Illini 4000 is made of amateur riders, but this morning we felt like professionals. After breakfast from Camden’s parents, Denise Cortes and Edward Cortes (thank you so much!) the Chicago Fire Department set us up with an escort out of the city; being able to ride as one big group and breeze through traffic gave us a sense of importance… and maybe a bit of impostor syndrome…! We couldn’t be more grateful for such an easy and stress-free beginning to the 87 mile day. We were even accompanied by a few 2018 I4K alums! Special thanks to Stan Salata for fixing the van’s bike rack so we can keep things safe and organized!

Just a few miles after departing from the escort, we got on the Prairie Path, then the Great Western Trail, and finally the Fox River Trail! Of course, just the other day I posted about bike paths being a rare luxury, and today we’re on them for over 70 miles! It really was a gorgeous ride, despite the 15 mph headwinds when unprotected by trees. Mulberry trees also rained fruit down on us as we passed under dozens (free snacks?) and a few snakes (non-venomous according to Google) showed face on the sides of the path.

We had some awesome steep hills in a lush forest and breezed across the flat lands on crushed limestone paths. It was a nearly perfect riding day, and we had a great lunch outside a Diary Queen, supplied by Ellie’s family (thank you!!!) When we finally got to Lake Geneva, we went to the lake once to rinse off the aforementioned limestone dust, and again after dinner to cheers with some classic Sprecher root beers. It’s been a long and tiring day, but Wisconsin is great so far and I’m excited to see more of it tomorrow!

— Marielle