Journals

I4K 24 Hour Cancer Vigil - Team Building at 3:00 AM

Its dark, cold, and all the drunks have made their way back to their bed from the bars. All across the campus, there isn't a creature stirring this Thursday night...except for the gaggle of ~15 I4K riders on the quad. Blasting loud music, fervently persuading passersby to donate money (harassing passerby in the case of Emon), and pedaling furiously on their trainers in sets of four.The level of dedication among our group is stunning. No sleep, barely keeping warm against the surprisingly cold spring night, the team pedals forward. The synchronous hum of the trainers at hour 15 is almost a lullaby now, but we can't/won't stop now. We've raised over 500 dollars from our efforts tonight, and hope to make a big leap forward tomorrow upon the arrival of moms for mom's weekend.From the quad, this is pi signing off.Over and ooouuuttt.

Alumni Ride - April 17th

April 17th will be our first-ever Alumni ride. All Illini 4000 alumni are encouraged to come out and meet/ride with this year's team. If you would like to ride with us, we plan on departing from Allen Hall at noon, and going for a short 30 mile ride through Sidney and Philo. Cues will be provided for any alumni who wish to join us.

24 Hours of Cycling

April 15th and 16th, the Illini 4000 will be holding its first ever "24 Hours of Cycling" on the University of Illinois quad. From noon Thursday to noon Friday (and possibly beyond), riders of the Illini 4000 will be pedaling away, raising awareness for those afflicted by cancer. Drop by and cheer us on and stop by on Friday when we raffle off tickets to shows at the Krannert Center and gift certificates to the Illini Apple Center.See you out there!

Chomping on ice...

I love to chew ice. At home, at restaurants, while shopping. It's a terrible habit I picked up from my mother. So despite the terrible weather during our first training ride yesterday, I couldn't help but laugh when a chunk of hail landed in my mouth and I was able to enjoy a refreshing little crunch.

April Showers

I grudgingly report that this is a very accurate description of April so far...I had a chance to go on a few training rides this week, and overall they've been good learning experiences.  Tuesday's 8am ride was 23 miles, starting off in mid 30 degree weather.  Surprisingly, I wasn't terribly cold except for my fingers; I am thinking of investing in some full-fingered gloves.  Wednesday's afternoon ride was beautiful weather except for the 20+ mph winds, which are a nuisance to say the least.  It sucks when you're pedaling with all your might and only going 7mph.  Luckily, very cloud has a silver lining: with a strong tailwind the ride back to campus was awesome.This morning I rushed to the post office when it opened to pick up my new Sugoi bike shorts and Camelbak insulated water bottles before setting out to Allen to meet up with the team.  It was drizzling pretty hard when we left for Homer Lake, and continued to do so for the 15 miles to our destination.  I was in the front group today, we made good time averaging 18mph for most of the ride there.  By the time we got to Homer Lake, my shoes were completely soaked through and I was a bit chilly, but luckily my rainproof jacket performed very well and kept me really dry.  Hooray for a good purchase!  The ride back was a bit slower, and the sun teased us for most of the trip before Mother Nature decided to pull a late April Fools prank and hailed on us right as we were drying out.  All in all, a good ride despite the elements.  Now I'm just waiting for those May flowers...

A Dime, 2 Quarters, 2 Nickels, & 3 Pennies Walk Into a Bar...

73 daysConclusion: About 60% of my awake, conscious thinking concerns the trip in one fashion or another.Goal: I pledge to use proper grammar and punctuation for the duration of these blogs (look out, semi-colons).I've been contacting last year's stay-over hosts lately. I'm in charge of most of South Dakota. What an accent. Everyone is terrifically supportive and excited to host us, which, needless to say, is a great feeling.It's becoming more and more real everyday. What was once a theory, an idea, and a dream is becoming the real, the practical, and the beginning.Getting my bike tomorrow. Look out.But seriously. What an accent.Cordially Yours,eamon

A Portrait of Cancer Across America

I've had the privilege of helping out with the "Portraits Project" under the direction of Claire Reiling. Each summer along the ride, I4K riders visit with cancer patients/survivors and ask them to tell their story. Our organization then works to document these stories and put the material in a cohesive and presentable form. I see the portraits project as a great tangible link between our ride and our cause.So far this year our committee has worked on transcribing interviews and editing photographs of the interviewees. In the past these stories were turned into portable foam boards, but we have recently spent time brainstorming ideas for a new multimedia presentation.Tonight was the first time our whole team got together to work on the Portraits Project. Claire gave each team member a slide to work on for a multimedia presentation. I can't wait to see how this all comes together. Stay tuned!

Here comes the sun

Let's talk about the weather. I think we can all agree that spring is around the corner - I smelled it and tasted it this weekend and even heard a few faint chirps from my mom's favorite bird. All of this energy reminds me of how close the ride is!On Saturday, I went on a casual ride with some veteran I4K members, and I think I did a good job keeping up for the most part. We explored some of the lone country roads south of campus and I even got a little tutorial about riding my bike safely. I'm now well-versed in the language of cycling hand signals.After a bout of bronchitis kept me away from working out for a while, I've decided it's time to amp up my training if I want to survive outside of the flatland that is Illinois. Buns of steel here I come!

la diva Bianchi

Let me say first that I recently brought my bike down to campus and have fallen in love with it and all its ferocity. It's a beautiful steel framed Bianchi and I've recently decided to name her "la diva Bianchi" - "Diva" for short. (proper Italian props to Sean Laude) I settled on this name for two reasons: 1) My dad purchased me a ladies Italian saddle and it says "diva" on it, and 2) I love Beyonce, and she defines a diva as "a successful and glamorous female performer." I think I'd be safe in assuming I'll develop a close relationship with Ms. Diva over the course of the summer, so I'm glad her name screams bold, successful and above all, glamorous.

Hibernation No More!

With just under 80 days until we take off this summer, and the weather improving every day, it's hard not to get excited for the upcoming months. This has been a long winter of riding stationary bikes at the gym so now I'm itching to get outside and ride.  Having looked over our new route repeatedly, I know we're in for a challenging summer, but I think we will be better prepared than in years past.Since coming together last August, this year's board has been working non-stop to get things ready for all of the riders this summer.   As a rider last year I had no idea how much work went into this organization behind the scenes, but now I've learned what a group of such hard working individuals can do.  Each board member spends countless hours of work on I4k projects, without pay or compensation of any kind.  I really think this is what sets our organization apart from the rest.With that said, I can't wait to do the ride with this year's team.  I've had the chance to meet all of the riders, and I have great expectations for what's ahead.  Last year's team was amazing, and I will never forget them, but I can't help but think about how different things will be this year.  It seems each year's team is different in their own ways, but at the same time, all I4k riders have something in common.  And honestly, that commonality is what makes me love this organization.I hope to keep updating this blog throughout the spring and summer, so keep checking in to see what's been going on!

Getting out to ride

The weather is really turning around this week, and in fact, it appears that tonight will be the last night for a while with temperatures below freezing. So how better to celebrate than breaking out the bike and going for a little ride?So at 2:40 this afternoon, Sean ('07), Keith ('07), Matt ('08), Mary ('10) and myself set out from Allen Hall in search of adventure. Specifically adventure in SE direction (because that's where the wind was coming from). In our adventure we journeyed out to Sidney and Philo, via Deers (Pop. Few). Despite it still being cold (~46F) and slightly windy, I felt we were well prepared an in good spirits throughout our 2 hour journey. In addition, we made a detour at the end to Jarling's Custard Cup, and all partook in some custard to celebrate our journey and the reopening of Jarling's for the season. All-in-all, I would say that it was a successful ride and I look forward to more of these as the weather improves.Peace Out,
~Erik

Less than three months

That's right my friends, three months until I depart on this whirlwind adventure. Well, technically the three month mark was three days ago (Feb 25). Minor detail. The point is this trip is coming up, and coming up fast.Given the less-than-stellar weather that we've had here in CU, it's hard to fathom that in less than three months I'll be out there battling the elements for 72 days straight, let alone that the weather will be tolerable enough to do so. Sure the Midwest gets cold in the winter, but this year the cold seems to be sticking around for a victory lap. Just when we think it's going to warm up, we get hit with another few days of blustery winds, snow storms and utter misery. I know March is just around the corner, but the thought of training outdoors in the coming weeks seems preposterous and makes the whole trip seem like a distant goal.But the only thing distant about this trip is the mileage between New York City and San Francisco, the start and end points of the trip. There's so much that needs to be done before departure day. I still have a lot of money to raise, still have a lot of work to do on upping my endurance and strength, and still have a lot of bike gear to purchase. It's a little daunting balancing prepping for this trip with schoolwork, jobs and my ever-looming graduation, but it's something that I want to do. As each day passes, I'm becoming more and more excited. I've been going to the gym a lot more frequently (or at least trying to go), and am finally starting to see the results.  I've been eating a lot healthier, running for longer periods of time and have even lost a few pounds in the process. That's a few less pounds I'll have to drag up a mountain come this summer. Woot! I know I have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm headed in the right direction. On top of that, the 29 other people accompanying me across the country all seem incredibly nice and motivated about what we're doing. I can't wait to get to know them better. They make me excited to come to team training at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and that's saying something.I can already tell it's going to be an amazing summer.

3 months and counting

Today is February 25th, and that means there are exactly 3 months until I begin my "Summer of a Lifetime" Part 2.  Part 2, because this is the second year that I've participated in the Illini 4000.  Last year I rode out from New York City with 22 people who were nearly strangers, and arrived in Portland Oregon with 21 close friends (a rider had to drop in Chicago due to a family emergency). Having already worked with this year's team much closer than last year's before we rode out, I know I look foward to the friendships that will inevitably develop this summer as we make our way across the country to San Fransisco. Furthermore, I think that if there were one word to describe this year's team, it would be "amazing." I say this because I feel there's a greater commitment to our cause, stronger friendships developing, and significantly more fundraising. I think some of this is due to the steps that the board took this semester to get riders started and interacting, but a lot of it comes from their own personal drive.So where do things stand in relation to last year? The first, and foremost in my mind is that I'll be riding a different bike this year. My bike last year was a little large, and so I've been investigating different options and finally settled on the Soma Saga, a touring bike. Not only is it built for the long distances, but it's amazingly beautiful, and amazingly out of stock for at least another month. Hopefully it'll be in mid-March, like I originally heard, and not mid-April like I was hearing more recently. Either way, I purchased the bike that will be providing most of the components to build up the Saga last week and it arrived earlier this week. I picked it up today and was surprised to see how much it was already assembled. With a litle bit of free time, I figured out how to take most of it apart, using nothing more than my multi-tool. Whether or not it actually is, this bike feels more dissectable than the road bike I rode last year. I almost feel confident enough to rebuild it when my frame finally arrives.From the fundraising perspective, I'm ahead of where I was last year, but that's not saying much. I still need to put some serious effort into that aspect of this experience, so if you haven't heard from me yet, expect to hear from me soon. I'm confident I can make the goal, I just need to start reaching out.Physically I feel that I'm almost ready to go. Over the month of February I completed an Ironman Triathlon. It wasn't all that difficult, though some of that was because they allowed us to use elliptical trainers for the running portion. Suffice it to say I did do some running, and actually ran my first (and second) 5k ever. It was by no means fast, (33 minutes 24 seconds ~11 minute/mile pace), but I have something to be proud of. Actually, this month was also the first time I had ever swum for more than a mile (and did this twice as well). I don't particularly care for either of these sports, but if I were to do this again, I would suck it up and work through it. This year I'm also going to be smarter about my training. Last year I started off too hard to fast and ended up hurting myself in late March and the injury continued well into May. I'll build up my mileage gradually like one should and try to get some experience with elevation climbing in. I know that will be difficult living in one of the flattest parts of the country, but we have parking garages to practice in, and perhaps in May, between the end of the semester and our departure for New York, I'll try to get out to southwestern Wisconsin and tackle some of the hills out there.Hopefully that covers most of what's going on right now, and I'll be a bit more frequent on the updates than last year.Peace out,~Erik

2024 Team Fundraising Total: $60,000

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