Day 13: Fort Wayne IN to Logansport IN

Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 13. Day 13 brought us 77 miles of riding and almost no hills to climb. The day started out with us trying our best to roll out on designated time and as per usual failing (we’re getting better though!).

Morning prep in progress

The road consisted mostly of small country roads and several very nice stretches of bike paths. It was quite a hot day and while the majority of the ride went by relatively quickly, the last ~15 miles felt dragged out for a lot of riders.

Bike trails are awesome ♡

Without the hills there to take our breath away (literally) as well as getting more and more comfortable on our bikes, most of the team has started to actually talk while riding. We have been having very long conversations about our lives, experiences and so on while riding. It feels like the team is really starting to get close now and getting to know each other on a personal level and it is a truly delightful experience.

Also, we are getting more comfortable at taking selfies while riding (safely). Here’s the proof:

On-bike selfie number 1

On-bike selfie number 2

On-bike selfie number 3

Hanging out in the Van-that-Shall-Remain-Nameless

We arrived to our stayover at the Logansport Church fairly early - about 3 PM. The pastor of the church - pastor Aaron - was very kind and offered us to take showers at his own home since the local YMCA was closed.

Cutie at the pastor’s house

TWO cuties at the pastor’s house

Afterwards, we got dinner provided graciously by the church and then some of the team went to a Mexican restaurant for further nourishment. We are a bunch of very hungry cyclists after all.

And that concludes our adventures for Day 13. BUT that is not the end of today’s journal.

As a small bonus extra treat I will feature each rider in a post throughout the ride, sharing the name they chose for their bike and why. Our first featured rider will be…Clara!

Clara said that her bike’s name is “Casey because it starts with a C like my name and like what it says on my bike Cervelo”.

Clara and Casey

-Valerie

Day 12: Perrysburg OH to Fort Wayne IN - Fifth state and the first 100 mile day

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 12. Today the riders faced their first century - 105 miles of riding in a day. The universe decided to spare me from this achievement as it was my turn to be on van driving duty today again. So, as per last time, I shall describe this day purely in other rider’s pictures.

Selfie #1

Selfie #2

Bryan committing crimes against humanity by eating baby carrots with ketchup

A Sam-sized dog was spotted

Working hard on making their quads big and strong

Food #1

Food #2

As I mentioned in the yesterday’s journal, we will be jumping into Lake Michigan on our Chicago rest day for (as of right now) 90 dollars per person. These donations will be coming from I4K alumni but everyone and anyone is highly encouraged to add to that amount. I will make sure the photo evidence of the epic jump is present and posted on this very website shortly after it happens, so get excited and get donating , friends!

-Valerie

Day 11: Sandusky OH to Perrysburg OH

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 11. After two 90 mile days in a row, today was a comparatively short day at only 63 miles. That did not unfortunately make it feel any shorter. While we all we glad to make it to flat land again after struggling on the Pennsylvania hills, we forgot that biking in such flatness can VERY boring sometimes. The highlight of today’s ride was certainly riding for about 10 miles on a very nice shaded bike trail.

While riding on the trail, we came across a playground and of course could not NOT stop there for a few minutes.

We might be college kids, but we’re still kids :)

The rest of the day was spent in the same familiar landscape. We all know which one by now, c’mon.

The biggest attraction of the day

Rest stop number one

The last 20 miles of the ride seemed to drag out for much longer than they should have for everybody on the team, and we faced headwinds for the very first time since our training rides. The winds were certainly not a welcome guest but did spark a heated debate between the team of which is worse to bike in - hills or headwinds.

Our Perrysburg stayover - Lutheran Church of the Master - kindly provided us with a shuttle (in a school bus!) to the local recreation center for showers as well as a dinner for the whole team. We are as always incredibly thankful for these generous gestures!

Dinner time

After dinner, most of the team played an illuminating game of “Never have I ever” and then as per usual rested in preparation for the upcoming 100 mile ride O_O

-Valerie

Day 10: Akron OH to Sandusky OH

Hi everyone! Welcome to double digits - Day 10. Today was a second 90-mile day in a row, this time all in Ohio. We started out in a wet, cloudy weather, without any real rain however. So, pretty much perfect for biking aside from making us all constantly wonder whether we should be putting our rain jackets on or taking them off.

Shortly after leaving Akron, we got to bike through our very first national park! Very exciting, but for now just a small appetizer of the national parks we’ll be seeing later on the ride.

There’s nothing like riding on trails

Muddy but pretty

We found a friend

After the park, the rest of the ride went through small Ohio towns and the very characteristic Midwestern flatness.

Van crew!

It’s not cultural appropriation if it’s in a Mexican restaurant

Veronica - the food donations master

Our original plan for the end of the day was to jump into the lake Erie right before heading to the stayover. The reasoning being that some of the I4K alumni/friends promised to donate $90 per each team member jumping into the lake. Unfortunately, the lake turned out to be very dirty in that particular location and unsafe to jump in :(The jump was rescheduled to Chicago but the team got to take a commemorative picture with the lake.

Lake Erie!!

It was a very late day and we only got to the stayover after 8 PM. So, the rest of the day was spent with simple pleasures like showers, dinner, and the blessed sleep.

Curious toilet arrangement in our stayover

-Valerie

Day 9: Grove City PA to Akron OH - Our fourth state!

Hi everyone! Day 9 turned out to be such a blur that I couldn’t even post a journal as I ended up simply passing out as soon as my head hit the bed (AKA my sleeping pad). It was a very long, hot, and sticky day full of terrible Ohio roads. We crossed the Pennsylvania-Ohio border at about 30 miles of our ride but unfortunately there was no official sign for it :( Presenting the best we got below:

State Line road counts, right?

The rest of the day was somewhat unremarkable in terms of the views, and the moment we crossed the Ohio border it felt like home. Out flat, monotonous home Illinois :) Day 9 turned out to be very hot right up until the last few miles to our stayover… That was the moment when the riders hit a very bad thunderstorm and most had to find shelter and wait for the van extraction.

Sheltering from the storm

Our stayover for the day was at the Akron University recreation center so some of us even got to use the pool for about 20 minutes before it closed.

Since I spent half of the ride in the van, here are just some fun, cool, awesome pictures from the rest of the riders.

Rest stop by the side of a local very small town bar

Slowing and stopping

As an extra surprise for today, here are some additional photos full of pure childlike joy and happiness from day 8 that were taken after the journal was already posted.

We are all adults, I promise

-Valerie

Day 8: Clarion PA to Grove City PA

Hi everyone and welcome to Day 8 of the 2022 I4K ride! Today was another shorter day at only 43 miles but yet again filled with many a rolling hill. This was in many ways a very similar day to Day 7, including the rural Pennsylvania views. Small towns, run-down buildings, and many logging businesses along the route.

The morning was distinguished by a mystical-looking fog covering the nearby hills which reminded me of some kind of a fairytale setting. I am almost (only almost) convinced now that waking up early might be worth it sometimes.

Zona, Marie, and Mercedes pedaling the morning away

First rest stop of the day

First rest stop, continued

Right before our longest climb of the day we were treated to a very nice view from a bridge. The river was of a fairly questionable color which did not stop me from wishing I could submerge myself into it to combat the heat and sweat of this day.

Our unfortunate biking victim of the day was Sam, she fell off her bike in the very beginning of the day :( Thankfully, she is OK and as full of energy as ever, but she did end up spending the rest of the ride in the van along the van driver Matt H.

We got to Grove City early at about 2 PM and thanks to our shower/food donation callers got to have refreshing (aka cold but nevertheless highly appreciated) showers at a local YMCA.

Taking over the YMCA bike rack to dry our biking attire

After the showers, we once again ventured into the town seeking lunch. Lunch choices ranged from Subway sandwiches to Japanese restaurant and pizza today. While eating our food outside a local coffeeshop we experienced a curious encounter. An older gentleman sat at the table next to Jessica and started talking about… something? He told us he had robbed a bank before and a whole lot of other outlandish stories. Truly, you can meet all kinds of people biking across the country.

And on that weird note, the exciting events of the day ended.

-Valerie

Day 7: DuBois PA to Clarion PA

Hi everyone and welcome to day 7! Hard to believe it has already been a whole week since NYC and our first day of riding, but here we are nonetheless. Today was a very short day at only 38 miles but one filled with countless rolling hills and not-quite-satisfying-enough downhills. Despite being short, it was a tough day for a most of the team since a lot of us didn’t quite recover from the previous one. The route was not particularly picturesque today and mostly just ran through small, very rural Pennsylvania towns.

A life-sized Trump statue on someone’s porch O_O

Rick the Patriot

Impromtu rest stop

We got to our stayover early, most groups were there before noon, while our (Veronica, Angela, and me) “What’s the rush” group still made good time at 12:30. We had amazingly satisfying showers at our YMCA stayover and headed out to lunch. Me and Angela found a Chinese buffet nearby and immediately knew where we were going.

The non-Chinese buffet lunch group

And dessert, of course

After lunch, the team enjoyed the rest, some took naps, some decided to run or bike some more (those wild kids). Team activities such as dodgeball and basketball were also present, taking full advantage of the YMCA facilities.

Expecting to see some sick gains from these guys soon

-Valerie

Day 6: State College PA to DuBois PA

Hi everyone! Today was Day 6 of our journey, and oh boy was it fun and exciting. It was yet another day filled with climbing (a whole 6,000 feet of it to be precise). But first, before rolling out of the stayover, we sang the Happy Birthday song to our birthday boy today - Max.

Good morning, Van

The big 25th

Ride dedication of the day to Clara’s grandparents!

After this joyous moment of seeing Max with a balloon tied to his bike, we started our big first ascent of the day. The route went through a state park so while huffing and puffing on the way up, we got to enjoy a nice view and also get spooked by a snake who tried to take Veronica’s life apparently (it failed). After the climb, a nice lake with a beach awaited us at the bottom. We were very excited to jump right in, but the water turned out to be too cold for most of us (except Max who did submerge himself fully).

That’s right, we biked all the way there

Read the joy of finishing a big hill on Veronica’s face

let's go to the beach-each
Let's go get a wave

The next big event of the day was the next big climb. It was about 4 miles long and incredibly challenging for the majority of the team. There was a point in that ascent when the hill looked like an actual Stairway to Heaven and seemed to lead straight to the sky. Just a little taste of what awaits us once we hit the Rocky Mountains further in our journey.

View from the big scary hill

The rest of the ride was a bit of a blur for me as all I could think about was a nice shower and some food, so here are just some nice pictures from the day :)

Baby bison!!!

Our stayover in DuBois was St. Nicholas Orthodox Church who donated pizza and desserts for our dinner. They also brought a dog who the team of course couldn’t miss the chance to cuddle.

♡♡♡

After dinner, most of the team simply passed out for the night to get the much needed rest before the next big day.

-Valerie

Day 5: Rest day in State College PA

Hi everyone! Day 5 is our very first rest day on the ride. Our hosts provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so all we had to do was relax and enjoy the scenery. Well, and do our chores. And clean and maintain our bikes. And pick up Zona from the airport… Oh wait, the last one is important. That’s right - Zona is with us now after missing the first days of the trip due to a positive Covid test. The team greeted her with a massive group hug of course which was sadly not captured in a photo :(

The evening was marked by a group drive to a local fair. We enjoyed some rides and got to see our teammates’ very differing reactions to being on said rides.

Ride number one

Ride number two

Group pic :)

The team got to rest, recharge, and get ready for the next stretch of our journey starting on Day 7. So, on to the next destination!

-Valerie

Day 4: Milton PA to State College PA - cows, horses, rolling hills and rain

Hi everyone! And welcome to Day 4. It is a very exciting day of course, because it is the first day I rode the entire mileage, yay! So while the rest of the team were sore and tired from previous 4 days, I was excited, full of energy, and ready to document the journey.

Our morning started with a little yoga session led by Sam during the morning circle. The team particularly enjoyed the last pose ;)

STAR-ring the day off right

But that of course was not the last exciting thing that happened that morning, oh no. Once our riders found out that the apparently famous (my fellow non-American team members were as confused as me at this) Chef Boyardee products are made at a facility in Milton AND there is a statue for the chef himself… Well, there was no stopping them.

The operations manager of the facility even donated 4 boxes of Chef Boyardee products to us which came in very handy during the lunch stop

Once we finally started the ride, we were greeted with lots and lots of farmland, cows, horses, and tractors. The highlight of my day personally was when a whole big heard of horses (and one donkey) ran out from behind someone’s house just to stare at us O_O

The horses in question

Getting to know the Pennsylvania locals

The next stretch of the ride ran through a State forest with the most beautiful lush greenery I have seen in my life. Even a little climbing we had to do there could not ruin the enjoyment of the rainy freshness and serenity of this place.

Don’t forget to smell the flowers

Rainy lake selfie

I4K Social media doesn’t sleep even during the ride

The next portion of the day was spent on some steep but very fun rolling hills running through even more farmlands. We saw more horses, cows, and sheep, and even got a little peek of the Amish lifestyle. I even felt a touch of envy for the beauty they get to wake up to every day.

Farmlands for days

The last 20 miles of the ride were perhaps the most adventurous I have personally experienced. We got to ride in the rain and get fully soaked to the bones for the very first time! You can never feel more alive then while riding a bike through some Pennsylvania fields in a pouring rain, trust me.

Rain or shine, I4K keeps rolling

We got to our State College stayover early and got to enjoy the showers and dinner provided by our hosts - Calvary Harvest Fields. Afterwards, our first team laundry (very exciting) and getting the much deserved sleep.

-Valerie

Day 3: Lehighton PA to Milton PA

Hi everyone! Day 3 came just to hit our riders like a truck. The evening before, some people were heard menacingly saying that day 3 will be very hard. Nevertheless, it seems like almost none of the riders were quite prepared to face the challenging climbs that Day 3 had in store for them.

I was still not feeling quite well enough for biking, so instead I got to help Clara with her first van driving day. Van driving, despite not being as physically taxing as biking for ~70 miles, is still a bit stressful and tiring. It can be tricky to find a good rest stop spot for the riders; van drivers also buy supplies and make sure there is always enough water for the team. Clara did very well on her first van driving day, I was a certainly a proud teacher at the end of the day.

Van crew!

The riders had to climb three big hills on Day 3, with the nastiest one being the last one of course. With over 5,000 feet of elevation, this day was no joke. But, on the bright side, they also got to have three fun downhill rides afterwards. So… you win some you lose some maybe?

The downhill captured from the van

Staying positive…?

The view was worth the climb

Hungry boys going through a Wendy’s drive-thru on their bikes

Our fearless ride leaders

Once we got to our stayover in Milton which was at St Paul's United Church-Christ, we were very warmly greeted by the church staff as well as the pastor. They were very kind in providing us with delicious dinner and helping us secure showers for the team at a nearby YMCA. They even helped us unload our things from the van!

We also got to talk to Al there who is a 4 times cancer survivor as well as his wife, a 2 times cancer survivor. It is always amazing to meet people who have such experiences and hear their stories. We get reminded every time of the true purpose of our trip and of those who we are ultimately helping.

Al and his wife telling their story to the team

…and their incredibly sweet dog who is also a cancer survivor!

Day 3 was long and tough for everyone, but as we all know, after every downhill there is an uphill. Only as cyclists, we will be waiting for our downhill instead ;)

-Valerie

Day 2: Clinton NJ to Lehighton PA - Even more hills and third state in two days

Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 2 of the Illini 4000 ride summer 2022. I was on van driving duty today due to very untimely sickness, so unfortunately I do not have a ton to say about today’s route. The route was short at only 52 miles but quite exhausting nonetheless for our bikers unused to any kind of elevation change after training in the flat Illinois.

Even if I don’t have a lot to say, as we all know, pictures speak louder than words. Pretty sure that’s the phrase, right? ;)

“fast group” and Sam

Hitting our third state in just 2 days

Enjoying the Pennsylvania views

After the ride for the day was over, we were invited to the local Outdoor recreation center where the hosts were incredibly kind to us by giving the riders a much needed access to showers. We also got our first interviews by the local news stations! Somebody better keep us in check, otherwise these kids are going to think they are celebrities now.

Max getting interviewed

Our stayover - the Trinity Lutheran Church - together with the people from the Outdoor center kindly provided us with dinner again. After the dinner, half of the team decided to drive and the hike up to a scenic viewpoint on top of a big hill (mountain??). We enjoyed the beautiful views along with the rocky path to them.

Tomorrow our riders are going to have a tough day with more climbing up hills and a long 77 miles of riding. I will once again be in the van cheering my teammates on and demanding they take a million pictures which of course will appear here tomorrow.

-Valerie

Day 1: NYC to Clinton NJ - meeting with the B+ foundation, first hills, beautiful views.

Hi everyone! Today was officially our first riding day of the trip. Yay! Our route started at the Central Park in NYC, so first challenge of the day was riding our bikes through Manhattan from our stayover to the starting location. An important lesson we all learned is that New York drivers have no patience and they WILL honk at you and try to pass you no matter what like their life depends on it.

Ready to roll to Central Park

Our first bumps in the road appeared even before we got to Central Park, with Vikram getting a flat tire and Mercedes’s bike chain snapping. Of course that only slowed us down but did not stop us from keeping our spirits high and our outlook positive.

Talking about positive things, we had an amazing send off from one of our other beneficiary organizations - the B+ foundation. Carly, the foundation representative, told us about the history of their foundation and a story about one of the families their foundation helped, giving us all yet another extra bit of motivation for the upcoming ride.

Next came our first official miles of the ride. We enjoyed a beautiful riverside bike trail leading all the way to the Washington Bridge and than the view of the river and Manhattan’s impressive skyline from the bridge itself.

View of the city from the Washington Bridge

The rest of the day we rode through various towns and neighborhoods of New Jersey. We reached our first hills, getting just a small taste of the ascends awaiting us in the future. Many of us had to walk up the hills partially, but all of us gave it their best.

First PB&J lunch of many

Our Clinton stayover for tonight is the Clinton United Methodist Church. They were very generous in providing us with an absolutely delicious dinner and will also provide breakfast for us tomorrow. Huge thank you to them!

Day 1 - Complete, on to day 2 and more hills, more views, and less flats (hopefully).

-Valerie

Days -1 and 0: Flying to NYC, Damon Runyon event, getting ready for the ride

Hi everyone! This is me, your friendly neighborhood journalist - Valerie. This year I will be the one posting daily blog posts from our 2022 ride right here on the Illini 4000 website. So get settled, get excited, and get ready to follow along on our adventure!

The bike riding begins tomorrow, but for right now here are just some updates and photos from our first two days of traveling to NYC and getting ready to ride.

Our journey started bright and early with a 6 AM plane from Chicago to NYC. We made our way to our NYC stayover - St. Johns’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan - and spent the rest of the day unpacking the van, assembling bikes, and eating some of the famous New York pizza and bagels.

Ready for takeoff

Next day started out with a visit to one of the Illini 4000 beneficiaries - the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The generously provided breakfast for us and we got to meet and hear from two of their amazing researchers - Jose Reyes and Sophia C. Tintori who told us all about the cancer research they are doing.

Breakfast at Damon Runyon

Afterwards, the team explored the city and did some sightseeing.

Times Square fun times

China town gang

Getting snacks after the Staten Island ferry ride

The evening was spent in a very important team meeting going over the many practical details of our upcoming ride. We are all incredibly excited (if only just slightly scared) for tomorrow’s first day of riding. Thanks for tuning into our not-quite-first-day and stay tuned for further updates!

-Valerie