After our longest ride of the year, the team had a far easier ride across the nice and flat Indiana, with temperatures in the mid-70s. We spent most of the ride on smooth roads and bike paths, giving us time to take it easy after some hard days of biking. Unfortunately, we got rained on again (multiple times), but at this point, the team is used to it.
Quote of the Day
Andres: “I need to buy some drumsticks”
Jess: “like the ice cream or the chicken?”
Andres: “like the instrument…”
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 74 Miles
Elevation: 1,352 ft.
Points of Interest: Hebrews Coffee, Pennsy Trail
Ride Dedication: Kira Spedale
Tales of the Trail
The team woke up at our usual time, with Queen blasting in the main gym. The four days of centuries tired many of us, but we got some good rest before starting a much easier ride. The start of our ride was very chill, giving my group some time to talk and take things easy. Our first rest stop was at Hebrews Coffee, where many of us got pastries and some well-needed coffee. We got back on the road, and every group took on a challenge to find 5 things that everyone has in common, and these similarities couldn’t be surface-level! This really challenged us to get to know each other by sharing interests and experiences. We also rode on some great bike paths during our ride, and some of us even found outdoor workout equipment to use during a break! Unfortunately, our bad luck with rain continued, and we had bouts of rain throughout our ride, with a heavy downspour as we rolled into Indianapolis – a team even had to deal with a flat tire while getting soaked. Hopefully, we’ll have better luck with rain in the future, and hopefully I didn’t jinx it!
The team rolled into Richmond around 3:30, giving us more time to rest and relax than on other days. We shuttled over to Crunch Fitness and everyone got to shower for free, which is always great! After getting back from the showers, some of us drove over to a laundromat while others took some time to stretch, eat, and relax at the stayover. The group that stayed behind experimented with back massages, which was a great time for them. Loosening up our muscles is incredibly necessary on a trip like this! The team wound down with some dinner and journaling, and everyone got to bed!
Thank you to the community of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church for giving us a place to sleep for the night!
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Andres Villarreal
How are you feeling today?
I’m feeling good. Yesterday was a long day, but today I feel good. I feel like I furthered my endurance yesterday, so I was not worried about today.
What was your favorite part of today’s ride?
For the mosher we had to find five things that we had in common with everybody in our group, so that really got us talking. We were just in yap formation the entire time. So that was nice because we were just sharing stories and learning about each other.
What motivated you to join Illini 4000?
It was mainly two things, first, the cause. The whole aspect of helping people I really liked, and not just fundraising, but like being able to also meet those kinds of people and gain perspective from people who are going through difficult times and how they got through it. The other part being like, I think, the athletic portion, like biking across the country, traveling, training, staying in shape. That was just really appealing to me.
Before joining Illini 4000, how much bike training had you done, and did you have any other athletic background that you feel prepared you for this ride?
No. I bought a bike the summer before I went to U of I and I biked a few times. The furthest I'd ever gone was 14 miles. But like, sports wise, I didn't really do much for it in high school or ever, besides playing soccer as a kid. But I feel like I've always been pretty good at running, so I guess overall, like, I was kind of unprepared, but persevered.
What is your bike's name? Model?
Okay, the model is the Trek Domabe AL 2 with disc brakes. The name has, like, changed. At first it was Albus, but like, something was missing. And I think, like, what was wrong was that I was pronouncing its name like it needed an A in its name, but it didn't need the “uh” sound. Like, not Apple, like it needed like an A sound. So now it's Aemus, yeah, its name is Aemus.
What are you most nervous/excited about?
I'm excited to go out west. I feel like that's gonna be so much fun. I think the weather's gonna be great. I'm excited for the camping days. I'm nervous for everybody on the team, like, I hope nobody gets hurt and hopefully we all do well, yea, nothing goes wrong, but I’m excited.
Anything else you want to talk about?
Shout out to Jason for fixing all of our bikes and for being the unc of the group. Shout out to everybody who's been like a leader and always looking after each other and putting others before themselves. I feel like everybody has been doing that.