Last Thursday, I4K hosted a 24-hour bike vigil on the Quad. From noon on Thursday to noon on Friday, at least two members of our 28-person team were fixed on trainers, peddling away in the hopes of raising money to meet our $100,000 fundraising goal. I had the privilege of biking during the 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift, during which I serenaded my fellow riders and a few Quad lingerers to the entirety of Queen’s Greatest Hits Volume II. It was a magical three hours for them, I’m sure.The event was quite a success, and more fun than I ever expected. It was a great chance to bond with my new teammates, whom I’m beginning to love just a little bit more each day. We raised about $1,100 dollars, which, given the marginal success quad booths usually garner, is quite an accomplishment. To everyone who bought T-shirts at 2:30 in the morning to help support our cause, don’t worry, you look fly. And if you don’t, well, you’re money is going to a good cause, so all is not lost.The success of our event can only be attributed to the commitment and determination of this year’s team. First off, I’ve got to give credit to my teammate Pi, who organized the event. Without his hard work, I4K 24 Hours of Cycling wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. He was there the entire 24 hours, making sure everything was running smoothly and efficiently. Still, his hard work would have been for naught without the dedicated members of our team. I’ve never been surrounded by a group of people so motivated by a single cause. It’s inspiring. It pushes me to work harder, pedal faster and complain less (which is saying something). I feel so lucky to be a part of this team, I can’t even put it into words.But I think more important (for me at least) than the money we earned was the support and encouragement we received from friends and random passersby throughout the day. Given that I was the 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift, I wasn’t expecting many people to stop by. Yet I was surprised and touched by the number of friends who showed up to support my teammates and I. Visiting was such a small gesture, but it meant the world to me and reminded me how blessed I am to have some of these people in my life. On top of that, having random strangers approach just to tell us how how inspired they were by our dedication and to encourage us to “keep pedaling” or give us a high five was so moving. I’ll never forget it.So really, what I’m trying to say is, thank you so much to everyone who came out to support us last Thursday. It’s comforting to know that you’re behind us for each and every one of those 4500 miles.