Finished

The last few days have been so surreal.  Hitting the coast in Seaside was so amazing.  As we biked through the downtown towards the beach, we were just hollering and being so rowdy.  Then when we hit the beach, James and I just took off sprinting for the water and ran and dove right in... probably one of the best feelings I've had minus the freezing cold Oregon water.  We stood around for awhile, got tons of pictures with our bikes and group pictures and then stuck around to watch the other groups come in and try to be equally as wild.  I eventually got a run in down the beach, which was beautiful... That night Zernyu, David and I spent too much time getting pizza for the team and after we ate at the rec center we were staying at and I got a shower, I went for a long romantic walk on the beach... with Adam.

The ride into Hillsboro was nice, but the road was pretty rough and there were a lot of hills, which I've had enough of.  That night Saebin's parents took all of us out to eat to Applebees where we all gorged ourselves and I ran into Shawn Pollard, a former teammate of mine at SU that I haven't seen in 5 years- weird and random.

Yesterday we had a huge breakfast provided for us by the church before our short ride into Portland, which was led by an Iliinois Alumni from Portland.  The ride was easy and great.  We went through the nike campus in Beaverton and got to check out all the facilities, which was amazing to me... They had a rubber track with a wooded infield- really cool.  Plus a huge statue of Prefontaine- lots of cool things to see if you're a sports fan...

After leaving the campus we rode to a really nice rose garden in Portland and chilled for awhile before biking to another park where the Portland U of I Alumni had put on a huge picnic for us.  As we pulled up there were probably 50-60 people waiting and cheering for us- the best reception we have gotten anywhere by far... The food was soooo good.  I ate myself retarded, of course.

Last night we did a pretty good pub crawl to celebrate the end of the trip, hitting a number of the local breweries.  Portland is famous for its beer I guess.

Today we toured another cancer research facility and clinic in town.  Afterwards, I kept the tradition of not resting on rest days alive and Zernyu, Clinton and I all got drove out and biked back 35 miles on the Columbia River Gorge Highway... Probably one of the coolest rides of the trip.  It took us probably 2.5 hours to do the first 12 miles because there were so many awesome places to stop and check out.  Probably 5 or so huge waterfalls and a couple of great scenic overlooks.

Soooo... the trips over, which is nuts to me.  I fly out of Portland tomorrow night and then I'll have to return to normal life, which I guess I'm ready for, although I think I'll probably keep showering with a hose.  Anyways, thanks to everyone for your support and for reading this (if there are any of you left).  The trip has been such an experience- by the far the best of my life.  The people we have meant, the things we have seen, the jokes and memories, and the impact we have had on people have all been amazing- and something I will never forget.

Lets go Buffalo

Finished the last team event, ...

Finished the last team event, went to Voodoo Doughnut to get the cross country comparison with The Doughnut Plant, now to California

The Bittersweet End

After some exciting and hot rides through Washington and Oregon, we reached the coast yesterday in Seaside, Oregon.  As we rode in through the streets of Seaside, we all began cheering and making as much noise as possible.  When we reached the beach we through our shoes off and took off running, with our bikes, to reach the water as fast as possible.  Over the past months, each ride seemed insignificant, but when we reached the water of the Pacific Ocean it finally seemed real to me, just how far and amazing our journey has been.

Tonight, I find myself 20 miles outside of Portland.  This trip has been amazing in every aspect, from the people we have met, the places we have seen, and the stories we have heard.  Reaching Portland will be bittersweet, because on one hand it is amazing that we will finally be reaching our destination, which is quite an accomplishment, and I am excited to get home to see everyone.  On the other hand, everyday in the I4K is a new adventure, and I will certainly miss that, as well as all of the people/friends I have made along the way.  Although the journey is almost over, I will always carry with me the experiences and memories we have made along the way.

The Longest & Shortest Summer

Today, we rode into Hillsboro, OR which is a suburb of Portland. Tomorrow we will ride between 20 and 30 miles to complete our summer journey. It's bittersweet of course because I'm so proud of every person on this team and will miss them like crazy once we all go our separate ways but I am also curious to see how the real world is doing and what's beyond this crazy liefstyle that we've been leading for the past 64 days.

The stayover is awesome, yet again. We are so lucky. There's air conditioning, a shower, cots, internet, and the Ohs are buying dinner for everyone! They are so awesome, it's so nice of them to do all this for us (a second time).

I'm not sure what I'll be doing in Portland the next couple days but I can tell you right now that I'm going to Powell's, a HUGE used bookstore, eat some Voodoo Donuts, and relax. Some people's families are coming in, so that should be really great. It'll be really nice to see everyone together. Plus, we'll have nowhere to be for two days (except the airport)!

From Sea to Shining Sea

We finally made it to the ocean!!!! Although it's further west than Portland, we just had to swim in the ocean and offically go coast to coast. The ride was good, but almost all I can remember from this day is how great I felt when we were riding down Broadway in Seaside, Oregon. As the last group in, it was so awesome to have the rest of the team and a few strangers cheering for us on the sidewalk as we neared the ocean. People even hugged us as they found out what we were doing and how far we had actually made it. That was extremely nice. It was such a great feeling. Kristen, Christa and I pulled a Baywatch and ran a long way down the beach, taking off our jerseys and running our hearts into the Pacific Ocean. It was so wonderful. There is nothing like that, ever. 

After swimming around for a while, we went down to the stayover. It was a community center adn hold on, it gets better, it had a pool, showers, a jacuzzi, rope swing, slide, and I can't remember but we had SO much fun. It was one of the nicest stay overs ever, everyone enjoyed themselves, deservedly so.

I can't believe we made it from sea to shining sea. How crazy!!

Beautiful Moutains & Glacial Waters

The ride into Mt. Rainier National Park was really wonderful. Although the first part of the ride was mostly climbing, the second half was so sweet. During a 7 mile climb, a jet flew right by us, sideways, through the moutain pass. It was so loud and awesome, I think we all just yelled like crazy when we saw what it was. What are the odds?

After that, we all met up at a gas station in White Pass for lunch: one of my favorite parts of the day because we are all together and eating PB & J.  Then, we had a buunch of downhills, maybe 12 miles or so which I really loved. The best part was definitely seeing that gorgeous mountain after a days worth of hard work. It looked so beautiful, pictures will hopefully be up soon. I've never seen a mountain like that before, nor have I dropped my jaw so hard at the sight of, well, anything.

The campground was great even though it was hot. I think I liked it better than Yellowstone. Less touristy, less RVs to dodge, and tons more huge trees. Matt H, Caroline, Christa, Kristen and I met a family with a ton of little kids and they took us down to the river/ creek. It was glacial water so of course, we jumped in! It felt like swimming through a really cold Icee and it felt sooo goood. Highly recommend jumping into glacial waters if you ever get the chance.

I just rested on the rest day. Some people went to hike around Mt. St. Helen, others took trails, etc. It was nice to relax though, and it was peaceful and quiet so I really enjoyed those two days. Plus there were so many cute little chipmunks running around the campground. We didn't know if we should get them away from our food or watch them since they are so adorable. This day also marks our last day camping as a team (all 22 people); most people are relieved I would say, and so am I!

Washington & Finally Oregon!

Merry X-Mas in July! To celebrate X-mas we had a Secret Santa, which was really hilarious and fun. Matt Harlan had me as a secret santa, and he drew me an awesome picture to frame and stickers to put on my water bottles. Wayy too cool. A lot of the other gifts were gags, and costumes to wear on our bikes. Tim rode with lights and garland to resemble a X-Mas tree, and he surprisingly did not get that many weird looks as anticipated.

Washington was hot! Every newspaper we came across broadcasted the recordbreaking temperatures, and we can attest to that! We had one 102 mile day that actually wasn't that bad. The group I was riding with stopped to pick cherries, apricots, and unripened grapes. We also stopped periodically to run through the sprinklers, which was a necesity because of the heat. Unfortunately, atleast half the team ate too many cherries, which was evident by the lines outside of the bathrooms.

I drove the day into Mt. Rainer, which was a beautiful, (but again), hot ride. Our campsite was awesome, and the trails through the waterfalls and forests were amazing. On the rest day, some of the team and I road tripped to Mt. Saint Helen, which was really cool to see. Most of the trees are still floating in the lake, and you can see everything that had been singed by the explosion in 1980.

We made it to the coast yesterday! The ride yesterday was hilly in the beginning, and it flattened out towards the end. It was the best feeling when we rolled into Seaside. The other groups arrived before we did, so they cheered us on as we tossed our clothes and bikes aside and ran to the Pacific Ocean. On our way into the ocean, we got high-fives and hugs, which felt amazing. We made it coast to coast! We had access to the hottub, pool, showers, and TV (with Disney movies!) at our stayover. There's not much more that we could ask for.

Today's ride was the last "real" ride of the trip. We ended up in Hillsboro, which is about 25 miles outside of Portland. The ride was hilly and bumpy! We were on really bad roads for about 50 miles, but for the last 25 the road was smoother and bearable. Our stayover is amazing! We have a shower, laundry, pizza, and SaeBin's parents are providing dinner for us. Awesome!

Cruisin Down the Freeway in the Hot Hot Sun

The ride to Naches, WA was 108 miles in over 100 degree weather. To say the least, the day was long and hot. We woke up at 4:30 AM to beat the heat and make sure we could get in on time which was a great idea.

[The day before, after the ride, a bunch of us were sitting outside and saw part of an air show from the church courtyard. That was really awesome to see, the jets were doing crazy things!]

Back to the long ride. Christa, Kristen and I stopped I can't even tell you how many times to stop and pick cherries and apricots off of trees. They tasted so good. Mt. Rainier cherries are the most delicious cherries ever. We even took break just to stand in the sprinklers watering the orchards, man that felt so good.

Once we got in, everyone left for a bike shop but LUCKILY we found a copy of The Lion King and popped that in and lounged for a couple hours. After that, we watched Aladdin of course. It was really nice to just lay down and watch a movie, and a Disney one at that; especially after the longest day ever. Once everyone got back, they just plopped themselves down too and this Western family watched old movies together, how nice.

Christmas in July (Even Though it's August)

This summer, the team had Secret Santa/ Christmas in July to celebrate the end of the ride, have some fun, and show a little love. I had Christa and since we hang out a lot, I knew just what to get her. We happened to go to a nice used bookstore in Missoula, Montana and she was pining for a cute little antique bike toy thing. Luckily, she didn't buy it, so I got it for her for Christmas.

The presents ceremony was a great success. We celebrated in a high school and everyone got great things: thoughtful/funny/strange. Many riders took to stopping at garage sales or picking stuff up off the side of the road. Matt Strick got me a great big wrench to start my tool set (how thoughtful)! Tim got a "christmas-tree-decorated helmet' that flashed, Conor and Clinton got baked goods, Isaac got an obnoxious fantastic four costume, and it only gets better. I think we all enjoyed the holidays as the Western family that we are.

Oregon has has the best stayov...

Oregon has has the best stayovers ever. Portland tomorrow!

Waiting on a ferry to get into...

Waiting on a ferry to get into Oregon. 45 miles after that to get to the ocean.

Illini 4000 in Portland!

The I4k journey will soon be coming to a close... for those supporters, parents, and other friends of the I4k coming out to Portland to visit, here's the scoop:

The Portland U of I Alumni Club will be hosting a picnic at Overlook Park in the Heart of central Portland - the park is located west of Interstate Avenue at Fremont St.  The event will take place at 11 p.m.  For more information, visit the Alumni Club's website at: http://www.portlandillini.org/events.asp .

We'll see you there!

Seaside tomorrow

Not sure when the last time I updated this was, so I'm not sure where I left off.  Mount Rainier was really cool... I think I've decided I like to camp.  Our campground was pretty sweet and sorrounded by a lot of trails, which I explored on runs both days we were there.  On the rest day, I again didn't rest at all and after a hilly 12 or so mile run, I went for an epic hike with James and Matt Strick- two super sweet dudes that I don't know if I've mentioned yet.

It was 4.2 miles to the top of Shriners Peak, where an old abandoned water tower was located.  It climbed 3800 feet in elevation and took us about 2.5 hours to get to the top.  We spent about the whole last hour telling ourselves we were really close since we really had no gauge of distance on a trail this hilly and rocky.  I didn't know walking could be so tough.  When we got to the top, the view was well worth it.  360 degrees of beauty.  We had an amazing view of Mount Rainier and could see Mount St. Helens in the distance as well as the Cascades.  We even spotted a few small forest fires ourselves that had been lit by some lightning from the storm that we somehow managed to avoid.  We chilled at the top for a good half hour 45 minutes and ate our lunch before heading down at a much fast pace.

Todays ride was 95 miles and about the same amount of degrees farenheit, which made it brutal at times, but I just took it pretty slow with Adam and James, comin in a good hour and a half behind the rest of the guys, only beating the five ladies.

Tomorrow our route has us taking two ferries to cross various rivers and then we hit the coast... I'm pumped.  Its late, goodnight

Day 62 - So close, yet so far...

Mt. Rainier, WA to Castle Rock, WA

Riding to Castle Rock was another long one, but the terrain was again beautiful, and we had some rolling hills as we got farther away from Mt. Rainier, but nothing too steep.  The main problem we have been dealing with is the heat, as it was once again close to 100 degrees today, and people keep telling us that we have brought the heat with us because it is not usually as hot as this in Washington.  My mom is already in Portland, which is cool, I can't wait to see everyone in a few days, and then head home.  We go to the coast tomorrow, which is really exciting, and I am pumped to be able to say that I have seen both coasts in a little over two months, not to mention the fact that we will be heading to Oregon, our final state.  Castle Rock is only like 50 miles from Portland, but since we are heading to the coast, we will be taking three more days to get to Portland, a little frustrating, but we know the ocean is gonna be totally worth it.   

States traveled through:18(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Distance today: 95 mi
Total Distance traveled:  3896 mi (ah!)

Day 60 & 61 - In the middle of mountains

Naches, WA to Mt. Rainier, WA

The ride into Mt. Rainier was a hot one, but we were happy to see that we were only going 55 miles and then getting to our campsite.  We also had some really amazing views of Mt. Rainier coming in, it was really cool because we didn't have a view of it at all until we were almost on top of it, and then we came around a corner and it just popped out of nowhere.  We were camping just inside of Mt. Rainier Natl. Park.  I have firmly realized that I do not like camping, and will be very glad to be done with camping for this trip.  I do not like: being wet, being covered in mosquitos, being dirty, not having clean bathrooms, not having good food, smelling like smoke and bug spray at all times, and the list goes on and on.  There was a river next to our campsite, and despite it being very cold, we braved it for a bit to use as a shower, and some braver souls(Tim) ventured out to the other side of the river to hang out.

Our rest day was spent traveling in the van with a group of 7 other riders to Mt. St. Helens, which was pretty cool.  It's crazy to think that this mountain was exploding and causing so much chaos just 29 years ago. Got some sweet pictures, and walked some trails to get some better views, then did some more adventures that I will talk more about later.

States traveled through:18(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Distance today: 56 mi
Total Distance traveled:  3801 mi

Day 59 - Swimming in Cherries

Kennewick, WA to Naches, WA

Our ride was long and hot into Naches.  We knew we had a long day, so we rode pretty fast to get in early and made pretty decent time.  It was pretty hot, and we heard that temperatures went up to almost 100 degrees.  Some riders found a cherry stand right outside town and ate about a pound of cherries each, but their digestion made them regret it later.  Someone also brought a huge crate back, so I had some, but not many, and also tried Mt. Rainier cherries, a larger white cherry that is apparently very expensive in Chicago, but tasted great.  Once we got settled in, we went to Margaret's, a local restaurant, and had some delicious chocolate malt milkshakes and our picture taken so that it could be put on the wall.  We also went to a local pool to cool off, which felt really good, and when we got back, found a VHS player and watched Aladdin AND The Lion King, so it was a pretty great night.  The town was very small, but very welcoming, and we were sad to have to leave, but Mt. Rainier calls us.

States traveled through:18(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Distance today: 109 mi
Total Distance traveled:  3744 mi

Day 58 - A long day in Washington

Waitsburg, WA to Kennewick, WA

Today started out great but didn't end too well.  We had a short ride, only 55 miles today, so we were excited about that, and we rode pretty fast as a result of a downhill and tailwind combination that let us average over 20 mph for the first 40 miles, and despite a flat in my front tire 30 miles in, we were still the first group to make it in at around 11:30 AM.  Until we got the flat, we were riding with a huge group, almost every one of the guys was riding together, it's funny but that almost never happens, it usually splits up into at least 3 or 4 groups within the first few miles.  It is really hot here in Washington, and it is almost a desert out here in the eastern part of the state, so there are no trees for shade and we felt like the grass today, brown and dried out and hoping for some cooler weather.  We did start to see a bit more green today, we saw multiple wineries and apple farms, so I suppose its not really all that dry, it just felt like it today.  We were happy to be inside when we made it to the church and in A/C and even happier to take a hose shower.  After that, we had the whole day to ourselves, so we went to get some amazing root beer from the A&W down the street and got some donations, so thanks to everyone we met there!!  After getting back, I just relaxed and read and listened to music(almost done with Volume I of the Sherlock Holmes books!), and we got a free look at the "Air" portion of the Kennewick Air and Water show from the church courtyard, which was pretty awesome.

At night, I realized that the reason that I hadn't seen my personal bag of snacks in two days was that they were no longer in the van.  So all of the Cliff bars and snacks and cereal that I had bought and been saving for the upcoming climbs into the mountains and for the stay in Mt. Rainier are gone.  It appears that someone took my bag of stuff with my name all over it and decided that it looked like trash, so I was pretty upset about that, and had to got to the store at night to buy more supplies so that I would have something to eat at the snack stops since the team is out of supplies and we are on our own for the rest of the trip.  I guess it turns out this trip has a lot more miscellaneous costs that you don't know about until the trip starts, what with all the extra food we buy almost every day, tubes, tires, food for rest days, and now all our snacks, but it is for a good cause, and I'm not complaining.  I'm cheering myself up now by watching the beautiful Washington sunset and rocking out to some music while I write this.  Everyone is dreading tomorrow, a 100+ mile ride in what is supposed to be over 100 degree weather, but we are all so close to 4000 miles that no one wants to sit it out either.  Justin is scheduled to drive and has been desperately searching for someone who doesn't want to ride tomorrow, but hasn't found any takers yet.  We are only two days from Mt. Rainier, so tomorrow we are starting early(4:30AM) to beat the heat and hoping that the hills aren't too bad.

States traveled through:18(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Distance today: 55 mi (plus 5 to A&W and Walgreens)
Total Distance traveled:  3635 mi

Day 57 - Christmas in July!!

Lewiston, ID to Waitsburg, WA

Today was Christmas in July!  The 25th of July, and a secret santa party at night, but we had to get to Waitsburg first.  One of the church members cooked an amazing breakfast for us in Lewiston and made it hard to leave, with huge omelettes, pancakes with blueberry syrup and fresh fruit.  Then we had one of our best Moshers yet from Justin, his first time, and we all acted out our favorite land mammals, a continuation of a conversation from Yellowstone.  We only need to get Conor and Clinton and everyone will have done a Mosher.  I was a squirrel, in case you were wondering.  Other highlights were Clinton's cat, James's wallaby, and Conor's platypus.  Jay, one of the church members rode out with us in the morning, we were all impressed that he could manage to go the first 25 miles and stick with us.  The ride was exceptionally boring for the first 60 miles, but it was cool to get into Washington, its unbelievable to think that we in a state bordering the Pacific, and that we only have one state left until we are done!  The ride was pretty long and we had to climb out of a valley.  We had one long climb 10 miles in for about 12-14 miles but it wasn't too steep until about the last 5-7 miles, and then another at the 60 mile mark that was shorter than expected. Washington is a very dry state so far, and so we saw a lot of browns and sands today, but once we got closer to Waitsburg, it got nicer and we saw some really cool scenery.

Finally, after dinner we got to have Christmas and that was really awesome.  Everyone had great gifts, and it was really fun because almost everyone really put thought into it and had great stuff.  I got some beef jerky and some new keys for my collection from Matt Cady, which I absolutely loved since I've been looking for some cool keys in a few places along the trip, but hadn't been able to find anything yet. Other highlights were Cady getting ear candles(which was interesting to watch later, those things are crazy and gross), Tim's light-up helmet(awesome), and Isaac's sweet noise-making Fantastic Four shoes that actually fit over his riding shoes so he can ride with them on his bike(hilarious).  Tomorrow is a short one, but a hot one, it's supposed to be over 90 degrees again!

States traveled through:18(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled:  3574 mi

Trying to get caught up with t...

Trying to get caught up with the last week of internet happenings.

Crossed I-5 today, now we're r...

Crossed I-5 today, now we're really on the west coast. Only 3 days left until portland.