Day 23 - Family Fun

Chicago IL to Deerfield IL.  Todays ride was a fun ride, we only went 30 miles, but our friends and family were invited and I convinced my mom and Ward to ride with me.  The ride was nice, I never suspected that the Chicago trails were so nice, and we didn't get lost at all, and the paths were nice up until the slightly muddy last 10 miles.  Once we got in, we found out that another local charity for cancer had a fund-raising bike ride ending up in the same place as us, so we got to hang out with them and that was awesome.  I had a lot of fun riding today, and I was proud of everyone, I think Ward and my mom both did great, and they kept up great, and I wouldn't be surprised if they started heading out on a few more rides in the near future after seeing how easy it was!  Tonight's dinner was provided by a family friend of Matt S, and once again we were spoiled and were stuffed with burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken, along with watermelon and chips.

States traveled through:11(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL)
Distance today: 30 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1391 mi

Day 22 - Go Cubs Go

Rest day in Chicago. I was planning on catching up on online stuff all day, but Matt suggested a Cubs game and I couldn't turn that down, so we woke up at 11 and headed into Wrigleyville to find tickets, and found someone selling decent seats for $40, and ended up catching a great game that the Cubs won from behind in 13 innings on a wild pitch from former Cub Kerry Wood.  After that, Matt and I stopped by Bill and Starr's new place which was awesome and said hi, then we hit up a local bike shop where I picked up some gloves to try and stop the possible nerve damage in my hand from getting worse.  Matt C, Saebin, Matt S and I went to Giordanos for dinner, and had some amazing pizza, so overall, it was a great weekend in Chicago, I got two of my favorite foods(Greek and Chicago deep dish pizza), and a Cubs game too. I am also proud to have introduced Matt C to the "Go Cubs Go" song, which he will now be unable to get out of his head for the rest of his life.

Day 21 - Narrowly avoiding danger

Homewood IL to Chicago IL.  We elected new ride leaders for the rest of the ride, so from here on out, Brad is done and Tim and Megan will run the I4K show.  Todays ride was supposed to be an easy 30 mile ride into the city, but once again, things went bad.  We were supposed to be in Millennium Park to meet friends and family at 12.  From the start, we were lost and ended up making up our own way to the first rest stop since the cues were so far off.  We made it to the rest stop with only an hour to make it the last 15 plus miles, and immediately got lost again, then started hearing about the awful weather in Chicago.  People were calling us and telling us that it was hailing and that there were terrible thunderstorms throughout the city, so not only were we making up our own cues again to get into the city, but we were also racing the weather.  We had almost made it into the city when Megan wiped out on some metal grates that were placed right in the middle of our supposed bike path through the city and ended up landing on her face and chipping a tooth or two, so we didn't end up making it into the city until almost an hour later.  It ended up alright though, we made it to the Bean and people were still waiting to take our picture and welcome us in, and Megan was alright in the end.  We made it into the UIC dorms and got into our rooms and ended up heading to Greektown through the pouring rain for dinner, and had a delicious gyro dinner at Spectrum. Tomorrow is a rest day, so I look forward to catching up with emails and blogging and all that.

States traveled through:11(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL)
Distance today: 44 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1361 mi

Day 19 and 20 - Home Sweet Homewood

Day 19 - Champaign IL to Clifton IL.  Todays ride was not bad, we rode into some pretty intense 15 mile per hour headwinds, but we had flat lands the whole way, and got into Clifton pretty early.  The awesome pool across the street let us swim for free, so we got to show off some pretty cool half-flips and face-flops along with our sweet tans to all of the locals.

States traveled through:11(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL)
Distance today: 60 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1247 mi

Day 20 - Clifton IL to Homewood IL.  The ride today started off on another bad note, as we got lost about three times within the first 5 miles, but we ended up figuring it out since all of Illinois is made up of numbered roads and it is almost impossible to get lost.  I thought the ride was easy, and I kept having to tell myself to slow down since I wanted to be home so badly.  We ended up getting into Homewood at about 1PM and we greeted by my mom and bunch of other people, who proved to be the most vocal welcoming committee that we had seen all trip.  After that, the Mayor of Homewood himself showed up, and we were treated to free Coldstone ice cream, and then Mrs. Forrestell, my second-grade teacher, set up a pool visit, so the whole team was shuttled to and from a free trip to Lions Club Pool.  After that, the amazing people from the Faith Lutheran Church made us a great dinner including fried chicken and lasagna, and then we headed over to my house for more food, a few beers, and some quality time with all my friends.  I want to thank all my neighbors, Stack, Maria, Dudek, Hallman, Kalal, Kara, Lisa, Ward, Mav, Julia, Shane, and anyone else I may have forgotten who showed up from your various homes to hang out, I had a great time, and can't wait until I get back and we can hang out again!!!  Also, a huge thank you to my mom, and everyone who provided food and supplies for the party, because we are still eating the snacks and everything that we had at the party was amazing enough as well.

States traveled through:11(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL)
Distance today: 70 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1317 mi

Day 18 - The Home Stretch

Rockville IN to Champaign, IL.  Our next ride was into Champaign, where we all go to school!!  We were all excited to be back on roads that we had all been on before for the first time during the trip, but the day was not a fun ride, as it started raining, and we ended up stuck on gravel roads for most of the second half of the ride, and let me tell you, riding through gravel and clay roads in the pouring rain is not one of my favorite activities. We arrived in Homer at 11AM and had to wait two hours for the rest of the team to catch up, and also for our guest riders, who rode the rest of the way into Champaign with us.  Once we got into Champaign, we rode into the Alumni center around 3PM and were greeted by friends and family and some news cameras that were just minutes too late to get shots of us riding in together.  We also did the annual jump into the fountain, which was fun, even if it did mean getting wet again.  At night I got to sleep in a real bed for the first time on the trip, and I also got to eat some of the best food on campus at Dos Reales and hang out with Moy, Melissa, Paul and Marcus, so that was awesome, it felt awesome to be able to see familiar faces again.  Unfortunately I fell asleep at 8PM so I didn't make it out to hang out with everyone for the night, but a warm bed was just too tempting.

States traveled through:11(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL)
Distance today: 77 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1187 mi

Day 17

Greenwood, IN to Rockville, IN.  Todays ride was pretty easy, and we are still enjoying feeling rested from Dan's house.  I saw some rabbit on sale in a small store in Indiana today and decided thats since I have never tried it and who knows where else I will ever be able to buy a rabbit, I would buy it.   So our team cooler now has a frozen rabbit traveling with it, and now I just need to try and find somewhere to cook it up.  We are staying at a huge church in Rockville and tonight for dinner went to a local diner and everyone filled the table with plates and we ate for what seemed like hours. I had a huge plate of veal parmesean which was amazing, and of course I had to try their pie as well, which was also just as tasty.

States traveled through:10 (NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled:  1111 mi

Ups & Downs

Rolling into Chicago had its ups and downs. While it was extremely wonderful to see family and friends awaiting us at the Bean, I had to walk in without my bike and without a couple pieces of my teeth. I crashed on the way in on a large metal grate covering almost half the street and couldn't get around it quick enough. Sadly, I chipped some teeth and cracked my helmet, but I was so lucky that that was all that happened. My great teammates took great care of me and the following rest day proved absolutely necessary. Shout out to my ex-duty partner Matt Dale Cady for saving my teeth and telling me I looked great, what a guy. A few hours later, I got my face fixed and it looks like nothing happened. Holy cow, how lucky am I? Seriously.

Saturday was nice and relaxing, picking up some bike stuff and spending some time with some of the important people in my life.

Then riding to Lake Geneva was awesome; we ahd the best lunch stop ever. Kristen's family made an amazing lunch for us at a lake house. Most of the team dived right into the cool water after riding in the sun for a few hours. Man, was that awesome. The Topols also provided us with the best of the best. Delicious food, a lake to swim in and tons of beds to sleep on. We have got it really good these days, I can't believe it.

Today, we rode into Fitchburg, Wisonsin and the ride was about 68 miles. A few riders jumped into the river at the lunchstop, combatting the sweltering sun. That was pretty awesome. The rest of the ride was alright, nothing too grand or exciting. The best part might be the church we are at right now. There is tons of space, a shower, a piano, and some of my teammates went out and grabbed a bunch of ice cream for the rest of us. All things considered, good day for sure.

Racing against noon

Today might have been the first day that we all got out on time. It was definitely the first day where leaving on time was terribly important. Most of the previous week we have been riding through rain with a sixty percent chance of more rain, but today we were given something more challenging. With near record breaking highs it became very clear that getting most of the ride out of the way before noon would be a good idea. The day started fast and stayed that way. We stopped to fill up our water and get a few moments of shade. The lunch break, for many, lasted long enough to get off the bike and stuff a bagel in our mouths. Sure enough when noon came it got hot, and sure enough the end of the ride was challenging to say the least, especially for the group that missed the last water stop.

This ride in many ways will parallel the rest of our lives, some moments will be fantastic, others difficult, and the worst will be unbearable. Whether we like it or not we are going to get a taste of all of them, so it’s best if we take each moment, and each ride for what it is. We will be grateful of the good rides, prepared for the difficult ones, and patient during the worst. In the end if we take these moments for what they are and not what they could or should be, then we might learn something about ourselves from each.

2 lakes, 1 day

The ride in to Chicago pretty much sucked… It was supposed to be an easy 25-30 mile ride into the city, but we got super lost.  After sort of finding our way on some not bike-friendly roads, I was riding behind Megan, who I've mentioned previously, and she slipped going over some large metal grate and wiped out, hitting the metal face first and knocking out half of her two front teeth.  I slammed on the brakes and got her to the side of the road quick. 

It was a lot less bad than it looked at first and luckily, she is one of the toughest girls around.  She actually wanted to keep riding, but her helmet was cracked so we convinced her it would be best to wait for the van… So everone else went ahead and me and two other guys stayed behind and waited for the van with her.  She was such a good sport about it, even when I handed her teeth to her in a zip-lock bag.  

So that really just put me in a bad mood for the rest of the ride.  We rode in to Millenium Park to a bunch of cheers from people's friends and family, since just about everyone on the trip is from Chicago or the suburbs, but it still wasn’t enough to cheer me up.

The rest of the time in Chicago ruled though.  We stayed in the dorms at U of I-Chicago, which were really nice.  We each had our own bedroom and each apartment had a kitchen and bathroom… most people went home to their families for the weekend though, which gave me and the few guys who stayed in the dorms even more free reign in the dorms. 

Friday night we went out to eat at sweet place in Greektown and then got some more free ice cream.  Saturday was a rest day and proved to be one of the better days of the trip.  I wanted to sleep in, but my body is so used to waking up early so I rolled out of bed around 8 (still two hours later than normal) and went for a run around he campus area.  I always like checking out college campuses whenever I can.  Then, Jesse and I went to try and find tickets to the noon noon cubs-indians game at Wrigley.  We got some forty dollar limited view tickets, which weren't bad- It was my first time to Wrigley Field and was such a blast.  Perfect weather for baseball.  We did it up right- peanuts, beer, hot dogs, and I even got a bloody marry, which was probably my biggest regret of the trip.  That night we got deep dish from Giordanno's. Classic Chicago day.

Sunday we rode out of Millenium park to Highland Park.  It was an easy 35 or so mile ride and a bunch of people's family and friends tagged along so the ride was pretty easy.  Greg came out and rode with us so we had a good talk, which was super sweet.  The ride was followed up with yet another huge meal, provided by relatives of Matt Strick.

Today was a great ride.  We are so spoiled.  For lunch we stopped at friends/family of another rider who had prepared a huge BBQ for us, complete with sushi.  Getting back on he bike after that was not easy.  Although the ride was really nice.  Mostly on a trail.

Tonight we are at Brad's lake house on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.  I went for a run when we got in and some of the houses around here are ridiculously huge.  I need to figure out how to get rich.  This lottery thing is not working.  Two swims in two lakes in the same day- life is tough.

In case you were wondering, Megan got her teeth fixed that same day and is looking as good as ever, even with the major bruises on her face.

Ok, I think I might be making these too long, but there is so much to tell and I feel like I'm leaving out so much.  I gotta go get some reading done.  Gotta finish "Watchmen" before I get to Madison tomorrow so I can drop it off with David- pumped to see that guy. 

The i4k is exploring a new for...

The i4k is exploring a new form of athletic endeavor, synchronized diving. Videos to come.

Chicago, Rest, and Wisconsin

For so long we have been in new places every night, and every morning we have been heading to some other unfamiliar place. From Homewood, however, many of us had home to look forward to.

The day began with an ominous forecast, with warnings of violent storms and eventually some tornado watches. For once we did not attract every storm cloud in the area and instead only saw the lightening and rain in the distance. Like so many other days, we had some difficulties with directions but the increasingly urban landscape and the eventual sight of Lake Michigan indicated that we were headed in the general direction of the city.

As we approached the final trail of the day the lead group of riders ran into some construction on the street bike path. As they rounded some construction barriers they passed over large metal plates which proved to be extremely slick. The first pack called out the hazard as they nearly crashed but it wass to no avail, as Megan took a nasty spill requiring some dental repair. We were all amazed and impressed when she wanted to keep riding but insisted that she wait for the van to pick her up. We're glad to say that she is back to having a perfect smile.

Arriving in Millenium Park was a sweet moment for us all, with many families there to greet their riders and PB&J sandwiches all around. After some group photos and warm welcomes home the riders headed to either stay at the UIC dorms or with their families in the Chicago area. It was great to be home, even if only for a day.

After a relaxing day in Chicago the I4K hosted a ride-a-long from Millenium Park to Highland Park, allowing friends and family to join us on our brief 30 mile ride. It was a wonderful chance for others to get a taste for what we do from day to day. The ride was mostly on bike paths that followed the Metra tracks which made it a really stress free day. We ended the ride at the Metra station where another charity group, Team in Training, was ending a race. It was a wonderful chance for us to connect with another organization and we thank them for their words of encouragement and the two enormous bags of bagels that they donated.

Today we left Chicago on a beautiful day for riding, heading northwest towards Wisconsin. The route was fantastic, consisting mostly of beautiful trails and scenic roads. While it was an extremely hot day, we had the relief of a refreshing swim in the Fox Lake thanks to the Tully family at our lunch stop. For once we didn't have to eat out of the back of the van, instead getting a fabulous lunch provided for us. Thanks!

The last 30 miles of the day were a breeze thanks to the incredible mid-day break and the promise of another swim at Lake Geneva. Arriving at the Topol family lake house, many riders headed to the lake right away. After a hot day of riding, there is nothing like a dip in the lake and synchronised diving to bring you back to life. As if the day couldn't get any better, the Topol and Volkman families provided us with a great dinner. Tomorrow we really begin our westward journey!

On the Road Again

Today, Justin, Zern, Daniel and I went to see the movie "Year One."  DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE, TERRIBLE.  I am getting ready for bed now because we will be leaving the Taylors' house early in the morning.  I want to thank the Taylor family for being so hospitable and feeding us so well.  Between the ribs, burgers, brats, hot dogs, steaks, bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, fruit, chocolate milk, pie, ice cream, and I'm sure many other things I am forgetting, it is impossible not to be full.  I think I have been spoiled the past couple days and fear it may be hard to eat peanut butter and jelly again.  Although part of me is not ready to hit the road again in the morning, I am really excited to see everything between Chicago and Portland, I think it will be the best part of the trip.

Rest Day in Chicago/Suburbs. M...

Rest Day in Chicago/Suburbs. Moving on to Wisconsin and Minnesota next.

Come ride with us!

Tomorrow, Sunday June 21st is the date of our ride-along where we invite parents, supporters, and other interested cyclists to ride along with us for the day.  The details are as follows.

When does it start?  meet at 8:30 a.m.  The ride departs at 9:00 a.m. sharp, weather pending (the forecast calls for 83 and sunshine, however!)  We anticipate the ride will take about four to five hours with breaks.
Where should we meet?  meet by the the Bean in Millennium Park.  There is ample parking underneath the park and many transit options for getting into downtown. 
Where are we going? The ride will end at the Highland Park Metra station, 1800 St. Johns Ave.  There are trains departing at 2:30, 4:30, and 5:30 back into the city.  In Evanston, you can take either the Metra or the 'L' back into the city.
How are we getting there? We'll be riding up the Lakefront path, then winding our way through the beautiful Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods and the North Shore suburbs.  We will be riding mostly on signed bike trails and less-heavily trafficked urban streets.  Directions and transit information will be provided.
Other details:  Please bring a helmet, we will not allow you to ride without one!  You do not need a fancy road bike to ride along with us.  Make sure your bike is in good mechanical condition.  Donations are very appreciated.

We hope to see you there! Have a great weekend!

First Blog...EVER

So as I sat in the basement of Justin Taylor's house i remembered that i have et to post anything on this here blog. Been an awesome ride so far. More opinions later.

Chi-Town

Today we made what we thought was going to be an easy 30 mile ride into Millenium Park in Chicago.  We left four hours before we supposed to be there, thinking we would be way to early.  However, we ended up being about an hour late due to a number of reasons.  For starters, once again the cues were not very good so many of got lost, some multiple times.  Second of all, it was just slow going because we were in the city dealing with traffic and traffic lights.  To top everything off, a few miles out, Megan had an accident that left her front tooth chipped and her lip and chin a little scratched up.  I have to say though, being that I saw the accident because I was right behind her when it happened, I thought it was going to be much worse than it was.  Also, Megan handled it really well, she really showed some toughness.  Once we finally got on the bike trail along Lake Michigan, everything went really well, and it was a beautiful ride into the city.

Tonight, I am staying at the home of Justin Taylor along with Justin (Obviously), Zernyu, and Daniel.  Justin's family provided us with a great meal that did not consist of pasta, and did include meat (ribs), which is hard to come by these days.  Tomorrow is a rest day which will probably include sleeping in, lounging around, and some much needed bike maintenance.

I have been hearing that quite a few people have been following my blog and others, so I wanted to say thank you to everyone who is keeping up with us.  More to come soon.

The team will be arriving at t...

The team will be arriving at the Bean around noon tomorrow, and departing 9am Sunday. Be there!

Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, I mean wind, rain, and gravel roads

It has been a few days since I have had internet access to update this, so I will do my best to fill everything in.  On the 15th we left Greenwood, IN and headed for Rockville, IN.  However, I was stuck driving the van for the day.  I wasn't too excited to drive the van, but everybody has to take their turn.  It turns out it actually wasn't a bad day to drive because the ride was not very scenic anyway.  For those that did ride, it was a pretty easy ride because it was pretty flat, and the riders had a tailwind most of the day.  We stayed at a Presbyterian church in Rockville, and most of us made a short ride to a local ice cream place, that was delicious.

On the 16th we left Rockville, IN for Champaign, IL.  Shortly after beginning the ride it started raining, and not long after that we hit the first of many gravel roads.  At about mile 25 we crossed into Illinois,  but we were all disappointed to find that there was no "Welcome to Illinois" sign.  We also thought that being in Illinois would bring the end to gravel roads, but we were very wrong.  We hit some more gravel roads, and eventually made our own route to Homer Lake, where we were meeting up with everyone, to avoid more gravel roads.  After meeting up at Homer Lake the entire team rode into Champaign where we were expecting to be greeted by media and other supporters at the Alumni Center.  When we rolled up to the Alumni Center, we were greeted by about eight people, none of which were media.  About five minutes after we showed up, a few news crews showed up for some interviews, but they missed the shots of us riding in together.  The news crews did get a shot of us jumping into the fountain outside the Alumni Center.

On the 17th we left Champaign for Clifton, Illinois.  We got to sleep in a couple extra hours due to the fact that we were in Champaign and everyone wanted to hang out with some friends/family they hadn't seen in a while.  We had to ride with the wind in our face most of the day, which really slowed things down.  Also, once again while riding in Illinois we found ourselves on gravel roads from time to time again.  It was also a pretty boring ride, since it was so flat and straight, so we had to make up games to keep ourselves preoccupied.  There was about a 40 mile stretch where we actually passed more tractors on the road than vehicles.  When we finally arrived in Clifton, after what seemed like forever, we were happy to see that there was a public pool right across the street from where we were staying.  After dinner, we went to the pool, and they let us all in for free, which was great.  The water really felt good after a long day of riding.

Today, we woke up to a thunderstorm, which delayed our departure by about an hour.  After getting on the road late, we had to battle the wind for about the first 35 miles.  After the wind died down, things went pretty well.  We are staying in Homewood, IL, the home of rider Jesse Krantzler.  Once again we got in at the public pool for free, but this time it was after getting free Coldstone ice cream.  Then the church we are staying at provided us with a meal.  Last but not least, we went to Jesse's house for another meal.  Needless to say, I am quite full.  I want to thank everyone that povided any kind of food, pool, or place for us to stay.  Everything was great.

Over 1,000 Miles

As a team, we have gone through 11 states and ridden over 1,200 miles. I can't believe how far we've come in such a short period of time. Today, we rolled into Homewood, Illinois just getting over 60 miles in the day. Faith Lutheran Church provided us with a wonderful dinner that stuffed the team to its seams. Later on, most of the team headed to rider Jesse's house where his family and neighbors threw a big bash. There was tons more food that we all indulged in and it was nice to be in a real home again since the team has been rolling through towns we don't know and resting in churches we've never been too.

Rolling through Urbana yesterday was great and surreal at the same time. It's strange to think that it was probably the last time the whole team will be together on campus. It was also a huge landmark to jump in the fountain holding hands as a team.

Tomorrow we ride into Chicago and I am so excited to see everyone there. It's going to be another landmark on this ride; we'll be about a third of the way through the ride. We still have way more to see and ride in the coming weeks and I can't wait for it.

Ready, Set, Ride

What a summer. Unfortunately this is my first time posting about the summer, but I assure many posts to follow.It's hard to sum up how things have gone so far, simply because it has been overwhelming. Everyday there are a myriad of new experiences that challenge and reward us. I can easily say that the last two and a half weeks have felt more like a month and a half.It's becoming exceedingly apparent that this trip is not a mere vacation, it is a way of life. I would liken it to being a nomad moving from place to place relying on the generosity of others for shelter, food, etc. The one activity that becomes our main priority is biking, which is strange when you think about it. Most people work or volunteer to earn validation in society, but now, for us, biking has become that source of validation. I guess the one thing that we have to offer is perseverance and thats something worth passing on. Everyday I try to think of the people who are going through physical and mental hardship from their ailments, and I think of lending my strength to them just as they may lend their strength to me. Knowing that there are those people out there, makes climbing the monstrous hill ahead that much easier.We're currently in Homewood, a southern suburb of Chicago. I'm can't wait to see the family whom have supported me throughout this process as we ride into millennium park tomorrow morning. It will be a brief homecoming, but one well earned. This trip has been incredible so far, and I have no idea what the future may hold.Random moments:-Reapplying sunscreen at lunch only to find that the sunscreen has mixed with salty sweat already on my skin, peanut-butter from lunch and dirt from the road.-Every shower I take is the best shower of my life. (except when lights in the bathroom are controlled by motion sensor and I have to stick my arm out of the shower and flail about every minute so that I can bathe in the light.)-Waking up at 4:30am to run inside with sleeping bag/pad because of unexpected rain storms.-Only getting flats when its raining outside (changing a tube with numb hands is very difficult!)-Icy Hot and Ibuprofin help me through a lot of days, I think I deserve a sponsorship.Thanks for reading. blog you soon.