The team was psyched up for today with lower mileage. It meant we would have more time unwind and remind ourselves of what life is like off a bike. The 40 miler went by fast for the team and we were able to spend the rest of the day in Des Moines unwinding, sharing our “Why We Ride” stories, and finishing the night with some vocals.
quote of the day
Sofia: “we’re not trees”
Matt: “so we will die”
ride overview
Mileage: 40.5 Miles
Elevation: 1,510 ft.
Points of Interest: Village Park, Zombie Burger, The Greatest Store In The Universe, Black Cat Creamery
Ride Dedication: Meredith
tales of the trail
The team got rolling this morning with one goal in mind: get to Des Moines early enough to have time to explore, and we achieved that goal! We experienced all the terrain we could possibly go through in one day, and ironically enough, on of our shorter days! We encountered the paved road, gravel, rails trails, bridges, flats, and climbs! Our only rest stop for the day was at Village Park, where the teams took some longer time to relax in the shade knowing that we had a short day so there was no rush.
Once the team unpacked everything at our stayover for the night, we went out to shower at a local YMCA, then immediately headed out to eat since we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. We arrived to eat at Zombie Burger, where many got interesting burger combinations and ramen. Ever tried a burger with peanut butter and banana in it? Well, some of us did and it wasn’t too shabby! After we filled our stomachs, a store nearby caught our eyes. “The Greatest Store in the Universe”, it said. Well, we had to check it out to see if it was true. The advertising did not lie. It was quite an amazing store, it had many cool stickers, shirts, keychains, postcards, etc. you could find a lot of sick and funny merchandise. It was the bomb.com. Following the store adventure, the team set off to Black Cat Creamery to get some much needed ice-cream as a reward for the hot day. Their flavors were interesting and their apple-pie flavor did indeed taste like pie!
Back at the stayover, the team got together to share their “Why We Ride” stories. This annual tradition in I4K is an opportunity during the ride where everyone gets together to share their stories and motive for joining I4K. Many do it to prove to themselves that they can tackle on such a physical challenge, along with the deep desire of wanting to make a difference in the world via the fundraising we do for cancer research and spreading awareness. Many shared stories of loved one’s who have had cancer; there were tears, laughs, and it brought us closer together as a team to get the chance to hear everybody out. At the very end, the team linked arms to create a giant cinnamon roll looking hug. Our conversation reminded all of us of why we are here, why we are doing the ride, and we want to thank all of our supporters who have helped us along the way here as an organization to help combat cancer.
Succeeding our heart-felt conversation, the team was in the need of some laughter. Two days prior, the groups on the ride had been given a challenge to create a parody of a song with their groups, and tonight, we performed them. Each group rehearsed their parts, got on stage to compete, and sang their heart outs to the parody. The winning group sang a parody of the song “Let It Be” by The Beatles. Afterwards, the team hit the hay to get ready for the next day, ready for Day 25.
Thank you to Grace United Methodist Church for allowing us stay the night and providing us with a hose to clean off our bikes to be squeaky clean!
cyclist’s corner
Today’s Rider: Alex Ziminski
How are you feeling today?
I'm feeling pretty good today. It was a short day, so feeling nice, and feeling like I'm gonna be better recovered for tomorrow than I have been for other days.
Do you have any go-to gas station/rest stop snacks?
Honestly, I eat way too much at the rest stops. I pretty much eat like, everything that's in the snack bin. But if I do get something at a gas station, I usually get something like, usually a cold drink just to cool me off. Like, sometimes I'll get a Sprite or a Coke or something, but, yeah, that's probably my go to. As for food, I had some animal crackers today. They were really good.
What is your rest stop routine?
Usually, when I first get to rest up, I just put my bike down, and just lay down for a minute, and then then I go eat, and then I'll refill my water, and kind of just just try to relax as much I can, like I try not to move around too much.
How do you stay motivated on long/tough days on the bike?
On long and tough days, I feel like I really have to lean on my teammates, because it is kind of hard to stay motivated. So I make sure to stay vocal when I am struggling, and tell everyone “Hey, I'm really struggling”, or “I'm bonking”, or “I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish this”. And usually people in my group are really good about keeping me motivated and finishing like, whether it be early on in the day or towards the end, usually my ride group has my back for the remaining portion of the ride
For the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?
Well, I'm really excited to go to Colorado. I know that's that's coming up next week, maybe, or in a few weeks, but, yeah, just seeing the mountains in person, like from the bike, is just gonna be awesome. Really excited for that. Also still probably the most excited to get to the West Coast, just, I feel like the first time when you see the ocean, it's just gonna be like, amazing. And just riding along the coast too is gonna be so cool because you're gonna have that, like ocean air as we're riding, and each rest stop it could just, just go swim in the ocean of each night.