The deadline for applying for the Illini 4000 2012 Bike America Team has been extended to Saturday, October 1st at 11:59pm!Apply now with our Online Application!If you have any questions, please contact our Director of Team Development at teamdevelopment@illini4000.org
Last Chance to Attend an Info Session!
The Illini 4000 will be hosting two more info sessions on Monday 9/19 at 7pm and Tuesday 9/20 at 8pm at 119 English Building. For anyone who has not had a chance to come to an info session--this is your last opportunity! If you cannot come to either session, but are still interested in applying for the 2012 Bike America Team, please contact Josh Doppelt at teamdevelopment@illini4000.org as soon as possible so he can arrange a time to give you more information about the Illini 4000. The Board of Directors will be happy to answer any questions you may have after the presentation.Remember that applications are due by Saturday 9/24 at 11:59pm! Click Here to access our online application!Hope to hear from you soon,~The Illini 4000 Board of Directors
Apply Now for the 2012 Bike America Team!
The Illini 4000 is looking for a new team! The last information session will be held tomorrow, Thursday 9/8 at 7 pm at the Allen Hall South Rec Room. If you cannot attend this session and have not yet come to an information session, please contact Josh at teamdevelopment@illini4000.org to arrange an alternate time for you to learn more about the organization.Apply now for the 2012 Bike America Team with our Online Application! Remember that applications are due by 11:59pm on September 24th!
Upcoming Information Sessions
First of all, thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth on Quad Day. It's great to see so many people excited to hear about this organization!Over the next couple of weeks, The Illini 4000 will be holding several information sessions to tell you more about the mission of our organization and our annual cross country bike ride. We will also be happy to answer any questions you may have. The dates for these sessions are scheduled for:Tuesday August 23th @ 6pmThursday August 25th @ 8pmMonday August 29th @ 8pmWednesday August 31st @ 6pmEach of these sessions should last about 20-30 minutes and will be held at 115 English Building, located on the west side of the main quad. They will all contain the same information, so you only need to attend one session.Anyone interested in applying for the 2012 Bike America Team, you are strongly encouraged to attend an Information Session to understand the expectations that will be placed upon you over the next year. If you are sure you wish to be part of our 2012 Bike America Team, Apply Now. Please make sure you read over the Rider Behavior Policy before submitting your application. If you have any questions, please contact Josh, our Director of Team Development, at teamdevelopment@illini4000.org.
Look for the Illini 4000 at Quad Day!
The Illini 4000 is recruiting again, looking for people interested in helping in the fight against cancer. The Illini 4000 will be at Quad Day tomorrow, Sunday August 21st from 12 to 4 pm ready to tell you about the mission of our organization and our cross country bike ride. Come find us at Booth 91 so you can sign up for our mailing list and so we can tell you about our upcoming information sessions and answer all of your questions. We can't wait to see you!If you are ready, you can Apply Now!
San Francisco Conclusion!
The team's arrival into San Francisco was a huge success! Brad Topol, '08/'09 rider and current I4K Alumni Coordinator, flew in from Chicago and drove the last two days. It was a huge help, as the team was able to cross the Golden Gate Bridge as an entire unit. Several family members and friends greeted the team at Baker Beach and the SF alumni club provided the team with a catered lunch. Thank you! Baker Beach was a great place to end the ride - right on the ocean.As the summer is winding down, many members of the team have parted ways, but many will return to Champaign and some will continue to serve the Illini 4000 in different capacities as it prepares for its 6th year recruitment, fundraising and community involvement.
San Francisco Conclusion
The team's arrival into San Francisco was a huge success! Brad Topol, '08/'09 rider and current I4K Alumni Coordinator, flew in from Chicago and drove the last two days. It was a huge help, as the team was able to cross the Golden Gate Bridge as an entire unit. Several family members and friends greeted the team at Baker Beach and the SF alumni club provided the team with a catered lunch. Thank you! Baker Beach was a great place to end the ride - right on the ocean.As the summer is winding down, many members of the team have parted ways, but many will return to Champaign and some will continue to serve the Illini 4000 in different capacities as it prepares for its 6th year recruitment, fundraising and community involvement.
And so it ends
I can't believe I am sitting here in San Raphael, California. I'm amazed that this is day 70 of 72. I was thinking while riding yesterday that these hills are the last hills I will get to experience. Even though hills are hard, I tried my absolute best to have a good attitude because I know its the end. Unfortunately, I've had a poor attitude the last few days because they have been so hard since my body is exhausted and almost unwilling to do anything. In addition, California has been a tough state with hills as big as mountains and a severe heat that has made it even worse! However, I have still persevered and here I am today. I was thinking this morning how this would be the last time I wake up with 25 other people in the same room. I keep thinking how everything will be for the last time and I don't even know what I'm gonna do when I cross the finish line. It's absolutely insane. I can't believe that it's the end. Though my attitude was poor, I now wish I could have just a couple more days, just a little more time with people and with this experience. Though I have had plenty of time to take it all in, I feel like I still need to contemplate what has happened over the past 70 days. I'm so sad and happy at the same time but I wouldn't have it any other way. It has been such an honor to have been selected for this experience. I'm so thankful for each and every day that I have had and for every memory I will have for the rest of my life. This is by far the most amazing adventure of my life and I know its only going to get better from here on out. I guess I'll see some of you on the flip side of the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE in San Francisco. Here...we....go.
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!
This is too weird. Can it really be? Tomorrow is the day, the day we have been waiting for, dreaming about, and thinking about for the last year. Coast to coast, New York to San Fransisco. It is too surreal to be true.Today was a fun day spent hanging out and having fun. We were in no hurry, as rest stops arranged around Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets and In 'n' out led to hours of chowin down on world class gourmet dining and enjoying our last few hours together. We started the day off with a grand feast of eggs, muffins, juices, bananas, and sausage! WOHOOOO! The breakfast bonanza was followed up by a mosher of epic proportions. Maggie and Marc double teamed it. They awarded each person a "most likely to". After an hour of moshering, we finally departed. The first In 'n' Out of the trip!!!! Everybody was super excited. After the long day of lounging, eating, and the occasional pedaling, we grilled out at the church and feasted. Getting ready for bed, we are excited, nervous, dreading, and looking forward to our final ride together tomorrow towards the destination of our year long goal. San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge!
Almost There
Tomorrow we will be arriving in San Francisco and the feeling could not be more bittersweet. Riding eleven days straight has been the most physically exhausting part of this journey. Yet rolling along the ocean, and through the Redwoods has been beautiful and so rewarding. I guess that all of my assumptions that California would be flat were wrong, but as Greg said the other day, these hills are our final test before we can roll across the Golden Gate Bridge.Tomorrow I will take the advice, If you are going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair, and do just that as we complete this epic journey.
Day 68 Willits to Healdsburg
Day 68 Willits, CA to Healdsburg, CA It's still hard to believe only three days left. That’s the first thing came to my mind when I woke up. Three, two, one… Although nobody would like to mention this, everyone knows how valuable the rest time is. In the morning, everyone had oatmeal as breakfast, as always. After that, when we came to the Mosher moment, everyone was supposed to talk about what you learned from this trip. It’s a beautiful moment. Many teammates said that they learned how to appreciate more about life or even a small thing, like shower, which is usually taken for granted. Some people said, this trip helped them know more about this country, people and cultures. More importantly, we’ve learned so many amazing stories from those cancer survivors. Their experience will encourage and inspire us in our lives. Therefore I believe this trip made us both physically and mentally strong. After this meaningful Mosher time, every group started pedaling and then started a new day. On the way to the stay-over, there are a lot of winery yards, which all my group members enjoyed a lot. Even though the weather was kind of hot, everyone still enjoyed the riding a lot and truly felt the valuable time of being together. San Francisco, we are coming. Golden Gate Bridge, wait for us. Two days left. We are going to make this across-country-riding real.
The final stretch begins
For the last couple days we have been traveling along the Pacific Coast on highway 101. It has been awesome. A couple days ago we got to ride through the sand dunes which we stopped to climb. In addition we got to get seafood and enjoy some lovely sunsets on the beach. Biking along the coast has been amazing.To get us pumped, we were fortunate to have Katie and Ron provide us with a Christmas in July feast complete with decorations and Christmas cheer! We had potatoes and sausage along with red and green decorations around the church we were at. Kudos to them for making it a good one! Today we rode a short 60 miles, but a tough set nonetheless, in and out of the coast line. We were able to bike through the mists of the ocean which caught us while we were cruising downhill in the hills along the coast. We have been able to spend time at the beach and to stop in neat little towns for fish and chips and great art galleries. The last few days have been awesome to us and we are looking to catch some more nice days lost in the Redwood forest! BTW we finally crossed the border into California today! We saw a sign that said we are only 361 miles away from San Francisco. However, I think we have some more miles since we are not on 101 the whole way so it will take us a little longer. It's been an insane ride but I think many of us are looking forward to some time at home! Can't wait to see all the visiting families and friends on Sunday! Thanks for keeping track of us. Also, we might be seeing a whale and her calf chilling in the ocean tomorrow so pray for us that we do!!!!!!!! Okie dokes its bedtime! Good Night!
July 24 In Search of Gold Beach(es)
Today was a glorious day, and a continuation of our journey south along the pacific coast. We left the piers and fishing vessels of Bandon at 8 this morning. The fog had rolled in, and we could barely see the other side of the bay. Paper cutout fish fluttered above the walkway overlooking the sea, and school children's impressions of bunny rabbits lined the railings. It is the year of the rabbit after all! We traveled along the coast for a majority of the day and the perpetual fog evoked an aura of adventure and mystery. Jagged rocks jut forth from the sea and coastline mountains characterized our travels. We had a lunch stop at Port Orford and many riders indulged in seafood. After Port Orford, our route left US-101 and traveled along a windy road between a range of mountains. As we reached the mouth of the Rouge river, we crossed over a long bridge and entered the town of Gold Beach. We stayed at First Baptist Chruch and were treated to Dairy Queen by the Topol family. It was delicious! Many riders went to sleep early tonight to catch up on much needed sleep.
A Recap of Oregon
We started Oregon along the Columbia river gorge, going through some of the toughest winds ever. Thankfully we hit them later in the day so that helped because we could knock out quite a few miles in the morning. We spent one day climbing on highway 30 through the scenic route, up and down some of the most beautiful hills of our trip. It was just awesome. We stopped in towns to get fresh and organic fruits that tasted better than anything I have eaten in a long time. We also ate a million berries that we picked off wild berry trees on the side of the road! We were fortunate to meet a woman who has done 16 Ironmans while on our way to Portland. She was awesome, and the University of Illinois Alumni greeted us with some delightful meals on the way and in Portland. We then took a nice little trip in Portland where we ate some delectable doughnuts from Voodoo doughnuts which is a specialty shop with plenty of weird flavors. While in Portland we all did a bunch of different things including visiting a sweet book shop, checking out a rose garden, eating amazing food from carts in the middle of the streets, hopping around thrift stores, and touring the campus of Portland State University. After Portland we took some nice long 90 milers into Corvalis and Florence. Both towns were lovely and Florence brought us FINALLY to the Pacific Ocean. We completed our cross country tour and set out along our journey to California.
San Francisco Arrival Information
With our riders about to begin their final stretch down the Pacific coast, it's time to think about how we're going to wrap it all up. Once again, the San Francisco Alumni Club has graciously volunteered to put something together. It all starts at 10:30am on July 31st at Baker Beach, just south of the Golden Gate Bridge (map). Riders are expected to arrive around 11am. The Alumni Club is ordering box lunches for the event, please visit the Alumni Club's website before Wednesday, July 27th to place your order. The alumni club will be providing lunches for the riders. Please bring your own beverages and seating. Things should wrap up around 12:30pm. Questions about the event should be directed to Sylva Kung (vp_events_eastbay@sfbayillini.org).We look forward to seeing you there!
Bike Camp visits Camp Mak-a-dream
Tomorrow we will be rolling into Portland and even I am in disbelief of the fact that we have ridden our bikes all the way here, from New York none the less. I have been thinking a lot about the fact that the 2009 team’s ending city was Portland, and while I am excited to visit such an amazing city, I am not yet ready for this journey to end.Since my last blog I had the opportunity to visit an active session of Camp Mak-a-dream, a summer camp outside of Missoula, Montana. A group of six, including myself woke up early on our rest day and drove to the camp, unsure of what to expect. It was sibling’s week at camp, and very similar to Camp Kesem, all of the campers in attendance had sisters and brothers or close family members that were affected by cancer. The other riders and I had the chance to conduct several portraits, tour the camp, and visit with campers but most of all, I got to experience a different perspective than I have ever encountered when it comes to cancer. Coaxing a thirteen year old boy to sit still and talk to a few strangers while at his second day of camp was not exactly the easiest thing to do, but it was a portrait I will never forget. Talking about this particular camper’s experience while his sister was undergoing treatment was difficult; he expressed his frustrations about not knowing what was going on, to having to wait in the hospital all the time, to feeling helpless and alone. What was amazing about his story was the energy at which he approached everything, his willingness to share his experience, and to find a silver lining. He also explained how he channeled his frustrations into movie making, creating his own dramas to get his mind off of what was going on with his sister’s illness. If these young campers were brave enough to make it through their family’s battle with cancer, then I know that I can find the strength to make it through these last couple weeks of the trip.While we are out of the Mountains, the terrain still has not completely flattened out, and the wind has picked up quite a bit the closer we have gotten to the coast. I can’t complain though, as we have had some amazing riding days traveling along the banks of the Columbia River George jumping from Washington to Oregon and back again. I am more than excited to hit the coast, and look forward to dipping my tires in the Pacific! Be sure to check back here for updates soon!
July 17, A Gorge-ous Day
After reentering Washington early this morning, the Illini 4000 for Cancer team had their work cut out for them. We just didn't know it yet.
Our team got out of our stayover quickly, and we were ready way to the Colombia River Gorge. We had been warned of this part of the route from past riders, hosts, and passersbys, however, we were hesitant to believe that such conditions were coming our way, and accordingly, ride groups took off from the get-go.
What the team found out after mile fifty, though, was rather unexpected. The winds picked up exponentially, and our entire team could feel it. After all, encountering a popular windsurfing area is normally a good indicator that a blustery ride is on the horizon, and it was. Teams were blown about for the last few miles of the ride before finally reaching Mary Hill State Park and getting some food.
The day's ride was certainly a trying experience, but there was nothing that was insurmountable. Thus, our group will sleep well tonight knowing that something had been accomplished and that purpose drove their last eight-five miles.
Wishes Fulfilled
When I was younger, I would always wish on my eyelashes. Whenever I found an eyelash on my hand or on my face, I made sure to make a wish. From like age 5-15, I wished to go to Paris. At age 16, I went to Paris on an exchange. From age 15 until age 19, I wished to study abroad. At age 20 I studied abroad in Australia. I was so fortunate to have my dreams come true over time. I know its a silly thing that I picked up, but I actually really believed in it and my wishes did end up coming true. The other day for the first time on this trip, I noticed an eyelash on my hand (probably haven't had any because the wind whips them right off of my face). The funny thing was that I had nothing to wish for and I have never had that situation. I have always had something I needed or wanted that I could wish for, but I really had nothing this time around. I didn't even wish for this trip ever and it just popped up as the best opportunity of my life and here I stand completely satisfied and for once without anything else to wish for. I think that's the wonderful thing about an experience like this one. The small things really make you realize what you have and what you are going to miss about an experience like this.The past few days have all been wonderful riding days despite some craziness; then again, who are we kidding we are riding our bikes across the country so craziness should be expected. The days have been so simply great, there isn't much that we do different but somehow the simplicity is so perfect. I keep seeing more and more how much this experience has already helped me to build my character and how much it is going to change my life from now on and I feel so lucky to sit here with the chance to reflect on everything given the end is so near. All I can say is that my wishes and dreams are already fulfilled so I'm just gonna have to learn to dream bigger.
Moshers
Gotta say, I love Moshers, they are so entertaining. Eric Mosher doesn't even know about the best part about his name haha. Today we had another great Mosh as usual. This morning we did a talent sh0w with Christian playing some lovely Mariachi music and Manchild (Connor Yanz) busting out some Postal Service. The best part however, was the ridiculousness that ensued after, not to say that those two aren't talented but ridiculousness is so entertaining.There were some interesting instruments at the church so we decided to do a slam poetry session. It was absolutely hysterical. We had Sean on the African drums, Bopp with some weird shaker thing, Gabrielle on the chimes, and Manny and Lee rapping about Peanut Butter and Jelly with Sean chiming in random words like "rebirth" every now and then. It was awesome. I was dying of laughter. Unfortunately no one recorded this which is so sad because it was awesome. I guess I'll just have to keep that one in my memory.This is the I4K that no one sees that occurs when no one else is around and its beautiful. The other day we were in Phillipsburg, Montana and some of the boys blasted some music and randomly had a dance session that a few of us were privy to witness, it was so hilarious I can't even begin to describe it. The boys crack me up so much. They are so silly and easy going. I love the carefree attitude that we all have adopted on this trip, it's so fun. We all just laugh all the time. We do ridiculous things and it's totally accepted. I will miss that when I have to be proper again. Nevertheless I guess I will continue to let the good times roll/hilariousness ensue until I get back :)
Idaho Does Exist!
We were in and out of Montana in a hurry it seemed like and we are going into Washington tomorrow morning. We only have 15 more days of our ride and from what we are told the ride only gets better. I am not sure I believe that thought because the last week has been some of the most beautiful country I could possibly imagine. We got to camp in a couple of national forests and it was all made better because we followed a river for over 100 miles down hill. One of the coolest things that I was able to do was just recently when we were in the Clearwater National Forest and there was an elk that was just born. It was stuck in the rocks and couldn't walk. I stopped and a couple of us got to help it get back on flat ground. The country is awesome, it reminds me a lot of Alaska. I never pictured Idaho to look like this, I thought it would be a bunch of potato fields. I was wrong!!! and I am glad I was. I am so glad that we went from east to west. I couldn't imagine going from this to Ohio and Pennsylvania. So for now.... To the Pacific...