This past Saturday was a very concentrated dose of I4k, a synopsis of what is to come. We started the day with a 37 mile bike ride south to Lake Homer. It was alumni weekend, and there were basically as many alumni at the ride as there were current riders. Their love for this cause and each other was palpable. We, the newbs are still getting our feet wet, but we had a chance to see so many past riders show how much I4K means to them. This 37 mile ride was the longest of my short biking career. The first half of the ride was a breeze (pun intended), the wind pushing us faster from behind. Then came the hard part. Champaign hills, an oxymoran I know, and then riding back into the wind. Apprently these headwinds were pretty comparable to tough winds on the trip, except instead of facing them for 18 miles, we woud have them for 80 miles on some days...The next part of that very I4K day came the Portraits Event/Documentary Screening. The 40 min. documentary was awesome! Zach did a great job. By the end of the movie I just wanted to be in NYC, starting our trip. The next part of the evening was more powerful. The portraits on display really put what we were doing in perspective. The stories of the cancer fighters, relatives, and friends showed how personal and devastating this disease is. So much pain and heartbreak. Connor said it best after the screening of the movie, he said how excited and motivated he was to be apart of the Illini 4000. I am proud to be apart of this cause; fighting for those battling Cancer on a daily basis, one mile at a time.