Today was surely a long one, and we all had a difficult time dealing with the heat, but the team powered through, and a group of us was able to finish out the day. We started off with some flat lands and rolling hills in Illinois as temperatures started to rise, and the team enjoyed some stops along the way. The team had a scenic end of the ride along the Mississippi River and crossed into our 8th state of the journey as we finished a long and hot day.
quote of the day
“I’m the master hydrator”
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 96 Miles
Elevation: 2,067 ft
Points of Interest: Fresco On First, Will B. Rolling Statue, Mississippi River, Centennial Bridge
Ride Dedication: Colleen Buhrfiend
Tales of the Trail
We started the morning with a 4:45 am wake-up to beat the heat, and everyone prepared for the day ahead. Our team has been attempting to improve our wake-up to rollout time, and we have been better about packing up quickly, but we are still rolling out later than we would like. Fortunately, we were able to get a somewhat cooler start to the morning with an early wake-up, and we began the day with 26 miles before reaching our first rest stop. The first rest stop of the day was in Dixon (hometown of Ronald Reagan), where some of the team enjoyed lattes, smoothies, and coffee at Fresco On First. After taking a bit longer than we would’ve wanted, the team rolled out of our first rest stop as temperatures started to rise. As we continued on, the sun's rays became stronger and we really started to heat up. The team made sure to fill up our water bottles (with ice) at every opportunity, and we took hydrating very seriously. Days like this can be long and grueling, but properly fueling and hydrating is one of the most important ways to stay safe. The team found a good spot for lunch outside of a Subway, where we took a long time to cool off after a long stretch of riding. Some of us were shuttled to the stayover, while the group planning to continue on the ride took a well-needed nap under the shade!

After a long lunch stop, we finally got back on the ride and formed a bigger group to finish out the day, as there were fewer of us riding! We had a speedy stretch, as the team practiced a rotational pace line, giving everyone more time to draft. The Illinois countryside was nice and flat, but the strong winds and beating sun tired us out. After a strong stretch, we found a Casey’s to take a quick rest stop, and Harbin got an extra-large ice cream serving! We got back on the ride and tackled an intermediate climb, while taking short rest stops in the shade to cool off and take quick breathers. Soon, we found ourselves on the Mississippi River and stopped in Port Byron to fuel up before our final stretch. The team was amused by a giant statue of a bicyclist, which stood out as a centerpiece of the town and sat on the shore of the Mississippi. We enjoyed the last stretch of our ride on a trail bordering the Mississippi River, and we had our eyes on Iowa just on the other side! We soon crossed the Centennial Bridge leading into Iowa, where we took pictures with both the Illinois and Iowa crossing signs (we were never able to get one entering Illinois). The last stretch of our ride was a piece of cake until we faced three big climbs at the end. We charged up the final hills with the cathedral in sight and made our way into the stayover for the night. After eating and showering, the team was ready to call it a night. Thanks to the community of Sacred Heart Cathedral for providing us with an amazing dinner and giving us a place to sleep for the night!


Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Yuncong Geng
How are you feeling today?
I think I'm feeling pretty good because I was very afraid of the wind yesterday, and I thought I couldn't manage it at all. But today, I learned for the first time how to stay in someone's draft. So that is, that is very good, and yeah, I just feel like I learned something new. I think ultimately, I will become stronger.
What was your favorite part of today’s ride?
I only completed the first three stretches, and then I went to the van. The first one was wind with climbing, and the second and third one were pure wind. If I need to pick one favorite, I would say the second one (stretch of the ride). The first restaurant was really nice (our first rest stop). I had a big meal. I like big breakfast, so that was really comforting.
What motivated you to join Illini 4000?
I think the fact that I joined I4K is a purely random event because I have no connections with cyclists or like, athletic people on campus in general, and I never went to “Quad Day” except for the one last year. My friend, my lab mate, asked me if I wanted to go to Quad Day and I said, okay, fine. It was a very hot day and we just went to the edge of the Quad Day and went back. But I think the I 4k table was located at the edge of the quad, and I just signed up randomly. I didn't even have a bike, and so it's so random, but somehow, I think, like, there's some necessity behind every random event. So somehow I survived all the training rides, and I am here. I like the cause of I4K. We actually like, raised a non-trivial amount of money for cancer research, it’s really good. Also, on this trip, I realized how deeply everyone is affected by cancer, and in all the stories that I've heard are very amazing, and there are different characteristics, different perspectives, but are all very amazing and insightful.
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?
The last time that I biked was probably seven years ago, when I was doing my undergraduate in China and I commuted with a bike, but that was very minimal. I don't think I'm athletic at all, but I do have some hobbies like boxing and hiking, but I think that doesn't count. Those don't count.
What is your bike's name? Model?
I don't know how to pronounce it properly, but it's Rousseau. It's a French philosopher.
What are you most nervous/excited about?
I was very nervous about my rheumatoid arthritis, because before the ride I had flare ups after all the weekend training rides, and that lasted for several days. So I'm worried that I was not able to ride most of the days on this trip. But it turns out that it's not that bad. I've been sagging maybe half of the time, I'm doing better than I expected. I also feel like as long as I ride in the correct posture, I won't get joint pain or that kind of stuff. Jason (our designated bike mechanic) has helped me a lot with the bike fitting stuff. So I think things will get better. My current goal is to ride three days in a row, and the next goal is to ride completely three rides in a row, and then I will move to four and five, so that's the challenge in the beginning. Before this ride, I wasn't convinced that I could actually survive this lifestyle, because I have a very sensitive nerve, and I need to keep a very strict sleeping schedule, and any noise or light will disturb my sleep, and I will get super anxious, and I will lose my sleep. Also, I needed to shower every day (before the ride), and, you know, I'm kind of like, living in a very unconventional, on the move lifestyle, I guess. I didn't think that I would get used to this kind of lifestyle. But actually, I think I'm now a completely new creature. I'm used to, like, all the dirt, mud, it's a very new thing to me, actually. So I'm glad that I've changed. I am also excited to know everyone more deeply, yeah, that's nice.
Anything else you want to talk about?
I want to give a shout out to the van driver, because I know how stressful it can be. I think all the van drivers are doing an amazing job on choosing the rest stops and organizing things in the van, and also the van buddies, like they're good too, yeah.