Today Zach dedicated the ride today in honor of former ride leader, Catherine Kemp. Catherine’s friend Shae, passed away 5 years ago today from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.Today was one of the best rides we have had in a while. There was a slight tailwind for the whole 75 miles, great sunny weather, nice views of vineyards with hills in the background, and the best van driver, Rebecca, who generously supplied us with apples at the first rest stop.Since today is July 25 it is officially i4Christmas!...Except we had to postpone it. This is an annual tradition where riders gift each other things that they have found on the side of the road along with another more personalized gift that they spend a maximum of $5 on. Since this team just can’t seem to get our sh*t together on pretty much anything, we had to postpone it since none of us felt that we had enough notice to get good enough finds.Since today is Phil’s birthday his dad kindly got Dairy Queen to donate the team blizzards. Some of us wiser riders took advantage of the any size fine print and balled out on a large.We visited the University of Oregon campus where we had a donated pizza and cake dinner at their student union, organized by Zach’s sister. After dinner we had time to explore campus and avid runner Arturo had the chance to do a lap on the campus’ famous track. Although their union is much more modern than U of I campus, with much better restaurants, overall the campus was not as ‘green’ as I expected.Now that we are this far along in the ride our relationship as teammates has evolved from being really good friends to practically siblings. We engage in playful arguments about just about everything from whether the peanut butter is better served with a spoon or knife or who gets to sit where when we shuttle a group of 26 of us in our 15 passenger van, to who gets the couch at the stayover (usually Kevin).At this point in the ride we are entering single digits of days left, as of tomorrow. I had a conversation with Micheline today and I compare my feelings towards the trip ending to being similar to graduating. While it is very bittersweet to be leaving this amazing group of people and having fun filled days and laughs every day, the days are growing harder and my legs are starting to give out.Not looking forward to 6,000 feet of climbing tomorrow.MB
Day 65: And on Mondays We Nap
We had somewhat of a rest day yesterday as we rode 15 miles from Troutdale to real Portland city limits. We stayed at, or rather outside in tents, another alumni’s house, Jill. After we rolled in at around 10:30 Jill was nice enough to offer to do the team’s laundry. Then most of us headed into the city for the day, hitting all the famous destinations such as Voodoo Doughnuts, Powell’s bookstore, and the Salt and Straw ice cream.Today’s ride was only a little longer than yesterday’s at 49 miles, probably one of the last short days for us. It was nice to have all the donated goldfish and cookie snacks from Illinois alumni and i4k alumni who met up with us at Miranda’s house. We went back to seeing mostly rural farmland with the occasional view of hilly pines in the distance. By the time we arrived most of us were still very tired from the lack of sleep from yesterday so we took multi hour naps on the gym floor of the First Methodist Church where we are staying today.Tomorrow we are heading to Eugene, home of the University of OregonMB
Day 63: Portland, We Have Arrived...Kinda
Today Ben, an alumni and former ride leader from 2015, dedicated the ride to Colleen, a friend of his who has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Colleen has a one-year-old son and husband.Today was a complete spectrum of both emotion and challenge. We started our ride in Hood River and rode 75 miles and 5,500 feet of climbing to a suburb of Portland, Troutdale, Oregon. We had a majority of the climbing in the first 30 miles of the ride and it was extremely hard. We pushed our limits and pulled up a gravel road for 5 miles uphill through tall trees and small waterfalls. At the top we had amazing views of Mount Hood, the snowcapped wonder that is visible from both Portland and Hood River. Once we reached the top we even passed a trailhead for the Pacific Crest Trail. After the torturous uphill climbing we had stunning views of endless pine trees and hills. It was amazing to ride downhill at 30 mph, smelling fresh pine, and seeing all the amazing views. The last 10 miles of the ride was also very challenging with much uphill climbing as we made our way to the stayover, Melinda’s house, an Illinois alumni who will be hosting us for this evening.As we pulled up drenched in sweat and grumpy we were greeted by the Portland alumni association with cheers and signs and a backyard already stocked with appetizers. The mood completely changed as we pulled off our shoes and soaked our feet in the small kiddie pool and chatted over lemonade in the backyard chairs. The Portland Illinois alumni are a tight knit community, and there were even guests in attendance who had no direct ties to Illinois, but just came out to show their support. It was an intimate night as we chatted and ate quintessentially Portland all-organic grub. There was even a bike-powered smoothie machine that we had a blast with. It was some of the best food that we have had, and very nice to have a home cooked meal after a streak of donated restaurant pizza and pasta and lentils. The next morning the breakfast was amazing again, but the coffee really was the star of the show. Thanks for the donation Starbucks!We did a Portrait session with Molly, the bubbly and positive social worker fighting cancer. Even though she sat before us with a shaved head, she talked of being happy to be surrounded by her loved ones and reflecting on what is important in life.It was a crazy day filled with literal ups and downs but overall it was an i4k day I will always remember.Smiling from the inside.MB
Wyoming and Montana Were Pretty Cool
Every day in Wyoming and Montana were a treat. We got to climb through the Grand Tetons, ride through Yellowstone, multiple national forests, and got to see some all around great views along the way. Everywhere we go now is completely surrounded by mountains and I love it. Some of my favorite sights were in Montana as we just watched the forest covered mountains roll by. My personal favorite ride so far on the trip has been the Wind River Canyon leaving Thermopolis, WY. We followed a modestly sized river at the bottom of a large, forested and rocky canyon for 20 miles. Even though it lived up to its name and it was indeed very windy, I was smiling ear to ear as we slowly made our way through that breathtaking canyon.Once we left Montana though the days have been rough. Shoulders have been pretty much non-existent, roads are pretty bumpy and crowded as well. Especially route 12. Fun Fact: Rand road sucks in Illinois and it sucks in Idaho too. I'm very glad to be out of that state.Even though Idaho and Washington were pretty awful, things appear to be looking up in Oregon. The ride into Hood River, OR today was spectacular with good views all around. We ride into Portland tomorrow and I hear Voodoo Doughnuts has some of the best in the country. I'm excited to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there.Phil "Doughnuts will make you go nuts" Kagebein
Day 61/62: Wait are We in Washington or Oregon?
Neeca dedicated the ride today to her high school security guard. She found out recently that she died of pancreatic cancer.Yesterday we rode 85 miles from Umatilla to Hook River State Park, and it was an extremely hard day filled with climbing and headwinds through a river gorge surrounded by yellow hills. It seemed that wind was characteristic of the area since the door of a convenience store we stopped in said “pull close if extremely windy”. To break up the long day we had 4 rest stops since the headwinds were so hard. Also groups split up leading into 3 mile interval pulls. Everyone was glad to be done with the day once we got back to the campsite at a staggering 8 PM. By the end of the day, fellow van driver Rebecca and I had spent 14 hours in the car after a brief stint waiting for some riders cuts to be bandaged in a local clinic. However, the stars yesterday night were the brightest that we have seen on the trip and Nick Nodus and Analisa and I even saw a shooting star as we lay out before we went to sleep.Today was infinitely better with only 55 miles, barely any headwinds and perfect crisp breeze. Since we were all so exhausted from yesterday’s ride, we took over a McDonalds for lunch, obviously using the McDonald’s app to get the best deals (major i4k key). We rode into Hood River Oregon, and it is absolutely beautiful. For me, it is one of my favorite cities we have visited. With views of snow capped Hood Mountain, a river dotted with wind surfers, hilltop lookout points, and tons of bikers and breweries (for the 21+ crew) we all are impressed with Hood River so far.Making a decision on which state is the best is going to be very tricky in the end.We all can’t wait for Portland tomorrowMB
Day 60: Oregon!
Julissa dedicated the ride today to momma Burton, a mom of her friend who has breast cancer.Today we crossed yet another and second to last state border into Oregon. The scenery was pretty much the same as yesterday, yellow wheat?* and rolling hills followed by deserty hills. The 71 miles today felt like an easy day, however the mid afternoon heat made the last part of the day the hottest. Umatilla is a quiet town of only 7,000. For our first dinner we got a community dinner of salad, fruit, and pizza for only $2. Usually on i4k we look at the cost of food based on cals/dollar. And in our eyes the pizza dinner was an extraordinary deal.Tonight we are staying at the McNary Elementary school. Once we arrived in the gym we noticed that there was a climbing rope. Christina was the only girl to make it to the top! To reward ourselves after the long day, some of us rode our bikes two miles to the ice cream joint in town. “Dairy dependent” Kevin, even finished a 44 oz shake. After the long day of riding, Micheline was able to finesse showers for us at an aquatic center a few miles away.We will most likely not have service tomorrow since we are camping in Mary Hill state park. IN only a few short days we will reach Portland. It is crazy to think that teams in the past finished their rides there. It’s so sad that this trip is winding down.10 more days here, Oregon, what you got?MB
Day 59: Dad's Time to Shine
Today we rode for a friend of Michaeline’s ‘grammy’ who passed away from cancer two months ago.Lewiston to Waitsburg today. We crossed another state border into Washington state, our only night here. Although I expected greenery, our views today were mostly pastures and yellowish hills. Picture the scenery in the movie The Hills Have Eyes. Although it was not the green trees and mountains one thinks about when they picture Washington, it was still nice to see a different terrain in my opinion. During the last 30 mile stretch today it got extremely hot out, which made the 3,000 feet of climbing that we had even harder. Luckily Tyler donated Powerades to all the riders today to make up for the tough stretch.What’s your hometown like? Wheeling IL. Pretty suburban, not much happening. Occasionally you got some happenings, we got a couple famous people out of the town. But really, nah nothing happens. How does this ride compare to your last? Oh Man. It’s different. It’s hard to pinpoint what’s different. I think a lot of it has to do with the role as a ride leader. A lot of the time I forget that I am the ride leader. I’m used to being concerned with a lot of things, every rider, food, small things. For the most part after a couple weeks people got the hang of things and Zach and I really only have to step in when necessary. That’s my favorite type of leadership. Only having to jump in when things need to be changed. It might not be the most efficient, but I think it leads to the most satisfaction for the team. How does being a ride leader compare to being a rider? Constantly thinking about everyone else. The smallest things like whether they’re feeling well, if they’re having knee pain, whatever. As a rider I did best when I only had to worry about myself, as a leader I do my best when I’m concerned about others. What the most challenging part about being a ride leader? Getting to know all the riders. I wish that there was enough time and enough ease to get to know everyone on the team. Though I do get to talk to everyone, it’s hard to get to know 26 people. But part of the role as ride leader you are watching everyone, and that creates a degree of separation, its different than I expected. I’m always observing how things are going sometimes. What is the most rewarding part for you? Seeing how much the ride means to everyone. In Daymon Runyon in New York when they asked us why we are riding I winged it. I said I was doing it for everyone else. It’s one thing to have a life changing experience, but if I can do that for others, at least to make people think more, and make people appreciate others more, that’s why I ride. If I can do that for 26 other people I think that’s really powerful. What are habits you have picked up during the ride that you wouldn’t do normally? A dumb one is that I’m addicted to sugar now. I usually have control, but I’m at the point where I’m buying a liter of Dr Pepper every day. I hope I get rid of this habit later. Right now all my body craves is sugar sugar sugar. A more profound one: I’m more willing to express my feelings and being more proud to share who I am. It’s pretty easy to open up on this team. No one judges or assumes anything. The way I act now is how I want to be in the future. What is something that you will always remember about this ride? Watching firsthand day by day, as you guys experience i4k. During the school year at the meetings we talk at you about what the actual ride is like and all the boring logistics stuff and what not. And everyone is like “yeah wow that’s cool”. But not until day 1 do you actually realize what it means. And watching that realization of what the ride actually is is pretty memorable for me. How has i4k influenced your life and how do you think it will in the future? I plan on going into non-profit eventually. The first time around made me realize that I need some kind of work that is fulfilling, and directly related to helping others. I don’t really have a preference, but I know something will happen in my life that will make me realize what direction I want to go in. But also how nice people are. It’s crazy how little we expect, and how well we are treated by others who have no idea who we are. People who let us stay in their school, church, whatever, it’s pretty amazing thinking that people are willing to do that. It pushes me to be more like the people we meet on the ride. Giving to us even when they have no reason to. What has been your favorite day so far? 96 mile day in South Dakota. Most i4k feeling day. 96 miles and pretty hilly, but it felt like the ride. At this point we were very familiar with everyone and very open. Of course tailwinds help. Everyone was in a good mood, everyone was having a good time. We had good conversation, good miles. Riding was fun, it was very open and you could see very far in the distance. I was just happy to be there at that time. My group, Tina Sua and Nick Su, stopped at some abandoned house and explored that. It felt like the experience that I was waiting for. I knew the feeling that I wanted, and that was the first day that I reached peak happiness, or the most enjoyable day. Definitely a turning point on the ride. What has been the hardest day for you? Day 1. We were the mamma birds letting the baby birds fly for the first time. There were a lot of miles and we got in at like 7:00 PM. I was already nervous going into the day and everyone was out riding on their own, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I just had to be confident in everyone’s ability to ride safely so it was very stressful. Describe i4k in one word: inspirationalMB
Day 58: Riding Easy
Today Mackenzie dedicated the ride to Sharon McRoy, a relative who passed away from triple negative breast cancer on October 30 2013.We started our day on a somber note this morning and reflected on our dwindling time together. For the Mosher, we took turns talking about our favorite memory with Jessica, who functions as both the team clown and confidant. Although the team oftentimes jokes that “it’s happening”, meaning that we are hitting our breaking point where we erupt in chaos and fighting, we have been pretty lucky in terms of team dynamics, injuries, and weather. Overall this ride has been ideal conditions and it has made this experience pretty sweet. For our last three weeks, I think we all want to make the most of it.Today was our last stop in Idaho, but the views today did not disappoint. We continued on highway 12 along the Lochsa river in between a valley of pine hills. We spotted many lumber trucks chugging alongside us on the highway carrying wood to the factory in Lewiston.Although 66 miles would make us sore for days during our training period while we were still in school, today seemed like a breeze. We are spending the night in Lewiston, which borders nearby Clarkston. According to Wikipedia Lewiston is, “At the future townsite they encountered settlements of the native Nez Perce. Lewis and Clark passed through the valley on the return trip from the Pacific in 1806 also.” We also learned that the region was once inhabited by the Nez Perce Indian tribe, the group that helped Lewis and Clark on their expedition and provided them with horses that very likely helped them survive their journey.We arrived at around 2 PM at the First United Methodist Church where we were served a lasagna and spaghetti dinner with kale salad. After dinner we gave a presentation about our organization. Later in the evening I was lucky enough to get a prom-posal from Mackenzie. In my opinion his rap with backup dancer Dylan, Logan and Zach clad in black getups was the best one yet. Although prom was originally planned for tomorrow, our only day in Washington, we have decided to postpone it until we have a full team together once again.Washington, here we comeMB
Day 56/57: Idaho
Yesterday we camped in Clearwater National Forest in Idaho. Today we had another century day. Compared to the first one, today was much easier in comparison and we arrived at 4:00 as compared to 8:00. We stayed on highway 12 for the entire day today and followed the Lochsa river into Kamiah. Kamiah is a small town of only 1,500, we even saw a man with a cowboy hat on casually riding his horse casually as we rolled into town.We only have one more stop in Idaho before we enter Washington. Crazy to think that we only have 19 more days left.Don't want the trip to end.MB
Day 54/55: Missoula for the Win
We arrived yesterday in Missoula before noon after a short 55 mile day. The ride was dedicated to Kelly and Lisa, friends of Jody and Kevin who are currently battling cancer.We arrived and hit up the local favorites from amazing BBQ at the Notorious PIG, Big Dipper Ice Cream, and Thursday live music at Caras park. The church we are staying at broke our pasta and lentils streak by graciously providing us a tasty catered pasta dinner yesterday and chicken pot pie and salad this evening. When we woke up this morning most of us got bagels for breakfast and shopped in thrift stores for our promwear. On our only day in Washington next week we will be having I4Prom, an I4k tradition. The theme is ‘whatever you can find in a thrift store for under $10’. People have started to prepare by doing ‘prom asks’. Dylan set the bar pretty high by incorporating an ask to Neeca during a morning Mosher involving tapped pieces of paper on people’s backs and Neeca’s characteristic “dropping the weapon”. If you are not sure what ‘dropping the weapon is” I’m sure Urban Dictionary can fill you in.We got to visit with Adventure Cycling HQ, a not for profit that promotes bike travel and sends bike expeditions, they even made routes that people could follow across the US and South America. We had a bbq cookout with the staff and got a tour of their modern office. On their walls they had polaroid’s of people that had passed through in 201, doing their own cross country tours. I was surprised that there were three walls filled with adventure seekers riding their bikes across the US. We even spotted a guy we met on the road into the Tetons. I think many of the graduated seniors were low key thinking about applying to the organization because it seemed like an amazing place to work.Later on today we went whitewater rafting, a Montana favorite. Luckily Jessica got us a group discount and we piled the whole team into a school bus to the Gorge 30 minutes away from town. Our guides were a bunch of college age hippies and they showed us a good time rafting for 4 hours. We had awesome canyon views lined with pine trees and we even got to see a bald eagle in flight. We were lucky enough to be some of the only people on the river. All of us were jealous of our guides being able to get paid to go rafting on a daily basis.It’s safe to say that Missoula was the best rest day.I will be back Missoula.MB
Day 53: As Far as Small Towns Go..
Today I dedicated the ride to my dad’s cousin, JoAnn. Picture the bubbliest, most loving, generous, Texas woman squeezed into a mere 5’3”. She was always the relative that my sisters and I got excited was staying at our house. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2015 and passed away in her favorite place, San Antonio Texas, this past March.Even though we had to wake up at 5 AM this morning because the YMCA we stayed at opened at 6, we still were unable to make the 7:15 rollout time, much to the chagrin of Tyler. But it’s okay because what we lack in timeliness as a team, we make up for in fun. The Spanish speaking conversationalists finally got to ride today and there was mucho practica. The ride today was awesome conditions with little to no wind, a cool yet warm temperature, and no winds. We finished off the last 18 miles at an average pace of 19 mph.Drummond is a small town of only 300 something, however the local diner, Parker’s did not disappoint. With over 101 burger options to choose from, Nick Nodus, the team foodie, even claims that it was the best food that he had on the ride so far. After this pre-dinner before pasta and lentils, we attended a meet and greet at the library, run by husband and wife power duo Jody and Kevin. They both work at the high school we are staying at. After talking about our favorite summer memories from the ride so far, they invited us back to their front yard for s’mores and stories. Their daughter even let us play with her 10-week old golden retriever puppy.As far as ideal i4k days go, today was pretty sweet. Tomorrow we have a short 55 mile ride to Missoula where we have a rest day.MB
Day 52: It's Possible to be Full?
We rode 81 miles from Ennis to Butte today. Once again the west has blessed us with amazing mountain views today we even spotted many sunflowers dotting the sides of the road. Shout out to the 2014 team for the donations of poptarts, cosmic brownies, and cheese balls. They have significantly improved meals for the past two days. The air out west is just plain better and it feels so good to breathe in the unpolluted pine-smelling breeze. At the end of the 80 miles we had 8 miles of uphill climbing followed by 5 miles of downhill. Although it seemed daunting, it was actually not that hard and many of us surprised ourselves at the ease by which our legs were able to carry us up all the elevation.Kevin and Lil T (Colin T) were able to finesse and get enough pizza donations for every team member to have exactly 5/8 of a pizza, which somehow came out to 6 slices of pizza each. We have all vowed to be “the cool rich alums who donate name brand cereal to future teams” so watch out all you future riders.We are spending the night at a nice YMCA in Butte and because the gym opens at 6, we have a 5 AM wake up call.I guess mountain climbing isn’t that hardMB
Photo Series
Hey there everyone. Most of you probably know me as 'frontpage' or my adopted blog farewell of 'MB'. I wanted to share with you all a cartoon series that my sister did while she was in high school of my dad's cross country bike trip. During a summer in college my dad and uncle rode their bikes from Boston to San Francisco.Unlike us, they did not have a support vehicle and camped every night. It's funny now that we are doing such a similar ride to my dad's. Never really saw myself as the cross country bike type but here I am. Enjoy.
Day 48-51: Onward West We Go
Today the ride was dedicated to the woman we met yesterday in Yellowstone. After learning about our organization’s mission, she informed Michaeline and I that the reason she was in the park with her two sons, was because her husband had originally planned the trip. Unfortunately, he died of colon cancer earlier this year in April.Sorry for going incognito on all the daily readers out there. We have been camping in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone the past three days. I know I have made this claim about more than one state before, BUT Wyoming was definitely the best state we have passed through so far. (don’t let dissenters Phil and Tyler tell you otherwise). While in Dubois we met a dude who was completing a world tour on his bike. He plans to ride from Miami to Portland, take a freight boat to China and Kazakhstan, through Europe, and back to the US. He thinks the trip will take around 3 years. If interested, look up ChefAustinHarley on Instagram. Even though his riding style did not exactly match ours, he was an exceedingly interesting man to converse with.Most of us had not heard of the Tetons before this trip but they were absolutely amazing. For those of you who also were unfamiliar, picture snowcapped mountains with jagged tops and a pristine lake below. We even spent a few hours wading in the lake during our rest day.We spent yesterday biking 80 miles through Yellowstone. We got to see Old Faithful erupt and turquoise hot springs. To be honest, most of the way in Yellowstone I was counting down the miles until we would finish because of the excess amount of cars and people made riding on the shoulder a little scary. However, it was really cool to see all the wildlife. We witnessed a stoic buffalo (fun fact buffalo and bison are synonyms), a family of elk moving across the road, and an eagle in flight.Leaving the campsite this morning after three days of sleeping in a tent, I think many of us were thankful that we have the luxury of a roof over our heads for a majority of the ride. Since we were in bear country we had to lock up all of our food while we slept. Some of the team even claim to have heard wolves in the middle of the night yesterday. Although cooking hotdogs and s’mores over the campsite was fun to switch it up, it would be hard to be camping every night. Don’t get me wrong camping was super fun, but I am glad we did not have to do every night like the founding I4k team did. You guys are the true bada**sToday’s ride was ideal. Instead of riding over mountains like we have been doing lately, we got to bike in between them and mostly downhill for 70 miles. Two state lines we crossed, Idaho for about 10 miles and then back into Montana. We even had a tailwind towards the end. We got in at around 2 PM and the whole team tackled cleaning the post-camping messy van. Since one bowl of pasta didn’t cut it for most of us, we invaded the local gas station to stock up on snacks.More tailwinds pleaseMB
Day 47: Cowboys and Wild Horses
Today was an amazingly scenic ride. We saw mountains in the distance and red rock canyons. We even spotted a herd of wild horses running on the side of a hill.Mack dedicated the ride today to his neighbor’s son, Patrick Alexander. He passed away a few years ago from cancer of the bile duct.Introducinggggg Mackenzie Bach! Mack is our resident fraternity star of the team and he always seems to be in a good mood. His signature phrase is “wow, what a good day”. Catch him speeding downBiggest weakness: beautiful womenWhat is your hometown like: Mount Prospect. It was once ranked the best neighborhood to raise your kids in back in 2005. Very cozy hood. Lot of old style houses and it fits into the Chicago suburban scene.What day of riding has been your favorite: My favorite day was June 26th going into Kadoka South Dakota, because that was my mom’s birthday for one and it was also gorgeous day. It was the first day where we didn’t see any suburbs or cornfields anymore. We passed through huge rolling hills and had lots of tailwinds. We averaged 18mph for all 96 miles, it was as quick day for such long mileage. This day was when I finally realized that this is i4k. Beforehand we were still talking to cancer patients and traveling the country, but that day where we saw so much beautiful land and scenery and I realized how broad of a scope I was reaching.Favorite part of a typical day: Dinner. We’re always starving, but dinnertime brings everyone together. Makes us feel like a family.Least favorite part: The first rest stop just because I know we still have so much mileage to cover… and that I have to put sunscreen on.What has been a lesson you’ve learned from this ride: I’ve learned that there is so much more out there that I have yet to see. The generosity and authenticity of people has really amazed me. And everything that nature holds, it made me realize that I just barely scratched the surface. From my years growing up in Virginia and Illinois I thought I knew it all, but truth be told I’ve only just begun.What do you do to past the time while riding: I like talking to people and playing the questions game. It allows you to get to know your teammates better and show who they really are…in a good way.What are you still looking forward to? Crater Lake and camping. Our camping days have been pretty cool because we were actually roughing it for the first time. With only a backpack when we go outdoors, that’s when you really feel like you’re actually doing it.How do you think i4k will impact your college experience? I think it will teach me not to judge anyone because there are plenty of people on the ride that are here for the right reasons. Also the generosity of people; from giving us water to doing our laundry for us, it reminds me that there is still goodness in the world.What’s an ideal ride for you? For me it would be riding through a mountain on the horizon with pine trees everywhere and the wind blowing in my hair.Describe i4k in one word: astonishing
Day 46: A Hot Boy
To cap off the fourth of July last night some of us watched fireworks blasted off the top of a tall canyon yesterday. While out to get ice cream for the second time that day we heard that the fire department was watching the festivities closely, and we watched them put out a small fire on top of the canyon.Today was another hot boy (I4k speak 101:we use 'boy' to refer to nouns)with temperatures around 96 degrees by lunch without shade. Luckily we only had 55 miles from Thermopolis to Riverton. For Wyoming, Riverton is a pretty decently sized town of 10,000 people. The views today were canyons and deserty hills. Since it was such a short day most of us took a long nap once we got to the church or showered at the high school.Mountains are again visible in the distance and after tomorrow we will be able to enjoy yet another rest day. However this time it will be in the Grand Tetons! We are all excited to be able to camp again.For some reason I am missing colder weatherMB
Day 44/45: Wyoming is LIT
Sorry I could not check in yesterday folks, we had our first day of i4kamping in Meadowlark Wyoming. We had more than 7,000 feet of climbing in only 43 miles as we ascended a mountain in Big Horns National Forest. As we reached the top we got pretty close to snow. We happened to run into the 4k for Cancer New York running group at a rest stop. It just so happens that their group is running from San Francisco to New York in a relay setup with distances between 6-16 miles. Since they are a national group with multiple teams their organization raises around $800,000. It was such a crazy coincidence as we saw their support vehicle pull up right next to ours on the mountain and their team excitedly ran up to us. We exchanged the logistics of our organization and it turns out, we have the same goal of cancer fundraising and setup of staying in churches and such. They gave us the hot tip to ask grocery stores for donations if we are low on food. It was such a weird coincidence and it felt like we had just met ourselves in a parallel universe.Rolling into Meadowlark Lake was the most beautiful scene we have witnessed so far. Pretty blue flowers dotted the sides of the grassy hills that surrounded our campsites and there was a fresh pine smell in the air. After the insane amount of climbing we settled into our campsite which was overlooking a ski resort lake. We broke up into groups of 4 for our first night in the tents. For dinner we roasted our own hot dogs and made s’mores. It was chilly when we woke up but as soon as we sped down the 15 miles of downhill in only 30 minutes, it was already hot and we shed our multiple layers. After the downhill section the mountainous forest scenery was traded for hilly desert and it was a hot one! As per our usual tradition we stopped at the local ice cream joint on our way into town. Some of us took the opportunity to use the shower facilities in the hot springs park and spent some time in the stinky but refreshing natural spring water. To celebrate the 4th tonight we plan to watch fireworks outside of the church.In the next few days we have the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. We are all psyched!Wyoming is the best state so far.MB
Day 43: Buffalo Wyoming
Mason dedicated the ride to his grandfather David Christianson. David has B cell prolymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma and has had a rough time this past week.What a great day. Even though we were on the interstate for the full 70 miles today it was not as dreadful as we expected. Luckily the shoulder on the road achieved a coveted 9 (out of 10) rating from veteran rider Kevin, so we got to form double pace lines and talk the entire way. As we rode we were able to see real snowcapped mountains in the distance and we appropriately stopped for snow cones as we rolled into town.The vibe here is very country western and there were many cowboy statues dotting the sides of the road on the way into the main part of town. It seems to be quite touristy here and there are many hotels and gift shops on the main street. Buffalo is absolutely beautiful and us 21 year olds are excited to experience the town later this evening at the local saloon.Today we passed the smallest town so far of population: 25. So when our current 24 members of the team rode through we essentially double the population. At a gas station rest stop a kind solo police officer offered to give us an escort out of town so that was pretty cool.Our shower facilities happened to be at the “world’s largest pool” (fake news) and the warm community members of St. Lukes provided us with some bomb sloppy joes and other food.After dinner Cheryl, a two time breast cancer survivor gave us a presentation about her version of Relay for Life. Since the first time she got cancer was 25 years ago she noted that the second time she went through treatment it was much more pleasant. Once she got cancer she felt like she could not accomplish the goals she planned to eventually attempt. With a career as a campaign manager for people such as the opponent to George Bush Sr. she then put her skills to use by running for state legislature.Because of this, when she was working on the Wyoming State Health Legislature she changed the policies so that cancer treatment and screenings were better covered by insurance in the state of Wyoming.Later on Cheryl noticed that the Buffalo Relay for Life was not attracting as many people as it could. To change this, she formulated the event after Dancing with the Stars. She invited well known community members to compete in a dancing competition to raise funds. In her two years the event raised $15,000 and then $18,000. And now the American Cancer Society uses her event as an example for other local Relays to model after.Tomorrow will be the most climbing the shortest distance: 7,000 ft in only 43 miles. Pray for us please.Tomorrow also marks our first day of camping in Meadowlark Wyoming.Excited for s’mores tomorrow.MB
Day 42:Post Climbing High
Today Mason dedicated the ride to Aubry. She had neuroblastoma at a very young age and was treated with chemo and radiation. Although she doesn’t remember the treatment, she remembers how tough it was. After this she had no further fights with cancer.We arrived in Gillette Wyoming this afternoon and were greeted by some exceedingly friendly church members. One woman was even nice enough to take us to all the hotspots in town which included an active coal mine.Meet Christina Su. The nicest person on our team of loving a**holes, as we like to call ourselves. She is a ray of sunshine and it is impossible not to smile around her.Where are you from: Bloomington, IL. It’s a good town to grow up in and I really like the people there.What first got you interested in I4k: My Uncle passed away my senior year and going into college I knew I wanted to do something in honor of him. I first heard about I4k at sights and sounds which is part of freshman orientation. I turned to my friend and said “wouldn’t that be crazy if I did that” and a month later I was signed up. What were your feelings before we left for New York: It was a mix between excitement and nervousness. I was super excited thinking about all the things we were going to see. I didn’t know what to expect really.How are you feeling about the ride now: I am loving it! I never want it to end.How do you think you’ll feel once we reach San Francisco: Not sure. I try to imagine it, sometimes, and when I think about it I get really sad because I’m having so much fun. It’s sad to think that once we get there we’ll all be going our different ways. There’s so much so see still and so many people to meet, so the ride still has a lot to offer from here to SF.What do you do to get you through hard ride days: My teammates help me get through a lot by encouraging me or telling stories and asking each other questions. Remembering who we ride for and why we ride keeps me going. Almost everywhere we go we meet people who have been affected by cancer and talking to people along the way encourages me even more.Do you see yourself doing anything after the ride that compares to this: NO (haha) it still is super cool for me and I still kind of can’t believe that were doing it. Day 32 it really hit me that we are actually biking across the whole country.What has been your favorite place so far: Really hard, definitely the most special was Rochester New York because that’s where my parents first came, and the police escort and the mayor, and on top of that I cleaned my bike on my own for the first time (haha). All the little things made it really special. When we were visiting the Hope Lodge there and seeing the wigs that they donate to cancer patients meant a lot to me because I donated my hair. That day was one great thing after the next.What is one moment you’ll never forget: Watching the sunset in Madison Wisconsin with the team. Everything about it was super pretty.Describe i4k in one word: life-changingLOVE YOU TINA SUMB
South Dakota Was Pretty Terrible
From the moment we crossed into South Dakota, until Pierre, there was nothing but flat grassland and cows as far as you could see. At least in Illinois there is some corn or trees to look at. Not in South Dakota. Since there is nothing but flat, barren land, the winds are insane. Thankfully the wind was blowing straight into our faces most days, this helped make days seem really short and easy. I promise.On top of this, you also get bombarded by advertisements for a place called Wall Drug. The first one started at abut 386 miles out, and they persist with increasing frequency until you arrive to Wall, SD. You get to see these billboards every mile/ half mile once you get with 20 minutes of Wall. It's pretty annoying. But, because this store has been hyped up so much, you have to go inside and check it out. One of these signs advertised homemade donuts, so I of course tried one. It was good, but not worth the two dollars I paid. Then I bought some mint ice cream. I paid $3.50 for the wimpiest single scoop cone I had ever seen. Plus it was without a doubt the worst mint ice cream I have ever had. The rest of the store is also filled with other useless, over priced knick-knacks. Wall Drug was a bigger let down than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.Don'r get me wrong though, South Dakota had some good parts. Actually two good parts. The Badlands and the Black Hills were gorgeous. But those did not make up for everything else in that state.I'm glad to be in Wyoming now.Phil "My Mustache Drinks More Than I Do" Kagebein