we’re running into assorted family members of our riders — we saw Logan’s family in La Crosse, and Izzy’s family was incredibly kind in providing dinner for us last night. We had a watch party of a documentary of the first ever Illini 4000 team in the summer of 2007. It’s amazing to see where this organization started and where we are now — still advocating for a beautiful cause, sharing lots of love, and eating many PB & Js. 

Our stayover has a “playground room.” Where there is a playground, one must play. We don’t make the rules.

A huge thank you to the grandpas of I4K for helping clean SAV last night — yes, I am including this photo as proof that we do clean our van.

We took our rest day today as a genuine day of rest — less sight-seeing, more sleeping, eating, and visiting the assorted bike shops of Rochester. We made McDonald's runs, saw some movies, did laundry, and cleaned bikes. Some members of the team ventured to the nearby Mayo Clinic for a self-guided tour — it’s awesome to be staying so close to such an important hospital!!! I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves and include a mini-photo diary of the day we had.

Neal and his chocolate milk hit up Planet Fitness for a quick workout — the grind never stops.

Lucas got a fresh haircut, courtesy of Olaf.

Kev went out on the town and visited an antique store!

Movie theater gang found a reminder that Illinois is with us wherever we go.

We enjoyed an amazing meal provided by our stayover hosts, as well as visit from 2013 rider and 2016 ride leader Catherine Kemp! It’s always lovely to chat with past riders who have experienced the journey we’re taking right now. We loved hearing her advice, her stories, and some encouragement for the miles ahead. Tomorrow begins an eight day stretch of riding, which will bring us to two new states and even a corn palace! We look forward to some (hopefully) drier weather and more beautiful people and places :) 

Lucas, Olivia, and Catherine — when ride leaders collide!

Anthony found our team and route being shown in the lobby of our stayover :D thank you again to the First Presbyterian Church of Rochester!

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Emma Darbro

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling good! I put the “rest” in “rest day” today and took it very easy. That has not always been the case for all our other rest days, but rest days are when I feel like a normal person. I went to Walmart and a bike store and watched some junky TV, so, feeling good! 

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

During winter break, I called businesses like it was a full-time job. My mom works from home, and so when she would clock in at seven o’clock in the morning I would clock in too, and we would sit in different rooms and I would call people all day long. I struck some gold with DICK’S House of Sport in Champaign and they did an in-kind donation for a gift card, but we were able to directly pass it off to one of our beneficiaries, the Prairie Dragon Paddlers. I found out that they were able to use that to buy life jackets from there for their Friends and Family Day that they have in the fall… they let us come paddle with them as well, so we really saw firsthand that it’s something that is tangible and helpful for them so that they don’t have to go by on their own now with their own funds… it was a really fun experience for me, and I’m excited for their families to get that too with the life jackets and be safe! 

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

We’ve done I think seven or eight Portraits so far and I’ve helped with the majority of them — I do the paperwork or the logistics since I am the Portraits chore. Majority of them, whether it’s current patients or survivors or family members, have been impacted by breast cancer — that is the predominant cancer we’ve come across… and the common consensus on a lot of these Portraits is, “oh, I didn’t know enough” or “my doctors didn’t provide the best advice,” so I think about those women a lot and I think about how I am fighting for them and fighting for equity in the healthcare system. When bikes were used in the suffrage movement, Susan B. Anthony said bikes have done more to emancipate women than anything else, and I think we are still emancipating women and emancipating all people who are impacted by breast cancer. Bikes fighting for women times two! 

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

I love my pink bandana. Neal recently taught me how to use it properly. I’m very embarrassed by some of the photos that have been taken of me without my helmet prior to Champaign because I really didn’t know how to wear it! So I love that, and I have a bracelet that my boss gave me from the Women’s Resources Center for Violence Prevention Professionals Appreciation Week, and it says “I love consent.” And I made another one that says “Illini 4K!” So those are my favorites — they’re getting a little stretched out from all the swimming, all the water, all the submersion we’ve been doing lately, but it’s a good problem to have so we’ll preserve them. They’re little reminders of home, of pre-I4K Emma and how excited she was for everything. 

What’s your rest stop routine?

First, I just thank my legs for getting me there! Like, “thank you legs for getting me these last 20 miles!” I check in with everyone and make sure their last 20 miles have been as splendid as mine have, because I feel like if I don’t see my teammates at rest stops I don’t see them at all if I’m not biking with them. We get to the stayover and I’m like, “where have you been?” So that’s my rest stop — I go be social and then I actually take care of my human needs and get myself a snack. I try to do one savory, one sweet, I try to balance it out. I’m always a little slow! The three most important things — bathroom, water, sunscreen — those always get done last, and like maybe we need to bump those up a little bit!  

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

I’m looking forward to the places that have snow. I’m a Florida baby in that essence because I’ve never seen snow in the summertime — we don’t live where that happens. But I know it does happen and it’s like somewhere in Wyoming maybe? I’m very excited for Wyoming! There’s not a lot of people there, but there’s a lot of land, and I want to make a snowball. 

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

I was wrong about Wisconsin… I think it had a lot to do with all the bodies of water we were in or near that made me love it so much. My sister has lived in Wisconsin for so many years and I was really hung up on the fact that she betrayed Illinois to go to Wisconsin, and I was like “Wisconsin has nothing on Illinois!” We spent two days in Illinois and they both looked the same. We spent four days in Wisconsin and all of them looked totally different, and I’m like “maybe there’s some biodiversity here!”

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

Day 25: A taste of adventure | Reedsburg, WI to La Crosse, WI

Our time in Wisconsin has proven to be a pleasant surprise. Each successive day here unveiled more and more of the area’s considerable natural beauty, as well as the joys of eating dairy (apologies to our lactose-intolerant readers). Today saw us finishing up the last of our riding through the state, and it was undoubtedly memorable. We enjoyed a route of mostly bike trails and found a bit of adventure in the old railroad tunnels that interrupted them. Tomorrow, we move forward from Wisconsin and head into Minnesota – “L'Étoile du Nord” (in English, “the star of the North”). 

ride overview

Mileage: 82.4

Elevation: 1,618’

Points of Interest: The Elroy Commons, Norwalk, WI, Bailey’s Diner, 400 State Trail, Elroy-Sparta State Trail, The Pearl Ice Cream Parlor

quote(s) of the day

“If you ever wonder what I’m thinking about, one-third of the time it’s just ‘Gangnam Style.’” - Izzy

*Nervously starts playing the drums on the water cooler* - Olaf

tales of the trail

Today’s morning activity was decided by Lucas, who required each of us to take a selfie with every member of the team. If you witnessed us scurrying around a parking lot deliriously giggling and rapidly snapping selfies with each other, you’d think that the current generation was doomed. The reality of the situation is that any morning beginning at 5:40am is in need of some sort of pick-me-up – this one just happened to take up a lot of spots in everyone’s camera rolls. 

One of the many selfies taken this morning, featuring Lucas and Olivia (and some of the chaos in the background).

Around 90% of the day’s route would keep us on bike trails, much to our delight. To be specific, the trails we would be riding on are called rail trails: paths for walking or bicycling that were formerly railways for trains. The Elroy-Sparta State Trail is unique in that it maintains three 140-year-old railroad tunnels interspersed throughout its path. These tunnels are pitch-dark and dripping wet, meaning we had to walk our bikes through all of them – the longest one being almost a mile long. 

A classic morning mega-group.

While that may sound miserable, it’s actually incredibly awesome. Each tunnel had our mouths agape in pure amazement – walking through an old train underpass was a first for many of us. Our tiny bicycle lights cast their glow upon the tunnels’ layered calcium insides, which would sometimes transition into old brickwork. The floor of each tunnel was a mess of watery, gravely indentations and drooped on either side, guiding our eyes to running streams of water collected from the trickling ceilings. Sometimes we would wander through in pure silence, nothing but sounds of our clip-clopping cleats and water hitting the ground around us. Other times, we blasted our music into the tunnels’ vast echoes (“Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd was found to be a particularly fitting song for one group). We emerged from each tunnel into the contrast of the trail’s rich greenery, feeling like lost underground explorers who had rediscovered the surface. 

Olaf, Maaike, Dylan, and Neal take in the first of the tunnels…

…Lucas and Jack in a tunnel’s depths…

…Kavin, Tommy, Kev, Izzy, Anthony, and Emma surface from a tunnel.

It rained lightly for some part of the day, but these showers thankfully had more of a cooling effect than the usual “my socks are sopping wet” effect. Despite some dodgy surface conditions at times, groups worked together to avoid the worst of what the trail had to offer. 

Maaike captures the foggy aftermath of the rainy conditions.

At our second rest stop, we stopped in Norwalk (the black squirrel capital of the world, according to the welcome sign!) for some delicious Mexican food at Bailey’s Diner. As we ease into the routine of the ride, we’ve learned to balance the rewards of an enticing rest stop with the demands of cycling – we’re relieved to say this was not a repeat of the pancake incident. We also pulled off at a cool bicycle store in Sparta.

Maaike makes Champaign’s mark on the map!

We love Sparta(‘s bike trails) <3

More pleasant trails took us all the way to our lovely stayover in La Crosse, First Presbyterian Church. Adorably small rabbits darted out in between our wheels, a charming experience complemented by the gentle Wisconsin landscape that dotted either side of the path. After we arrived at the church, we made sure to give ourselves and our bikes a good rinse from everything that had stuck to us during our adventures. 

Thank you to Domino’s for generously donating pizzas, as well as to Izzy and Olaf, dinner chore partners, for making us a delicious meal of lentils and pasta. We of course followed this with some ice cream from The Pearl Ice Cream Parlor downtown (thank you to Logan’s aunt for the recommendation!), which Maaike and I believe is the best ice cream place we’ve visited on the ride thus far. Finally, a massive thank you to Wisconsin for treating us well, from your gorgeous scenery to your delectable food. 

In answer to a comment from a reader, here is Lucas in his iconic Chamois Butt’r shirt!

A rare find in the wild — a bib and jersey tree.

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Dylan Hendrixson

How are you feeling today?

Feeling good. I liked the Elroy-Sparta Trail. I rode on the path, so it was nice to do that again. It was nice to be on trails all day.

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

I feel like most of my fundraising was friends and family. But it was nice just reaching out and hearing the support, like “oh, you’re doing this crazy thing.”

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

It’s hard every morning, waking up. You immediately feel the soreness, and you’re like, “I don’t know how I can do this.” But I kind of tell myself, the first 20. You’ve gotta keep telling yourself, just this next little bit. Eventually the day’s over, and you’re like “oh, it wasn’t so bad.” It’s worse in the moment, it feels like you can’t do it, but you always can. So I guess there’s not something really in particular that motivates me, it’s more than I chunk it out into small little bits. I do think the music, talking to people, distracting yourself, it kind of flies by. I like the country music, rap, the 2010s pop music is pretty good too. 

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

I wear the sun sleeves, like most people. I also have the gaiter, which is more for the sun. Then I have my cycling cap.

What’s your rest stop routine?

First, I fill my water bottles, because I always feel like if I don’t have those, it’s a bad ride. And then, after that, it’s snack. I try to get everything done, so I can relax. That’s my perspective on it.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

I didn’t realize we were doing the [Elroy-Sparta] Trail, so I’m really happy we did this trail. I still think the Tetons are probably my top. Also, I think Crater Lake will be cool to see. I haven’t been to Crater Lake or Mount Rainier, so I think those would be two cool ones to see. I’m not sure if we’re camping those days, that would be a cool experience. It’s probably going to be hard with the rollout, but it’ll be a good time. 

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

It was a good day. I feel like it was long, which was my only issue with it. [Being on one trail], you don’t get the variety. It’s hard to kind of lock in to the same thing the whole time. It’s nice to not have to call “car back” all the time. 

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

Day 24: Three days, three lakes | Madison, WI to Reedsburg, WI

Today was short and sweet. We rode a lighter mileage through the rolling countryside of Wisconsin, which allowed us to take an especially scenic rest stop at Devil’s Lake State Park. The terrain echoed the recurring climbs of the East coast, and these ones wound through the understated greenery of the state’s rural roads. We faced light showers of rain toward the end of the ride, but arrived at the stayover generally dry and under the cover of some relatively cooler weather. 

ride overview

Mileage: 58.5

Elevation: 2,569’

Points of Interest: Devil’s Lake State Park, Spirit Lake, Wisconsin River, St. John Lutheran Church, Culver’s Headquarters

quote of the day

“Is it stupid to bring cheese curds onto a paddle board? Because I’m doing it.”

— Olivia

tales of the trail

The day began much like any other. Tommy’s morning activity had us do some questionable stretches, Claudia blasted hype music from the van during our final checks, and we rolled out into the crisp morning air. Some rain threatened the dryness of the riders early on but lasted for a fortunately short amount of time. We also had the pleasure of seeing a bougie-looking Culver’s, which was later revealed to be the chain’s headquarters — historic monuments like these are part of why we bike across the country. 

We present to you… the crab walk.

A team favorite (for the laughing onlookers, at least) — the bear crawl.

After a brief first rest stop, the next stretch of the ride brought us to the highly-anticipated Devil’s Lake. The ride up to the forest-encrusted clearing was refreshingly peaceful, closed off from the noise of the main roads by lush trees and rocky slopes. Climbing isn’t so bad when you have beautiful scenery to look at. 

The road revealed the lake’s gently rippling waters and we rushed to cool off in its depths. We often try to make rest stops as efficient as possible for the sake of making time and sustaining energy, so this one was a nice change of pace. Some of us rented paddleboards, which quickly turned a relaxing activity chaotic — we of course took their existence as a challenge to pile on as many people on one paddleboard as possible. Taking a dip in the lake was chilly but reviving, especially after the heat of the days before. Once we’d had enough of that game of human Jenga, a few of us headed to the concessions stand for a classic Wisconsin meal of cheese curds and ice cream. 

The team cools down in Devil’s Lake State Park.

Lucas bikes by Devil’s Lake.

The last stretch of the ride featured the biggest climb of the day’s route, but this was ultimately nothing compared to the steep Appalachian mountains we’d traversed back on the East coast. So, we pedaled with patience and consistency (and the company of a light bit of rain) all the way to our lovely stayover at St. John Lutheran Church. Fun fact: Reedsburg, our destination for the night, is big on butter — they even host an annual Butterfest! The dairy-related delights of Wisconsin just keep on coming. 

Given the shorter distance, we’ve had a lot of downtime today. Some of us are watching “Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel” (here at I4K we only view cinematic masterpieces), a few are playing an intense and loud game of Carpet Ball (Neal was the victor of this one), and others are getting some well-earned rest. 

A massive thank you to our hosts for providing us dinner — we can’t say this enough, but a warm meal at the end of each day means a lot to us. Following dinner, we headed to Culver’s (we believe this is our fourth encounter with the restaurant in under two days) for cups of generously donated custard. As I finish this entry off, Maaike is gleefully kicking around a mini soccer ball and our new friend Tabitha (a stuffed gorilla sock puppet found on the church premises) is by my side :) 

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Claudia Madsen

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing okay. I’m back in the van, driving. I had a pretty good day today! It rained a little, nothing major, nothing I can’t handle. Yeah, today was chill, pretty easy day.

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

I mean, I was amazed by how many people donated to my pot specifically. You know, because I got to see who donated, and all these names popping up — not that I wouldn’t have expected it, but I’m so appreciative, and it’s really nice to see all those people out there cheering for me in that way.  The most memorable would probably be a fundraiser at Kev’s house that I worked at to help fundraise, that was definitely super memorable. 

You’re currently acting as the van driver for the team. Does it ever get overwhelming or challenging to be the go-to person whenever a rider needs help?

I don’t find it stressful. On a day when everyone is having no problems, it’s like, you drive for 20 minutes and then you sit for a while and wait for your friends to show up. But on days when people do have problems, it makes me feel important, honestly. You get a phone call and you’re like, “how can I help?” You whip it to wherever they are, and it’s kind of fun… It feels important, it feels helpful, you definitely feel like you’re on a mission, because the group that needs help is out there baking, or getting soaked or whatever. It makes it fun. And then you get to pick someone up and be like, “how’s it going? What can I do?” Obviously I want everyone to have a great day every day and not need me, but it is kind of exciting when people need help. You know, I’m hoping nobody’s hurt, but when it’s  just a flat tire, it’s kind of fun.

What’s your dream van organization set-up?

Okay. So I know that the people who have been packing the van — all love, you guys are doing a great job — there’s been some sort of competition to stack things as high as we can. Which means not only can I not see out the back, but also, if I don’t brake gentle enough, everything falls over. So I would say my dream van-pack involves things not stacked that high… But it does make me giggle. It’s super impressive, it makes me giggle, it also makes me pray that my bag isn’t put on top. I bring with me a pack of gum, a water bottle, a book. I have a trucker hat that says “silly boys, trucks are for girls.” Haven’t worn it yet, I’m waiting for the day. Lucas bought a book of crosswords that I’ve been working through in the van.

What does a day in the van look like?

Wait for all the groups to roll out. This morning I played hype music, I think that was a hit, so I’ll keep that up. Yeah, wait for all the groups to roll out, and then find the first rest stop. I usually pull up the Ride with GPS route and see where about 20 miles is gonna be, give or take. Then, pull that spot up on Google Maps and see if there’s like a gas station, or a restaurant — Culver’s, in recent days — or sometimes, like today, just a safe spot to pull off that isn’t someone’s driveway. It can be hard to find. So I look for that, then I go there, and if someone calls me, I go to get them. Today I went grocery shopping on my way to the first rest stop, we got cheese and bread for lunch. So grocery shopping, then rest stop, pull out the coolers of water. We snack, we sunscreen. I don’t know, it’s pretty chill. A lot of people have needed stuff from bike shops, I’m always looking for a bike shop, that’s kind of fun. Barring any extreme circumstances, I just roll to the next stop after that. I find another one and I roll there, I drop it in the Slack, tell everyone where it is and what to look for. People call me and they go “help!” They send a location, and I go get them. At the end of the day, we get to the stayover, and unpack the van, and then I’m off the hook! And I get to my job of posting the Instagram and Facebook posts. 

Do you have a favorite item that you brought on the trip with you?

I didn’t bring anything super sentimental. I mean, I sleep with earplugs every night, so if anyone’s reading this for tips, ear plugs. Lots of ‘em. We’ve got some snorers. I have a little moose keychain on my backpack, he makes me smile. But I brought the essentials pretty much.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

You know, I’ll take this opportunity to address the elephant in the room. My last interview was day two, the day that I crashed, in Philadelphia… I ended up going home a few days after that, I went home in Pittsburgh. I found out that I fractured my pelvis and my sacrum, so I have multiple fractures.* Some people have been asking about the crutches that are in some of the pictures, those are mine. I’m okay! I’m glad I was wearing a helmet, you should always wear yours. I was told six weeks off the bike minimum. So I think it’s not so much a place that I’m looking forward to, but a moment, and that moment is when I get to get back on my bike. I’m not gonna push it — don’t worry, no one here would let me push it. It might be somewhere in Wyoming, it might be somewhere after that. Right now, I have my eyes set on San Francisco, because I’m gonna ride across the bridge. 

*Claudia wants us to note that she is on the road to making a full recovery!

Anything else you want to talk about?

I guess just thank you for all the positivity and support from everyone. I got to meet a lot of people’s parents at Logan’s house over the weekend, and everyone on the team is so supportive, but it’s also so nice to know that everyone’s families are so supportive and everyone’s friends are so supportive. It really feels like this big, huge, beautiful thing. Everyone’s just all in, you know? I know in Michael’s interview, he talked about this being his “invincible summer,” and I love that. Unfortunately for me, I just recently learned that I am not invincible. But I have this amazing support system, and I feel like we all have that right now, and it’s awesome. So just a big thank you.

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

Day 23: Dare I say dairylicious? | Lake Geneva, WI to Madison, WI

Ah, another day in dairy land. We rode through the picturesque fields of Wisconsin in slightly nicer weather than yesterday, and truly hit as many dairy spots as possible — including not one, but TWO Culvers. We toed the line between dairy paradise and purgatory, as some of our teammates learned the limit of exactly how much they can handle while still hopping on a bike for 78 miles. We arrived in Wisconsin’s capital city in time to enjoy dinner, some live music, and a quick visit to the lake and UW Madison campus (see below for adorable duck pics).

Ride Overview

Mileage: 78

Elevation: 2,149’

Points of Interest: Delavan, WI, Glacial River Trail, The World’s Largest Culver’ of Edgerton, WI, Oregon, WI, Badger State Trail, Rock River, Covenant Presbyterian Church

Quotes of the day

“Who wants a fun necklace?” - Maaike, holding up an entire bicycle tire

“Women don’t snore.” - Dylan

“NO!!!” - Tommy, at a chihuahua chasing us

“If you touch your handlebars, you’re a coward.” - Lucas

Tales of the Trail

We sometimes joke that I4K feels like some sort of strange summer camp — or even a traveling circus — but this felt more true than ever during our morning activity for today. Olaf had us sing some very high energy camp songs, which worked wonders at waking us up, and also convinced us that he’ll be a truly amazing teacher one day. We rolled out in small groups with fun themes, such as sock size and for one group, age — meet the “Grandpa Group” of Michael, Dylan, Olaf, Anthony, and Lucas. If there’s one thing we love more than our recent graduates, it’s making fun of their age.

Grandpa Group goes riding off into the distance.

The overcast skies and windy weather made for a slightly more pleasant start than yesterday. While the wind gusts were a bit intimidating, we’re slowly and surely getting used to them, and starting to thank them for keeping us cool in such warm weather. The repetitive fields of Wisconsin bring a similar mental challenge to Ohio and Indiana, but some change in elevation brings prettier sights to enjoy along the way. The addition of music  has also brightened up the ride a bit; popular tunes include anything from the “Pitch Perfect” soundtrack, the complete discography of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Katy Perry, and for the Grandpa Group, nothing recorded after the 90’s. 

Believe it or not, this giraffe is taller than Joey.

Smiles in Delavan!

Joey and Logan prove that our road bikes are more versatile than they look.

Alongside the farm field-filled views, we feel like we’re getting the authentic Wisconsin experience with our rest stops, picked expertly by Claudia. Of today’s three rest stops, two were near Culver's restaurants, one of which claimed to be the “world’s largest” (Maaike and Logan swear they’ve seen at least two other Culver’s locations that claim the same thing. This is probably easily fact-checkable, but we’ll leave it to the comments section). The assorted Culver’s gave our teammates plenty of opportunities to fill up on that good ol’ Wisconsin dairy, and whether or not this was wise, why not live life to the fullest while you can? Our third stop of the day was also near a Dollar Tree — Dollar Tree and Dollar General have become huge team favorites. Today we bought some fun cereal-themed socks — pictures will come in the near future, I’m sure.

We promise we're more coordinated on our bikes.

While we are enjoying the scenery of Wisconsin so far, we’re also finding it interesting to behold the sights — and smells — of Wisconsin dairy production and cultivation. The huge amounts of dairy farms make games of “My Cow” more interesting, but also provide an insight into how the food we eat so frequently actually gets to our table. Seeing the country from a bike seat provides little censorship of anything, and for those of us who grew up in more urban areas, it’s been a journey to see such a diverse landscape across the states.

Tommy gazes at some grazing Wisconsin cows.

Our first rest stop for today, outside of a pig farm.

Our stayover in Madison has been full of fun surprises, including dinner catering courtesy of Joey’s grandparents, who live in the area. Additionally, we enjoyed live jazz music for the SECOND time this week, as the music group Mr. Chair arrived to our stayover to perform for us. It was amazing to enjoy some snazzy tunes during dinner, and to chat with the musicians about our cause and their musical journey (Riddhima and I, currently on break from our music journalist gig at the Daily Illini, geeked out a bit). A huge thank you to Mr. Chair for sharing their music with us and taking interest in what we’re up to. Please come play in Champaign again sometime soon :) 

Mr. Chair playing for us at our amazing stayover.

After dinner, some of the team took a quick trip into the city to explore, make yet another dairy stop for ice cream, and see some truly adorable ducks. Emma and Kev stopped by the Capitol Building, while Neal, Olaf, and Lucas took a quick dip in the lake — Anthony got some drone shots, of course. We’re grateful for the great weather and time we’ve had in Madison, as one of the top cycling locations in the United States, it’s truly been one of the more pleasant major cities to ride through. We’re excited to have a shorter day tomorrow as we move on to Reedsburg!

Befriending some ducks in Madison.

Kev and Emma at the Capitol!

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Anthony DiRico

How are you today?

I’m really good! Today was a really fun, quick day and I think everyone is in pretty high spirits. Wisconsin — one of my most favorite states that we’ve visited thus far. It’s been really pretty and we’re gonna get to explore Madison later today. 

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

On our jersey right now we only have three sponsors, and I was responsible for getting one of those. It’s Peralte-Clarke, a company I worked for last summer. I have mixed emotions when it comes to reaching out to people and asking for money, because it’s never an easy thing to do. But, as the fundraising process went on, I think I got way more comfortable with telling people about our cause… Peralte-Clarke was a huge help in terms of my personal goal but also for fulfilling the cause. They donated a lot of money and I think part of it is because the CEO is a huge biker… so getting to talk to him and tell him about my experience, what I’m going to be doing, it kind of made the whole process easier. I also wanna add that Peter, the fundraising director last year, made the process so much easier. He was super hands-on, checked in all the time, and was really helpful for people that were falling behind. 

What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike?

The rest days really help. Looking forward to having a day off to explore a city or to just hang out with the friends that I’ve made so far definitely keeps me going. And, the Portraits that we have collected have been really inspiring. I did not think I would be getting as many Portraits as I have — they’ve been in totally random circumstances on the side of the road, at rest stops. So hearing people’s stories and how willing they are to share — even just today, we met a lady at Culver’s who’s going through cancer. She didn’t wanna do a whole Portrait, but she told us about her story, and it was super inspiring, very impactful. 

Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?

In Columbus, Olivia and I made a makeshift bracelet out of paper. We took an origami class. I don’t know where it is currently, but it is fun to wear, so! 

What’s your rest stop routine?

Lying down on the ground is definitely the first thing I do for maybe like five minutes to kind of just relax. And then, finding a bathroom! And filling up on snacks. Those are like the top three most important things. I’m one of the people that tends to run behind a little bit at rest stops, in terms of grabbing sunblock last second and making sure everything is going good with my bike. 

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

I really have not seen much of the Western side of America. I’ve never been to Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, so it’ll be really fun to visit all the national parks out there. I’m most excited for the Grand Tetons because they have a big climbing culture there, and it’s just super beautiful.

Anything else you want to talk about?

Thank you to all the friends and family that came out for the Champaign and Chicago days. It was really fun meeting the alums of I4K in Chicago and I hope that they continue following along with the ride!

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

We regret to inform you that Kev will no longer be riding with us, as they have unfortunately been swallowed by this very real tiger.

Day 22: We love cheese! | Park Ridge, IL to Lake Geneva, WI

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.

Riding along the Des Plaines River Trail!

Michael and Joey made a slight detour to visit their old stomping grounds, Adlai E. Stevenson High School.

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. 

We’ve made many cicada friends over the past couple days, but they seem to really vibe with Olaf.

The bike path was the friends we made along the way.

Kev meets swing — colorized, June 2024.

And off goes Neal.

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.

Shoutout to the massive glass shard in Maaike’s tire that called for a Sav rescue mission!

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. 

Lucas, Anthony, Tommy, Peter, Joey, Michael, and Emma welcome you to Wisconsin! Cheese is on the horizon!

Part 2 with Riddhima, Olivia, Dylan, and Kev!

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! 

A bratwurst creation from Kavin. Everybody’s so creative!!!

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.)

Day 20 & 21: And when I'm back in Chicago, I feel it | Kankakee, IL to Park Ridge, IL

Home sweet home, the sequel!!! We powered through a 76ish mile ride from Kankakee to Park Ridge with the thought of family and friends ahead, some of which even met up with us along our route! We enjoyed an I4K alumni reunion dinner after the ride, which brought everyone from last year’s riders to some of the original group members together. With about two thirds of our team hailing from the Chicago area, many of us spent our rest day at home, enjoying Father’s Day and some peaceful time off with our loved ones. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 76.4

Elevation: 1,404’

Points of Interest: Bourbonnais, Old Plank Road Trail, Frank Lloyd Wright Home Studio, Des Plaines River, Centennial Trail, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, South Gougar Road, Lyons Township High School, Elhert Park, Pleasant Home, Pickwick Theatre

Quote of the Day

“CLAUDIA’S BACK FROM WORKER’S COMP!!!”

— Emma

Tales of the Trail

We rolled out from the Adventure Church of Kankakee after a delicious breakfast provided by our hosts and a morning activity hosted by Emma. Emma, who works at the Women’s Resources Center on campus and facilitates First Year Consent and Relationship Education workshops for freshman students, took us through a brief activity in which we practiced asking for consent by asking one another for sunscreen. Once again, we applaud our teammate’s random and amazing skills — it may be summer vacation, but there are always new things to learn!

The weather wasn’t nearly as warm and sunny as the day before, and we enjoyed cooler temperatures as we rode through country roads and some pretty farm fields. We hit the town of Bourbonnais fairly early on, followed by some nice bike trails before we eventually reached the Chicago suburbs. Van driver Olaf found us some lovely gas station rest stops — we’ve become huge fans of Casey’s and Speedway — and we fueled on team favorite snacks and drinks such as chocolate milk, discount slushies, and ice cream sandwiches.

Maaike and Neal were very excited to get to Bourbonnais. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring the most joy.

Jack, Neal, Riddhima, and Dylan conquer the Midwest — we promise it’s pretty sometimes.

En route to our second rest stop, we were met by Emma’s family featuring one of our favorite signs designed by her sister — “When in denial, gaslight yourself” (thanks for the encouragement Rachel!!!). Once we arrived in the suburbs, we started seeing some familiar places and even more familiar faces. Kev’s family greeted us at our third rest stop in La Grange, and provided us with an amazing lunch of Jimmy John’s, gatorade, and Jewel Osco cookies (the non-Chicago riders are learning more and more about this legendary “Jewel Osco” every day. Apparently it’s quite the place). 

Kev with their biggest fan :)

A much needed lunch. At long last, Anthony has been caught in a candid picture.

The last chunk of our Saturday ride was a slow but steady 17-mile stretch to Logan’s home in Park Ridge, which saw plentiful stop signs and lots of traffic. We created systems within our groups to steer clear of cars, communicated clearly, and used the knowledge of our Chicago natives to help keep us on track. We rode through Dylans’ hometown of Oak Park as well, and were greeted by his parents and his adorable dog. We ended the ride at Logan’s house, where his family formed a welcome party for us complete with cheerful signs and cold lemonade — huge thank you to Logan’s family for housing and feeding us these last two nights, we so greatly appreciate it :) 

Logan, Neal, Lucas, and Tommy ride in to Logan’s house.

Saturday night brought a beautiful opportunity to talk with old and new riders alike as we had an I4K alumni dinner in Logan’s yard. Delicious food was provided by Logan’s family (thank you again!!!). A favorite feature of the night was LIVE MUSIC — you heard me right, LIVE MUSIC — provided by The Swingin’ Scholars, an independent  jazz group consisting of high school students, one of which is Logan’s younger brother Reed. The Swingin’ Scholars are not only incredibly talented musicians, but also accomplished a truly remarkable task: playing loud enough to drown out the endless drone of cicadas and planes flying overhead to and from O’Hare Airport. 

The Swingin’ Scholars, and boy were they swingin’.

In other amazing news, we have been rejoined by our teammate Claudia!!! After taking some time off for an injury, Claudia will be rejoining us in the van on our ride tomorrow. We were so happy to see her at the dinner, as the team engaged in a very enthusiastic group hug and eagerly caught her up on anything she may have missed. Good jams, good food, and good people made for a truly phenomenal night, as we chatted with I4K founder Jonathan Schlesinger and multiple other alums. These wonderful people, along with the families of many riders, gave us advice and encouragement that will stay with us through the rest of our trip across the country.

We try to acknowledge all of our teammates’ amazing skills and accomplishments with these journals. Olivia was proud of this one.

Today was a rest day for us, and most of the riders took the time to stay home with their families, especially during Father’s Day. Those of us who don’t have family in the area spent time with friends, or in the case of Neal and Riddhima, watched Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” We’re excited to hopefully get farther from the horde of cicadas tomorrow, and to enter another new state — Wisconsin! It’s bittersweet to leave our families and home state behind, but words of wisdom from our loved ones have given us the strength we need. We know we’ll be okay. We know we got this. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Riddhima, Neal, and Logan enjoyed their rest day by spending some time at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

Logan’s parents have a map hung up in their house marking everywhere we’ve visited so far. So much done, and so much to go.

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Michael Bian

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing great! Had a live band, Logan’s party was great — great food, great house, everybody was super nice. It was really cool to meet the founders of I4K. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I ride a Nashbar frame. I got it off of Facebook Marketplace. It was built by a guy in his mid 30s, then he was having a kid, and he needed to get rid of the bike, so I was the one that he got rid of the bike to. I think it’s like a mid-2010s frame. Nashbar is known for their forks, which I learned through Logan. They made frames for a while too, but I don’t think they make them anymore. But it’s nice…it’s carbon fiber, it’s very smooth, but you feel everything. So on some of the roads, like that one day when we were on the “butt blaster,” I felt it. 

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 played a lot of soccer in middle school and high school, so I already had a bit of an athletic background. College, my freshman and sophomore year, I was super into body building, because my roommate was a wrestler and I’d work along with him. We’d do a lot of high intensity stuff, and I think that was very good. My junior year I did a triathlon. It was an experience, because I showed up with no training. I signed up because it was free, and somebody else paid for it… I had a blast. That was about two years ago. I wasn’t super big on the training before this. I learned about I4K through some of my Stevenson high school classmates. So I was like, “oh that’s cool,” and then after junior year everything worked out with med school, so I was like, “might as well do something fun.” But I did the workouts, Rose sent them to me and all that. The workouts were definitely tough, but nothing compared to the actual ride. 

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

I actually really enjoyed Washington D.C. That day going into D.C., I think we went through Delaware, and I was really surprised by how nice Wilmington was. I think Delaware is kind of underrated, because nobody talks about it, but it was such a nice town, and really pretty. D.C. was great too, because I got to meet up with one of my buddies from college. I hadn’t been to D.C. as an adult, so seeing all that as an adult, I think it gives you a different perspective than when you’re on like, a middle school field trip.

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

There are two. One was my grandfather, who passed about 11 years ago from stomach cancer. It was one of those things where you knew something was wrong for a very long time, and he didn’t go see a doctor because he was like, this can’t be happening. He was kind of in denial, and that delay in treatment I think is what ultimately caused him to pass earlier than he needed to. Another person is Charlotte Graham. She was somebody that I knew through piano in high school, and she passed from pediatric brain cancer. It was tough to see somebody so young and so full of life pass away so tragically. It really left an impact on me as to why I wanted to do medicine, and why I believe that cancer research is important, why I did the research that I ended up doing while I was in college. Because ultimately, I think there’s so much that we can do as a society to help people with these diseases. I wanted to be somebody who’s contributing to that in some way, and I thought this ride was a really good way to do that.

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

I just wanna say, I really do appreciate it. The small acts, you know, the text messages, they mean a lot. I’m surprised by how supportive people are. At first, people are like, “you’re crazy,” and then they’re like, “how can I help?” Which has been really nice. And to the strangers who I don’t even know, but they’re still so kind, and so helpful, they’re willing to share their stories. The fact that people from so many different walks of life can connect over this one thing is special, and I think that’s something that’s very rare. 

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

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Albert Camus, he’s a French philosopher… There’s a very famous quote to him, and pretty much the gist of it is that in the bleakest of times, he had the strength to keep on going. He called that period in his life, that was his “invincible summer.” That’s kind of been my motto, an “invincible summer.” It’s like, things are tough, but you keep going, and day to day there’s so many things that happen that are outside of your control. I think I’ve really learned to just be patient, and to deal with the stuff that happens. Also, part of that “invincible summer” is like, yes I am doing something crazy, but it’s something that I will look back upon fondly. And I don’t think it’s something that I would ever do again. So that’s where the invincible summer comes in, it’s like you are there, and I think for the summer, a lot of it is just living in the moment. When I was back in Chicago, doing my pre-enrollment stuff for med school, I was just like, “man, I kind of wish I was on my bike.” Because you’re so free. You’re not invincible, you’re essentially homeless. But that doesn’t make it less enjoyable. You just feel like every mountain you climb and every mile you bike, you’ve earned it. That’s how I’m trying to approach this summer.

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

Day 19: She from Kankakee | Champaign, IL to Kankakee, IL

We love our home state, but we have to admit that she doesn’t offer a particularly unique landscape for cycling. As we work our way up to the more picturesque West coast, we try to make the most of what the country’s more humble regions have to offer. Today was a simple enough route, made a little more difficult by the weather being on the hotter side. Thankfully, though, the headwinds went surprisingly easy on us, and groups were able to find ways to combat the heat, whether it was a faster pace or more rest stops.  

ride overview

Mileage: 83.2

Elevation: 890’

Points of Interest: Allen Hall, The Gathering/Front Porch Cafe, Adventure Christian Church, Planet Fitness of Kankakee, IL, 

quote of the day

“If you have any grand ideas for world domination, save ‘em. It’s my turn.”

— Kavin

tales of the trail

We rolled out from Allen Hall in the morning, bringing back memories of starting team training rides there in the early spring. Mike Rotter, Sam Rosner, JB, Ed Guo, and Adam Wallach – all previous I4K riders – joined us for the first stretch, which was an enjoyable blast from the past. Thank you to Ed for taking a ton of professional photos and making us look extremely cool :)

The heat started beating down on us as we rode further into the day. Sunscreen was responsibly applied at rest stops, slushies bought from many Casey's, and shady respite found wherever possible. One group pulled off at a Dollar General in Paxton just to stick their heads in the coolness of its ice machine and also for entertainment purposes (in their defense, it was an especially boring section of road). 

Emma, Izzy, and Riddhima unabashedly take refuge in the sweet, sweet coolness of a Casey’s ice machine.

Olivia fulfills her primary role as Ride Leader and provides Anthony with some shelter from the sun.

Logan deftly balances a Casey’s slushy — have we mentioned our teammates’ list of oddly specific yet impressive talents?

Given the increasing warmth of the ride conditions, some groups preferred the “beat the heat” method and zoomed to our stayover for the night, Adventure Christian Church, as fast as possible. Others made small stops here and there in search of stimulation. One group stopped at The Gathering/Front Porch Cafe for free fudge samples and a talk with locals, as well as to examine a quirky double-sided car. 

Neal and Lucas capture the spirit of the double-sided car.

Either way, we all made it to the same endpoint eventually. It was fascinating to find out that Kankakee was not just another small American town but one that instead had a developing downtown. Some of us appreciated the more urban landscape of the last few miles, which provided a bit more excitement than the main roads from earlier on. 

Dinner tonight was generously donated by our stayover and felt especially delicious after the efforts of the day. To top it all off, our hosts offered us the cool reward of ice cream sandwiches. Our stomachs are now full and we couldn’t ask for anything more. 

We then headed to a nearby Planet Fitness who were kind enough to let us use their showers for free, before which we learned that Lucas, one of our ride leaders, will be joining us for the entire summer (he had initially only been able to join us until Chicago)! The team has never cheered more loudly or collectively, and we sang “See You Again ft. Charlie Puth” by Wiz Khalifa with fervent spirit in the van on the way to Planet Fitness. The moment was made all the sweeter by Lucas breaking out his already iconic Chamois Butt’r T-shirt. 

After we absolved ourselves of any and all sweat, we made the most of our expansive stayover. Out of everything its premises offered from basketball to air hockey, we chose to play a classic game of mini golf (Dylan emerged victorious). We are incredibly grateful to our hosts for the opportunity to rest and relax after long days like these.

Dylan’s stance of success.

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Riddhima Patllollu

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing surprisingly well. I came off of like, a knee sort of injury I guess? And I was very nervous about getting back on the bike because I didn’t want to get re-injured, but it was actually really nice! I really loved my group today — we took it slow, and we had fun, and I think we kind of had a perfect day on the ride…I had a lot of fun. It was very hot, but we persevered, and I genuinely could not have done it if I didn’t have other cool people with me. Oh, and we found out Lucas is joining us for the entire summer! AND he wore his Chamois Butt’r shirt today for the first time!

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I have a Trek Domane AL5. She’s beautiful, black and silver — just the way I like it. I want to say her name is Simone, after Nina Simone, who’s one of my favorite singers ever…I really love Nina Simone, and in her songs she comes off as very strong, and she’s persevered through a lot, and I like to think that Simone and I will do that together this summer. But I don’t call her Simone that often. If I was asked, if I was forced to, her name would be Simone. And also, I’m very grateful to have the bike that I have. She’s a very very nice bike…She hasn’t failed me once — crossing my fingers and toes — she hasn’t had a flat once. Honestly, she’s been great. I love her so much. Sometimes I look down at her and I’m just like, I love you, man. 

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 think the longest bike ride I ever did was like 30 miles. And that was like, on a paved, fairly flat bike path, and it was at a pretty slow pace on my hybrid bike. But it was a lot of fun… I just casually biked. I learned it as a child, and I did it for school and stuff like that. As for athletics, honestly I’m not that athletically experienced. I haven’t committed to a lot of sports, I briefly did cross country my freshman year. I respect it as a sport, but it was not for me. Ever since then, I’ve just been on and off with physical training on my own time. 

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

I find the climb moments are most memorable. It was Olaf, [Maaike], Neal, and I on this fairly long climb…I was silent, but you guys were just talking about the most random things, and I remember feeling like I was never gonna make it, but I just kept pedaling and kept listening to you guys like you were my personal podcast. It was really helpful! It was really pretty, and it felt really good to get to the top. The other climbing moment was with [Maaike], Olivia and I, and you guys were singing “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. I was like, I don’t know how they’re singing right now because I’m gasping for air, but it felt good to get to the top.

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

I think I’m quite fortunate to not have any stories of cancer close to me, just purely by chance. So there’s not anyone I specifically think of during the ride. As of late, it’s been certain people that we’ve met, like Randy, and a portrait that we did recently. Like a few other people, I’m mostly doing this for myself. I’ve never really done anything like this before, and I think it’s challenging in every aspect of life, which is the team aspect, learning how to work with people — the physical aspect, learning how to get up and do this every day — and the mental aspect, learning that you can do much more than you actually can. I think the last one is the hardest one, but also the most useful one, because at the end of the day, your mindset frames a lot of what you do. 

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

Thank you so so so much. Literally could not do this without you. I’ve just lived a very, very privileged life in like, every way possible, and I always try to acknowledge that. And it’s easy to lose sight of it, but I like questions like this because I can acknowledge it again. I’m just so deeply grateful. I don’t think I could have done any of what I’m doing today without the people in my life… I know my parents are probably going to be reading this journal, so I do want to personally thank them. They’re amazing people, and they support me so much, and they text me every day — and I’ve been very bad about responding, but it’s just because I’m tired! Thank you to everyone who donated, and just who supports me, regardless of donations.

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

Two things… the journals! I love doing the journals, and obviously I have to say thank you back to Maaike, who is sitting right in front of me, and laughing. She’s just really cool. She’s just so helpful…I could not do the journals without her. She’s a great leader. But yeah, I just love doing the journals, it’s a great way to process the day. Sometimes we end up staying up a little bit later than we’d like to, but it’s worth it! Like, I’m going to come back to these and read these — I already come back to them like, every morning, and reread them…and it’s great having a live audience who like, react to what we write. That’s a very unique experience as a writer that I’ve never had before and I really enjoy it… And the second thing is the team! I am not a very outwardly affectionate people-oriented person, so I wouldn’t say this is hard for me to admit, but it’s not something I’d admit often — I don’t know, I don’t think I could do this without them. I’ve expressed a lot to other teammates how surprised I’ve been at how quickly the team has become a team. And I really enjoy the special social circumstances we’re in. We’ve been put in this situation where we know we’re going to commit to each other for the next 70 days, and that creates this kind of immediate bonding that you just don’t find anywhere else… I just think it’s really cool. I really appreciate the fact that everyone seems to have a role. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have their place in the team. 

A bonus look into the behind-the-scenes of the journals — I capture Maaike transcribing my interview :)

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

Day 17 & 18: Home sweet home | Rockville, IN to Champaign, IL

It’s good to be back. For the past two days, the team has been enjoying the normality of Champaign, IL — a town near and dear to the birthplace of I4K, and where many of us began our relationship with the organization. We practiced on its surrounding corn-lined country roads, held weekly meetings in one of its many buildings, and fundraised with the help of its generous people. It has been a little over two weeks into the ride, and we’ve realized how special it is to actually recognize the landscape that surrounds us, and even more, to call it home.

ride overview

Mileage: 77.2

Elevation: 1,316

Points of Interest: Casey’s in Rockville, IN, Wabash River, Homer Lake, Dollar General in Chrisman, IL, Sidell Grocery, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (!!!)

quote of the day

“Don’t quote me.”

— Tommy

tales of the trail

After an overwhelmingly enjoyable stay at Randy’s in Rockville, we said goodbye to Indiana and eagerly rolled out toward Illinois. As with most of our Midwestern routes, we expected flatness and wind. And, as with most of our expectations throughout this ride, we were a bit presumptuous. At a ripe eight o’clock in the morning, groups encountered a collapsed bridge across the Wabash River, which meant they had to wade through its waters with their bikes held high above its depths. 

Nothing like a morning mega-group to start the day.

Maaike braves the waters — and soggy shoes.

Fully awakened by the spontaneous adventure of the morning, we continued on. Our soaked socks and shoes eventually returned to their original (albeit smellier) state via the natural dryer that is the continuous Midwestern gale. We also had the pleasure of stopping to pet some adorable dogs and taking pictures at the iconic “Welcome to Illinois” sign.

The urge to buy a team dogpack is strong.

A memorable team photo at the “Welcome to Illinois” sign :)

At rest stops, we refueled on heaps of homemade biscuits and banana nut muffins, as well as fresh fruit — all kindly donated by Randy and the Rockville First United Methodist Church. Of course, we also dug into our overflowing Love Bags. One of our rest stops was at Sidell Grocery, which brought back fond memories of when the 2022 team had to shelter there for hours from heavy rain and lightning.

Thankful that our ride to Champaign had fared better weather-wise, we pushed on through the headwinds and heat of the last stretch and made our final stop at Meadowbrook Park. There, we met with friends, family, and previous I4Kers to bike the last three miles of the day to the Beckman Institute, where the Cancer Center at Illinois had arranged a welcome event for us. Riding with people outside of the team was a unique and fun way to share what we had been doing for the past weeks. Whether it was introducing the novelty of callouts and formations to our friends and family or watching waves of nostalgia wash over past riders, it was nice to have so many familiar faces riding next to us.

JB (former I4K journalist!) and his ride group to the Beckman Institute — can you spot any other past riders?

Once we reached our final destination, we were met with applause and support unlike anything we had experienced before. Grins of accomplishment plastered across our faces, we hopped off our bikes into a rush of celebration. We got to talk about our mission with representatives from local media outlets and the CCIL, and then headed to the beloved campus icon, the Alma Mater statue, where we took a few team photos. A huge thank you to Fred, a photographer from the University, for documenting the final miles and festivities, as well as the CCIL for organizing such a rewarding end to our day :)

A grand welcome with some help from the Prairie Dragon Paddlers.

The pushup challenge NEVER ends (peep Fred getting all the angles).

From there, the team headed their separate ways for some time to rest and recharge. Some went to their apartments (author’s note: many of the dormless freshmen — myself included — stayed at Maaike’s house. Thank you to Maaike and her family for hosting us!), and others to the houses of loved ones. We look forward to our leisure time in Champaign. Knowing we have already made it from New York, NY to Champaign, IL is absolutely surreal, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the ride has in store for us.

A makeshift assembly line in front of the Union unpacks everyone’s stuff from SAV.

cyclist’s corner

Today’s rider: Kavin Phrashaad

How are you feeling today?

Pretty decent. I’m not like shocked that we’re in Champaign, it feels pretty normal, even though it’s really not. The circumstances aren’t normal. But it was a normal day. The ride’s been going good, it slowed down, but now I think it’s going to pick up more for me, since I’m going to ride tomorrow. I have a feeling it’s going to go good… I’m looking forward to what’s about to come, because the last couple of days has been a lot of van time. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I think — I don’t even know if this is a real bike, because Logan didn’t know what it was — but it says it’s a Hasa R4. I don’t know what that is… I saw someone selling it, and I was like, “that looks like a good bike,” and I checked it out, and it was decent…turns out, it became useful for this. 

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?

As far as just biking, quite a bit. There was a lot on and off, in the summers, a lot. In the summers, a lot of biking, because I had the time to do it…we would bike somewhere between 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 miles around town and whatnot throughout the day. When we weren’t doing that and it wasn’t summer, during the school year, it would just be running. A lot of running. A lot a lot of running. I’ve been prepared, I suppose. It was never like, when I was told about [I4K] from Tommy, it was never something where I was like “oh that’s too much, I don’t think I could do that.” That was never a thought that crossed my mind. I was just like, “that seems cool.” 

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

This is kind of small. We were at the stayover, a recent one, and they had a tetherball. We played some tetherball. Me, Tommy, Anthony, and maybe Logan? It was cool. It was just some tetherball. We played a few games. It was my first time playing tetherball…it turns out it is super fun.

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 has had cancer twice. I don’t know her entire story. I think about her occasionally. But no one in my immediate family has had cancer… Another one of our mutual friends, mine and Tommy’s, mom has cancer currently. 

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

I hope they’re happy they donated! I’m happy they donated, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do this. And I’m happy they supported, because otherwise I couldn’t do this. I mean, I’m doing it to help other people, and they’re doing it to help me, so it’s kind of cool, because everyone’s just helping each other. And I like that. 

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

It’s good vibes. Good times. I like the team… I like the schedule. I feel like I’m getting more sleep now. I’m eating more nutritious food now. My morning routine is more consistent, my night routine is more consistent. It makes it easy. This is probably weird to say, but this is like the easiest my life has been. I have nothing else to do. It’s so weird, because I still feel like I do. I’m still kind of stressed about some invisible thing that I don’t have to do yet, because it doesn’t exist, because I don’t have anything else to do…just gotta bike. That’s life goals right there. 

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

Day 16: The ride to Randy | Indianapolis, IN to Rockville, IN

While the Illini 4000 route changes every year, one spot remains a constant hit — Rockville, Indiana. The reason? Quite possibly our biggest fan ever, Randy, has been hosting the team for 16 of the 17 years of I4K’s existence. Our annual trip to Rockville has become a beautiful tradition, and was greatly enjoyed today as we took on a shorter stretch of the ride with great enthusiasm to meet our host. Another relatively uneventful ride day, the somewhat bland Midwest provided another mental challenge for our riders to meet as we pedaled through the corn fields getting ever closer to Champaign-Urbana.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 62.4

Elevation: 1,826’

Points of Interest: Command Coffee, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Hendricks Regional Health Hospital, Rockville First United Methodist Church

Quote of the day

“Oh. My. Goodness.”

— Everyone, after taking their first bite of dinner

Tales of the Trail

The team braced themselves for another somewhat chilly day in Indiana this morning as we layered up for temperatures in the upper 40s (in June??? What a time to be alive). Helpful in warming us up was another morning activity run by Tommy, who led us through some cross country style dynamic stretches, which all of the runners of the team greatly appreciated. We rolled out in three groups, two of which made an immediate coffee stop at Command Coffee in Indianapolis. Once we were well fueled, we were on our way to be as efficient as possible in getting to our stayover early to spend as much time with Randy as possible. 

Can’t get going without our morning stretches! Lighting courtesy of a gorgeous Midwest sunrise.

Maaike, Olaf, Emma, and Olivia made friends with a dinosaur today!

We took two quick rest stops at Walmart and Dollar General (the team has become huge fans of Dollar General). We rode through Danville, IN, the birthplace of one of our riders, Emma! Other than her birth hospital, notable sights of central Indiana were somewhat few and far between. Neal provided some eventfulness during the ride by getting pooped on by a bird — they’re really out for us this week! — but aside from some missiles from above, our team steered pretty clear of trouble. The easy riding of the Midwest has blessed us with fewer bike issues and crashes, which we’ve come to greatly appreciate. However, even if the road is straighter and flatter, strong focus still needs to be held within groups. A sort of tunnel vision while riding can certainly become possible, which is why we take frequent rest stops and regularly rotate who leads each group. Keeping things fresh and interesting can be a challenge in endless fields of farmland, but games of  “my cow” and lots of singing can help pass the hours away.

21ish years ago, an Emma was born here!

Maaike pulled up to the rest stop doing…whatever this is. Only trained professionals should attempt.

We always seem to find our strange coincidences on the road; today we had two unexpected interactions along our trip. One group met the wife of the pastor at Rockville First United Methodist Church (RFUMC), our stayover for tonight, at a gas station along the route. All three groups today also spotted the Doddie’5, a group of British cyclists who are also riding across the United States. The Doddie’5 route travels from San Francisco to New York City, spanning 3250 miles over the course of about a month, and raises funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which funds research to search for a cure for Motor Neuron Disease. It was incredible that our paths crossed for a day, as their team was heading into Indianapolis the same day we were leaving. We exchanged waves and a very brief cross-road conversation — if anyone on the Doddie’5 team is reading this, we hope you have a safe and wonderful rest of your trip here in the United States!

Joey takes a stellar selfie while riding with Dylan, Logan, and Izzy. Check out that stunning Indiana scenery!

The team arrived at RFUMC in the early afternoon and were greeted by Randy, Linda, and Martha immediately. Most of the team got to meet Randy for the first time, while some of our riders had traveled to Rockville before, either on a previous I4K ride or the 70-mile “Ride to Randy” held back  in February for his birthday. We were greeted with snacks, showers, and even the opportunity to go for our first swim of the summer! An enormous shoutout to every member of the RFUMC community who helped prepare a delicious dinner for us — some members of the team were nearly in tears from the amazing quality of the food. 

The RFUMC arranged their sign for us :)

Rest and recovery time is always essential!

After dinner, the team was treated to Love Bags, a gift from Randy, where we each filled a massive plastic bag with as many snacks as we could possibly fit. We also participated in rock painting, which was incredibly relaxing and fun for everyone before bed. Some of us will be leaving our rocks behind for RFUMC to keep, while others plan to take their rocks across the country, possibly leaving them at meaningful spots along the route or bringing them all the way to San Francisco. Once again, the endless love and kindness that the communities we visit provide for us never fails to amaze our team. We are constantly grateful and in awe of this journey we get to experience, and please know it would not be possible without every single person supporting us along the way. Randy, thank you endlessly for everything you do for us — we already can’t wait to see you again next year!

Rock painting with Randy!

Not really sure what’s going on here. No comment.

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s rider: Maaike Niekerk

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling really good! I’m very happy, we just got to use a pool for free which was phenomenal. It was very good, very healing. My legs don’t hurt, my bike is fine… My body and my mind are good, so I’m feeling very good. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I ride a Trek Domane. It’s an AL4. If you’re an astute reader of the journals, I have the same bike as Olaf, but his is a 2024 model and mine is a little older. So the paint’s a little different, but we both have red bikes so they’re twins. My bike’s name is Bichael, named by my best friend Zoe, and I love Bichael. Bichael has never let me down. Great bike, great bike. Recommend the Trek Domane — ten out of ten.

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 had not done any road cycling at all… but I’ve been biking since I was four. That’s all because of my dad. My dad would bike with my sibling and I to school every single day and back, so I did a lot of biking. I think that most of the preparation, though, came from doing long distance running since I was 13. I did cross country and track through middle school and high school, and it was super fun. I think that’s where I got all the endurance training, for sure, and all the mental training, because I had some really good coaches that really prepared me. So I think the endurance training really carried over, and I did a half marathon in April that definitely prepared me a little bit. But no road cycling training.

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

That’s hard to pick, because the days are so fulfilling. I’m not gonna lie — the phrase, “live life to the fullest,” has never really hit for me, but now it’s really hitting. We do so much everyday that picking a favorite moment is very hard. I would say the Appalachian mountains I really loved. I really like climbing, and part of why I joined I4K is I wanted to do something that was very physically and mentally hard, and the mountains are very very hard! Because I4K is a team activity and we’re all riding in groups, climbing the mountains makes you realize how much you appreciate your teammates. We had a very hard day, 7,500 feet of climbing, and Neal and I just rode side-by-side up one of the mountains, and we just appreciated each other for it! I couldn’t get through it without Neal… I couldn’t get through it without having the group there. It made me really realize how much I appreciate my team and it was very fun, very hard, but it was very rewarding.

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

Cancer has been a huge thing in my family, like really really big. The big one is my mom —  she’s a cancer survivor, so that’s who comes to mind first. I’ve also lost all four of my grandparents, so I think about them a lot for sure. I think they’d be very proud of me… I’ve just kind of seen how cancer has impacted my family and how it’s also impacted a lot of my friends’ families. So the cause is super meaningful to me. But I think I’m also doing it a little bit for myself, and kind of just taking a break from other things has been really good for me and has been something I’ve wanted for a really long time. In the least selfish way possible — I’m doing it a little bit for myself too!

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

I genuinely consider myself to be the luckiest person alive to know the people that I know. My friends and my family and my people are just the most beautiful people I have ever met. There are so many times — I think I’ve gotten better at this recently — I just look around and am just like, “look at how beautiful these people are! I know such wonderful people!” I love my people, I miss them every single day, I think about them all the time. My family, my friends. And this absolutely would not be possible without them. Everybody’s been so kind and so supportive. A lot of people when I told them I was doing this were very worried, and I take that as a compliment — at least they care about me a lot! So yeah, I love you, I love you, I love you. I miss you all, and I’ll see you all soon I guess… And also thank you to everyone who donated! It makes my heart so happy — even anybody who didn’t, thank you for your kindness.

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

Well first of all I have to talk about the journals, because people reading the journals makes me so happy… the comments make our day, they make the riders’ day. The riders are reading the comments and are getting so excited. So thank you to anyone who reads the journals, it’s so lovely and we work on them so hard… Also — and this is gonna be awkward because you’re sitting right here — but Riddhima is the best! I can’t imagine how they just had one person do the journals in past years, so big thank you to Riddhima because she is the ideal journal-writing partner in every way and we slay at the journals together. Aside from the journals… a lot of people have said this — which is how you know it’s true — we have the most beautiful team. Our team is amazing, and I would never bike across the country with any other group of people. I just think it’s so cool how everybody on this team so openly expresses love and gratitude… and we’re all just so aware of how lucky we are to be doing this and how awesome it is to be doing this, so I love our team! Our teammates are amazing. We all have our little spots that we fall into, our little niches, and we work together so well, we love each other, and we take good care of each other. So, our team is very special, thank you for reading the journals. Yippee yay! And you can quote me on that!

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

Day 15: Casey’s and coldness | Richmond, IN to Indanapolis, IN

Today was a relatively uneventful day for the team — which for us is a good thing! Our route was essentially a straight line from Richmond to Indianapolis, the heart of Indiana. Vast oceans of crops, mighty farm vehicles, and other classic symbols of small town American life flew past as we biked. Windy and cloudy weather conditions also meant it was noticeably colder, but we braved the conditions as always and completed another day on the road successfully :)

Ride overview

Mileage: 73.9

Elevation:1,352’

Points of Interest: USPS of Straughn, IN, Riley Memorial Park, The Burch Tree Cafe, Domino’s Pizza of Greenfield, IN, Pennsy Trail

quote of the day

“Hurry up so we can dance!”

— Joey, rushing to finish laundry and join a team Just Dance sesh

tales of the trail

Today’s morning activity was a partner yoga contest judged by Olivia, which you would think would be relaxing, but was surprisingly stressful given the complex series of formations she had us perform in mere minutes. To no-one’s surprise, Tommy and Kavin won — we are convinced they’re basically the same person at this point.

Neal finishing what he started with yesterday’s pancake challenge. Plate? Optional.

After interacting with an adorable cat randomly hanging around the church premises, we rolled out onto the flatness of Indiana. The cold immediately met us with unexpected force and only increased as the winds blew harder into the day. Those who prematurely shed their layers during the first rest stop ended up regretting it by the second one — but, with any challenge we face also comes the opportunity to adapt. Anthony, our van driver for the day, lifted spirits by obtaining a lunch donation from a local Domino’s, who generously gave us a few pizzas and garlic knots. Other ways of suppressing the cold included playing with the local geese, biking around in circles, and taking shelter in the warmth of the van.

Olaf harnesses his inner goose.

Two different approaches to the weather — a classic double thumbs up of denial, versus…

…practically bundling up and hoping for the best.

Kavin and Michael stop for cupcakes at The Burch Tree Cafe.

Izzy, Jack, Maaike, and Emma stay positive while fixing a flat!

The final stretch of the ride took us onto the Pennsy Trail, which was a change of topographical pace that we always appreciate. We were fueled by the reward of getting to our toasty and beautiful stayover, Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, and showering at the YMCA that Michael was proactive enough to call for permission. The team had the pleasure of meeting with Jack’s family, who donated a greatly appreciated dinner for us tonight. Plus, Sam Michalak, 2023 rider and upcoming Vice President of Illini 4000, visited us! Hearing his stories from last year’s ride was a fun preview of the upcoming reunion event taking place in Chicago — we’re excited to discover more anecdotes from rides past :)

Some teammates are playing a game of Just Dance as I write this, while others are setting up for yet another I4K movie night — it looks like the Phineas and Ferb movie is tonight’s winner. We’ll see you tomorrow, as we get one day closer to reaching our beloved Champaign.

The team in the middle of a Just Dance sesh to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.”

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Neal Linden

How are you feeling today?

Today I felt very unmotivated, because it was cloudy, and we’re in Indiana — but it was an easy ride, and the Domino’s was fire, and me and Olaf shared a half gallon of chocolate milk. The chocolate milk carried. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I ride a Trek Domane AL 2… a.k.a Megan. I love Megan. Megan is awesome. I love her red tape.

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 think the last time I rode a bike, I was probably like 14, and it was my old mountain bike. I played football a lot, and some baseball.

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

I learned how to do a front flip, which was a goal for the summer. Well — kind of. I hit a pole, and I did a front flip over my handlebars. I think the best part was probably the Great Falls day, going through Great Falls park on that bike trail. There were just a lot of little random side things that happened on that day. We took a lot of pictures too. Great Falls day was good. 

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

My best friend’s mom passed away, I think of lung cancer… we were like eight, we’ve been best friends since that. Shortly after that happened, he stayed at my house a lot. That’s kind of the big one… just seeing how much it affected [him]. 

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

Thank you for donating. Don’t worry about me when I crash. I’m chillin’. I’m bouncy. Don’t worry about the scrapes you see in pictures. I’m bouncy, I’m fine. I go down well, I don’t get hurt. 

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

The food from [our stayover hosts] has been fire. The food has been so good. We’ve barely had to cook pasta and lentils, which means we get to donate more. I see how much we spend on PB & Js, we would spend so much more on pasta and lentils. We are saving so much money by getting food donated… This trip has reminded me how many good, generous people there are. There have been so many people just giving us stuff,  helping us. This trip is kind of restoring my faith in humanity. People are good. The world is good.

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

Day 13 & 14: Flat as a flapjack | Columbus, OH to Richmond, IN

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

“I just apologized to my bike for making her ride in Ohio.”

— Neal

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.

Kev and Tommy take possibly the cutest Valentine’s Day pic ever at the German Village in Columbus.

Lucas, Logan, and Neal chow down on some Panda Express on their throuple date. The more the merrier!

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.

Bike train through the fields of the Midwest!

These nerds in orange shirts are definitely not lost.

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! 

Jack, Neal, Anthony, and Lucas might consider taking this train the remaining 70 or so miles to Indiana.

Maaike, Riddhima, Michael, Kev, and Dylan are having similar thoughts.

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.

The Historic Clifton Mill, captured by Emma.

Kev, Tommy, Kavin, Michael, Izzy, Olivia, and Maaike (the hand that accidentally got in the way of the camera) sitting down to enjoy brunch at the Mill.

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.”

Lucas, Olaf, and Anthony are flapjack-ready. Look at those happy faces. No idea of what’s to come.

The challenge in question — devour two of these pancakes. The picture does not do their true size justice.

Action shot from the battle. Lucas is fighting hard but things are looking tough.

Victory! Or, something like that.

The reward? Sleepy time in the van.

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.

One of these people ate two massive pancakes in one sitting. I’ll leave it up to your interpretation.

100-milers mean plentiful naps for the van crew as well — Emma was our amazing driver today while Olaf helped with logistics.

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.)

Day 12: Welcome back to the Midwest! | Zanesville, OH to Columbus, OH

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

“PEDAL, PEDAL, PEDAL!!!”

— Lucas (while his group gets chased by a concerningly large dog)

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.

Logan, Olaf, Kev, and Olivia are thrilled to be in Columbus :)

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.

Lucas, Anthony, Riddhima, and Dylan stop for a picture at Buckeye Lake State Park.

A look at some endlessly straight, headwind-filled roads.

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.

Thank you to Domino’s and Texas Roadhouse for donating dinner to us tonight, and thank you to Emma and Neal for picking it up!

The action-packed game…

…and the entertained spectators.

(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.)

Day 11: Swag like Ohio, down in Ohio | Wheeling, WV to Zanesville, OH

The horror. The terror. The greatest trial of being an Illini 4000 rider. Each year, the brave individuals of the Bike America Team must withstand one of the toughest tests known to mankind. Advised and warned by those who came before us, we follow in the path of the courageous former I4K riders who have already endured the trials of the most challenging, grueling obstacle the country has to offer. Dear readers, the 2024 I4K team has at long last arrived in the state of Ohio. And no, it did not disappoint. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 83

Elevation: 5,133’

Points of Interest: The Ohio River, Bridgeport, OH, Kennedy’s Cakes and Donuts, Great Guernsey Trail

Quotes of the day

“I specialize in anxiety and adrenaline.” - Emma

“I don’t wanna see this road ever again in my entire life.” - Michael

Tales of the Trail

Following the briefest of stops in West Virginia, we took to the road after a quick safety lesson (courtesy of Kavin) for our morning activity. Our last truly mountainous day for a while, today was sure to be a long and difficult one, but brought with it some excitement — another new state! The downside? This new state is Ohio, a legend within I4K for being a short but somewhat miserable stretch of the trip due to its dullness and knack for bringing bad luck to the team. However, this year’s crew was ready to welcome the challenge after a good night’s sleep, as we’ve finally hit the groove of living together in this new lifestyle.

The day started eventfully with a lengthy climb at a 10% gradient at mile five. With hard climbs always comes a beautiful view — we loved getting to see the village of Bridgeport, OH from the top. We took an extra moment to appreciate this, knowing it would likely be one of our last beautiful views for a while as we re-enter our beloved cornfields of the Midwest. The mini-rest stop also came in handy for healing our tired legs and knees.

The exhausted but obligatory “we made it!” pic.

Part 2!

The gorgeous view minus the sweaty cyclists, courtesy of Olaf.

Time to use our favorite phrase — what goes up, must come down! We were greeted with an extremely steep descent on the other side of the mountain, which unfortunately did not pass the I4K Descent Safety and Quality Test™️ of not causing any crashes (Maaike was the lucky rider who discovered this. Whoopsy.) An honorable mention needs to be given to Dylan, for being the only rider to descend the mountain safely, then having to walk back up to meet with the team to consult, and walk all the way back down again after. After a slow but safe walk down for the rest of the team, we continued on our merry way.

Not continuing quite as merrily along was the van. In an attempt to join in on the fun, the van naively meandered its way down the narrow descent only to be met by a fallen tree blocking the road. Riders were able to walk around it, but the bulky van — bless its heart — was forced to turn around. Massive shoutout to Michael, our van driver for the day, who used his former EMT ambulance-driving skills to perform the maneuver. He did so lodged securely in the middle of a steep drop on one side and muddy trenches on the other. At one point, the van’s rear wheel got stuck in a patch of some particularly adherent soil. The rest of the van crew — Emma, Izzy, Riddhima, and Tommy, who had all wisely sagged during the dangerous descent — got out and manually pushed the van back on track. The endeavour was the definition of a team effort, and yet another example of the multifaceted chaos that is a day on this ride. We feel it earns its own mini-photo essay to truly capture the event.

Van encounters tree. Driver Michael strikes the dad-who-is-on-a-roadtrip-and-way-too-tired-for-this pose.

The van crew inspects the tree situation as a group moves through. Emma is showing some doubts.

Never doubt Michael’s EMT driving skills and four cyclists pushing skills. The van is freed, and victory is celebrated.

A second celebration pic — Michael is also very happy with the outcome.

After the first mountain adventure, we were mostly done with our hills for the time being. A second large ascent was made up a not entirely pleasant unpaved road — although we do always enjoy our Bonus Gravel!  The team has gotten much more comfortable riding on gravel throughout the ride, although no one in this year’s group brought a gravel bike to use for the summer. A big thank you to the construction workers of Eastern Ohio for their kindness in directing us and advising us on roads that are currently being worked on — we love talking with the only other people who are awake as early as we are in the mornings :) 

Our first day in Ohio brought us somewhat of an abundance of mechanical issues, leaving a team stranded about halfway through the ride. This created the first true use of our Zoleo satellite communicators, as the van was out of reach and not contactable by text. Day after day, this ride continues to consist of different problem-solving situations that we always conquer together, as a team. Everything that Ohio threw at us, from the return of Midwest headwinds (we did not miss those!) to bike problems galore, we took on and figured out together. The 2024 I4K team is a group of truly unique individuals, and our combined skill set hasn’t let us down yet.

A mega group of nerds in orange shirts has formed along the Great Guernsey Trail!

After a long day, we have arrived safe and sound at Westwood Baptist Church in Zanesville. Our kind hosts have provided us with an abundance of delicious  food (I4K should be sponsored by Chipotle at this point), and we’re settling in for a good night of sleep before a 70-mile day tomorrow that will bring us to Ohio’s capital. We’re well motivated with a rest day on the horizon and are thrilled to be getting closer and closer to Champaign every day.

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Kev Murphy

How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling pretty good. Today was a very long day, there was a really big climb early on that was rough and then there was a descent that we ended up having to walk down because it was unsafe to ride. And then, we had a lot of climbing. In general, it was just a long day. But, I’m feeling good — tomorrow hopefully should be shorter, which is exciting.

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I’m riding a Cannondale Synapse 2 aluminum… I love the bike, it’s a nice bike. 

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 not been sporty in a while. I played sports in middle school and then I didn’t play anything in high school, but I’ve been going on bike rides with my mom since I was nine, ten years old. I remember we biked 20 miles sometimes to get ice cream, and at the time I was on a tiny bike and it was such a fun ride. So ever since then, my mom got me into biking for exercise. And I got more and more into it, and I wanted to get more into cycling cycling… I’m also involved in Illini Cycling. I go on a couple of their group rides and stuff, so I’ve had some more cycling experience — I’ve been cycling for the past two, three years now.

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

I don’t think I have a favorite day of the ride or anything like that, but I think just in general getting to know my teeammates and getting to know stayover hosts. We meet really interesting people along the way, and I also get closer with my teammates along the way. So that’s really nice. It’s really good bonding experience and we’ve also been meeting the most interesting people. Yesterday I met a guy named Dave who’s biked across the country — he’s such a cool guy. You meet people in the most random spots and they’re always the most generous. It’s just realy nice, and getting to know our teammates has been just amazing. 

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

Cancer runs in my family, so I’ve had a lot of family members affected by cancer. My grandma, two of my aunts, my uncle who passed away, my dad… and a lot of extended family too. I am doing this ride for them and for anyone that’s been affected by cancer.

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

Thank you for the kind messages and all the support, it’s been really amazing to see. And some of it’s not directly to me — my mom has been posting on Facebook all the time, and it’s been great to read the comments on the Facebook posts when I’m having a rough day… all the people who are like “good job,” “amazing,” “oh, this is  so cool that Kevin’s doing this!” So it’s just really nice. My parents are definitely a great support system. My friends, my roomates. It’s really cool how much people have been texting me and asking me how it’s going. Some people I didn’t even think would ever reach out have reached out that I haven’t talked to in years… they’re excited that I’m doing this type of thing. It’s been really cool and I just wanna thank them for being so supportive.

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

I really enjoy singing on the road! That wasn’t something I mentioned in my favorite parts of the ride, but I really love when we just break out into song. We sing random songs, and we never know all the lyrics to the song so we only do 30 seconds of it, but then we switch to the next song and the vibe just keeps changing as we’re on the road… I really like that. 

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

Day 10: Country roads, take me home | Pittsburgh, PA to Wheeling, WV

A few teammates have been saying Pennsylvania is their favorite state of the ride so far, and today was evidence as to why. Although we had to overcome some daunting climbs, crisp weather and abundant greenery surrounded us as we did so. We covered a type of terrain we are now familiar with — a healthy mixture of rolling hills and paved trails. It tested us as riders, but also rewarded us with some beautiful sights and the contentment of another day well done. We ride on into tree-enfolded West Virginia, curious to see what the upcoming Ohio section may bring.

ride overview

Mileage: 70.3

Elevation: 2,889’

Points of Interest: Pizza Capri, Quick Service Bicycle Shop, Hot Metal Bridge, Southside Riverfront Park, Wheeling YMCA, South Side Trail, Station Square Trail, Panhandle Trail, Robinson Run River, Ohio River, Brooke Pioneer Trail, Wheeling Heritage Trail, Greater Wheeling Trail, Wheeling Heritage Port Sculpture Garden

quote of the day

“Sun hoodie! Sun hoodie! Sun hoodie!”

— Olivia and Riddhima

tales of the trail

After the usual flurry of bag-packing, van-loading, and oatmeal-eating took place, the team decided to play a game of human knot. For those unfamiliar with how to play (as were many of our bewildered teammates), we stood in a circle in which every person reached into a tangle of outstretched hands to grab a random one with each of their own hands. Then, we attempted to unravel the “human knot” we made through various awkward bodily contortions — all without letting go of any hands. If it sounds ridiculous reading it, one can only imagine how ridiculous it felt actually doing it. Even so, it was the lighthearted morning activity we needed to begin our day. 

A challenge for the reader — see if you can identify and name every person in this picture.

Emma and Kev manning the van (can you spot a certain sleeping Ride Leader in the back?)

Kavin, Joey, Olaf, and Jack follow up the human knot by doing… whatever this is.

We rolled out into the outskirts of Pittsburgh, getting the opportunity to bypass cars on a closed road littered with an assortment of graffiti. It felt like something out of an apocalyptic movie, and it was interesting to imagine all the people who had contributed their art to its concrete canvas at some point in the city’s history.

Are we in a set of “The Walking Dead?”

The first climb hit us pretty hard, forcing upwards of a 10% grade under our worn wheels and taking us through a rather untame section of uneven and overgrown concrete. As always, though, we made it through and onto some of our favorite trails of the ride. These trails were interspersed throughout the day’s route, and an enjoyable opportunity to view wildlife (from cautious deer to narrowly-avoided snakes), take shelter in the shade of trees, and keep a steady pace toward our destination in Wheeling, West Virginia. One group took advantage of the lack of traffic to take a break and indulge in a 5-minute power nap on the surface of the path, with a view of the Ohio River right across from them. 

Riddhima captures Neal and Olaf striking a classic on-the-bike flex.

Maaike wakes Neal up from his trail nap (which he’s somehow managed to look genuinely comfortable!)

Lucas, Michael, Kavin, Logan, and Jack document our passing into West Virginia :)

Lucas poses looking satisfied with a meal from Pizza Capri, a hunger-fueled detour on our first rest stop. Fun fact: he found the glasses hanging from his collar on the side of the road.

The van was piloted by Kev and Emma today, who were an immense help in everything from stayovers to bicycle mechanics. They met a staff member named Dave at Quick Service Bicycle Shop, who has actually biked across the country three times. They exchanged stories, and it was exciting to meet someone who could understand the nature of our unique journey.

The second big ascent was gradual but longer, with around two miles of climbing through a series of switchbacks whose ample trees kept the hot sun off our already sweating backs. These climbs are becoming almost enjoyable given their more forgiving character. 

Brushing off a brief rain scare that had us questioning the effectiveness of our brakes, we followed the climb with a truly epic descent (depending on who you ask). The steep road eventually transitioned into our final trails of the day and ended at our stayover, Christ United Methodist Church, where we gladly set up our stuff in their spacious property. The pastor kindly offered us Lemon Crisp Kit Kats, an exotic treat that our teammates rushed to try, as well as a generously donated Chipotle dinner — we are massive fans of Chipotle. Thank you to Michael, Lucas, Olivia, and Dylan for portioning the food!

From there, we drove to the Wheeling YMCA, who warmly allowed us to shower in their locker rooms. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was collectively sung on the way back. The lyrics, especially the opening line — “almost heaven, West Virginia” — have never felt more real. 

The I4K Valentine’s Day pairings were also dropped. For this I4K holiday, members of our team will go on “dates” during our upcoming rest day in Columbus, OH. We look forward to spending time with each other on a smaller scale :) Speaking of hanging out with the team, the first I4K movie night of the ride is ongoing. We are watching “Smokey and the Bandit” — which beat out “Barbie: Mermaidia,” much to some of our teammates’ disappointment. All in all, another solid day for I4K.

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Logan Maurer

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing pretty well. I’m a little bit sore from all the mountains, but my joints are doing well, so I’m glad for that. I’ve been caught up on sleep, I’ve had a good couple nights the past couple days.

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I built it myself. The frame is a Ritchey Swiss Cross 2022 50th anniversary model. The wheels are made by DT Swiss. The rest of the parts are parts that I’ve collected over the past couple of years. I’ve ridden a lot of bikes in the past couple of years, and this is by far my favorite of all time…I would say I’ve been collecting parts for about three years, but the build took about two months of  sitting down and deciding on parts, to actually having a complete bike. 

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 wouldn’t really consider myself an athlete. I enjoy rock climbing, and obviously I do a lot of cycling. But before high school, I didn’t do many sports at all. In high school I got a job in a bike shop, and I discovered my love for cycling. I regularly do rides and commute everywhere. But otherwise, I’ve been riding a lot in the corn fields, and I occasionally go out with Illini cycling.

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

I really like climbs. Both the climbing and the descending. The climbs have been kind of rough, especially in the Appalachian mountains, but it’s been very fun, and everyone’s handling it very well. One of my goals for this ride was to break 50 miles per hour, and I just got that the other day, 53 miles an hour. I checked the route ahead of time, went through all of the turns in my head and made sure it would be safe and reasonable. 

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

I don’t have a particular person, but I’ve always liked helping people, and especially recently I’ve really loved being on my bike. So I figured I could combine those two things, and spend a summer doing a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’d get to combine those things in a very positive, impactful way.

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

It’s been very eye-opening, all of the things I’ve been seeing around the country, and all of the people I’ve met and stories I’ve heard…I’ve learned so much and I so greatly appreciate everything. I think the generosity has been amazing. I knew that people were going to be motivating and people were going to support me, but the scale and the quantity of people’s help and donations, even just people being nice, passing people on the road, getting some waves and some cheers, has been amazing. 

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

I have a newfound appreciation for peanut butter and jelly. I tolerated it, but I never really liked it. I think burning 6,000 calories a day has really awoken an appreciation for crunchy peanut butter jelly sandwiches.

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

Day 9: New day, new city! And also many bridges | Mt. Pleasant, PA to Pittsburgh, PA

The team was incredibly happy (and a little relieved) to enjoy a shorter 50 mile day — yes, we’re aware of how insane that sounds — riding into the historic city of Pittsburgh, PA. With quite a bit of soreness in our legs from yesterday, we crossed many of Pittsburgh’s 446 bridges, did a little climbing, and a lot of trail riding. We’re slowly but steadily getting adjusted to this new lifestyle, but have gotten quicker at our team routines and arrived before 1 p.m. This left us with time to explore the city, eat some great food, and even get some laundry in!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 51.1

Elevation: 2,582’

Points of Interest: Great Allegheny Passage, Monongohala River, McKee’s Point Trailhead, Youghiogheny River, Dead Man’s Hollow Conservation Area, Pittsburgh!

Quote of the day

“My car has more personality than some people I know.”

— Neal

Tales of the Trail

We had a glorious 5:40 a.m. wake-up this morning as opposed to our usual 4:40 a.m., as we went to bed an hour later last night knowing we had a much shorter day ahead. After a bit of morning push-up time for some team members to get caught up on their daily workout challenge, we set off for Pittsburgh looking forward to a little less climbing and a little more relaxation.

The push-up crew starts their day strong with a good upper body workout. The rest of the team watches with a mix of confusion and concern.

The ride started a little cruel with a good deal of elevation, which wore on our sore legs more than any of us wanted it to. The back-to-back aspect of the ride has stayed one of the most challenging things, as keeping ourselves energized can be difficult in day after day of heat. However, the closeness of our team has been incredibly helpful in pushing ourselves through. Reminding ourselves that we went through much worse yesterday, we powered through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania to hop on the Great Allegheny Passage, which we spent a good deal of the ride following.

We took two quick rest stops, and although we shoot more for convenience on these and less for scenery, one was underneath a bridge! Simple as it may sound, bridges are one of those wonders that we only realize we never see in Illinois once we leave. The bridges of the Pittsburgh area are gorgeous, and allow for some truly stunning views — and top tier selfies of course.

Maaike hits ‘em with the bridge selfie while riding with Izzy, Neal, and Logan.

We hit Pittsburgh quickly enough, ending the shorter ride on a particularly steep stretch of a cobblestone street. Our team is still finding their comfort level with difficult terrain — some of us choose to get off our bikes and walk when things look sketchy, while others enjoy barreling uphill as fast as we can like Tour de France riders. Again, the community we’ve developed within our team has made it easy for us to communicate about what conditions we’re comfortable riding in. No one is ever pressured to ride on roads in even slightly scary conditions; going the old-fashioned way and walking is always an option!

Olaf, Kev, Tommy, and Emma entering city limits with some flower finds.

Our stayover for the night is one of the most beautiful buildings we’ve ever seen (Riddhima would gladly make this her future house if she could). Formerly the mansion of an old oil baron, when the original owner of the building passed away he swore on his life for it to never be used by people of color or people within the Jewish religion. So, the building has now been turned into a Jewish Temple :) Our hosts threw a lovely community dinner for us, which we enjoyed after an afternoon of exploring bike shops, restaurants, and even an REI store in Pittsburgh.

Dinner on the lawn of our gorgeous stayover in Pittsburgh.

Maaike, Izzy, Emma, Anthony, and Kev preparing themselves for the camping they’ll be doing later this summer. In the air-conditioned camping section of the REI store, of course.

Recovery is the name of the game! Olivia and Riddhima practice some stayover stretches.

We look forward to a longer day tomorrow with roughly the same amount of climbing — which means it’s more spread out! Looking on the bright side here — and would like to thank you again for reading and sharing some very optimistic comments with us. They truly are what keep us pedaling day after day :)

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Izzy Perpich

How are you feeling today?

I’m pretty good, I’m pretty tired. I think I caught someone’s cold so I’m a little sniffly, but the trip’s been going good so far — I feel like there were some ups and downs in the beginning, but now it seems like we’re starting to iron out some of our issues. We’ve been getting to our stayovers a little earlier, which is nice. It’s nice to see the progress from Week 1. It’s been really cool so far.

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

A silver Cannondale Optimo 4. It’s aluminum. 

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 wouldn’t really say that I was a cyclist and I honestly don’t think I’m a cyclist currently. Yes, I ride a bicycle and I do that motion, but I’ve never ridden like this before. Growing up, I rode a lot of bikes with my parents in Michigan and Chicago on the Lakefront Trail… I was a bike instructor my first job. I taught kids how to ride bikes when I was sixteen at a summer camp in Chicago. And, I’ve been biking as a form of transportation at U of I to get to classes… Not a ton of cycling. I am on the women's hockey team at U of I, which has definitely kept me conditioned for a ride like this, but I think that even playing hockey or those faster sprints don’t prepare you fully for the longevity of the rides that we do.

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

All the trails. I really enjoyed exploring the one that was in Delaware, the one in the West coast of New York City... I feel like there’s been a variety of different trails that are similar in a lot of ways to the Lakefront Trail in Chicago, which I’ve really enjoyed since I was a kid. And, I really enjoyed the 300-mile span (I think?) of the Washington, DC to Pittsburgh C&O trail that we took just because it was right around the Potomac River — it was gorgeous, it was pretty flat, I felt like we were just flying by, and there were tons of other cyclists so we felt right in place. It was just a really nice ride that day. It was 100 miles, but it was good.

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

I have a lot of close family members that have had cancer. Obviously, it’s a very cancer centered ride, because that’s our main goal — to improve the lives of or help out the people that have these different experiences. During COVID, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was pretty early — my parents acted really chill about it — so I didn’t really know the severity of it, but he ended up having surgery and he’s been cancer-free. He’s also had different smaller skin cancers. So I would say I think of him a lot… it was an impactful life event that worried me. I remember when I found out, I literally went to the bathroom and cut all my hair off. That was my reaction… [cancer’s] been very prominent in my family, so I think of my family a lot when I’m doing the ride. I think, closest to me is my dad, even though it wasn’t a super severe bout of cancer, it still was present. He also was the one who initially found this RSO online, so I think of him because I found out about I4K through my dad and then he ended up having a diagnosis. 

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

I am super grateful for the support that my friends and family have given me. My parents are pretty endlessly supportive. My extended family on my father’s side are the kindest and sweetest, and I have so much gratitude and thankfulness for them because the cause touches them very personally too… obviously there’s financial limits, so it’s been really helpful that people have been willing to donate to the cause and are so unapologetically present and supportive. It’s really awesome. So, thank you!

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

Thank you for reading and taking the time to support our mission and this experience… feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to share your story with The Portraits Project. I’m excited to see my family and a few friends soon when we pass through Champaign and Chicago, so that will be a nice boost. But yeah, I’m really having a good time, this is a very unique experience.

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

Day 8: Okay, so maybe this is actually gonna be hard | Everett, PA to Mount Pleasant, PA

We have officially left the first week of the ride behind, yet it feels like we’ve been doing this for much longer. Our sleep schedules, bodies, diets, and mentalities are starting to adjust to a drastically new lifestyle as we continue heading West. Today marks our longest and biggest day of climbing yet, with nearly 7,000 feet of elevation in the relentless ups and downs of the Pennsylvania countryside. The ride was not without its challenges, but we’re glad to say that everyone made it through safely. 

ride overview

Mileage: 82.6

Elevation: 6,853’

Points of Interest: Mann’s Choice Grocery, Bentz Bicycle Sales & Services, Pioneer Park Campground, Forbes State Forest, Flight 93 National Memorial, Shanksville, Regional Family YMCA of Laurel Highlands

quote of the day

“I wish I had a harmonica right now.”

— Kavin (while going up a hill)

tales of the trail

The team rolled out in groups chronologically assigned by birthday, and the landscape immediately threw us into a series of hilly fluctuations. Even from the van, one could feel the effort any vehicle — especially a human-powered one — might need to propel itself forward on climbs as steep as the ones completed today.

Nevertheless, many of us have noted that hills can falsely limit your sense of physical ability. As you approach the base of a new climb, you always doubt whether you can reach the top. Slowly but surely though, you do. Any rider, whether grudgingly or excitedly, will admit that hills have an unexpected way of making you a better rider. Making it over a tough climb is a form of reassurance — a sign that you can do much more than you think you can. Self-doubt feels almost silly in hindsight. 

The descents that followed each hill were equally intimidating, but some would interpret them as a thrilling reward at the top of each summit. These sections of the ride are also a lesson in the mental game of cycling, as the difference between falling and staying upright can be the simple belief that you can do it. Groups also learned important lessons for how to safely navigate the record speeds they were hitting.

Maaike, Neal, Michael, and Kavin get ready for a descent.

Claudia captures Logan, Kev, Jack, and Lucas…

…as well as Dylan, Joey, Emma, and Olivia rolling through the countryside.

At rest stops, we exchanged impressively big numbers from Ride with GPS elevation maps and Garmin watch activity monitors. We also narrated imaginary fights between inchworms and pillbugs, relished fresh fruit bountifully donated by past stayovers, and touched up the map art of the route on the side of the van. Overall, the team intended to take the day slow and have fun despite the physical challenge of the terrain.

Anthony dons an unconventional yet undeniably comfy outfit for his daily pullups.

Emma’s face says, “waste not, want not.”

Our final rest stop at Forbes State Forest.

Anthony and Tommy embrace Mother Nature with some flowers that Olaf picked.

The final rest stop was visibly tough. Some riders, having fixed mechanical issues from earlier in the day, were able to get back on the road, while others had to sit out for the last stretch. Crushing hills can feel amazing, but we’ve also learned we need to learn to listen to our bodies. Riders have been great about doing this, even when the outcome stands in the way of their personal hopes for the day.

Shoutout to Emma, Anthony, Kev, Tommy, and Kavin for calling restaurants to ask for food donations, the efforts of which got us copious amounts of wings and salad graciously donated from a local Applebee’s — an effective morale booster for any pack of hungry riders. 

We are now currently at the Regional Family YMCA of Laurel Highlands, our amazing stayover for the night. They have provided us with space and showers, which makes for a night well spent when you’re on the road with I4K. I write this in one of the gymnasiums, watching my teammates play basketball (thank you Neal for saving me from getting taken out by one). We’re about to get ice cream at Suzy’s Simply Delicious to end the night. In spite of the undoubtedly exhausting day they have overcome today, the team carries on in high spirits :)

cyclist’s corner

Today’s Rider: Joey Shepin

How are you feeling today?

Today was really tiring, because we had a lot of uphills and downhills, and even if you’re going down a hill, it’s still pretty stressful to watch out for things and make sure you’re not flipping out on the bike. I’m feeling pretty accomplished as well, because at the beginning of the day I felt pretty sore, and to go through the entire day without too much of a problem was really rewarding. 

What make and model of bicycle are you riding?

I am riding a Cannondale Synapse, it is gray, and it’s so far been a great bike.

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?

In terms of biking, I did bike around campus for about two years, my freshman and sophomore years. I was pretty familiar with bikes, but I was definitely not what you would consider a serious biker. I was very casual, and when something broke, I would look at it and try to fix it, but I wasn’t doing tons of research about it, unlike some people on our team definitely do. Sports wise, I did work out, I did some running, some swimming. 

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

Coming out of New York City was very memorable. It was rainy, but it was memorable to me because it was really marking the beginning, and for me that was pretty significant to be rolling out of New York City because it was a moment that we’d been leading up to for so long, doing the team trainings, the fundraising, and so many logistics. To finally get going was so rewarding.

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

My grandfather is one of the people that I’m riding for. He struggled with skin cancer, and then his dad died when my grandfather was 12 years old. It was a really tough experience for him. And actually, back in the day, they didn’t let kids into hospitals. So when he was in the hospital, my grandfather couldn’t visit him, and so they would have to wait outside and look through the window. So for him it was a really traumatic experience. So my grandfather is one of the people I’m definitely riding for, yeah.

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

[My family has] been very supportive, from when I brought up the idea they were very supportive and all throughout the process…and my friends think it’s really cool too, they’re reading the journals, and following along. So to them I would say, I really appreciate all the support from everybody following along and watching, because it is easy to sort of just tune out and keep going on with your life, but to keep checking in on what some group of kids are doing in some part of the country at any given time…I think it’s really cool for us to know that people are actually watching us and following along. 

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

It’s been a ton of fun riding with everybody, and it’s really been an incredible experience so far. I’m so excited to see where the summer takes us.

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