Today was a very exciting day as the whole team was looking forward to meeting one of Illini 4000’s biggest supporters: Randy! This marks the 18th year that he has hosted the team in Rockville, Indiana. We were ready for a shorter biking day of 63 miles, which ended up being slightly more difficult than we first thought.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 63.5 miles
Elevation: 2,194 ft.
Tales of the Trail
The team was full of energy in the morning as it was a shorter day and we would get to meet Randy in the evening. We have heard many stories from alumni that Rockville is one of the best stayovers on the whole trip. (spoiler alert, it did not disappoint)
Our first rest stop was on the side of the road and went by pretty quick. Our team has somewhat come to a consensus that we prefer to have a few quick rest stops in the morning and then try and have a longer “lunch” rest stop every day. With the continued trend of bike paths we powered through the first 40 miles with little to no issue, just tired legs from the long mileage of past days compounding. The second rest stop was really a “make your own rest stop.” The official rest stop was slightly further up the road but the two teams decided to stop a little early to get lunch. One of the teams stopped at Burger King, while the other went to a gas station. I was a part of the group that went to Burger King, and honestly a warm meal + soda during a bike ride was just what I needed.
After a warm meal we quickly went by the second rest stop to refill water, put on sunscreen, and go on our way. The last 22-mile stretch is where the ride began to test our mental fortitude. The temperature was in the 80s, quite humid, and the country roads don’t really provide too much shade. Towards the end of the ride we began almost running out of water and slightly overheating. There were also quite a few “gravel” roads that seemed to be more like rocks to me that were slightly painful to ride through. However, all of these temporary struggles fell away as we saw those big red doors of Rockville’s First United Methodist Church. We were greeted by Randy and his friends/family. (We could tell by their awesome matching tie dye shirts). Randy shuttled us all to a local fairground for some much needed showers. We had some free time before dinner so the team made the most of it and swam at a local neighbor of the church’s pool (Ed and Rita Roach), who even provided drinks for us! After getting all of our energy out and cooling off the team made our way back to the church for dinner.
The dinner consisted of pulled pork, mac n cheese, fresh watermelon, potatoes, tasty desserts, and many more. During dinner we even got to hear a bell choir as a little bit of entertainment while we ate! It was a fun activity for the team to try and guess what songs they were playing. (we were not correct very often, but they did an amazing job) After dinner the team was able to fill up their “Love Bags” from Randy, which are a gallon ziploc bag full of as many snacks that will fit. Randy refers to all of us as his kids and we definitely feel the love every year that we go to Rockville and are super appreciative for all the support. We as a team are definitely beginning to feel more and more like a family.
After dinner my group went to one of the church members' houses to go to sleep for the night. However, when we got there Bill told us all about his life story and how he opened his own Ace Hardware. He then showed us in the backyard he has a whole room full of workout equipment, a ping pong table, and a foosball table. Even in his late 80s he was still able to school us in ping pong. Although all these fun and games made us stay up longer than we maybe should have, it was a wonderful experience that my teammates and I are sure to never forget.
