Today, the team was ready to take on a day with less mileage, with a tough final push at the end. It was an exciting day as the team crossed into their 4th state of the ride, West Virginia. It is finally appropriate to sing the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, and the team had it on repeat. Later that day, the team found a new pet to take on the ride… an inchworm?!
Quote of the Day
“I’m just trying to reconnect with my legs”
ride overview
Mileage: 39.0 Miles
Elevation: 3,918 ft
Points of Interest: West Virginia State Crossing, Coopers Rock State Forest, WVU Outdoor Education Center
Tales of the Trails
The team woke up as usual, ready to tackle the day with lower mileage. The ride proved to be quite scenic in the beginning and not too tough for the team. In the last stretch, we faced a huge climb, but nonetheless, we got it done. Today (mostly because of the lower mileage), was one of the fastest days we got on and off the bike, arriving at our stayover at the West Virginia University Outdoor Center before 3 p.m!
We were excited to explore the area and took on some of the ropes courses in the area. We completed courses like the Whale Watch, a Swinging Log, and a course that involved using planks to get everyone across a series of rocks without touching the ground (floor was lava). Utilizing our teamwork skills, we were able to successfully finish all the challenges and had a blast having some fun in the woods as a break from the bikes. During this time, our team found an inchworm and named it “Harbo”. This silly little inchworm will turn into a moth, and he spent the rest of the day hanging out with the team. While eating dinner, we got to watch part of the “Bee Movie”, and to end the night, the team had a quick campfire and went to sleep, as in the day ahead, we would wake up earlier to tackle our first century ride of the summer (100 miles)!
Thank you to the WVU Outdoor Education Center for providing us with a place to sleep in the yurts, showers, laundry, and snacks from the kitchen! We loved the area and being able to relax out in the woods by tackling some team challenges and having a campfire to lead us into the night. Stay tuned to check out how our upcoming centuries go!
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Eli Kujawa
How are you feeling today?
Pretty sore, but pretty good. It was a good day, and the stayover is really nice.
What was your favorite part of today’s ride?
That trail that we took on the way, right before the rest stop, was really nice. I enjoyed that.
What motivated you to join Illini 4000?
It was partially because I thought it just sounded awesome to bike across the country, and also with graduating, I felt a little directionless, and I thought it would be really good to have a good cause that I could dedicate myself to 100%, so the work that I4K does in the fight against cancer was also a big motivator.
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?
Not a ton of biking. I worked as a delivery biker for about a year, about four years ago, but that would be like a maximum of 20 miles a day, and I don't think I would have joined Illini 4000 if I hadn't gotten into the gym a couple years ago, because before that, I was always pretty unathletic, but working out kind of built my confidence up enough to think I maybe actually could do something like this.
What is your bike's name? Model?
My bike doesn't have a name yet. I've been told that it'll come to me on the ride. So I'm waiting for that,
but it's a Trek Domani.
What are you most nervous/excited about?
I’m really nervous about these next four days, since we’ll be doing 400 miles in four days.