Day 39: Newcastle WY to Gillette WY

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 39. Today was a bit of a change of pace compared to the excitement of the previous few days. The route took us today through the endless Wyoming planes and hills but also blessed the riders with a nice tailwind for the first two thirds of the day.

The day started out with the backwards jersey challenge in which our riders had to ride the first 20 miles of the day wearing their jerseys, you guessed it, backwards. Aside from just looking silly, some people ended up dropping their phones and other personal items out of the jersey pockets, so the challenge ended up being somewhat questionable. But not for some people (Maddie) who wore their jersey backwards for the rest of the day even though they absolutely did not have to.

Middle of the ride blessed our riders with a small Wyoming town museum. Two-headed cow and creepy dolls were apparently the highlights.

After the museum, we had a rest stop by a bar in a very small town and had some interesting experiences there. Feeling like outsiders is one phrase you could describe it with.

In other news, Matt W found three(!) license plates today so his collection has grown by quite a bit in the past couple days.

After the ride we decided to partake in the most authentic small town entertainment possible - going to Walmart for fun.

…and some of us had a little too much fun

After Walmart, we had a team movie night where we watched the movie “Soul” and just enjoyed our evening :)

-Valerie

Day 38: Hermosa SD to Newcastle WY - Mount Rushmore day

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 38 - officially the half way point of the ride! And it was a very special day indeed. Firstly, we got to visit Mount Rushmore. Secondly, we got to leave South Dakota. Nothing against the old SD but we definitely stayed there for a long while and a change of scenery has been long awaited.

The morning started with Bryan and Zona getting their inner anger out by smashing their old unusable helmets. The helmets took surprisingly many hits and even a few people jumping on them before breaking .

The first 20 miles of the ride were beautiful but quite intense. We had several big climbs including one that went all the way up to 18% grade incline at one point O_O Despite being very sweaty and out of breath, it was a nice opportunity to appreciate beautiful views of the Black Hills for us.

A few miles before getting to our first rest of the day which just happened to be right by Mount Rushmore, a couple of the groups stopped for some side activities like gold panning and visiting the The National Presidential Wax Museum.

Expecting to become rich any second

Not quite sure what exactly is happening here

After our impromptu stops and a lot more climbing, we all finally made it to Mount Rushmore. It turned out to be much smaller than most of us expected and frankly had a disappointing gift store. Despite that, we still took tons of pictures and enjoyed our short time there.

No differences spotted

After Mount Rushmore, we still had 57 more miles of biking to do. Lucky for us, the Black Hills turned out to be amazing for biking. Despite having to do a fair bit of climbing, we also got to enjoy the most breathtakingly beautiful and fun downhills of the ride so far.

Matt H pondering his life choices

Mercedes rock hunting by the side of the road

King of the hill

Bat dad Peter

About 10 miles away from our stayover, we crossed the border into Wyoming. The Wyoming state sign did not disappoint and we all appreciated it quite a bit (especially knowing we would only be biking downhill after it).

Veronica also took a chance to take a picture with the South Dakota sign to say goodbye, and even took a sticker off it as a little souvenir.

-Valerie

Day 37: Wall SD to Hermosa SD

Hi everyone! Today we sadly had to leave the best town in the world (Wall SD) and keep going towards our end goal. It was a very hot day today with temperature reaching about 100 degrees. Happily for us, we got to shuttle the first 25 miles of the route because of gravel on the roads which made biking in the heat significantly more bearable.

The route was not particularly scenic today, but we did get to ride through Rapid City and see a preview of the Black Hills which we will be biking through tomorrow on our way to Mount Rushmore.

First rest stop of the day

Because we are in South Dakota, we saw tons of horses today again, and again simply had to stop to pet them.

The rest of the day went by without a lot of significant events happening. We were treated to showers that the very nice people of Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Hermosa provided for us in their own homes, and later got dinner provided by them as well. Thanks to the Our Savior's Lutheran Church for their kindness!

-Valerie

Day 35: Kadoka SD to Wall SD - Badlands!

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 25. Today was one of the most exciting days of our trip so far because we finally got to visit a National Park. We biked in the Badlands National Park today for about 25 miles out of the overall 60 miles we did. The first 20 miles we did we basically were flying, trying to get to the park as quickly as possible. Right before the entrance to the park, we stopped at the prairie dog ranch to feed the little guys and, of course, buy some amazing merch at their gift store.

The moment we finally saw the Badlands on the horizon recreated

After the ranch we entered the park and the picture taking started. Let’s just say that if I were to include all of the pictures we took at the Badlands, it would take you, the reader, about half an hour to scroll all the way down to the bottom of this webpage. But, here are just some highlights that I sincerely hope you will enjoy :)

Sam got herself a new accessory (it’s the Gen Z fashion, don’t ask)

Disposing of the body

The Badlands amazed Veronica so much she grew a third hand O_O

How could we visit the great American prairies without seeing a real bison

The excitement did not end after we got out of the park, however. We were going to out stayover - Wall. The legendary Wall - the home of the legendary Wall Drug Store. Most of us headed there straight after showers and were immediately amazed by the chaotic nature of this place. They truly have everything from souvenirs to real animal hides, to children’s toys, to burgers and homemade ice cream. And, of course, the legendary free ice water and 5 cent coffee that just tasted like warm water with no coffee flavor whatsoever.

Rollin’ into Wall

But first, Subway food break

Just Wall vibes

Day 36 is going to be the long awaited rest day, so no journal entry will be posted. As a consolation prize and an elegant way of ending today’s journal entry, here are a selection of quotes about the Badlands from our riders:

“Although the lands were bad, the memories were good” - Matt W.

“I don’t know why they call it Badlands, because so far it has been nothing but Wonderful-lands” - Angela.

“I am thinking” - Bryan.

“Badlands? More like Goodlands” - Maddie the Baddie.

-Valerie

Day 34: Murdo SD to Kadoka SD

Hi everyone! Today we had a short biking day - only 43 miles of riding. That plus the change of time zones allowed us to have an hour late rollout that we all savored to the fullest. The weather today was much nicer - both less cold and less windy. The hills were still there but were much more pleasant to bike on without the intense headwinds.

Despite the short day, we took an unreasonable number of pictures today. From vast fields, to abandoned silos, to more horses, to the 1880s town, we took every single photo opportunity very seriously.

Pretty much our view the whole day

This is what true romance looks like

This is how impressed we were with the broken silo

For our one rest stop of the day, we stopped at a 1880s town which was basically just a few buildings that were made as the set for a western movie that never ended up being made. It became a tourist attraction since then however, and they even made it into an exhibition of historical artifacts related to that era.

Unfortunately, we had to leave Jessica in jail for all of her crimes :(

Just the van driver doing his van driving duties

After the rest stop, we stumbled upon even more horses and took a million photos with them yet again.

We got to our destination very early because of the short mileage, so we took the opportunity the free time gave us and headed straight for the Kadoka public pool.

Tomorrow we have a big day - we are heading to Wall SD through the Badlands National Park. It is undoubtedly going to be beautiful and we will see lots and lots of awesome views and take a billion pictures yet again.

-Valerie

Day 33: Chamberlain SD to Murdo SD

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 33. Today was a cold and very windy day which made biking not so fun. We faced strong headwinds almost the entire day and had some hills to climb as an additional cherry on top. Despite that, we had a lot of fun during the day taking pictures, and then in the evening eating ice cream and chatting to each other (the internet was really bad at our location so no other choice was left).

It was also an important day because we had a Birthday girl! Happy Birthday to Sam, I promise she is not always the slowest one in her group ;)

*This message is not endorsed by the Illini 4000 organization

We had to shuttle in the van the first 21 miles of the route because we couldn’t avoid gravel on the roads out of Chamberlain. After starting biking, we almost immediately stumbled onto an animal friend - a little salamander by the side of the road.

Chillin’ with my new friend

Then, we saw our very first Wall Drug sign! It is a truly legendary place that we will be lucky enough to visit in just a couple of days, but for now we have to be satisfied with the numerous billboards for it.

We also finally have a change of scenery - from endless cornfields to endless grass fields and rolling hills.

First photo opportunity of the day - a fire truck that for an unknown to us reason was just parked in the field by the side of the road. We asked no questions and simply climbed into it enthusiastically.

Matt calling to confirm his stayover (probably)

Next photo opportunity - we all copied Max and took about a million pictures with, on, and around hay bales.

Queen of the hay

We are getting creative over here

Last but not least - HORSES!

In other news…

Lucas took a nap in the van in a very impressive position

Bryan’s bike broke :(

And we got some ice cream :)

Our stayover was the Jones County High School and the staff very kindly provided both dinner and breakfast for us. Thanks to them from the whole team!

-Valerie

Day 32: Mitchell SD to Chamberlain SD

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 32 of the epic journey. Today our route was, perhaps unsurprisingly, very similar to the past few days. Thankfully, there was way less traffic on the road compared to the past three days so we even had a chance to chat while riding which always makes time on the bike go by much quicker. We were also lucky today to have some tailwinds which gave us quite a speed boost, so we ended up arriving at our stayover early at about 3 PM.

Accidental supergroup

Cowboy 1

Cowboy 2

Cowboys 3 and 4

New album dropping next month

About a mile before the stayover however, our route took us down a steep hill without any semblance of a paved road. Or just… a road. We ended up walking down the hill instead of biking, and also got to take pictures with some pretty nice views.

For most of the riding, Max kept mentioning the hay bales that can be seen quite often in South Dakota. Eventually, we got the hint and gave him an opportunity for a hay bale photo session. Results - worth the 70 miles of biking.

After getting to our stayover (the South Dakota Hall of Fame because we are just so important) we took showers at a local campground and headed straight to the closest Mexican restaurant up the hill from the Hall of Fame. And by head I mean ran straight up the hill of course.

Huge thanks to Sam’s family for paying for the dinner as a treat for her upcoming Birthday tomorrow!

After dinner, a group of us went to the local festival that happens in Chamberlain every Friday. It was surprisingly lively and surprisingly fun. We got face paintings, played with hula hoops, got desserts form MacDonald’s, and rode horses (not real ones sadly).

-Valerie

Day 31: Sioux Falls SD to Mitchell SD - staying at the World's Only Corn Palace!

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 31. Today was another unremarkable riding day through miles of cornfields and farmlands. We had only 70 miles to bike today, which after the past 3 days of biking over 90 miles a day felt like a true blessing and almost a rest day.

Two of the groups decided to make a detour first thing in the morning to see the waterfalls in Sioux Falls and got some really nice pictures out of it. The rest of us made no time for such nonsense and headed straight to our goal.

I4Kows

Just Jung doing Jung things

Lucas’s new gas station hat

While the actual biking was not particularly interesting today, the destination absolutely was. We were incredibly lucky that our stayover in Mitchell SD is the world’s only Corn Palace! It might just be the most unique place I have ever seen in my life. It is decorated on the outside with murals made out of real corn and has about a hundred corn-themed items for sale in the gift store. As Illinois kids, we were excited beyond belief to stay in a place like this.

Best picture we have as a team in front of the Corn Palace

Cornelius ♡♡♡

After getting to our fabulous stayover and marveling at its beauty for a long while, we got treated to a dinner donation from a local bike shop called Palace City Pedalers. I cannot of course confirm nor deny whether this was the best food donation we have received so far but I can certainly say that the words “this is the best day of my life” were said out loud at least once. The donation included us getting anything we wanted at Subway and us crying with joy hearing that we could do that.

Huge thank you to Palace City Pedalers for the donation as well as the Corn Palace for letting us sleep here!

-Valerie

Day 30: Spirit Lake IA to Sioux Falls SD

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 30. Today was another long 90 mile day spent entirely on a busy country highway. It was not a particularly fun riding day for almost all of us, with the heat as well as the constantly passing us cars and trucks. Overall, I would describe today as a day we all just needed to get through and move on to the next one.

Morning dance circle!

This view, but for 90 miles

I4Kows

Rest stop at a Cemetery O_O

Big highlight of the day number one: crossing the state border into South Dakota! Unfortunately for us, the scenery did not immediately change into a wild wild west-style mountainous terrain but pretty much remained the same - cornfields as far as the eye can see. We still have a few more corn days, meanwhile waiting for the long awaited change of scenery.

One of the groups also decided to detour specifically to take a picture with the magnificent Minnesota-Iowa-South Dakota tristate Marker. I am sure the extra miles were totally worth it ;)

Truly magnificent

Highlight of the day number two: the last group of riders which included myself, Cal, Sam, Peter, and Maddie, ended up making a small detour of our own. Right on the border between Iowa and South Dakota Sam took a small tumble off her bike, getting a scratch on her leg. The next thing we knew, a man approached us right there, on the side of the highway, riding an electric scooter and asking us whether we needed help or first aid items. We agreed to his offer and ended up spending upwards of two hours at this man’s and his family’s house. They were incredibly nice and generous with us, letting us spend time with them at their house while we waited for the van and even giving us snacks! These nice people turned out to be cyclists as well, and we even got a demonstration of the family’s dad’s unicycling skills. And of course the biggest prize of all - we got to pet their two corgis.

The nice people’s business :)

After we finally got to our Sioux Falls stayover at a YMCA, we had a dinner of donated pizza (thanks to Veronica’s food donation calling skills), took showers, and went to sleep promptly after.

-Valerie

Day 29: Mankato MN to Spirit Lake IA

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 29. Today we biked another century plus 6 miles. If you are good at math, you know this means we biked 106 miles. The morning started with delicious breakfast served for us by our Mankato stayover - Hosanna Lutheran Church. Then, just before the start of our epic biking journey, we did a little helmet stacking competition.

Extra extra safety

Rose channeling all of her inner zen

The biking began on a short but nice and shaded bike trail where we got a couple nice photo opportunities.

The rest of the day’s route went almost exclusively through lots and lots of farmland. So, the near and dear to our Illinois hearts cornfields and soy fields. We also got to see a ton of wind turbines and got to really appreciate their impressive size.

Boys are finally learning to be glamorous on this team

At the very end of the day, we crossed the border into Iowa. We will only be here for one day, but we still took some pictures with the state sign, of course.

Some of the groups also stopped by a lake for a little swim and photos early in the day.

We got to our stayover at the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake fairly late at about 7 PM, after which we were given dinner provided by the amazing staff members of the YMCA.

Today we also had a very special ride dedication. Since we were going into Iowa, Cal wanted to dedicate the ride to his grandma Grace who lived in the state. She passed away when Cal’s mom was still in school, and from Cal’s words he looks up to his mom for her strength for going through something so traumatic so young.

106 miles of riding for Cal’s grandma Grace!

-Valerie

Day 28: Rochester MN to Mankato MN

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 28. Today was a very hot day again and we biked a whole 95 miles, so overall it was quite a tough but still mostly pleasant ride for us. It is always a bit of a rough awakening to bike again after a rest day, but it also helps to be refreshed and rested.

We biked on some country roads in the beginning of the day and then spent the second half mostly on shaded bike trails. Given the heat it was a very nice break from the sun and gave us a good opportunity to chat while on the bikes.

I4Kows

Ice cream stop :)

The day was not nearly as eventful or scenic as the last few before it, so it was mostly us pushing ourselves to finish the miles for the day. Once we got to our stayover in Mankato, we got shuttled by the members of the community affiliated with the Hosanna Lutheran Church to the YMCA for showers. Afterwards, we were also given a delicious dinner at the church for which we were eternally grateful as always.

-Valerie

Day 26: La Crosse WI to Rochester MN - new state, new me

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 26. It was a big, long, and beautiful day. We got to our next state - Minnesota! Before that though, we go to ride on some of those Wisconsin trails just one last time.

The actual state line was a beautiful location on the Mississippi river and we took tons of photos by the state signs, of course.

Bye bye Wisconsin

Hello Minnesota!

Our group was torn between the two but obviously had to choose Minnesota after all

After crossing the river, we got to enjoy some beautiful views while riding along the Mississippi. Julissa got a flat along the way, but rejoined us at the next rest stop.

After our third rest stop of the day, we had a fairly short but somewhat steep climb. After the last 2 weeks of the midwestern flatness, it was the first sign of the upcoming mountains. We all did very well climbing the hill and got to enjoy the feeling of getting stronger compared to the first days of the trip climbing those Pennsylvania hills.

A very rare van photobomb

After the hill, it was all smooth sailing… Just kidding, of course it wasn’t. First, we had to ride about 2 miles on a hilly gravel road. It was a challenge but thankfully a very short one. Then, less than 10 miles from our destination, Mercedes got a flat on her bike by getting a huge screw stuck in her tire. It was honestly quite an impressive picture and our whole group made this into an occasion for a small photo session.

Overall, it was an amazing riding day, with lots of beautiful views and fun moments :)

Bryan trying out Matt W’s bike (it is about 5 sizes too big for him)

Last, but certainly not least, we had a very special ride dedication on day 26. We rode for Ruthie Maddox, who was described by Marie’s mom as “a true superhero who from day one has been smiling and dealing with a brain tumor with a positive attitude.” On this beautiful and very special day we rode for Ruthie!

-Valerie

Day 25: Reedsburg WI to La Crosse WI - trail day!

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 25 out our journey. Day 25 turned out to be a loooong day with many twists, turns, flats, and friendships made along the way.

The morning started out with a “who can hold a plank the longest” competition. Cal won followed very closely by Rose, followed not closely at all by any of the rest of us.

Afterwards, the riding began. We had almost 90 miles of riding and about almost all of them were on a biking trail. The trail went through a path that used to be a railroad, so we got to see a lot of nice scenery and even went through three tunnels. The tunnel was fun the first time, interesting the second, and third made some of our riders go just a little bit insane. There is just something about walking in complete darkness with just the sound of water drops to keep you company…

Maddie decided to ditch her bike for a hot new ride

TRAIN

Just before the plunge into the darkness

…right after the plunge into the darkness

…inside of the darkness O_O

The babies… I mean the freshmen group of the day (minus Sam)

Aside from the tunnels, the day seemed to last for a whole eternity. We all moved very slowly, took our time at the rest stops, and got lots of flats along the route, including Cal getting two of them in one day. The trail was not paved which slowed us down considerably but gave us plenty of opportunities for conversations on the bike.

At the end, we had to go through some water crossings due to recent flooding and wet our shoos, but nothing any of us couldn’t handle.

We were rewarded at the end of the day by a fabulous stayover in an actual hotel and a dinner of Olive Garden provided by Mercedes and her parents. It was the absolute best end for a very long and exhausting day. Sleeping in a real bed and having a hot shower that you have to share with only a couple more people seemed like a luxury of the lifetime to all of us, and we certainly took advantage of it to the fullest.

-Valerie

Day 24: Madison WI to Reedsburg WI - Clown museum and Butterfest

Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 24. Todays seemed to be one of those days that just seems to last forever. We had lots and lots of fun and did a lot of things. I was van driving again, so I do not have much to day about the route itself, but we have more than enough pictures for today instead.

Our second rest stop of the day was at the Devil’s Lake State Park which we spent at least 2 hours at. It was a very nice place to hang out at, and a few people from the team even rented some paddle boards. A couple of us also burned our backs to bright red (including myself), so obviously we had a lot of fun.

Clara naps

Clara naps 2

Just before the riders were about to leave the rest stop, Veronica found a little baby bird on the ground. We wanted to put him back in his nest but couldn’t find it :( We wish you luck, little Al-bird Einstein.

Protecting my child

The team heard that there was a Clown Museum along our route, so most of them of course simply had to stop. After a whole quest of finding the person who could let them in and give them a tour, it seemed like the actual experience was somehow both underwhelming as well as overwhelming. Yes, I am just as confused as you are.

Admiring

After finally getting to Reedsburg, we were all incredibly excited to visit the (apparently) world-famous ButterFest. Some of our riders (Angela) proclaimed they thought of the ButterFest all day while biking. To our huge disappointment, there was no butter to be seen anywhere :( Not even one stick of butter made an appearance. So, we just had to satisfy ourselves with a picture and then promptly left the scene.

-Valerie

Day 23: Lake Geneva WI to Madison WI - more jumping in lakes

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 23. Today we had a 75 mile ride to Madison where we got to stay at the University of Wisconsin campus. The day was again very hot, so just like yesterday we decided to roll out an hour earlier at 6AM. The roads were significantly nicer today however, mostly smaller country roads without much traffic. Just as we like it! Some groups stopped to get breakfast at MacDonald’s in the first 20 miles of our ride and I can’t help but think that this company should sponsor us at this point (we stop there a lot!).

Still waiting for that MacDonald’s sponsorship…

Nap time in the van

At about the half point of the ride we stumbled across an access to a very nice, refreshingly cool small river, and obviously couldn’t miss an opportunity to splash around just a little bit.

Jessica’s sunglasses floated away in the river :(

Pure bliss

After getting to Madison we went straight to the lake for some further splashing. Just like yesterday, it was unbelievably nice to cool off in the water after such a hot day.

After our lake shenanigans we got dinner (lots of stir fry!!) and snacks provided by two Illini 4000 alumni who have done the ride in previous years. Thanks to them! We unfortunately couldn’t explore the campus much after that as we had a tornado warning and had to stay inside of the building for the rest of the evening :(

Today’s rider and bike highlight is going to be… Angela! Angela’s bike is named Elmo because “the handlebars are red like Elmo's hair? (fur?) and Elmo's from sesame street and we bike on the STREET".

Elmo looks really good on photos and even better in real life

-Valerie

Day 22: Chicago IL to Lake Geneva WI

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 22 of our ride. Today we said goodbye to Chicago and hello to biking again. We had a 67 mile very hot day, with temperature getting as high as 100 degrees. For this reason, we decided to start biking an hour earlier than usual so we started a little after 6 AM. And even at that time it was already sweaty, sticky, and very hot. As an extra challenge we mostly biked on extremely busy roads getting out of Chicago suburbs, and most of us got the stress of our lives biking on roads like this. Thankfully, everyone made it through just fine. Speaking of everyone… We had two very special riders with us today - Lucas’s dad and Matt W’s dad! They did amazing on this riding day full of busy roads and heat, so big props to them.

The dad group

The last 10 miles of the ride were as per usual the hardest, only this time mostly because of the heat. The heart rates were up, the bodies were sweaty, and we were all so ready to jump into a lake, finally! And finally, we did. The water was refreshingly cool after a long, hot, and sweaty day like this, so some of us stayed in the water for a little longer than was strictly necessary.

After the jump, we got to our stayover at Episcopal Church of the Holy Covenant in Lake Geneva, got showers at a YMCA, and dinner provided by the church. Of course, after dinner it was decided to take a group trip to a nearby ice cream shop. A group of us then went to explore some local souvenir shops and then took about a million pictures.

Surveillance cam selfie

And this concluded our day 22. Tomorrow promises to be a very similar day full fo heat, so another early wakeup awaits us.

-Valerie

Days 19 and 20: Kankakee to Oak Park to Chicago - the BEAN!

Hi everyone! This is going to be yet another 2-day journal due to how much happened in these two days. We left Kankakee in quite an uplifted mood, ready for the two rest days ahead as well as meeting families and friends in Chicago. As a result, the riding on Day 19 went by quickly and painlessly for most, and even the weather was on our side! It was mostly cloudy and not hot or cold at all. We did a lot of trail riding and got quite a few “I-L-L” callouts from passerby along the way.

Trailssss

Photo break after the second rest stop

Food break during the second rest stop

For our third rest stop of the day, we were greeted by a very nice surprise in the form of Cal’s family waiting there for us! They cheered for us as we arrived and departed and gave us lots and lots of snacks. Big thanks to Cal’s amazing family!

♡♡♡

Another huge family shoutout goes to Matt H’s family. They were incredibly welcoming and let the whole team sleep over at their house on day 19, as well as hog their showers for a good 3 hours. They also hosted a potluck in the evening for other team members’ families and friends. And for people like me who had no other place to sleep at in Chicago they hosted us further for the next 2 days too! So, huge thanks to Matt’s family.

Afternoon naps at Matt’s family house

The evening was spent meeting everybody’s families and friends, consuming unholy amounts of delicious food, and having fun.

Day 20 started out at Matt’s house, getting ready to bike the rest of the way to downtown Chicago to take pictures with the famous “bean”. The original plan also included the rescheduled jump into lake Michigan which was originally planned for Ohio. The jump was rescheduled yet again, however, due to the cold weather.

Our ride was short at only 11 miles, and we had a lot of fun riding our bikes through Chicago (even despite the sometimes crazy traffic and many many potholes). It was a very nice, almost touching experience biking through the city knowing that we got here all the way from New York city in just 2 weeks, and remembering what biking through NYC was like on our very first day of the ride.

Our final destination for the day was the Cloud Gate which was referred to as the Bean exclusively all day. We took more pictures there than in any other destination so far I am fairly sure, and as a result got tons of awesome pictures.

Group Bean pic

Coffee break

I’m gonna take my cow to the old town road…

Invading the subway with our bikes

After taking pictures, everybody went their separate ways for the next 2 rest days to spend time with their families before the next 55 days of riding.

And to wrap up this very special journal, our featured rider/bike for today is going to be Veronica and her bike! Veronica’s bike is called Bobby (in a British accent) because “it just fits.” Certainly can’t argue with that.

Round of applause for Veronica and Bobby


-Valerie

Day 18: Champaign IL to Kankakee IL

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 18. Today we had to say goodbye to Champaign :( But, we are now on the way and only one day away from Chicago where a lot of our riders have families and friends, so that is of course a huge plus. The team met bright and early at the Alumni center on campus, and since everybody stayed in different places we had to bike there with our backpacks. It was certainly a new experience that made me appreciate the fact we have a van to carry all of our stuff the rest of the time.

The route today was, in a typical midwestern fashion, fairly unremarkable. Completely flat with corn fields around as far as the eye can see. We did hit a patch of unpaved gravel-y road for a few miles which is always highly unpleasant on our road bikes, but it was nothing any of us couldn’t handle.

For me personally the riding ended early as I fell off my bike again for the second time in the past 3 days. Unlucky me, but I am hoping this is the end of my bad luck for now and very grateful I did not suffer any serious injuries yet again.

The boys’ picture

Former I4K president Mike rode the first 20 miles out of Champaign with us!

We had almost 90 miles of riding today which went surprisingly quickly for the team, and we were able to make it to our Kankakee stayover at about 3 PM. After taking showers at a YMCA, we headed back to the stayover for an absolutely delicious dinner provided by the members of the stayover - the Adventure Commons church. We then had an opportunity to take portraits with the amazing ladies who cooked our meal for us.

-Valerie

Days 15 and 16: Lafayette IN to Rockville IN to Champaign IL - meeting Randy, coming home

Hi everyone and welcome to days 15 and 16! It was a couple of very big days for us full of excitement. While making for a very fun time, it also meant that we were so busy the whole time that I did not even have time to write and post this journal for these whole 2 days. Which means that now this is a double day journal and we have a lot of ground to cover.

On our way out of Lafayette

Firstly, we made it to day 15 which means we are now 20% done with the ride. Absolutely mind-boggling! Secondly, we are back in Champaign and our home - University of Illinois. And last but most certainly not least, our stayover for day 15 was Randy who has hosted the team for the past 14 years (out of the 15 our organization has existed). He as well as many other community members of Rockville have been incredibly welcoming to the teams of all the past years so of course we now got to experience it too. We were fed VERY generously multiple times, were able to hang out at a pool and swim, got mountains of snacks for the road, got a performance from a group of ladies who play handbells, and got to talk and spend some time with the wonderful people in Rockville.

A little rest stop playground shenanigans

Furry friend number 1

Perfecting the no-hands riding

Pool fun times

Furry friend number 2

Matt W getting an early Happy Birthday song played for him with handbells

Day 16 turned out to be just as hectic and full of events as day 15. We rolled out in the morning knowing that Champaign area was promised thunderstorms during the morning and early afternoon. So, the riders were only able to make it to mile 40 of the route before shuttling the rest of the way to Champaign in the van. But, before that happened, we got to see the Illinois state line sign and of course took a million pictures with it.

Once everyone was shuttled to Champaign, we had a photo session by the Alma Mater and had many professional pictures of us taken.

Home sweet home

After the photos, we headed to a reception hosted for us by the Beckman Institute. They greeted us warmly and gave us delicious and much appreciated food. Some of the rider’s friends or family were present too which was of course an amazing addition.

Getting ready for the photo session

The rest of the day as well as the next day 17 were spent resting and catching up with friends, as well as getting ready to head in the direction of Chicago.

-Valerie

Day 14: Logansport IN to Lafayette IN - Half a rest day

Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 14 of our epic journey. Today we had a short day - only 45 miles with almost no elevation. The day went by fast and we were done riding at about noon, getting a whole half of the day to ourselves.

The route was very nice for the most part, with a few rough roads but some very smooth and satisfying roads as well.

Racing to pass another group (we won)

The morning blessed us with really nice weather for a bike ride - sunny but not hot, no rain and almost no wind.

…and the other side

The three Musketeers

And the d'Artagnan I guess

Van crew!!!

Resting

Riding on gravel is a solid 0/10 on a road bicycle

After the ride, we got hot showers at the recreation center of the Purdue University. Then, the team split up to get lunch with choices ranging from Mexican, to burgers, to poke bowls.

Poke bowl team

After lunch, the poke bowl team that I happened to be in stumbled across a fascinating local store selling pretty much everything. Their offerings included crystals, fun socks, jewelry, plush toys, clothes, sunglasses, CDs, books… Do I even need to go on?

Fashion is our profession

The afternoon was dedicated to a team meeting where our team members shared their personal reasons for joining Illini 4000 and for deciding to do the ride. It was a very emotional couple of hours and many napkins were used up. So, naturally, afterwards we wanted to cheer ourselves up with ice cream.

Team ice cream time

The team had the evening to themselves with some spending time on a movie night watching ‘"Top Gun” and the rest just enjoying the rare moments of free time.

-Valerie