Today the team rode 66.7 miles from Syracuse to Palmyra, New York! Today has been the easiest day by far with very little climbing and less miles. Today was HOT with temps as high as 78 and a beating sun that lasted the entirety of the ride. At the last 20 miles we experience our first head winds of the ride. We can all agree that the head winds from Champaign have not been missed. Everyone on the team is getting to know one another and now the rest stops have become less restful and more fun. Dancing with a portable speaker (tunes cred to van driver Kathy), doing cartwheels and handstands, and abs and arm workouts (gotta keep the balance). Once in Palmyra the team checked out a local ice cream shop called the grill and chill where the quantities of ice cream we're more than generous. The kiddie size cup was the size of a pint at the grocery store!! We were all happy campers.A portrait was conducted today at one of our rest stops. The team met a man named Wally who shared that everyone in his immediately family experienced cancer. He explained that it was a struggle for him to fight the urge to ask, ”why not me?” He chose to share his story to encourage family members to not carry guilt with them. To take life as it comes at you.I would like to thank our hosts at the Shepherd's Heart Fellowship. They had the greatest arrival for our team with posters in the front of the church and Illini colored decorations. The warm welcome was the icing on top of a great day! Jeni our host even took the time to memorize all our bios and surprised us by knowing all of our names and facts about ourselves before we even introduced ourselves. The food they provided was delicious and the company was even better.Tomorrow is a very short 20 mile ride to Rochester. It's safe to say everyone is in need of a little TLC!~Tailwinds~MandyDaily flats: 3Song of the day: DespacitoStory of the day: Kathy drove the van today with her bike on the bike rack on the back of the van. Her wheel fell off while she was driving without her knowledge. A group of riders found a spare wheel in the road and decided it would be useful for the team. They called the van and the wheel turned out to be Kathy’s. A wheel found is a wheel saved!
Day 5
Hello world!Day 5... another day down woot wootNot much to say about the bike ride today other than the fact that we saw a dog on a roof and had a nice picnic in a park for lunch :)Weather was nice except I think ya girl might have sun poisoning :( not exactly sure how that happened because I put on loads of sunscreen, but I’ll be wearing pants on the bike for a while now !We were spoiled yet again tonight with our extremely generous hosts in the cute town of Palmyra, NY. We were warmly welcomed with I4K signs with all of our names on it which was sweet. They also cooked us a feast which was delishWhen John (pastor of the church) picked us up from showering at the high school, he took us on a detour to Joseph Smith’s original house. Fun fact, Palmyra is known as “the Mecca for Mormons”... pretty interesting to seeWe will be biking from Palmyra to Rochester, NY and we are feeling #blessed because it’s only a 23 mike ride!!Until tomorrow.Marge
Day 4
Hello world!Day 4 is done-zo!You’d be surprised at the things you find on the side of the road while on a bike. Today I found 2 parts to a Kirby vacuum about 5 miles away from one another... not sure the story behind that one.Nothing really exciting happened today on the bike but my buns are hurtin... hopefully that situation improves. Also we keep getting a mix of good and rainy weather but it’d be nice to have the good weather stay a while and hang... much appreciated.From Day 1 of biking to Day 4, we have gone from rags to riches. On day 1 I took a “shower” in the sink and ate 2 slices of cheese pizza that was donated today. Today, I had a nice hot shower, sauna and a home cooked meal by 5 cute old ladies.Tomorrow we go from Syracuse to Palmyra, NY. About 67 miles. Hopefully won’t be too hard!Rad.Marge
Day 4: Can't stop the rain in Syracuse
Today the team powered through 74 miles in straight rain from Little Falls to Syracuse, New York. All aching from yesterday's climbs the team was very happy to have an easier day of riding today. We also began an old I4K tradition, the mosher. The idea behind the mosher is for teammates to pass around an old ski pass that belonged to an Eric Mosher (this was found from a past team on the side of a road). The ski pass is then hidden and passed around from teammate to teammate until 7 pm. One way this was done today is by hiding it in a dorito bag and then offering a dorito to another teammate.Whoever has it at 7 then must think of an activity for the team do the following morning.I would like to thank the people at St. Paul’s church in Syracuse for being amazing hosts and providing us with a feast. We are so lucky to build the relationships with such kind people who offer to host our team each year. We could not be more thankful for their generosity, and time they spent to make us so much food. Ryan and Alex also conducted a portrait with a women named Margaret who is a volunteer at the church. Margaret has battled cancer in the past and is currently battling it once again. Margaret has a passion for teaching and volunteered to do the portrait as a way go educate others about her experience.Whether it was hills or rain the team has powered through some challenging days and we are all hoping for some sun and smooth miles as we make our way to Palmyra!MandyFlat count: 2Song of the day: Living on a prayerMemorable moment: A group rode past the rest stop and so they stopped at Burger King instead.Moral of the story it pays to take the path less traveled :)
Day 3
Hello world!Day 3... boy oh boy. This ride is one for the books and will never be forgotten.We battled some gnarly hills that you wouldn’t imagine and it truly tested our mental toughness. Because there’s no music on our rides, you have to make do by singing to yourself.3 songs that continued to cycle through my head were Oh Happy Day, The Sound of Music (because of the daisy fields we passed), and Ain’t No Mountains High Enough.One of the farms we passed had a horse on a leash that bolted straight towards us.... we were trained on what to do if dogs bolt, but horses is a different story... but hey we still made it.PS - We may or may not be staying with the prisoners of Little Falls, NY tonight.... an unexpected surprise but it’s all good!Right on.Marge
Day 3: Brutally Beautiful Little Falls
Today the team rode 67 miles from Albany to Little Falls, New York. The day was hot with tons of hills and beautiful views. We rode through lush green valleys that made the 1 kilometer climbs well worth it. Today our elevation gain was 3,350 ft. Something that seemed so daunting, turned out to be rewarding as we stood at the top of the hills and looked down.Everyone on the team can agree that today was extremely tough but we all pushed through the grueling hills that from the bottom seemed impossible. Some of the team shed a few tears up the hills. Eric and Mike cried tears of joy thinking about the pb and J’s as motivation up the hills. We were all very relieved to learn that these hills will be the largest until Colorado!We would like to thank the YMCA in Little Falls for hosting us tonight. We would also like to thank Sandra (I4K alum from 2007) for making us a delicious meal and driving an hour to deliver it to us, it was very appreciated!! The team can agree that the brownies and pasta were delicious :) It is so great to meet past riders and hear stories about their ride. They are truly the only people that understand how special the experience of being on Illini 4000 is.With three days down this is starting to feel like a routine, I'm excited to see what the next 75 days have in store!MandyFlat count: 3Song of the day: Breakeven ( still alive but we are barely breathing)- how we felt after each climbMemorable story: Sam, Aaron, Caroline and I went to a random house in the middle of nowhere to use the bathroom. The women seemed extremely hesitant but eventually took pity on us (might have had something to do with how exhausted we looked) Conclusion: we all officially conquered any fears of stranger danger!
Day 2
Hello world!Day 2 was tough but good. We conquered some pretty incredible hills that took my breath away (literally and figuratively). Weather was super nice compared to yesterday, and I already feel the tan lines comin on strong...We passed by many farms and winery’s on the mountain side. There were some awesome barns with horses and sheep that I wish I owned (mom you would’ve loved it).88 more miles logged into the books. 67 for tomorrow as we head to Little Falls, NY.Until tomorrow.Marge
Day 2: We all made it to Albany
Today the team rode 87.9 miles from Beacon to Albany, New York. The day was long, hot and filled with more climbing! The views were absolutely incredible and made it all worth it! Lush green hills and cute little towns were passed along the way. There was one breathtaking view from the Van Wilder bridge. None of us expected to see so many mountains in upstate New York, and there are no words to express what it's like to bike and see mountains all around you. It certainly isn't the corn fields we are used to. I'm learning that this will be one of the best parts of the ride, the unexpected wonders in each state.We would like to thank St. Andrews church for hosting in Beacon. We also were able to film our first portrait on the ride from a women that some teammates met at the church. We would also like to thank our hosts at the Bethlehem YMCA for being great hosts year after year and providing us with pizza! Some of the team even got to be on the news when the local news station came to the YMCA to interview us ( we are famous.. in Albany!) Also thanks to Liz (I4K alum) for being our incredible van driver the last two days and for being a joy to be around on our first few hard days, we will miss you!We are all resting up for another day of climbing tomorrow, as we continue to push ourselves and conquer new heights!MandyFlat total: 2Song of the day: Here comes the sunMemorable moment: Hitarth found a postcard that says bald is beautiful (Hitarth is bald)
Day 1
Hello world!Day 1 of biking has officially come to a close in Beacon, NY.The day started off with an el ride to Central Park (with our bikes) followed by a meeting with one of our beneficiaries, Be Positive.Despite the disgusting , cold rain, we biked just over 63 miles from Central Park to Beacon. The ride was breathtaking to say the least. The combo of climbing hills in the forest to decending next to the Hudson was such a fun time.I’ve been in the state for just a couple days and 10/10 recommend. Don’t forget there’s more to this state than the city so check it out sometime, it won’t disappoint.Tomorrow we take on 88 miles and hopefully better weather.Cool.Marge
Day 1: High ho high ho off to Beacon we go
As many of you are aware the start to our adventure was more eventful than many of us anticipated. To fill you in our set train ride was changed to a bus ride to Toledo due to tree branches on the tracks. We needed to disassemble our bikes, all 23 of them to go into the van. From Toledo we hopped a train to New York City and after a short 18 hours we arrived. Shell-shocked by the bright lights and honking horns we knew we were not in Champaign anymore and we were within hours of the adventure that at one point seemed so far away!I first would like to thank our host in NYC Bippin for being great and letting us crash his newly renovated house and for making us amazing food. We also were able to meet one of our beneficiaries in NYC, Damon Runyon! It was so interesting to meet the researchers and get a better idea of what Damon Runyon does and how our fundraising efforts are helping support cancer research. Also to Carly from B + who saw us depart from central park and shared an inspiring story of a family that Illini 4000 has directly helped. This was an inspiring way to start our ride and a great motivation for the day!Fast-forward to today. We rode 63.2 miles from central park to Beacon, New York. Hills Hills and more Hills!!! The weather decided to continue to throw curve balls our way by raining the whole day. Riding today felt surreal after months of preparation we were finally able to say we are riding across the country. Riding around the city was extremely challenging as it was nothing like our prior training rides. Today Sam lost a wheel, and Helen got three flats in an hour! If every day is like today I have a feeling this summer will be full of adventure and one of the best experiences of my life!MandyDaily Flat count: 5Song of the day: Ain’t no mountain high enoughMemorable moment: Maggie thinking every part of greenery in New York was central parkhttps://www.damonrunyon.org/https://bepositive.org/
Day -1
Hello world!Got to THE NYC yesterday late at night due to many travel roadblocks. A train cancellation which led to a bus to Toledo, Ohio followed by a 3 hour delay on our train from Toledo to New York. Nothin like starting off a bike trip strong amiright ¿?New York has been pretty dope so far. Visited Damon Runyon (the research foundation we donate to) and saw a wholeee lot (high line, chelsea market, prospect park, etc etc).Big day tomorrow as we start day número uno of biking!!! Stay tuned as the weather is supposed to be a bit hairy...Stay fresh,Marge
Day 75/76: SAN FRAN!!
Last two days of riding. Since I will not have access to a computer after tonight I thought I would do the final post all in one. Today’s ride was harder than expected and there were many uphill climbs and winding downhills, totaling 4,000 uphill and 3,500 downhill. We finally got out got out of the valley and had pleasant 70 degree weather today. We passed through part of Napa Valley on our ride and saw miles of vineyards. There was an ultimate rule number 1 uphill climb at the final stretch on Cherry road and every group decided to challenge themselves to the 18% grade uphill instead of the reroute...Although not everyone was able to make up all the way up (me).
This evening we took our final shuttle to showers at a local pool as a team and managed to fit 26 of us in Uncle Rico (the van).
Tomorrow is our last day of I4k and I expect it to be very emotional but exciting. We have built up the image of us crossing the Golden Gate bridge a lot and we have planned who we will be riding with on the last day for a while. It feels very surreal that we are finally accomplishing our ultimate goal and we will officially be able to call ourselves cross country cyclists.
This summer has been a whirlwind to say the least! It has been the most challenging yet rewarding period in my whole 22 years of life. Although these days have been extremely tough, it has taught me how to push myself, while at the same time knowing my limits and allowing myself to take a break when I need one. It has forced me to be patient while also giving me a lesson in group dynamics and learning how to put others before myself. It’s hard to put in words exactly how impactful this summer has been for me and I don’t think I will fully grasp its gravity until I am actually done with this trip but overall I can say that it was more fun than hardship and my 26 teammates are the reason for that, I encountered more good kind generous people than mean spirited drivers flipping us off, and this country is damn beautiful and we didn't even scratch the surface.
To recap the summer, I thought I would a give a highlight reel in the form of some of our favorite inside jokes. Enjoy
- Mackenzie showing up to Champaign instead of Union Station
- Leaving Neeca at the DeBlasio campaign
- “Ehhhhh” (with tongue out) -Julissa
- “You’re sagging” – Dan
- “Is the van unlocked” “Where are the van keys”
- Every city is the Big Apple
- TBV- Total Bone Volume
- Is a hot dog a sandwich?
- David being extra
10. Soy Boys
11. Adding ‘boy’ to the end of as many words as possible
12. Calling out cues while not riding
13. Debating which utensil is the best for the PBJ
14. Someone is always farting
15. Roasting people always (mostly Arturo)
16. “Mmmm”, “Ahhhmazing”, “Disasterrrr” – Kevin
17. “It’s happening”!
18. “Ah, my nickname in high school”
19. “Pretty cool” – Tyler
20. “Right?” – Zach
21. Maryland is now Delaware 2
22. Nodus not backing down from any challenge
23. Somehow making everything a challenge
24. Lil T storm
25. Operation T storm
26. Roasting the boys
27. Analisa’s rendition of 6 foot 7 foot
28. Communal showers
29. Dan being vegan
30. David saying “uhhhh” before anything
31. “Dirtiest thing you would do for a Gatorade”
32. “I gotta question for ya”- Dan and Kevin
33. Boom Boom eating absolutely anything
34. Mason having terrible taste in music
35. Mason’s rollout song
36. “Borked”
37. Team rankings, the van driver is the supreme leader and the mechanic is the lowliest
38. Hot Takes
39. Analisa’s shirt is always unzipped
40. The snoring tent
41. The cuddle puddle
42. The shaggy dog story
43. “Uhhh mechanic, my bikes making a weird noise” *walk away
44. Slow boy
45. “I’m the fastest girl on the team” –Alia
46. Dylan being the most attractive boy on the team
47. Kevin’s bleached eyebrows
48. “Pretty straightforward today”
49. Tyler is being grumpy
50. “Take your time” –Nick Su
51. Lil T is Pierre Tont
52. “What a great day” – Mack
53. Neeca dropping the weapon
54. Me winning the hunger games
55. Chef Austin
56. Quitting the team
57. Spongebob references
58. Tina Su thinking farting is hilarious
59. Pixar movie rankings splitting the team
60. Hating Rapid City
61. Quarter mile condurum
62. “Tunac Tunac”
63. “Ride faster” – Tyler
64. “My dad has a gun”
65. David never being at the circle on time
Thanks for being awesome 2017. Even though we were last place when it came to timelieness, you’re all number 1 in my heart.
Thanks for keeping up with us all summer.
Stay golden San Francisco.
MB
Day 74: Hotter Than...
Today I dedicated the ride to Matt Dsouza, a close mentee of my fathers who was his favorite caddy for a number of years. Matt graduated from U of I in 2013 and received his Master’s of Accounting in 2014. He was diagnosed with leukemia a while back and will be undergoing trial treatments at the University of Chicago.
Today was some of the most brutal heat we encountered. Even though we had another 4:45 wakeup, we could not avoid the blazing heat that reached over 100 degrees by 11 AM on the 86 mile day. During the last 20 miles stretch the ride leaders made the call that it was unsafe to ride uphill in the extreme heat and we shuttled groups the rest of the way. Since Lower Lakes underwent a fire in 2016 that burned the church, the place we are staying in in is a 40 by 60-foot facility with all of our bikes, backpacks, and van supplies. Not to mention all 27 of us are sharing a single bathroom. With no AC and all the bodies in one room it became very sweaty ordeal.
Although it had looked like we would never actually have it, at the last minute we decided that we would have prom! Everyone changed into their thrift store bought outfits and took prom pictures courtesy of Mason in front of a sheet. Nick Su, David, Mack, and Dan serenaded us with some choice karaoke songs, and we had a dance circle where Lil T showed off some moves. To close out the night we played Closing Time, and had a circle group up to cherish one of our last nights together.
The worst is officially behind us!
MB
Day 73: Orlandia
Today Christina Su dedicated the ride to a group she ate dinner with last night, five of whom were cancer survivors.This morning we had a mostly successful departure as we started to roll out at around 6:30 after our 4:45 wake up along with breakfast served to us by the church community members. Although it was another hot day, we missed the worst of the heat as we pushed the rest stops to mile 28 and 53. It seemed like the terrain today was something that you would expect to see an actual desert, with the cacti and yellow fields. 68 miles felt very easy and since we had barely any climbing the day was not extremely challenging.We arrived at yet another Methodist Church at around 1:00 and headed over to the local pool that had a Sandlot feel to it with painted blue walls and tall diving boards. We got major Cali vibes from the people there as we noticed that every single lifeguard was bleach blonde. When 25 of us rolled up at the pool, we got asked if we were a swim team. An inflatable obstacle course at the pool was the perfect place for races, and some of the little kids there even challenged us to a competition. Orland had a very small town feel to it and the lifeguards were calling out some of the little kids by name when they were messing around.We have begun to notice that Methodist churches are the ones that usually provide us with potluck dinners and for dinner we were treated to roast beef, rice, rolls, and a plethora of salads. Pretty much all of us helped ourselves to seconds...or fourths (Mackenzie).Although i4prom was supposed to take place tonight, since we decided to have another early wake up tomorrow we postponed it. Since we are staying at a very tiny church tomorrow it is not looking like the dance will actually take place. Stay tuned.We are all coming to the realization that we only have three more days of riding and it is STRANGE. In a way it seems like this new lifestyle that we have adopted will go on forever. Sleeping in a normal bed will be weird.Tomorrow is supposed to be a hard day. Probably the hardest we have left.Gulp.MB
Day 72: Redding You Dog
Mackenzie dedicated the ride today per request of his uncle to his Aunt Irene Arciszewiski, who died of melanoma.Mount Shasta to Redding California. Today was something else lemme tell ya. Although we knew ahead of time that the temperatures would be above 100 degrees, per team vote last night, we elected to keep wake up at a normal 5:45 instead of 4:45 this morning to beat the heat. I regretted being on the 5:45 team at right around 11:00 AM.Around mile 10 we had to be shuttled two miles because a semi truck had flipped over. It was chilling to pass by the overturned van and see the 40 foot vehicle on its side. After that two of my group members, Logan and Neeca, had to be picked up by the van because both of their tires got annihilated by an unknown thing. We had lunch at a McDonald’s, where we were all prepared with the downloaded McDonalds app for deals. After that the last 8 miles of the day were brutal. Even on the last downhill of the day, the heat hitting our faces felt like, in the words of Zach, “a hairdryer”, instead of a cool breeze. We pretty much ran inside the United Methodist Church for the air conditioning when we arrived. Overall Interstate 5 was terrible and I think I'll have nightmares about it.UMC has been a stayover for our team for the past five years, and for good reason. While eating the potluck dinner of enchiladas, beans, watermelon salad, and other luxuries, we were able to speak with some exceedingly friendly and interesting church members. One person in particular that stood out to me was Mabel, the kind of 82 woman who everyone in the community knows. With dyed red hair that “makes everyone remember her” Maybel is a former Korean War marine veteran that was quick to make a joke, offer us advice like “I have a lot of friends, everyone I like I call my friend, even if they don’t like me back”, or poke fun at the other church members like referring to Peggy, the Director of Ministry, as the “the caption”. She was very entertaining and made us wish that we could have the same level of pizzazz as her when were that age.From the dinner conversation I also learned that Northern California and lower Oregon have a movement to succeed and form the state of Jefferson. It doesn’t seem like the proposed new state will actually come into existence, but it is quite interesting if you are curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_(proposed_Pacific_state)Yet another day that started out comically hard and ended with a feeling of fulfillment.Eyes on the prize.MB
California Is Pretty Hot
Day 71: Mount Shasta
Today Mack dedicated the ride to a family friend of his, Hayden, who at only the young age of 23 is going through chemo treatments for a rare form of brain cancer.There were mixed reviews on today’s ride. With views of beautiful snowcapped Mount Shasta, the second tallest mountain and potentially active volcano in the US, and our first glimpse into California scenery. It's weird to think that we have gotten used to seeing mountains as opposed to cornfields.Wikipedia information about Shasta: “There are seven named glaciers on Mount Shasta, with the four largest (Whitney, Bolam, Hotlum, and Wintun) radiating down from high on the main summit cone to below 10,000 ft (3,000 m) primarily on the north and east sides.”We crossed our last state border today and took our very first team picture together (haha not). However, California is noticeably hotter than Oregon and we really began to feel the heat during the last 10 miles of climbingThe Mt. Shasta descent was something that was talked about in ride meetings, but turned out to be a bit disappointing. With headwinds, we really did not get to experience the full extent of the 6 miles of downhill that we had anticipated so much.The scenery in California is actually quite different than Oregon, and only 5 miles into today’s ride we began to spot tall Redwood trees along the side of the road. Although Mount Shasta, the town where we are staying in tonight is a bit small, it has gorgeous scenery surrounded by forest and views of the mountain top.At this point in the ride every rider is experiencing soreness and we don’t really know what it feels like to not have a sore behind. We are all looking forward to a break from biking while simultaneously dreading being separatedDon’t let me down CaliforniaMB
Day 70: I4Khristmas
Rest day in Klamath Falls! Many of us started the morning with the I4klassic of the Daily Bagel, a local breakfast joint that serves, you guessed it, bagels. They were the best we have had so far, sorry Missoula. Luckily for us the Yeti’s Lair is conveniently located right near the main street and we were able to make a lot of stops today including: the farmers market, some thrift shopping for last minute Christmas gifts, the riverfront park, and the frozen yogurt shop. Once again Mike and his wife spoiled us with a pasta and salad dinner on the sidewalk outside the gym.This week we will be graced with a celebrity driver, I4k’s very own, Jeff Bogue. Where does this leave van driver rankings, the world may never know.After dinner we had our last (of about 3) team meetings where we talked end of ride logistics and sadly began to accept that this trip will actually end. After dinner we exchanged Christmas gifts around a computer generated fire and Christmas music courtesy of self-appointed DJ, Mason. Some notable gifts included *possible * anal beads, a used glove, an old hat, a pinecone, a whistle, and a jacket sanitized with a ton of Lysol. After the gifts David finally popped the question (prom) to Madeline with a drawn out magic trick involving making toilet paper disappear into a cell phone. He got a standing ovation by the rest of the team as he finished.So many mixed emotions about the final stretch of the trip. Slightly worried about California’s terrain where in the words of Kevin “everything wants to kill you”.David’s always right.MB
Day 68/69: Crater Lake
We made it to Crater Lake! After climbing about 4,000 feet we saw the deepest lake in the US. It was the bluest and most pristine body of water I have ever seen. This particular National Park might have been my favorite just because it was not overcrowded with tourists like the other parks we visited on this trip. It was nice because during our multi hour rest stop at the top we were pretty much the only ones around, and the only activity taking place on the water was a singular boat riding to the island in the middle of the lake (that is actually another volcano forming).After our extended rest stop we had to be shuttled to the top of the mountain because the roads and construction made for a dangerous combination for bikers. At the lodge at the top we ran into some PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers looking like they had been through a long journey. (Next adventure?) As we rode down 1000 feet to our campsite the noticeable chill at the top of the mountain got warmer and we were able to take off our jackets.This morning we rolled out pretty much on time (7:30) and made it to Klamath Falls at around 1:00. We will be staying in the Yeti’s Lair, the famous i4k rock climbing gym stayover. Mike the owner had been hosting the team for a few years and was nice enough to wip up some burgers and allow us a running tab at Dutch Brothers coffee shop. After dinner Mike belay certified myself, Nick Nodus, and Mack and we belayed and rock climbed the rest of the night.Anyone wanna be belayed?MB
Day 67: Ahh My Leg!!
Today was a doozy. Another near-century (we’re gonna call 96 miles a century at this point) with 5,000 feet of climbing. The elevation map looked like a right triangle. It was mostly a gradual climb but at 60 miles BAM it started to get extremely steep. At one point there were 7 people sagging in uncle Rico (the van). Although our expected time of arrival at the stayover was 8PM we got in at about 6:00.Crescent is a town of about 300 people and it is so small that the people at the grocery store knew our stayover contact Gil from us just mentioning his first name to him. After some last minute changes, we ended up staying at an old haunted out of use restaurant for the night. Complete with a bowling alley, a bar, a banquet hall, and a full kitchen straight out of the 1970’s, this place could pretty much be the set of the Shining. The strange thing about this place was that it seemed like it had been the local hangout one night and abandoned the next day. There were bowling balls and shoes still in the bowling alley and cups still in the bar. We couldn’t resist the haunted charm and ended up playing a game of hide and seek.We had a surprise today, Jessica returned. After flying all the way to Eugene and then taking a two-hour cab, she showed up at our stayover and surprised us all. After about 15 minutes of just going around and hugging everyone, she was finally able to get settled in for the night.Tomorrow we have loads of climbing into Crater Lake and we will not have service while camping at the top. It is a famously hard I4k ride and I am quite scared for my knees. We expect it to get extremely cold at the top and tent groups are actually trying to recruit more people into their tent for added warmth.What goes up must come down right?MB