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.”
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.)