The team had been hyping this day up for the last couple of nights at stayovers because looking forward at the expected route, there was over 5,000 ft. of climbing combined with almost 90 miles of riding! Although we are all going to sleep well tonight at the Bethel Community Center in Zainesville, Ohio, the mental attitude we started the day with propelled us to a lighter emotional state despite all of the climbing and riding we did go through.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 91.4 miles
Elevation: 5,433 ft.
Points of Interest: Ohio River, Climb up Kirkwood Heights Road, West Virginia/Ohio Border, many horses
Tales of the Trail
Although the day was littered with hills, the most intense climbing came right up front. Instead of getting hit again right at the end with the toughest climbing like we were in Pittsburgh, it was a relief to do some of it with fresher legs only 5 miles into the route. The first climb was 1.2 miles long climbing 593 ft. which averages to a 9.0% grade! To put this in perspective, it took our riders between 8 and 20 minutes to reach the top, all of which was nearly a maximum effort. Taking an average, that’s 14 minutes of putting in all of the physical exertion you can! We all did it, but I can feel the effort and toll this put on my body even writing this right now. The view at the top of the climb was truly spectacular! All of the riders caught up to each other and took a picture looking out over Wheeling with the beautiful sunrise.
Riders from the day appreciating the beautiful view over Wheeling that they climbed to! (from left to right: Aadit, Nishk, Anthony, Maaike, Max, Vedang, Ehsan, Cole)
Had we not had some of the “training” from Pennsylvania, there would have been no way this was possible; certainly not during our actual training rides in Illinois. Now that our legs had become tired right at the beginning of the day, we were lucky to have some small extra hills and then descending. There was one descent that really worked our grip strength (don’t think we’re just lower body muscles!). That hill had the team either exclaiming at the wild rollercoaster ride they had experienced or feeling slightly terrified at the road surface underneath them for such a steep road when they got to the bottom. Soon enough, we had the first rest stop and some much needed rest and fuel at the van.
From here, the day progressed relatively smoothly. The rest of the elevation was nowhere near as intense and mostly was covered over rolling hills. This isn’t to say it’s not difficult, actually on the contrary, rolling hills can be some of the most frustrating and difficult type of riding to complete because you are always shifting and measuring your effort; however, the concentration of effort is lower. We caught some nice long slight descents too where we were able to fly as groups pushing into the 17-20 mph range while not going straight down. This feels so fun when drafting off of riders in front of you and today was no different.
Aadit followed by Vedang and then Max all giving big efforts on the hills.
Between the first and second rest stop, the team also met a fun Ohio character: George! Showing the kindness that strangers can have, we walked across a footbridge where the usual bridge was out and onto the driveway of who we now know as George. He was curious about how far we had gone, where we were coming from and going to and even offered us water or tea if we wanted any. Both of the riding groups ran into him which was so fun! George even gave us the quote, or maybe joke, of the day:
“Which is closer, the Moon or California? … Well I can see the Moon!”
This felt so fitting given as we are heading towards California and that feels like a lifetime away at the moment. The reason for sharing this interaction is because it is a microcosm of many of the interactions that we get daily along our rides that are not always shared in teh journals. People can be so kind and caring and we certainly see that a lot while supporting good causes.
Before our third stop of the day, we were able to get back on bike trails which is always lovely. This one was short because we knew another was just 10 miles out (for a reason you will know soon). Nishk and Maaike had another kind interaction with a stranger who paid for some snacks from a dollar store for them while in New Concord, Ohio. Overall though, the ride was beginning to flatten out and the Midwest atmosphere kept on building. This was all building to Dairy Duchess (also in New Concord, I guess we love it here). I believe this counted as our first on the road ice cream stop and it was a good one! Shakes, floats, cones, even some burgers and grilled cheeses were ordered and fueling our team for the final stretch. Illini 4000 teams of the past have always been raving to us about the ice cream stores, stops, and stands they found throughout the country and this was a great one for us.
Vedang (left) and Max (right) enjoying the bike trails together.
We rode just a bit of highway coming into Zanesville, but shortly turned into neighborhoods and made our way to the Bethel Community Center. Our hosts, once again, were so lovely, had dinner waiting for us, and even the mayor of Zanesville was there to greet us. There were two individuals who also shared there cancer stories and the team ended a fantastic day settling in for bed all in the same room; a first since New York City! It’s nice to have everyone together.
Nishk with the little friend that followed along his ride today. (Oh, and Maaike in the background.)
Cyclists’ Corner
Rider: Lauren Faber
How are you feeling today?
I'm actually feeling really good. I think this stay over had really nice people, and it definitely, for me, brought the mood up. I mean, obviously my mood was pretty good at the end of the day, because I had finished the day, and I don't usually finish the day. Nice stay overs made me feel better, because I was a little bit nervous, especially in a smaller town in the middle of Ohio, but these people were very welcoming and nice, so I feel good.
What was your favorite part of today's ride?
Favorite part of today's ride? Oh, definitely the trails, because they're flat, and you don't have to watch cars, and you can just talk to your buddies. I grabbed leaves from the trees above me, and then threw them at people behind me.
What motivated you to join Illini 4000?
I heard about it because my sister's friends had done it many years ago, and I didn't have any plans for the Summer. It was like the last day to apply, like the extended last day, and I was like, “might as well just throw this in there, and I can decide if I don't want to do it later.” It was good timing for me to find out about it, because you know my grandma passed away from chemo. I won't say cancer, because I think she died from a port infection during treatment earlier that Summer, and now I don't have any grandparents, and it was just kind of crazy to conceptualize that. So many people are gone, and she was so active and so happy, and bubbly, and talkative, and I feel like she would have been super duper impressed if I had told her that I was doing this. She would have told everyone in her living space that I was doing this. She would show me off. I think she's my main motivation for joining, because I'm not an experienced cyclist, so the cycling wasn't really what I was thinking about. I know how to ride a bike, but that wasn't like my main motivation to join. Of course, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn't know that there's only a few schools that do this. I'm very impressed that people who are graduating and are in grad school are doing this, because I feel like for me this might be my last chance to do this before entering the professional space. I also joined it because it's something that I literally could never see myself doing. It's such an out there experience that I would have never expected myself to do. I don't think other people expected me to actually follow through with it. It's kind of motivating that I'm doing something really hard and I'm really pushing myself.
Before joining Illini4000 how much bike training had you done, if any, and did you have any other athletic background that you feel prepared you for this ride?
Well, I would say I'm generally an athletic person. I've done sports. I did like soccer and volleyball in my life. The only biking experience I have is just like biking around my neighborhood on a standard mountain bike. I've never ridden a road bike before. I don't actually know anything about bikes and I hadn't ridden a bike in like a year before joining this, because we had to get rid of our bike, so this was just kind of the first time I touched a bike in a while.
What's your bike's name, and what's the model of your bike?
Actually, someone's lending me their bike, so I do not have a name, because I feel like it just feels off to name someone else's bike if I'm going to return it. And no, I actually don’t know the model.
(Journalist input here… it’s a Jamis Renegade with cool pink bar tape.)
What are you most nervous/excited about?
Well, I would say that biking is the only thing that makes me nervous, for the most part, just because I've never worked any of my muscles this hard before. I think it's very much a mental challenge for me to get on the bike every day and try. I’m also nervous to crash, because I haven't crashed yet, or got a flat. I'm also nervous if our team ever gets annoyed with each other because we're spending so much time together, but I also think we're pretty mature and would be able to work things out pretty quickly.
I'm very excited to see the country because I don't even know what states I've been to, what states I haven’t. I'm very excited for Oregon, and I'm excited for my birthday and Nishk's birthday, because he has the same birthday as me. I also get very excited arriving at every new stay over because you kind of get an idea of what the community is like, and everyone has just been so kind and welcoming. Meeting someone new from every state that we go to is very exciting.
Anything else you would like to tell the world?
To sag or not to sag, that is the question. I like to say, you can do anything you put your mind to. I say, listen to your body and listen to your mind, and be kind to everyone, because you don't know what they're going through, and and try hard things,
Are you pro sprinkles or anti sprinkles?
I'm neutral sprinkle, but I think I've been put on the anti sprinkle, just because I think they're unnecessary.