Day 44: Approaching the Mountains Once Again - Starvation, Utah to Heber City, Utah

For a day building up to an anticipated massive climb going to Salt Lake City tomorrow, this day from Starvation to Heber City was no slouch of a ride itself.  We had just about every element of a classic Illini 4000 long ride.  We started the day with some offroad and gravel riding, followed it up with some rolling hills, then a pretty large climb, a false flat with headwinds just to rub in the pain for our legs, and a descent to the finish in town where we can see the mountains we will be trying to conquer tomorrow.  Also, along the way, there was a picture challenge which you may have seen on Instagram before this journal, but we can also have some looking and deciding for yourself which should be the champion of the three competing teams.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 71.2 miles

Elevation: +3,628 ft. / -3,743 ft.

Points of Interest: Fruitland, Strawberry Reservoir, Daniels Pass, Mount Timpanogos

Tales of the Trail

The morning in Starvation at the campground was a successful one with all of us having the camping routine more practiced since we had had experience to draw on.  Bagels for breakfast are always a happy sight too because it gives us the change from oatmeal that so many of us desire.  With sand in all of our belongings and our shoes, the riders for the day set off on the further sandy path towards the campground exit.  Then, it was a happy descent on the newly paved road as the sun was rising right ahead of us to the East.  Obviously, we couldn’t go too far that way or we’d be heading back home, so somewhere around a mile in, we turned South to go back towards the highway.  The entrance to the road was less obvious than usual, so as the first team rolled past and then had to turn around, the second team caught up to make for a social start onto the gravel road that took us back on route.  Some undulations and ruts weren’t enough to hold us back and soon enough, we were on Highway 40 that we had come in on yesterday.

The start of some action began with Maaike picking up a nasty flat tire just as we were crossing the bridge over Starvation Reservoir.  A cotter pin must have been angled just right and punctured the rubber tire and its internal mesh casing.  This was a shock because Gator Skins, the type of tire on Maaike’s bike, are usually extremely resistant to this kind of event.  Just our luck, right?  Well, with help from the van and a new tire on the wheel we were back to rolling again.  It also gave time for this team to take their interesting photo:

Further up the road now that the flat had occurred, the other team was taking a photo of their own:

This happened a little later, but I will show what the crew in the van came up with right now too.  There is still controversy here because a video was not explicitly mentioned as being a legal entry to the competition.  Anyways:

These were all being posted to the Instagram account around the time we were reaching the second rest stop.  The riders had conquered the big climb of the day and it was not an easy one as it covered over 1,000 ft. of elevation gain.  Just before the climb, we all also hit a large area of road construction that had cars on the highway waiting for their turns to go through on the one lane diversion.  We navigated that with hopefully only a few nasty looks from drivers.  Then, it was Nishk’s turn for the next flat tire on the day.  He had a nail or pin of some kind go through and needed a change in tube, luckily not a full change of tire like Maaike earlier.  There was one redeeming quality of having the construction behind us as we went up the climb: the cars all came in waves, so there were moments of many passing and moments of complete calm on the road.  The highway wound up through the hills and mountains with rock features and trees on either side to keep encouraging us to push onwards and upwards even when we were tired.  

Peanut butter sandwiches replenished us at the van before what we had expected to be an easy next stretch, but what turned into something much more difficult.  The wind was picking up and coming right into our faces.  That, combined with the fact that we were still gaining elevation, just more slowly now, made this a really tough almost 17 miles.  Once we made it though, we were greeted with something special: a lodge that served the best tasting cream soda any of us had ever had.  They were served in chilled steins and had free refills.  From the first sip, the sugar was amazing and nothing really would have hit the spot better at that moment.  Our waitress was also a special person as she was willing to share her experience dealing with a mother who was being diagnosed and treated for cancer.  This was a touching story because we will soon be biking near their home in Idaho and her mother is not sure how much longer she has to live.  We will ride for her then.

The descent into Heber City was quick all the way.  Max had his turn on the flat tire carousel.  Headwinds slowed the pace a little from what it may have been, but this was probably for the better to keep our speeds in the low 20s of miles per hour versus the high 20s or even low 30s.  Once we were getting close and out of the kind of canyon that was Daniels Pass, we could see the mountains we will be crossing tomorrow to make it to Salt Lake City.  The views from Heber City were incredible!

Once we had showered and settled at the stayover, dinner was donated to us which was a meal of home cooked tacos and cookies that were amazing and left us wanting to eat more and more.  We decided to go to a soda shop for dessert, a Utah classic apparently, and enjoyed the range of options that we had to try new flavors and add more sugar to already sugary beverages.  (We need it for tomorrow, don’t worry.)  We walked there and back as a team and we felt like we were in the right place at the right time.  Here’s to making it over the mountains tomorrow!

Day 43: Cooling Off - Vernal, Utah to Starvation, Utah

Going to sleep around 11 pm now feels like a tough ask for us because of how well we have adapted to our routine.  After the celebrations last night, that’s what it was and our morning was a little less enthusiastic than usual, although no less happy.  We had some more time to spend in the dinosaur land and then back out into the desert-like landscapes of Utah. There may have been a lake or two popping up too.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 62.1 miles

Elevation: +1,729 ft. / -1,597 ft.

Points of Interest: Leftover Goodies from 4th of July Celebrations, Lake Boreham, Starvation Reservoir

Tales of the Trail

Early into our day, we made it into the Uintah and Ouray Reservation Lands which were actually the site of our first rest stop.  Coming out of Vernal, we had a little bit of a climb, but then a lot of this first collection of miles was downhill.  We thought we were going to a Sinclair gas station, but that turned out not to exist.  Instead, there was a grocery store where we were able to stock up on goodies and baked leftovers from Independence Day yesterday and in reality it was much better than a gas station would have been.  

The roads during the day were a little more trafficked than we would hope for meaning that cars were coming by a lot of the time.  This is not just an inconvenience, having cars frequently pass can also be mentally taxing.  We had to be alert and call out to our teammates everything that was happening around the group.  Finally, when we made it onto a country road, we had so much fun riding beside each other and talking after hours of monotony along the main road.  Anthony, Nishk, Cole, Lauren, and Ehsan ran 5-wide and even attempted a train of pushing each other on the back to make riding easier for the person at the front (this works much better in theory than it does in practice).  Maaike, driver for the day, and the van crew were waiting just up the road and caught sight of this fun and the enjoyment of the other group on the road.

This was the point in the day where the trail and the stops became more interesting.  First, we went past a lake that looked oh so enticing to the first group on the road and little did they know that the second group would stop.  Here are Tada, Max, and Vedang cooling off:

This was also a very hot day, in the mid-90s, which is why everyone, at every rest stop, and any other chance they could get was trying to cool down.  Luckily for us, our stayover was at a campground on Starvation Reservoir where we could swim!  After staking the tents, the entire team went down to the water to jump in (it was a little cold - my calibrated estimate is 64-65°F) and spend time together.  Something about this activity really felt like we were exploring and living the life of the pictures we had seen from past teams going into this Summer.  We laughed, and screamed, and yelled, and had a great time.

Dinner came next followed by some much more calm relaxation around sunset.  Some took naps, others called loved ones, Lauren found a group of the cutest raccoons, and we enjoyed the peace of the outdoors.  Bedtime came soon enough and now we are all slipping into our sleeping bags and getting ready to dream of the adventures we have to come.  This was a less eventful day of riding, but a very fulfilling experience to add to our journey.  See you tomorrow!

Cyclist’s Corner

Rider: Max Zhu

How are you feeling today?

I'm feeling pretty good. Nice to have a rest day again. And there were a couple of us that went to an amusement park, real cool, not too shabby.

Is there anything that you personally think or hope that you'll gain from the ride?

I was talking to a friend back home about this. We've been friends for a really, really long time, since like pretty much elementary school, like third, fourth grade, ish, but she was saying that like she's currently traveling around Europe right now. We're both having a pretty similar experience of a long extended trip outside of the routine, where you really don't have, like, say deadlines or like too much to like really worry about day to day. Both of us are typically very like type A, meaning we like things planned out, and so it's nice to like kind of lean into like a more type B go with the flow kind of mindset, and just like almost like learn to like relax and chill out a little bit. I think it's a nice change of pace. So I'm hoping some of those skills and like traits stick around even after this ride. I think I will be able to kind of just sit back, know everything's gonna be fine, just take things one thing at a time, you know, really roll with the punches. So we'll see.

And how have you surprised yourself since New York City?

I've surprised myself by biking as much as I have. I'm in the van driving rotation, but I've been really, really lucky in the sense that I've only had to drive one day since New York. I've only missed, like, I've missed like less than 100 miles in total, including, like, you know, being force sagged by by rain, wind, and you know, stuff you can't control. So pretty, pretty surprised, and proud of myself for biking the amount of miles I have. It was a goal of mine to try to get as much mileage in as possible without having it be like an unhealthy, like obsession. That makes sense, just, you know, a general want to be able to get through as much mileage as possible. So very happy where that's with, where that's at right now.

Where's your hometown? And if there was food from there that you could have with you at all times during the ride, what would it be? 

Okay, I'm from Woodcliffe Lake, New Jersey. Technically, we don't have a house there anymore, but I grew up there my entire life, and my parents moved while we're in college. Actually just recently closed on a house, like maybe like two or three days ago, for a new house. They were just renting for like the past year or so. So that's pretty exciting news, but if I were to take one kind of food with me, it would be definitely my mom's cooking. There's a dish which is a braised pork belly, and that over some rice is very fire. So, definitely missing, missing my mom's cooking, some home cooking, and honestly, my dad's barbecue was really, really good too. It was more of a big event, kind of thing that we would do back in my hometown, and we did a big one with all my buddies before we moved out as like a send off  and some of those like rib cuts would be really good. 

How's the ride progressing for you?

It's been going really well. I've been really, really happy, super grateful that I'm here. There's definitely been times where you know your mental is tested. I think, like on Instagram, on even my own personal Instagram, that kind of documents this trip. It's a lot of, you know, literally hand-picked best highlight photos every single day. While that's a big part of it, I think it is interesting to where it's like, you know, a couple minutes waking up in the morning and you're just like, oh, I don't want to bike today, or like, you know, maybe to get into a stay over, and it is like, you know, the same 13 people every single day, and I think it's good. What I've learned, at least I think, is it's good to kind of, I don't know, it can feel selfish sometimes, but to just take your own time, kind of space yourself out for a second,  let you let yourself do your own thing. That's been helping me a lot, but overall the rides are progressing really, really well, and I'm very, very happy and grateful to be here. 

What do you think your role for the team has become, regardless of what it started as or what chore you do?Oh, interesting. I don't know, that's hard to say. I don't know if I fulfill a specific role, and maybe that is a role in itself, you know, kind of just like I'd like to try to be there for whoever needs me. Have conversations that are needed as well as just have fun conversations where you bounce off of each other, and like, responsibilities wise, you know, picking up whatever I can, while also making sure I don't burn out or crash out or anything like that. I don't know if there's a particular role that I would say I fall into.

What's your favorite snack in the van?

We got these cookies mailed to us. I'm blanking on the name, but we received them, I believe, in Nebraska. I can picture the city in my head, but I'm blanking on where we got them, but they were like the cowboy cookies. Maybe it was in Boulder from alumni. They were very good. The cowboy cookies, it's like an oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie had a baby, and it's like you get the sugar and the carbs and everything, and it's just like they're so good. I think the team pounded those pretty quick, but yeah, those were probably my favorite snacks so far right now.

Day 42: A Century for Our Nation’s Two-and-a-Half - Meeker, Colorado to Vernal, Utah

Something about riding across the United States and experiencing its grandeur and beauty on a day where everyone is celebrating our accomplishments as a nation is special.  The waving flags, the banners, and the fireworks at night were special sights this year as all of us were experiencing the celebrations in a new location.  We left Meeker as they were preparing for their Fourth of July parade and entered Vernal as the evening fireworks celebrations were getting staged.  Before we had the time to reflect and join in, we had an over 100-mile long ride ahead of us.  There was much to get to!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 110.5 miles

Elevation: +2,933 ft. / -3,812 ft.

Points of Interest: Rio Blanco, Dinosaur, Dinosaur National Monument, Vernal Fireworks

Tales of the Trail

I know we just talked about this yesterday, but we received the best of goodbyes from Meeker by way of a license plate planted for Nishk to find just outside the town.  Speaking with a man named Joe at the stayover last night, Joe learned of Nishk’s plate hunting agenda and thought he could contribute a plate of his own.  He didn’t say anything to anyone except Maaike and then, as we now know, went out with a neat Colorado State University vanity plate and a message and left it beside the road for Nishk.  Sure enough, he was paying attention and found the plate!  Then, at the first rest stop he read the message and was overjoyed.  If the stop in Meeker could even possibly get better, this was it.  

Our first stop was almost 20 miles into our day at Rio Blanco lake.  The opening act of this century day was amazing!  Mostly downhill, calm winds, little traffic, and a smooth road had us all feeling like we almost hadn’t even started by the time we were reaching there.  Then, there was the license plate story for us to focus on, and we kept on rolling once more as if it was the start of the day again.  Everyone felt fresh.

As we carried on, the road became more undulating, but we still had the sights of the arid climate mountains to stare at and rock formations to keep us fascinated.  There were three groups on the road today and it was also fun that we kept running into each other.  Something about the time that we were leaving the rest stops or the pacing that we had throughout each stretch kept one team passing another.  Especially with the roads being quiet, that was so much fun to see each other out there when at times it can feel like we are riding only with the 3, 4, or 5 of us in a group.  It also seems that these are the only moments I can clearly remember between rest stops two and three because the road around them must have been just so similar.  The only other thing to note is that, just as the day before, the temperature was now increasing towards its high, well into the 90s.

After resting for a few moments at a cafe in Rangely, we went towards the toughest stretch of road which was a climb towards Dinosaur, Colorado.  This climb was hot and the traffic was now picking up on the road with people traveling on the holiday.  It was steep and long and at the end, we just wanted water.  Our mouths were dry and sunscreen was dripping with our sweat off of our foreheads and into our eyes to make the whole experience much less pleasant.  The redeeming factor of this stretch was that we were making it to a place called Dinosaur!

Dinosaur was notable because dinosaurs are Austyn’s, the child and whose family we are supporting through the B+ Foundation, favorite thing in the whole world right now.  We took as many pictures as we could and sent them to his mom to share.  A whole town about dinosaurs?  How much better could it get?  

The descent out of town led us to the Utah border where we again snapped some pictures and had a little bit of a reprieve before braving the headwinds as we continued to move West on our way to Vernal.  The highway turned to tar and stones and the winds were blowing much more than they had through the rest of the day.  It was almost as if the weather was trying to hold us back from making it to that 100-mile mark.  We were in a convection oven.  Again, the teams passed each other, but a couple of us were able to meet at a viewpoint to see across some of the land in Uintah County.

Once we made it beyond our final rest stop of the day, we were fatigued and tired, but still rolling as we always will be.  Max experienced his first flat tire of the Summer and changed it still as if he was in a routine.  Eventually, we all met at the stayover, the Uintah Community Center in Vernal, Utah.

We had showers, laundry, and food that was donated by our host, Cheryl (who also happened to be celebrating her birthday… Happy Birthday Cheryl!) to revive us.  This really was another in our list of very happy places to stay.  Then, it was time to watch the celebrations for our country and get to bed.  

It seemed like the whole of the county came to Vernal for the fireworks show and it was a good one.  They even ended it with an explosion that looked like it was something out of the movies.  We could feel the heat from where we were sitting (quite a ways away)!  After returning to the community center in the van, we played with some sparklers of our own and then went back inside for a restful night.  Tomorrow is a shorter mileage day, so we will wake up a little later and hopefully have a less taxing ride than today.

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Ehsan Homaee

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

Today, the ride was fantastic! It was a bit hot, but it's better than being cold, right? I like hot weather, more than cold. I'm feeling okay, maybe a bit tired after 110 miles, but I'll be fine.

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I think after this I4K, I will become more easygoing. I would like to become a more easygoing person. I can adapt myself to any condition, or situation, more easily. In this, every night you are in a new place. You're just thinking, new conditions, new temperatures, new… like everything is new. Every moment, you face new challenges or new things that you didn't expect. It's completely out of routine or something. There is some routine, but also there is no routine. I mean, it kind of helps you to adapt very quickly to new conditions. I think this is one thing that I expect to gain after I4K and apply to life or something after.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

Hard question…

If you don't have something, I can start with maybe an easy one for yourself. I don't know if it's a surprise or not, but today, from what I heard, that's the first 100-mile plus ride you've done! I don't know whether that's surprising to you or not, but that's still a huge accomplishment. 

Maybe before New York was occurring, like the “you're gonna ride 5-6 days in a week without any rest, rest day, or anything, and every day go at least 60 or 70 miles,” I couldn't believe that that would happen. But yeah, it happened! I feel that I'm getting stronger, it's just much easier for me to do the riding. 

One thing else that we can say, I don't know if it’s for future I4K generations, but before starting the ride, I was like, if it was so hard and I see that I cannot handle it, I will give up in Champaign. I was like, I’m going to go to Champaign, see how things are going, and then decide to continue or not. Yeah. It was a big day for me at that time, but it's a really unique and great opportunity and experience that I won't have in my life in the future. This Summer, I try to make the time and do all the efforts before the ride and I can make it. So let's do!

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

My hometown is Shahreza. It's in the middle of Iran. Today, actually, we talked about it. The road that we had today was a very dry mountain, and it reminded me of the road that we took from my undergrad university from Tehran to my hometown. So for the most part, it's just a mountains.

 During the ride, I actually, every hour, crave a new food. I'm changing about food a lot, you know? You are always hungry and when you dream you dream about food. I enjoy eating food. If I wanted to choose one food, probably I choose kebab. Yeah, I always like eating kebab and it’s delicious all the time.

How is the ride progressing for you?

It's going pretty okay. I think I can see myself getting stronger both mentally and physically. I think I'm, sag-ing less on the long ride. With the great professional cyclists that we have, I kind of try to see them on the bike and mimic their behavior. One mistake that I had was that in the early time of the ride I didn't pedal constantly and that leads to very bad knee pain for me. After like looking at people like you, Anthony, Micah, I found out that most of you just pedal constantly. I tried do that maybe the last 2 weeks, and I think it helps a lot with my knee thing. So, yeah, the learning process is also interesting for me that we can learn a small thing that seems small but is very important. 

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

So… I'm the oldest person and sometimes people ask me some questions, They’re starting their question with “you are the oldest and most experienced person.”  I was actually thinking about if age related to this experience or not. What I thought about it is that not necessarily because probably you have more experience compared to a person younger than you, but your life experience is only unique to yourself and it's completely different from person to person. And other people maybe experienced things that you never experienced or ever though about. So I don't believe in the relationship between age and experience, but it's kind of funny for me that some of the people, things like that will ask you questions.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

So I'm not a sugar fan actually. It's very hard for me to eat sugar. I don't enjoy eating sugar at all, but during the ride you have to. The things that I really enjoy are not. Sometimes we have a mixture of nuts and cranberries. It has a mixture of cranberries, almonds, walnuts and things like that. I really enjoy those packages of nuts. They don't have sugar and are not probably that good for the rides, but yeah I enjoy eating those nuts a lot.

Day 41: Landscapes are Changing - Glenwood Springs, Colorado to Meeker, Colorado

Gone are the high peaks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains that we have been used to.  We have now entered an even more arid climate, if that is possible, and it looks like it will make for some interesting riding over the next few days as we continue towards and into Utah.  The morning in Glenwood Springs was cool but not cold so we could wear our usual attire and we were excited to have all twelve who could ride (excluding the van driver) starting the day.  “Three teams of four” is always one of the best phrases that can come out of Maaike’s mouth at the end of the morning circle.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 69.1 miles

Elevation: +3,031 ft. / -2,509 ft.

Points of Interest: I-70, Rifle, License Plates, Painted Mountains, Fence of Bikes, Wildfire Aftermath

Tales of the Trail

The ride today did have a nice feel to it even when looking through the planned route the night before.  Yes, there were some longer stretches in there, but some downhills and plenty of stops when the going would get tougher made us feel really confident in what we were getting into.  That sentiment held true in the moment too.  Rolling out of Glenwood Springs was fun because we got to look over more of the stunning reddish mountains surrounding the town and spend a little while on bike trails.

Actually, there was one part of the day that made us nervous: I-70.  You heard that right, we were getting on the interstate for 5 miles today because it really is the only connecting road between the two places we were trying to get between.  Believe it or not, it was mostly fine.  Yes, there were cars moving pretty fast, but we had a very wide shoulder and most moved to the left lane before approaching us, so it actually felt as safe or maybe even more than some of the more rural highways that we have taken in the past.  This was also the sight of the first couple of license plates on the day.

We haven’t discussed much in the journals yet about Nishk’s license plate hunting mission, but considering today we have him interviewed, the timing only feels fitting to reveal.  Over the Summer, Nishk has been watching out in all of the shoulders and land next to the roads for plates that have fallen off cars to add to a collection he will then display at the end of the Summer.  He has found many, I don’t have an exact count to say at the moment, but today was a +6.  The plates are from states we have been to and some that we haven’t too.  Today, there were 4 Colorado license plates by the side of the road, 1 from Arizona, and 1 from Oregon!  We have become accustomed to hearing “plate!” followed by “slowing” in the rear and get so excited to see the smile on Nishk’s face when he returns with the prize.  He then always bikes along with them to the next rest stop placed near his water bottles or in a bag he carries specifically for this purpose.  The roads today must have heard his calls for more treasure as they revealed all of these new license plates.

As the miles went on, we made it to the main climb which was about 13 miles and covered almost 2,000 ft of elevation gain.  Although it was a slog, we all made it to the top and knew that the end was going to be almost entirely downhill.  Those last 26 miles were really fun because for probably half of them we were moving over 20 mph and really never much below 15 mph.  Finally, Meeker was in sight.

At our stayover in Meeker, Colorado, St. James’ Episcopal Church, we had an amazing group of hosts waiting for us with signs and directions for where to put our bikes and how to go to find the showers they had secured for us.  This was amazing!  Then, they even had dinner!  We had a huge selection of food choices from sandwiches, to mac and cheese, to salad, to some delicious spring rolls, to fruit, to cookies, and more (huge shoutout to the snickerdoodles which I didn’t know I had been craving *Cole).  As we wound down for the evening, we hung clothes on the fence, played outside, and enjoyed the sights of national pride being displayed before Independence Day tomorrow. 

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Nishk Patel

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

I am feeling absolutely fantastic! Today's ride was great! It went by really quick, probably because the times between the rest stops were kind of short. We just had a 20 mile stretch, and then a 13, and then a 9, and then a 26. And that last 26 was pretty downhill. So, it felt like a very short day. It felt great! I found 6 license plates today, which is my current record for number of license plates in one day. 2 of those are from states we either haven't been to yet, or I haven't found yet, so that's pretty cool. Yeah, overall great day. And I’m excited for tomorrow's 110-mile day on the 4th of July.

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I think, especially because we were talking about it today, a newfound appreciation for biking. I've always enjoyed it, but never in kind of the sport aspect of it. It's just like a mode of transportation when I was younger. Anthony slipped up today and was like, “oh, so you're going to join on the WNRs?” (For context, WNR stands for Wednesday Night Ride which is a notoriously fast group ride back in Champaign that some of the Illini Cycling riders go on.) And then he was like, “oh, wait, you're gonna be in Chicago. you can't even.” But, you know, I think I've really enjoyed biking. I think another thing I said today was, the feeling of the chain grinding away while you're pedaling is kind of addicting. When I'm not riding, I want to feel that push, push, push against the pedal. Hopefully I will continue biking after the trip. I know I came into the trip thinking I might not. I'm halfway through the trip and I'm thinking, I very much will. Hopefully that doesn't change in the second half.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

I think I've surprised myself in how little I actually need to keep myself going. I don't need a lot of rest time. I've realized that it's not physical rest, but also mental rest time that is important. Going to sleep is kind of just when my brain shuts off, everything resets, I wake up, and I'm good again. Especially when I'm like “oh, I'm really tired of biking,” or “I'm really tired of this constant cycle” the morning sucks, but it's a very significant reset. It feels a lot of times that the things from the day previous don't even blend into the next day, so I don't need a lot of that. I don't need a lot of that wind down time or rest time. I can kind of just go from being super energized to then just shutting my brain off, shutting my body off, and waking back up the next day. I realized that my sleep is my mental and physical rest, and I spend the rest of the day doing things pretty consistently and constantly.

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

I'm from Monroe Township, New Jersey.

My mom literally texted me this question! She was like, “what do you want me to send you?” I didn't respond to her yet, but I was thinking about saying masala banana chips. They're like, if you've ever tried them, it's plantain chips, sliced plantain chips that are fried and then covered with masala flavoring. They are really good! They're addicting. I could just eat a whole bag at a time!

How is the ride progressing for you?

It's progressing in an enjoyable way. Up until now, until Colorado, it was very much flat states. It felt like the exciting parts were the stayovers and not as much of the ride itself. Now it feels like the exciting part is kind of everything. The stayovers are still fine. You get to do some cool things like tomorrow's 4th of July. Gonna probably get to see fireworks, maybe go to Dinosaur National Park. It's also the ride into those places where, today, we biked past the forest fire from last summer, and you could see all these dead trees and the line at which it stopped. We also climbed up some mountains the past few days: Independence Pass, Loveland Pass. Seeing the world from 14, or I guess 13,000 feet up, is super cool and super interesting to see!

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

I think that because breakfast chore is very limited and I only have to do breakfast chores for that hour and fifteen minutes from wake up to when we pack the van, I think I've gotten a lot of time in the evenings to help do general stuff. Someone, I forget who it was recently, just said, “you just do a little bit of everything.” I'll do laundry, I'll take everyone's laundry some days, or I'll do a Walmart run when necessary, or random things here and there to help ease other people's chores or just general needs of the team. 

Wait, I want to add one to that. That's what we were talking about the other day. Would you agree with the characterization of “glue guy?” 

Glue guy. Yeah, I like that. I like that. That's a good one. I like a glue guy. Yeah.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

So many… I can slam so many of those Great Value, probably not as many as Max, but I can slam a ton of those Great Value chewy granola bars. The Mott’s fruit snacks are great. The Great Value ones get stuck in your teeth a little. The stroopwafels! We had a few from around Champaign, or maybe around that time, and then we got some more in the mail from Maaike’s mom last week. Those are also fantastic! They're like sugar. They're also not the common everyday snack, so they're kind of a switch up. Those are all great! We haven't had Rice Krispies in a minute too. Those are also classics.

Day 40: Stories from a Rest Day - Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Today we had some different adventures happening along with a good portion of the day being spent to rest our bodies up (as it should be).  I’ll take you through the couple of groups who were out there in the world and share some of their stories.

One of the top priorities for any rest day that is in a large enough town is finding the nearest laundromat and getting caught up on cleaning clothes.  Aadit, Ehsan, and Cole went out with clothes of their own and clothes from the team to get the chore of the day done.  Believe it or not, they found one of the cleanest and newest laundromats we have ever seen and had quite an enjoyable time hanging out.  Cole stayed behind a while to apply waterproofing to a couple of jackets that had been working a little less reliably.  All in all, this was a positive way to spend a morning.

Let’s carry on with Aadit now.  His story continued with the addition of Vedang who, after yesterday’s crash, was looking for a new wheel.  As it turned out, the damage to the bike was not fully able to be repaired and a whole new wheel was in order.  They started at the local Sunlight Ski and Bike Shop which was right next to the church we were staying at.  There, the team was able to find parts and wash up bikes throughout the day after we had spent all of this time in some dusty areas while riding the last few days.  For Aadit and Vedang though, this would not be the homerun just yet.  Instead, the mechanic at Sunlight said they should go check out another shop nearby and see whether they had a wheel that matched the specifications of Vedang’s bike in stock.  A little ways South, in Carbondale, Colorado, they found Aloha Mountain Cyclery.  Aloha was able to not only find the wheel that Vedang needed, but offer it to him free of charge!  This really was amazing because if not for here, we weren’t sure exactly what was going to need to happen to get Vedang back out on the road.  Thank you to the kindness of people in this country!

In the afternoon, Max, Vedang, Nishk, and Ehsan went to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  They went on rides, traveled up the mountain, visited a massive cave, and were beaming about their day when they finally returned to the team.  All that we saw on the outside was all that you will see here: fun pictures!  We’re going to have to ask them more about their adventures as a team over the next couple of days.

That was the high flying rest day activity, literally.  On the other side of town, Sam was taking a very different approach to enjoying Glenwood Springs.  He decided to spend most of the day at Iron Mountain Hot Springs.  This is one of the largest hot springs in the United States and it just so happened to be in our rest day town and about 1.5 miles from the stayover.  Sam said he had a really great time and definitely looked more relaxed after his time in the hot pools overlooking the Colorado River.

The rest of the team, Maaike, Tada, Lauren, Ren, Parker, and Anthony spent their days enjoying what the town had to offer.  Between shops, eats, and enjoying the surrounding natural scenery, they had a potentially less eventful, but also very enjoyable rest day.  Oh, and Lauren got new bike shoes! (Hers were starting to really fall apart.)

We are all ready to get back to riding come morning!

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Tada Wagner

How are you feeling today?  How was yesterday’s ride?

I'm feeling pretty good today. Yesterday's ride was very, very fun. I had lots of fun. The climb up to Independence Pass was.. probably my favorite climb of the trip. Great sights, it was challenging. I wanted to challenge myself, so paced ahead with the group, which was fun. Had an incident, but that's okay. Yeah, it was very cool. It's also really cool yesterday, not exactly cool, but when Ved crashed, everyone just on the team just like really locked in and got it done. Like, we made sure he was okay. Everyone just really locked in and made sure he was safe, which was really nice to see. Really showed how strong routine we are enjoying that.

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

Personal life improvements, just like holding a better routine and structure in my life, just like more empathy and willingness to understand people in different perspectives, which I think I've been doing a good job of.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

I’ve definitely gotten a lot faster than I thought I was capable of, cycling wise, like, especially with that climb. I realized that I'm a much stronger rider than I initially thought, and I've definitely improved since starting a ride, which kind of surprised me.

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

My hometown is Evanston, Illinois. Literally anything my mom cooks, bro. I can't eat this pasta and lentils anymore. Anything my mom cooked, like some homemade meal that my family made.

How is the ride progressing for you?

Really good. It definitely sucked when I was driving on the East Coast, because I didn't have a proper bike to climb. So, having a bike that I can actually climb steep like inclines has been really, really nice. So, the trip, I feel like after the Midwest and the East Coast has really improved, so I've been a lot happier.

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

I'm definitely still the obviously the van packer, but I think im definitely a middle ground for a lot of people. People come to me for, like, a third opinion, or just a middle ground to vent to, but also hear feedback from. So, I feel like it's kind of my role.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

Bro, lowkey, those chewy granola bars. I could eat like hundreds of those. I love those. The fruit smiles not so much, but the granola bars are my favorite

Day 39: The Highest We'll Ever Be - Twin Lakes, Colorado to Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Waking up and packing up the camping supplies for the first time was about half as chaotic as we expected it to be and probably still just as disorganized as those of you reading at home might imagine.  There was only one bent tent pole, one lost bike computer in the folds of tent packing, and one campsite awoken at 6 am due to our shenanigans.  Three things isn’t too bad, right?  Today we achieved the highest elevation that we will reach throughout our Summer travels, saw another amazing ski town, and celebrated one of our own!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 79.2 miles

Elevation: +3,612 ft. / -7,054 ft.

Points of Interest: Percolated Peaks, Independence Pass, Aspen, Vedang’s Birthday

Tales of the Trail

Wild fires and their smoke were still a concern today after watching the development of a large fire during the ride yesterday.  For the most part, the Southwest wind had continued overnight which meant that our route through the day was much clearer than it otherwise would have been.  Some of the smoke at this point was touching Denver where we had some friends reporting that they were seeing what we had observed from the day before.  At the campsite, there was a smoky smell to the air, but not enough to keep us from our ride, so preparations for pushing the pedals stayed underway.

On camping days, we have bagels and cream cheese for breakfast to keep the amount of equipment required to a minimum of one or two knives (well, spoons in our case… Why do we not have a butter knife or two? I do not know).  This would really be just the start of the breakfast hour because a little ways down the street, maybe 1 mile, there was a previous year Illini 4000 favorite and a neat stop spotted by the van crew when they went past the campsite the day before: Percolated Peaks.  With a sunshade hung between two VW Buses, the team sat down for coffees and some additional snacks before heading towards the headwall of a climb they had for the day.

Of the first 18 miles on the day, 15.4 of those were up a climb that covered 2,900 ft. of elevation gain.  The team performed valiantly with all 8 of the riders who started the day finishing at the top of the climb under no assistance other than their own bodies.  This crossing through the Rockies is known as Independence Pass and it reaches an elevation of 12,095 ft., at which point the oxygen-poor air can definitely be felt.  While climbing up the road, the views were some of the most incredible of the journey, a definition it feels like we are rewriting daily at this point, and the road a fun combination of steep ascents and switchback corners for both the riders and the crew in the van.

Once we had reached the top, there were other cyclists, tourists, and motorists who were fascinated by our team and cause.  It was fun to meet with people from a wide range of locations and hear how cancer and cycling had impacted their lives (for example, visitors from Colorado, Oklahoma, and more).  We spent time looking around at the top at all of the peaks in our sight including mountains La Plata, Star, Casco, and Ouray.  We marveled at one man carrying his skis up to go down what was left of the snow on the ridge and took many pictures of the team and individually at this milestone.

All of the rest of the day was downhill (there wasn’t much more up) and the next 19.6 miles of that was particularly rapid going from the top of Independence Pass down into Aspen.  There was an incident to note, but everyone came out alright.  About 1 mile down the descent, Vedang entered a series of a corners and took the last going just a bit faster than he bargained for.  This sent him into the gravel and down into a fall.  Our practiced safety measures worked with the van crew getting a satellite message and rushing to the scene to check on Vedang who was standing and walking.  We all were very worried about receiving notice of a crash on the descent, but Vedang did a good job to care for himself and then accept help when the team got there.  He also got back on the road later in the day!

As both teams continued down the pass, they held speeds similar to the cars on the road and enjoyed looking out at their surroundings without pedaling for miles.  Each time they did stop to allow everyone in their groups to catch up, smiles were painted across all faces.  Aspen, then, was home to the next rest stop.  We felt totally priced out of this town yet wanted to spend more time there because it was just so neat.  Bike shops, ski shops, a variety of food, the ski mountain right near the main street, plenty of cyclists, it was all happening in Aspen.  Before all of our money could be spent, we rolled out and rode on to our last rest stop of the day.  

At this time, those who were in the van with the addition of Vedang after the crash were trying hard to get Vedang back on the road to finish his birthday ride.  Yes, you heard that right, we have a birthday!  Vedang turned 20 today!  It’s not everyday that the Illini 4000 have a birthday during the ride and today was certainly a special one.  We were singing Happy Birthday throughout the entire day.  And… we were successful!  After a tire change, a stem adjustment, and then a wheel change, Vedang and his bike were back on the road and riding towards the finish in Glenwood Springs.

The mountains changed from the gray rock to which we had become accustomed, to red rocks giving an inspiring glow in the late afternoon.  When we arrived in Glenwood Springs, we had a stayover that had been reconfirmed after a lot of work from Nishk, showers secured through Ren calling the literal mayor, and a pizza donated to our birthday man by Rocky Mountain Pizza Company.  Until you ask, you’ll never know what you can receive.  This was a fantastic way to enter the rest day tomorrow!

Day 38: Catching Fire - Breckenridge, Colorado to Twin Lakes, Colorado

The air was clear in the morning, a little thin because of our elevation, but totally clear.  This would not be the case for the rest of our day.  We had been reading about wildfires in Utah over the past couple of days in anticipation of needing to enforce our no riding conditions for air quality as we moved further West.  Little did we know that our first encounters with wildfires would be on this day.  It made for an interesting end to the ride and really gave us perspective on what happens in these natural events and disasters that are not nearly as frequent in our homes.

The ride through the mountains was also spectacular!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 61.2 miles

Elevation: +3,719 ft. / -4,068 ft.

Points of Interest: Copper Mountain, Clinton Gulch Reservoir, Fremont Pass, Leadville, Mount Elbert, Mount Massive, Twin Lakes

Tales of the Trail

The way out of Breckenridge led us onto bike trails almost immediately which is always a sign for good things to come.  The temperature was chilly though!  It was a tough call on what to wear for the ride, but those who dressed a little on the warmer side were thankful they did after most of the ride to the first rest stop was covered by the shadows of the mountains and trees making things quite cold.  How much we were expecting to pull out the warm weather gear again, I don’t know, but this was also colder than I thought it would be.  The ride down the trails looking at the pine trees and seeing the backdrop of the massive ski mountains was really incredible.  The entrance to the rest stop, which was just a Conoco gas station, even had its own trail and bridge crossing the Tenmile Creek and overlooked Copper Mountain.  As if we hadn’t already had days in some of Colorado’s best mountains, this was adding even more.

Leaving that first rest stop and heading towards the second, we had to climb up Fremont Pass which would be the highest point of elevation on the day.  The climb from the rest stop to the summit at 11,330 ft. was over 10 miles, but most of the elevation gain was covered in the first 7.  For all of those on the road, this was a huge effort and a ton of energy burned meaning that refueling was important when we stopped next.  Before then though, everyone stopped at Clinton Gulch Reservoir where the view out to Fletcher Mountain was too beautiful to ride past.  Look at all the smiles on our faces (cover photo too)!

In Leadville, where we refueled our bodies, was where we saw the start of the Willow Wildfire which was already growing so much by the time of writing this journal entry that it is going to be very hard for crews to contain.  Just as we saw it though, the fire was in one relatively confined area with clouds of smoke rising up.  The wind direction was fortuitous for us because it was blowing the smoke exactly off trail and towards the Northeast.  Had this not been the case, the day might have had a much earlier ending.  Instead, we got to ride on and make it on two wheels to where we would spend the night.

Over this last stretch, we saw Mount Massive and Mount Elbert, the latter being the second tallest mountain outside of Alaska in the United States.  On the Southeast side of Mount Elbert, we took a turn to the West and towards the Twin Lakes where we would be spending the night camping.  At Whitestar Campground, we unpacked our bags and set up our tents (not before the van had gone to the next campground up the road and already started setting up… haha… silly Cole… it was kind of a miscommunication too…).  This was our first camping night!

Apart from some learning in setting up the tents that we have and getting the camping stoves running, we had a really nice evening on the campsite.  Some went to explore while others relaxed at the site and talked about the day or just looked off at the mountains beyond.  When we all came back for dinner, we were in great frames of mind having spent even more time than usual in and amongst nature.  Then, as the sun was setting we retreated into our tents and sleeping bags and hoped that the forecast of 30-degree temperatures during the night would not hit us as badly as our imaginations would dare think.

Tomorrow should also be a great day as we go up Independence Pass (not too long from Independence Day either).

Day 37: Another Cross-Country Cycling Team? Idaho Springs, Colorado to Breckenridge, Colorado

Today was an exciting day the whole team has been looking forward to for a while, some for the climb, descent, or beautiful mountains. Along the way we pushed ourselves further than we thought previously possible, had a ton of fun, and even met another cross-country cycling team!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 54.3 miles

Elevation: 6,114 feet

Tales of The Trails

Today was a very long but adventurous day with many surprises. We were all slow to awaken as nobody on the team was eager to leave our nice, warm, and comfy hotel beds. As today would be our largest climbing day we have potentially ever had on the ride up until now, everyone made sure to eat plenty for breakfast to fuel for the long day ahead. The weather was impeccable, albeit slightly cold for some of us, as we rolled out to a crisp 55 degrees. Our ride today kicked off with an impromptu rest stop at mile 4 for some coffee. Two out of our three teams decided to stop, while the other group powered on. This random stop was amazing for our spirits and even had the best gas station donut I have ever eaten yet on the ride!

Once we got back on the road we noticed that today would just be a long, considerably shallow incline. We would gain over 4,000 feet of elevation in a single climb, but it would be spread out over thirty miles. Our first rest stop was halfway through the climb on a random trail and this was actually where we first ran into another group of cross-country cyclists. They are all in a fraternity called Pi Kappa Phi, and interestingly enough they even had two riders from the University of Illinois.  Their group is called the Ability Experience and they bike cross-country to raise awareness and funds for individuals with disabilities. It is not everyday that you meet another group of people going through the exact same experiences that you are. As we exchanged stories we got to hear all about the similarities and slight differences we have had in our rides. For example, they are starting in San Francisco and ending in Washington D.C. After our small meet and greet we all rolled out to conquer the rest of the mountainous climb. 

Although most people were a little more quick to be out of breath and tired from the elevation, everyone was determined to make it all the way to the top. The rest of the climb was 10 miles at an average of 4-5% grade. Not steep enough to be impossible to climb by any means, but it meant we were in for a constant effort without being able to stop pedaling or coast. Every one of us who started the day was able to make it to the top of Loveland Pass, which was a great accomplishment for all of us. It is crazy to think that in so few days we were able to climb all the way to 12,000 feet. After this point most of our hard work was done. The descent was also well worth the wait. Although it was pretty windy the descent was on a nice wide highway without any sharp turns so the team was able to enjoy it. At the bottom our second rest stop was at a restaurant and we were all able to rest and refuel for the final 22 miles. 

This last stretch turned out to be one of our most scenic ones yet. We were solely on bike paths around a lake for the rest of the ride. You could see all the mountains in the background, and although we say every view is very scenic, this had to be one of the best backdrops we have ever had on a ride thus far. Parker, Aadit, Tada, and Ved even decided to take a fun detour down to the rocky beach to skip rocks and converse for a while. Some of the most fun that we have had during the ride has been in unplanned moments like these that just happen upon us. The rest of the ride from here on out was on one bike path until Breckenridge. This bike path was very windy, so it was very fun to speed down the path in a line as if it was a race. The rest of the bike to Breckenridge went by mostly without much to note. When we finally rolled into the stayover we were able to shower at a local YMCA before making our usual pasta and lentils for dinner. Biking back from the showers in normal clothes and flip flops is always quite a sight. Today was a longer day due to the climbs and random sidequests, so it didn’t leave us much time for random fun activities. After dinner we all quickly got our stuff ready for the next day and it was lights out before we knew it. In conclusion today was an amazing day which ended with everyone feeling accomplished and ready to tackle the day ahead of us. 

Day 36: Parking Lot Miles - Boulder, Colorado to Idaho Springs, Colorado

After leaving Boulder, as it turns out, the views only got better and better. What comes along with all this beautiful mountain scenery though is the climbing that goes along with those said mountains. But don’t worry, we will get our fair share of descents as well.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 46.4 Miles

Elevation: 4,929 ft.

Tales of the Trails

Today was a slightly less exciting morning routine as Cole, coming down with a sickness, would not be rolling out with the team today. He is taking a few days to rest, recover, and get back to feeling 100% before he will rejoin the rest of the team again. In other news though the team was both excited and a little nervous to get back to biking as today would be our first day entering a new “climbing phase” of the trip. This is the beginning of our actual climbs and we will be rather rapidly gaining elevation over the next week. On our ride today we ended 2,100 feet higher than what we started at. 

The entire day from mile 1 to the last mile was filled with beautiful views. The team was on nice paved bike paths for the first 10 miles out of Boulder. All of us noticed just how big cycling is when we got further into Central Colorado. All of the drivers seem much more comfortable driving with cyclists, and the cities are built with bikes in mind. It is always wonderful to be able to get out of a city on bike paths instead of having to take very busy congested roads. Once we got a bit further outside the city, we looked up and saw all the mountains around us. This however made us realize that at some point we would have to start going over them. Today was not quite the day. The climbs were definitely getting more significant though. 

After a gas station as our first rest stop at mile 20 the bike paths gave way to a highway and our 10 mile climb began. Our legs were quite shocked as we had gotten used to the flat roads of the midwest. We had trained for these hills back in Pennsylvania so pretty soon our legs remembered their training and we “flew up the hill.” These mountains are very different from the hills earlier in our ride. In the first few weeks all our climbs were usually less than a mile but very steep, whereas these climbs from Colorado onwards will mostly be longer but less steep. Biking through the passes in a couple days our climbs will range anywhere from 5 all the way to 25 miles. This being said the team was mostly very excited for this as huge climbs means that the scenery gets a lot better. Since we all go to school in central Illinois, the mountains are a very stark contrast from our usual backdrop, 

Our second rest stop was at the top of the climb. This rest stop was at a trailhead, but it was quite eventful. We met some runners on the trail in the midst of a 16-mile run. Speaking of running, Maaike, who was driving the van,  along with Nishk decided to run a mile in the parking lot. While Maaike had on running shoes, Nishk decided to ditch the bike shoes to run in socks. This was quite impressive to the rest of the team who was already a little tired from the climb. While everyone was getting snacks and more water we all lined up to cheer them on and give them high-fives after every lap. We rolled out soon after and the rest of the ride was some of the best scenery and roads we have seen in our entire trip in my opinion. There were so many rivers on the sides of the road and mountains in the background that it didn’t even look real. Around 10 miles until the end a bike path was closed and we had to call a city pickup truck to shuttle us about 5 miles. After this we rolled into Idaho Springs where a hotel graciously gave us two hotel rooms for our team to stay in. 

We rolled in around 2 pm, so the team was all able to go out to dinner together to get grilled cheese sandwiches. After dinner and showering the team all sat down to watch the original Illini4000 documentary from 2007 together. This was an amazing experience as we all got to see what the original team went through. Seeing how important the cause was to them all really shifted our perspective on the ride. We have always felt strongly about the cause and it has been really important to us, but the original team we could really tell it was deeply important. Sometimes we can focus on the biking a bit too much, so it is very nice to take a step back and reflect on the cause and why we are doing this. In other news, the team was very excited to get a good night's rest in a hotel bed instead of the usual sleeping bag on the floor. 

Day 35: Rest Day - Summiting the Flatirons

The team was quite split up today. Many people either had friends or family in town that they were staying with. Today also happened to be Aadit’s birthday! Those who did not have any friends or family in town all decided to go for a hike in the flatirons. The 2025 team had recommended the hike that they did last year and it was super fun. The hike was a 3.1 mile loop including an out and back. This could’ve been a quick hike, however we decided to take our time and enjoy all the views. As always we also messed around a fair amount and made our own fun adventures. 

As per usual on a rest day we were gladly able to sleep in as much as we liked. However, today we had a big group activity planned. Everyone who did not have any friends or family in Boulder banded together to tackle a 3.1 mile hike on the flatirons. We all excitedly piled into the support van and took a trip towards the flatirons. The mountains in the distance grew larger as we approached. Luckily with the support van as our vehicle of choice we were able to apply sunscreen, grab snacks, and fill up our water bottles for the hike. While probably being too cautious with snacks and water, we decided to err on the side of being overprepared. The hike started off relatively easy with a nice path that had a slight ascent. This whole hike was a great time for the team to hang out, bond, and talk to each other while having fun at the same time. On this first stretch of the hike some of our teammates participating in their own pushup challenge decided to get some of their pushups done on the first stretch of this trail, not without questions from strangers. The pushup challenge that some of our riders do is to complete a pushup for every mile of biking. A lot of them had to catch up from the days before since we had some longer days. 

Further into the hike we reached the out and back. This is when the hike actually got interested and transitioned from a paved path into a dirt path with rocks lining it. It was at this point that the group realized we were in for a very fun hike. As we got further into the hike we all looked up and saw a steep “wall” of rocks and boulders. The group had the same idea all at once: we should climb it. And so we all got on our hands and knees and scrambled up about 500 feet of rocks. As we all reached the “top” we looked up and realized that we had a lot more to go. This is when the climb got quite a bit more technical as we had to climb up actual rocks. By now we could see the goal and see the actual flatirons. The Flatirons that are on our hike are big triangular rock formations that stick out from the tops of the mountains. This is when we knew that our new goal was to reach the top. After messing around climbing random boulders half of the team decided to go back to the stayover to do laundry and other miscellaneous things while the other half of us decided to forge onward in hopes of reaching the top. The only problem with that was the four of us who kept going forgot to grab our water bottles from the bag that we had given to one of the people who decided to turn back. With 4 of us left in the hike, 1 water bottle between us, the hot sun, and at least 2 miles left we knew that it would be a challenge. 

The climb to the top proved a little tough in the heat but we persevered. We were able to make it as far as physically possible. In order to make it to the very top we would have needed actual climbing gear, so we decided that we would count it as the summit. The view from the top proved to be well worth our time and effort. With nothing planned for the rest of the day Parker, Nishk, Max, and Vedang sat at the top of the flatirons and just took in the wonderful view for an hour. It was very calming to be able to sit in nature without any worries. In a world full of constant distractions it was an amazing experience to be able to just enjoy the presence of our teammates without any other worries. Contrary to much of our previous life, none of us were on our phones at all except to take a picture to document the sights. 

After we had climbed down from the mountain we met up with the others who had turned back earlier at a laundry mat. The four of us went out to lunch to get pizza, one of the team's favorite meals so far. Although not quite as good as the famous New York pizza we remembered, any warm meal is definitely sure to satisfy our appetites. Once all of our planned activities were done for the day the team went back to the stayover to call family, look through packages we had received, and take a nap. Later into the evening Aadit, whose birthday it was today, came back to the stayover and it was a very welcome surprise. We all wished him a happy birthday and most of the team accompanied him to get gelato. The team sat outside and talked for an hour or two as we were blessed with the most beautiful weather outside. From all of our activities today the team at this point had gotten rather tired and wanted to make sure to get to bed early so that we had energy for the days to come.

Day 34: Clouds? Or Snow Covered Mountains in the Distance? Fort Morgan, Colorado to Boulder Colorado

This will go down as the last day of flat roads for a long, long time.  Boulder marks our last stop before climbing into the Rocky Mountains and even though this was a long day, everyone who was out on the road had a ton of fun with it.  The cow pastures and the wheat fields of Colorado will soon be behind us and this was their goodbye, almost making us be a little disappointed at what we were leaving in our rearview mirror.  The sights ahead have been pretty phenomenal though!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 94.9 miles

Elevation: +3,008 ft. / -1,977 ft.

Points of Interest: Rocky Mountains, Foothills, Flatirons

Tales of the Trail

As we rolled out of Fort Morgan today, we knew the long miles that were ahead of us, 95 of them, and yet that didn’t slow anything down or lower the mood.  Today was a day of all kinds of somewhat random events combining to make a day we could be satisfied with heading into the rest day.  Along that first stretch, the road was flat and the fields we had been used to continued off to the horizon.  Then, at the first rest stop, the team broke into what might become a favorite roadside snack: pickles!  As someone who is not a huge fan myself, it will be hard to write about the enthusiasm that was being exuded, but I will try.  The crunchy, salty goodness of the pickles and more importantly, the pickle juice was the perfect combination of flavors after a bike ride.  They were replenishing while not being sugary and that was a huge and welcome change.  The massive jar of pickles that we had lasted no longer than two rest stops.

By the time we were making it to the second rest stop, way off in the distance we started to see something.  Could it be clouds?  Could it be mountains?  The Rockies’ should be getting closer, right?  As we squinted off into the distance and realized that nothing was moving, the potential clouds were definitely the Rocky Mountains.  That was a moment to celebrate!  We could see where we were heading and no longer were our sightlines staring off into infinite plains, they were arriving at the magnitude of some of the largest mountains in North America.  As the mountains came better into focus through the stretch between our second and third rest stops, that made the riding all the more rewarding because every stroke of the pedals was some extra detail that you could make out in the distance. 

Speaking of the third rest stop… wow this one was great!  We had planned to pause at a Mexican restaurant and grocer called Carniceria La Mexicana and as the van crew were waiting there, they were greeted by a relative of the owning family of the establishment.  He had kind words for our cause and said that meals for each of us would be covered by him so long as we paid for drinks!  Again, the kindness of people in this country never ceases to amaze!  We sat down at the tables outside and ate to our hearts’ content.  There were now only 38 miles left in the day!

The weather continued to get warmer through the day and we could all see a large rain cloud forming in the distance over Denver from our respective locations.  As one team would come to find out, that storm would hit.  The odd part was how localized this weather event was.  The team up the road and the van never encountered any rain.  Maaike, Parker, Ehsan, Lauren, and Nishk were forced to find shelter at a gas station and wait.  This team, once they started rolling again, had one last trouble before making it to the final rest stop of the day and that was a chain drop on Parker’s bike.  Unfortunately, this was no normal chain drop.  Getting caught between the frame and the cassette, Parker’s chain was totally bent by the time they got to look at it on the side of the road.  A trip in the van was in order.

After all this, everyone on the road and now in the van reached Boulder, the sight of our rest day tomorrow and started to experience what we think of so far as a pretty neat town.  Packages came from family, friends, and online orders and everyone will have nice thoughts to go to bed to.  Some of us are even off with family and friends who live here in Boulder.  We will certainly get up to fun activities off the bike tomorrow!

Day 33: Is This Really Colorado? - Wray, Colorado to Fort Morgan, Colorado

This was our first day starting in Colorado!  Even though the landscape remained somewhat similar to what we had before, it feels good to say that we are really in a state of the West now.  We got a warm welcome last night from mother nature when she was pouring rain, sending lightning, and large hail hit towns around our area.  Luckily for us, the community center in Wray where we were staying had a cover for our van and we were not in one of the worst hit areas.  We did bike through some of them though.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 88.8 miles

Elevation: +675 ft. / -574 ft.

Points of Interest:

Tales of the Trail

As we started off this morning, the question was whether or not to wear a rain jacket.  Common sense would have said to take one because it was a little cooler and the chance of rain was saying that something could strike within the next hour, or well before we would hit the first rest stop.  I will spoil the news right now that if you had stuck with the belief to wear or carry a rain jacket, you would have been rewarded; however, the rain did not come until just before the last rest stop of the day.  Some of us gambled with the skirting rain and we were happy to not have the extra layer on.  All that it meant was that we were a bit wet and muddy once we arrived in Fort Morgan at the end of the day.

Moving through this part of Colorado, we saw a ton of cattle farms and they stretched as far as the eye could see.  There were hills in the distance that were grassy and some rock formations that were resembling something more out of the movie Cars.  The roads stayed flat and the headwinds remained subdued which was very friendly to our bodies.  Another friendly force acting on us was a strong brunch at a place called Mom’s Kitchen Cafe.  We ate sandwiches, fries, tons of soda, pies (even their famous vinegar pie), and burgers.  Honestly, a lot of us were feeling more lethargic after that stop, but a few miles into the next stretch, we were thankful to have full energy stores as we continued.  

By the third rest stop, we were entering a town that had been hit hard last night from the storms.  The roads had been flooded, trees were down or being taken down if they were on power lines, and the community looked to be out and supporting each other.  These sights made us grateful for the place we had to stay and the position in life that we are all in right now.  We would not want to be anywhere else and it feels good to be giving back to communities even if our rides each day don’t feel directly impactful.

The cafe there in Akron, Colorado was quaint and gave us all the remaining energy we would need for the last two stretches.  This next one was where the rain finally hit.  For a good 10 miles, we were in varied rain conditions and those who were at the back of the pack were not fond of all of the spray coming off of their forward teammates’ tires.  For the last rest stop by the side of the road, the rain had just passed and we had the chance to dry off over our last 18.5 miles.

Tonight we are staying at the United Methodist Church here in Fort Morgan, Colorado and we were able to have showers donated by the church over at the Fort Morgan Fieldhouse.  That is always a game changing realization to find out we have moved from not having showers to having them.  It is nice to go to bed clean!  We can feel the rest day coming tomorrow and are so excited to hopefully catch our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains as we go to Boulder!

P.S.

Lauren has a very hard tire to get off and back on the rim when changing a flat.  Also, Vedang made us do our best to take jumping photos which is why you will see a few.

Day 32: A Bonus State - McCook, Nebraska to Wray, Colorado

Before we rolled out this morning the team started the day out with a dance party! Afterwards it looked as though it would rain during the first stretch, but it cleared up. This stretch of the ride has been tiring for the team as almost every day from the last rest day to the next one has been 85+ miles. It isn’t all so bad though as today we had tailwinds most of the day and gained an extra hour as we moved into mountain time. We did not see any mountains on the ride today in our new time zone though, so those must be coming a bit later into the summer.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 96.1 miles

Elevation: +1,578 ft. / -1,171 ft.

Points of Interest: Colorado welcome sign, Kansas welcome sign

Tales of the Trail

Most of the day was spent on the same highway that we have been on for the past few days. The first stretch was a little rough as our legs adjusted to the bike once again after a hard 100+ mile effort the day before. The day went by smoothly though as with tailwinds for the whole day the team was able to cruise at a good pace without exhausting ourselves. It also helped that we had a very wide shoulder for most of the day, so we were able to stay in a tight formation without much worry of cars passing close to us. The day really flew by with not much to note until the final rest stop. 

Some teams went slightly off route near the last rest stop. We biked an extra 1.5 miles total to go see Kansas! While the sights of a new state were basically the same, the team was fascinated by the tiny bit of scenery that we got to see of Kansas. After this we got to add another state to the ride: Colorado! Every group stopped and took the opportunity to take plenty of photos. Colorado is exciting for the team as it finally marks, in our minds, the transition from the flat midwest into the west. While maybe not so excited for the climbs upcoming, most of the team cannot wait for the views and adventures to come out west. 

Once we got to the stayover the team almost instantly all went to either the hot tub or the steam room. Some opting even to take an ice cold shower afterwards. Hot tubs and such are supposed to be good for recovery so we are hoping our legs feel nice and fresh tomorrow. Today we decided to mix up our usual dinner of pasta in lentils and instead made pasta and black beans. (Yes, there is not much difference, but to us who eat the same dinner most days it really is a nice change of pace) After dinner some people on the team were still a little hungry and wanted a salty or sweet treat. Thankfully there was a 7/11 about a mile away that we were able to bike to. It was quite comical as on the way back we replaced our water bottles in our bottle cages with ice cream, sushies, pringles, and many more. It was a fun little side quest. Thank you to the WRAC of Wray Colorado for hosting the team, and letting us do our laundry.

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s rider: Sam Gerstein

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

Today's ride was good! It was definitely better than yesterday. I was thinking about this yesterday… I think that I'm kind of at a weird crossroads, you know? It's like, do you start out every day? Or do you take a break for a few days and miss out on riding and then come back full force? But then, also again, a week later, you're out. So that's like kind of the dilemma of having of like, okay, like, do I ride every day? Like, well, do I ride as much as I can? Like, part? Or do I like try and do a little every day? And to be honest, I don't really know the answer. I think that it definitely feels a little defeating because I know I can do it. My legs don't hurt. I definitely had muscular strength back when you last heard me. I think the issue was technique, which I think now it's gotten a lot better. I feel like at this stage of the ride, it's everything but the parts that matter but aren't directly involved in the cycling aspect are really difficult to try and cope with. So yeah, that's my take. 

I’ve seen you do some long full days and was like “Sam’s really going now.”

Yeah, you know, it sucks because I'm itching to  get back on that bike. I can feel endurance wise and physically in every other way, like in the ways that you think matter the most, I feel like I can operate back on the bike and be okay. It sucks when the limiting factor is not your physicality. 

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I think being able to be around people 24/7 is something that's been really challenging for me, at least initially. I think that the way that I tend to present myself… you put on a different face of yourself when you're interacting with people. That's just psychologically what people do, right? When you're with the same people 24/7, sleeping in the same room, waking up with them, going to bed with them, that's just not a sustainable personality to have. I want to make sure that I'm able to be someone that's sorted, someone that's easy to be around, having a sustainable output of energy that doesn’t mean I’m arguing with people every day. There needs to be a healthy balance. I mean, outside of I4K, my at home persona versus my with  friends persona? It's very different. It's vastly different, to an insane level. Like, I don't know, I'm kind of a weird person to live with. It's been weird trying to keep it all in to an extent of “okay, like, I need to be  normal.” Also, there are gonna be times where debates pop up and conflicts where I just need alone time.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

When I first was riding, I was terrible. If the roles were reversed and I was in a group with myself back then, I'd be like, “wait, this person should like not be on the trip.” I remember when we rolling into Milton, Pennsylvania, it was descents that were not that crazy. They must have been maybe 6% grades. And I would need to walk down the descent. I was scared out of my mind. I think now I'm doing a lot better. You know, I don't really have an issue with that anymore. I think my ability to be able to rough it up and not live the high means lifestyle that I did before I4K has been kind of surprising. This trip really does show you how little you need to live on and how little you need to function in your everyday life and almost in a weird way, kind of separate from material things too. When I walk outside, I'm just wearing a bib and a t-shirt and shorts every day. 

I definitely have really not been on my phone, really not been on social media. This has been kind of healing. I think it's really nice to  take a break from that. I think the one big thing that's been my main takeaway from this, which I don't know if I’ll necessarily say it was surprising, is that I feel like when you live in a society, when you come from an urban environment, that tends to be very upper-class, or at least middle-class, and they're kind of sheltered from what the rest of the country looks like, I think it was really surprising to me to see how similar people really are. I think that there's this common trope of people that are like not on the coast, like in the rural Midwest or the South, of being uneducated. And I think that that is, frankly, classist. I think that's a pretty uneducated take. I think that it's been cool to see how generic people have been throughout the trip. I wouldn't say that necessarily surprised me, but I think what surprised me was how much that really meant to me and how much that really warmed me up to these types of communities and potentially being a part of something like that.

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

I'm from Boca Raton, Florida which is in Palm Beach County. 

A little down south of Broward County, it’s a huge Hispanic-Latino population. They have these Cuban pastries. I forget what they're called. I think they're called pasteles, they're pastelitos. or something like that. They're like meat and filled pastries and there’s fruit versions. I think that would be really good.

How is the ride progressing for you?

It's going good. I think I'm still a little nervous about once we get into longer climbing days. I think that the endurance is there, at least. It's more about you really do need to build the mental acuity to go on a slow, steady climb for 12 miles, which I believe we will be going to Salt Lake City on that. I don't know, to me it sounds ridiculous. I think one thing that I'm really learning is kind of being blissfully ignorant about these things. I think that sometimes people get really wrapped up in the metrics of “it's like this percent grade,” or they're like, especially on the bike computer, you know, it tells you like when you have a climb coming up which is also not accurate in some ways. I think it can really mentally put you in a place that's just unhelpful to be honest. Sometimes, yeah, it's nice to know there's gonna be a day with a lot of climbing, but sometimes it's nice to be like, “I don't know and I don't care what I'm talking about.”

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

As you watch me wash dishes? Yeah, I'm itching to say dinner chore. I feel like in the beginning, I was kind of the jester. I feel like now, I think I'm a good socializer with the gen pop, you know what I mean? Even though you wouldn't expect me to be, I think that you guys are properly not. Sorry. I don't know. I'm one of the people that makes an effort to talk to the stayover, get to know a little bit about them. I think that would be my role: socializer.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

I mean there's definitely something sugary. Lately, I've been really liking the guava candy stuff that we have. No one eats it, but it's kind of fire. Those are great! I'm always pro gummy bear. I know those aren't really in the van right now, but I'm always pro gummy bear. Personally, when I find my own snacks, I kind of follow the Anthony diet with a ton of sugar. It kind of worked!

Day 31: The Second Century Collides with Rain - Kearney, Nebraska to McCook, Nebraska

Severe storm warnings?  Potential hail?  Flood watches?  Did we go and see if we could make it over 100 miles on our bikes today or shelter in the van and drive to the next location?  If you have learned anything about this team and the people that compose it through this first month of journal postings, you probably know what the answer to that question is.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 104.0 miles

Elevation: +1,650 ft. / -1,719 ft.

Points of Interest: The Final Casey’s

Tales of the Trail

In anticipation of the looming weather and the long mileage, we woke up very early today to evaluate how things looked outside and how the reports had changed overnight.  The morning was surprisingly clear, so at 6:00 am, just before the sun was rising, we started our ride.  Everyone was crossing their fingers that the rain, or at least the lightning which would prevent us from continuing until it passed, would hold off until at least the first rest stop.  Ren even had us singing “Rain Rain Go Away” in the morning circle to make sure we had tried our absolute best.  Sure enough, it did!  Barely.

We were all wearing rain jackets just in case the storms approached, but both teams on the road made it to the 18.5-mile mark without too many drops from the sky.  This would be the last of the dry for quite some time.  Anyone who was in the van went from being a bit disappointed for not being able to ride to actually somewhat relieved that they were not.  The rain came down strongly and being on the side of a busier road meant that cars were adding to the spray.  Being at the back of the group was far from favorable unless you had a strong aversion to drinking from your water bottle.  Then, you could have just as easily made up your water intake from the spray off of your teammate’s tire.  

For a while, the rain can be kind of fun.  It can cool you down while riding and it gives the tires a fun gliding sensation over the road.  Whether that second observation is placebo or not, we do not know.  Also, when the road is not filled with vehicles, you can hear the pitter patter of the rain drops on your jacket and the noise can be calming.  This lasts for somewhere between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on how cold it is and how waterproof your jacket is.  After this threshold, everything becomes wet and you really start to feel soaked to the core.  These were the thoughts going through our heads as riders today.  

Ten miles into the second leg, both teams made a quick pit stop at a Casey’s (of course) and met a friendly truck driver who said that he had tried not to spray us when he passed.  That was so nice to hear!  We all saw Maaike flagging us down another short while up the road and it was time for a second rest stop, this one much more wet.  The roads of Nebraska are much more similar to what we though the experience was going to be across the entire Midwest: very minimal gradients and mostly flat with the occasional hill scattered in.  For a long day like this, that kind of terrain is perfect for knocking off the miles.

At mile 64, the third rest stop was upon us and both teams spent some time inside to shelter and just get out of the still continuing rain.  There was a charismatic worker at the attached chicken joint and despite standing near the doorway on the mats dripping wet, everyone was extremely nice and welcoming.  An older gentleman came by and asked where we were heading towards next.  We found out that the weather near McCook had been much better than what we had just ridden through and that gave us at least a sliver of confidence that we may not end the day in the rain.  

The last rest stop was also the last Casey’s we will ever have a rest stop at!  For the Midwest children among us, that was devastating news,  and even for those who did not grow up in Casey’s territory, it is sad to see such a reliable stop say goodbye.  The sun even came out for us!  The last 25 miles of the day were getting warmer and no rain jackets were necessary.  By the time we reached the stayover, we were nearly dry, bar maybe chamois padding and shoes; however, there was a layer of sediment that had been thrown upwards with the spray from the rain that was just clinging to us and our bikes.  It took a long time to clean and bring our clothes and road machines back to a rideable state for tomorrow.

The crew in the van was able to help find showers in McCook at the McCook Community College and we had a donation of Subway sandwiches for dinner supplemented by the usual pasta and lentils.  To ensure we had a high enough sugar intake on the day, many of the team members stopped by The Scoop to grab some ice cream before the day really came to a close.  We are facing another over 90-mile day tomorrow on this long day stretch before Boulder.

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Vedang Mahajan

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

My quads are sore, my knees are not doing the best, but I think it was pretty fun. The ride today we got poured on, and there were doubts. We almost completely expected to be shuttling most of the day, but I think we got lucky. Despite the severe weather, despite the rain, we kept biking, and of course it was all safe, and we made it. It was big! It was my second longest ride ever, only after the 132 or something miles we biked out of Columbus, Ohio. I would say it was a great day and we were moving really fast. We had great fun, but not too much to see. We were on the same road the whole day, but it is what it is. I just cannot wait to get to Colorado!

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I wanted to gain the experiences that come by traveling across the country. I also want to become more resilient and stronger at biking. Also, I hope to find something we talk about a lot… “why we do this.” So, for me, it's also being able to tell these amazing stories when I go back, to just have a life well lived, to have done something extremely out of this world that not many people dare to attempt. I wanted to take on a massive challenge and the feeling of knowing that you did something that's really difficult is something that I would love to have after I'm done with this.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

I fully expected to not get progressively stronger every day because I thought that the toll of biking almost every single day would add up and would sort of destroy my legs. On the contrary, I feel like I have progressively been getting strong on the bike and that has definitely surprised me. Also, the way I look at mileages has changed so much now. 70 miles looks like an easy day, whereas 100 is like, “okay, you know, we're actually working.”

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

My hometown is Bangalore, India. If I could have any one food from Bangalore, it would probably be dosa. I last had it in New York City before leaving. I wouldn't want to eat dosa every day because it isn't exactly the best fuel for a bike ride, but I would love to eat that every maybe four days or something like that. That’s what would be nice.

How is the ride progressing for you?

I'm getting to know my teammates a lot better now that we're done with almost half the ride. Also, I feel like I've already seen so many things and have so many stories to tell from a few days that are extremely memorable. The one day where we agreed to sidequest at least twice per team. That's the day where we went five miles off route and saw an emu and other really interesting creatures on one of the farms on the side of the road. Those days like that are very memorable to me. Yes, in general, the ride is progressing very well!

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

I think that when I'm on the bike, I would say that I'm a very versatile rider. I know how to ride with all kinds of people. Some who are trying to go super fast on like a shorter day, or where they were trying to take it easy on steep climbs. I'm not really sure that I have a role as such, but I just help out everywhere I can.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

Oh! The waffles. The Honey Stinger waffles. Yes, those have been my favorite.

Day 30: The Same Road - York, Nebraska to Kearney, Nebraska

Ride Overview

After a very appreciative change in pace of tailwinds yesterday we were very glad to wake up to similar weather today. Today officially marks the first day of, while very gradual, our climb upwards in elevation gain towards the Rockies! Once again on the same highway as yesterday for the whole route we were definitely getting deja vu.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 84.1 miles

Elevation: 1,111 feet

Tales of the Trail

The team rolled out this morning to a crisp 59 degrees and sunny. Once we got on the road we realized once again that we were in for a treat as all 80 miles of our route today would be on the same highway we were on yesterday. Although there were a few complaints from the team all was well especially since we had plenty of room on the shoulder to bike on. When we looked at the route ahead of time it said that we gained elevation today, however while actually biking on the road it felt completely flat. If only all hills could be that way. 

With our team following relatively the same route for the midwest at least of the 2025 team, that means that we get the privilege of not having to scout out as many rest stops. For example, today the team was very excited for one of our rest stops being a coffee shop the 2025 team went to last year. Surprisingly our team is very different from what I've heard about past Illini4000 teams in that our team only has really 1 active coffee drinker; she even brought her own instant coffee on the ride to be extra prepared! Although it is very hard to pass up a coffee shop. Some non-coffee drinkers did not miss out though and got bagel sandwiches and other fun drinks. It is always nice to have a rest stop that isn’t just the side of the road or a gas station. (although don’t get me wrong, our team has been enjoying all the Casey’s we have been stopping at)

With today’s route having favorable winds and being flat our groups today were setting a respectable pace. This is until my group got hit with a “catastrophe”. Now of course this is a complete exaggeration, but at the moment it just seemed very comical and unfortunate. I, Parker, had the inevitable happen: a flat tire. In fact we were only 1 mile away from the second rest stop. A flat tire by itself is just a minor inconvenience that happens to even the best cyclists in the sport. However after doing the whole routine of taking the tire off, taking the old tube out, putting a new one in, and putting the tire back on I started to pump it up. I got the tire all the way up to 45 psi and everything seemed fine once it was on my bike. As I turned my back for one second to put my helmet on to get ready to roll. As I turned around not even 30 seconds later and my tire was completely flat again. And then in an insane turn of events this whole sequence happened again. I had to call the van while my team biked the 1 mile to the rest stop. While there I finally was able to get a new tube, that worked correctly, on my bike after an hour and a half of fixing a flat. Which so far is probably the longest it has taken anyone to fix a flat on the ride so far. 

As you can probably tell by the fact that I talked about a singular flat tire for a whole paragraph, today was pretty uneventful. After that whole debacle the rest of the day went rather smoothly. Even with that setback the final group was able to make it to the stayover before 5 which we were very happy with for an 80+ mile day. We were soaring on the (basically) flat roads which gave us plenty of time to relax, do laundry, and call our friends and family. For dinner we had sandwiches donated by the First Lutheran Church ELCA. After dinner it was nice to have some time to relax and not have to rush around for any deadlines. We had a lot of great conversations in this time reflecting on the parts of the ride that has happened so far and what is to come. This did not last forever though. With thunderstorms on the forecast for tomorrow the team had our earliest bedtime yet of 8:45. It was quite a weird feeling trying to go to sleep before the sun had quite fully set. We all went to bed not knowing what the next day would have in store for us, but just trying to get as much sleep as we could to prepare ourselves. 

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Maaike Niekerk

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

I'm feeling great today. I feel like today's ride might be the smoothest, easiest 83 miles I've ever done in my life. Good tail winds the whole time. The weather was pretty nice and we were just cruising; straight line the whole way. I had a very good day! We went to a fun little coffee shop and a Casey's. Any day with Casey's is a great day! Highway 30 was a little intense. Anytime we have heavy traffic, for sure, is a little bit of stress, but it was smooth sailing.

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I think more mental confidence in myself or more confidence in my mental health and knowing that I can do hard things like this will be awesome. Then, there'll also definitely be some physical confidence to gain once we get going on those mountains that are coming up soon. I think getting over those will be a huge confidence boost. Also, I'm just really excited to gain appreciation for more of the country. I feel like the U.S. was in a very weird space when I did the last ride [2024], because we were going into a presidential election. Even though that's not the case this time around, I still think we're in a kind of weird space as a country; a lot of disagreement, and conflict, and controversy. So, I think this ride will help restore some faith in the goodness of the U.S.A.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

That's a really good question, Jonathan! I think in a lot of ways, I think this ride has been mentally tougher than last time. I don't know if that's because of the leadership position or just because of where I'm at in life. I think I've surprised myself with my mental toughness and also my physical toughness too. It definitely physically feels easier than two years ago, and I think that's kind of cool. I think I've surprised myself with that and also just being a team player. I guess that wasn't a huge surprise, but I'm just happy that the team is gelling really well and I feel like we're all very focused on teamwork and team centered. So, I think that's cool.

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

My hometown is Champaign, Illinois. 

Lots of outstanding cuisine in Champaign. (sarcastically) I think if there's one thing I could have, my mom makes a really good apple pie, and I feel like we don't get a ton of pie along the way. We had one that was a little suspicious. We don't know where it came from or how old it was. So, that's been our one pie experience on the trip, and I think that a really good pie is awesome, and can heal anything. My mom makes the best apple pie in the whole wide world, so I think if I could have that across the country, it'd be awesome! That's what I've been missing.

How is the ride progressing for you?

I think it's progressing really well. I'll talk about myself, but I think it's progressing really well with the team. I think it's been really cool as the ride leader to just watch the team get stronger and also get closer in all sorts of different ways. I'm really proud of everybody. And I'm proud of myself too. I think the ride is going really well. I haven't had any really off days or hard days or anything like that yet, which I'm really privileged to be able to say. I feel very lucky and happy about that. I think it's a testament to how awesome this team is, and I feel like everybody's doing really well, so I’m happy.

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

Well, I guess, I don't know if you need to know this, but my chore, quote unquote for the audio… (I'm doing air quotes) My chore is like being the ride leader. Some people ask me what that is. It means I charge the Zoleo devices, I write thank you notes to our stayovers, who are really awesome, I help clean a lot of things, and I kind of just keep all of our ducks in a row and do a lot of coordinating and making game time decisions, as this team would call it. They really like the term “game time decisions” and that's kind of what I do. What I didn't expect and what the role has also become is kind of a motivator. I'm trying to be kind of a cheerleader while also drawing a line somewhere of “here's things we need to lock in on,” but also, “everybody's doing great.” This is definitely something to balance, but I think it's definitely a mental task to be motivating the people around me while I also need to motivate myself to get on the bike every day. I think I've been really trying to kind of mediate and really encouraging people to get on the bike, get out there, have fun, and have new adventures. I think everybody's capable of a lot more than they may think they are. I'm trying to provide that confidence boost as much as I can.

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

This is hard.. Mmm... Actually, maybe it's not. Well, two. The yoggies. Everyone was big on the yoggies. They're these little strawberry fruits covered in yogurt, like little fruit cubes covered in yogurt. Those have been phenomenal! They were gone very quickly. I miss them. They were very good. So I love those. Let it be known, I have loved yoggies since like 6 months ago. I think my mom might have been the one who put them in the van, but I don't know if it was her. Maybe somebody else put them in there. Those were great! I've been eating them for months and I had them in my apartment and I love them! They were great on I4K. The other answer I have… I have no clue where these came from, but from Hy Vee, somebody donated or gave us these: peanut butter rice crispy bars with a layer of chocolate on the top. They're so good! We finished them today and now I'm sad about it. They were hidden somewhere in the van, so only Lauren and I really knew they were there. Those were very good also. I'm a big peanut butter chocolate fan, so those are my top two. I couldn't pick between the two.

Day 29: Tailwinds Exist? - Lincoln, Nebraska to York, Nebraska

After a fantastic rest day in Lincoln, the rain paused its falling just as we were about to begin our ride on the first day of Summer.  Today was a short ride relative to our usual mileage and we had all the conditions working together to make this one of the more enjoyable rides in some time.  The weather was cool and overcast, the wind was at our back, we were all rested, and our bikes were cleaned.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 54.8 miles

Elevation: +1,059 ft. / -866 ft.

Points of Interest: Historic Haymarket, Pinnacle Bank Arena, Highway 34, Parade of Flags, Seward (not in Alaska), Runza

Tales of the Trail

Some of the bagels were left over from yesterday morning and supplemented by yogurt, kalachis, some of our usual oatmeal, and orange juice to cap off a complete meal for breakfast.  No one exited Saint Paul Church with an empty stomach and we can be sure that is exactly how they intended it to be after thinking back to our dinner with them just a couple days ago.  At the morning circle before our ride, we talked about the accomplishment of making it through the last 8-day stretch of riding which will be our longest continuous set of riding days throughout the entire Summer.  We talked about the upcoming mission which will include its own fair share of long and flat days moving towards Boulder where our next rest day will be.  Soon enough, it was time to roll out and on our way take in our last sights of Lincoln.

The route out of town included rolling through the Historic Haymarket district where some of us had gone to walk around and get food on our night of arrival and for the I4K Valentine’s dates yesterday.  We then passed the modern looking Pinnacle Bank Arena where the Cornhuskers play their basketball games.  After this, the day was not less enjoyable, but certainly had less active scenery.

From mile 5 to mile 50, we all rode along Highway 34 and had plenty of time to talk with each other before Tada (driving) and the van appeared in the distance.  Before the first rest stop, there was a scary looking bump in the road that everyone remembered because it ended up being more like a jump.  Some of us even thought about going back to go off it again now knowing the reality. Vedang and Nishk said they had a chance to look each other in the eyes midair.  At a barn on the side of the road, each team recounted their encounter with the bump turned jump.

The next span of road was about as you might imagine for a Midwest state: wide, flat roads, corn on either side, a train in the distance, and small towns scattered between.  One of those small towns, Seward, was home to the Parade of Flags memorial which was a neat place to get a picture and sign our team into the visitor log.  They also had a fun sign that told how far it was to Seward, Alaska, 3,446 miles if you’re wondering!  Since we had tailwinds pushing us faster than usual, we were soon enough at a gas station eating peanut butter sandwiches again.  We had some combined peanut butter and honey that was meant for the morning bagels but never used and that made for a fantastic lunchtime treat.

The three teams on the road had different vibes for the last stretch.  There were Aadit, Vedang, Nishk, and Parker putting the pedal to the metal and flying through the last 15 miles, Cole, Max, Ehsan, and Anthony enjoying time talking with each other and without a worry in their minds, and Ren, Maaike, Sam, and Lauren listening to music and absolutely all smiles.  We decided to meet at restaurants upon arriving in York.  Half went to the Nebraska fast food chain Runza which we rated as “quite good” and loved the $1 ice cream cones.  The other half went to a Mexican restaurant to fill up on what is possibly the favorite cuisine for refueling after a ride.

Eventually, we rolled over to Emmanuel Lutheran Church where we would be spending the night and set up camp.  Mind you, this was at 1 or 2 pm and so we had some time to explore.  Many went to the community center to swim and enjoy some resting hours and then it was time to head back for dinner which was so graciously offered by the church.  Tomorrow marks the first in a set of 5 days where none of the rides are under 80 miles and where 3 are over 90.  We are going to bring back the mentality we had before the 134-mile day and work as a team!

Cyclists’ Corner

Rider: Lauren Faber

How are you feeling today?  How was today’s ride?

I'm actually feeling really good today! It was a nice and flat day, and a shorter day, and those always feel good. When you get to the stayover, you still have so much of the day left to do whatever you want. I just got my new pedals and I would clip into them, so riding has been very enjoyable today. We also got music privileges and that's been very enjoyable! 

Note from Cole: Lauren’s bike got a lot of care in Lincoln and now it’s in pretty stellar condition which is making life on the road much nicer.

Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?

I think we actually spoke about this one, maybe the 130-day or so. One of the things I remember saying was, I hope to feel like I've made a significant impact on the world and on the cause. When we’re riding you kind of just get in the zone. We're just biking, but by the end I hope I feel a stronger connection to the cause and how what I'm doing is very important for people.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

I don't know if this is necessarily a surprise, but I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've been able to get along well with people who have such different backgrounds and such different ways of life. We were all kind of strangers in the beginning, and we're all more like a family now. 

I also definitely think being able to ride full days [is a good surprise]. I could never imagine riding this many days back to back. I've definitely gotten stronger and that's been pretty  fun to see.

Where is your hometown?  If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?

Well, this is an easy question… Hawthorne Woods, Illinois. 

Hawthorne doesn't really have anything, but if you travel a little bit farther, 15 minutes or something to Libertyville, Sushi Thai. It's a family favorite. They have the best crab rangoons I've ever had in my life! I've tried looking at so many different restaurants and ordering crab rangoons at every single one, giving them a chance, but they have never been as good as the Sushi Thai crab rangoons. I wish they were at every stayover.

How is the ride progressing for you?

It's definitely been getting better. I think having that difficult start and route at the beginning was weighing on my mental, but it's been getting flatter and I've been getting better. I think the terrain changing has definitely helped. I think it has gotten easier, so I feel better. I've been having fun! I think I've been getting a better mentality recently. I think I was very stressed and overwhelmed at the beginning with the weather, and the hills, and new places, and new people, but I've been getting the hang of things.

What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?

The only thing I can think of is I can bring some comedic relief to the team and I think I'm kind of fun. I feel like I enjoy looking for things to do when we get to the stayovers even when most of the time it doesn't actually follow through. I like suggesting places to go and trying to make a plan to explore the city that we're in. 

What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?

Well, I was a fan of Cheddar Jack Chees-Itz. And... Costco little chocolate chip cookies that are chewy. I can just eat those like chips, so those are the best!

Day 28: Will You Be My Valentine? - Rest Day in Lincoln, Nebraska

With a morning full of silence and sleeping in, the team slowly awoke and got ready for the day. On our usual rest days everyone is free to go wherever they want without a schedule for the day. Unlike the usual rest day, today was a day full of bonding and having fun with our teammates. After everyone got breakfast, a smorgasbord of leftover breakfast from the day prior, we all began to get our stuff ready for the adventures that awaited us on this very special rest day. 

What is special about today is that we all will go out to explore Lincoln with our “dates.” Today is our very own I4k valentines day. Although we aren’t celebrating on February 14th, everyone on the team got randomly paired up with a partner they had to go on a “date” with. These partners were chosen randomly and gave everyone a chance to get to know each other better and converse 1 on 1 with someone they might not always get the chance to. We knew who our partners were a couple days in advance, so everyone had looked ahead to make plans for what to do in Lincoln. Some of these plans were foiled due to inclement weather and had to be changed on the fly. The team all loaded into the van to get dropped off to different places around the city. Here is what our “dates” were doing today: Parker and Ren went to lunch at Runza and then to the Museum of American Speed, Cole and Ved went to a fancy italian restaurant for lunch, and then also went to the Museum of American Speed, Anthony, Max, and Ehsan also went to the Museum of American Speed, Aadit and Maaike went to play dinosaur themed indoor mini-golf, Sam and Nishk went to an indoor gun range, and Lauren and Tada went on a cave tour and the botanical gardens. As you can probably tell most of our groups ended up at the Museum of American Speed. This was completely unplanned, but a funny coincidence as we all saw each other there. Some of the groups had planned to go kayaking or other activities, but decided to go to the museum instead because of the rain. 

After all of our dates, all the groups who went to the Museum of American Speed, and the group from the indoor gun range decided to walk over to a nearby bowling alley. After looking at the prices of bowling and also seeing that the bowling alley had laser tag, we decided to go a different route. We decided to play 2 rounds of laser tag, the first being free-for-all and the second being teams. This ended up being one of the highlights of the day as the team took this game of laser tag very competitively. In round one Anthony took a dominating victory by a wide margin. In round 2 we decided to do teams, but we had a few other random people joining us. We decided to split the groups into: a team of 4 of us, a team of 5 of us, and the family of 6 who decided to play laser tag with us. This second round somehow was even more tense than the first. After everyone had realized how seriously we were taking the game, it was as if the teams turned into navy seals. The teams moved as a group and came up with elaborate strategies of how to win. When the lights turned off and our laser guns stopped shooting we knew it would be a close race for first. The scores were released and the group of Max, Anthony, Nishk, and Ved had won with only a margin of 1,000 points over our second I4k team. Funnily enough, both I4k teams had gotten over 10k points more than the family of 6 and everyone had an amazing time. 

After this the team was a little worn out from the headed laser tag games, so we all went back to the stayover to relax for a while. Before this however, we made a detour for a quick stop at a Trek store in Lincoln. This is where we had our best bike shop encounter yet. The mechanic there recognized our group from last year and was very excited to work on our bikes totally for free! He was even able to give one of our riders new pedals. He was amazing, and we left the bike shop wishing that he could come along on our journey as our mechanic. (Sorry to the two team mechanics, but this guy was amazing) When we got back to the stayover, everyone had miscellaneous things to do, some cleaning their bike, getting dinner, and messing around having fun in the gym. While we don’t have room to pack a whole lot of “for fun” items in our bag, a couple of us had packed tennis balls. In the evening a few of us had decided to make up our own games that only needed a tennis ball, a basketball hoop, and a wall. What we spent most of our time doing was trying to throw a tennis ball in the basketball hoop from full-court. On I4k we have learned more how to entertain ourselves and have fun without phones or other distractions. It feels like being a kid again, as we could be entertained for hours with as little as a tennis ball. As the team began winding down in preparation for the days of biking ahead a few of us made a late-night dominoes run before bed. As it turns out pizza is actually quite decent fuel for the night before a long bike ride. 

Day 27: The Largest Candy Store in Nebraska - Omaha, Nebraska to Lincoln, Nebraska

Although we know that it won’t last forever, today was a good addition to the lower mileage routes through the Midwest.  Right before a rest day, this was definitely appreciated for both our minds and bodies.  Despite tackling some roads with higher traffic since the Omaha to Lincoln connection is well traveled, we were also able to mix in some bike trails near each of the cities and the day turned out to be quite a good one.  Look forward to reading about our rest stops and the amazing stayover that we arrived at on the other end!

Ride Overview

Mileage: 58.1 miles

Elevation: +1,479 ft. / -1,515 ft.

Points of Interest: Baker’s Candies, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, St. Paul United Methodist Church

Tales of the Trail

The roads and paths out of Omaha were enjoyable for the way in which we felt like we immersed ourselves in some of the neighborhoods of the city.  This was similar to when we were leaving Iowa City and were able to see a bunch of different neighborhoods as we exited.  On the bike trails here, we were able to see how the houses changed styles and sizes the further we traveled from the heart of the city.  We passed friendly cyclists and runners out for their morning workouts or strolls and were able to hit a few parks along the way.  Green space right next to a bike path as opposed to just being adjacent to a highway is certainly a much nicer feeling.  The group of Anthony, Ehsan, Max, and Cole even took a detour at Ehsan’s request to travel some of their miles around a lake. 

 By the time we were getting back on the actual roads, we were awake enough to notice that the naming conventions out here have become much less creative than in the East.  Instead of Maple Street or Melrose Avenue, the names have now been 526th Street or Y Avenue.  It does make navigating quite simple from a bike because you know exactly which direction you are heading and how far, but for the spirit of naming enjoyment, we feel there needs to be a spark of change.  Anyways, enough about this point.

Up next and just off of another bike trail was our first rest stop: a diner!  We met a local cyclist who encouraged us before heading off with a friend of his own and then we were ready to eat as many calories as our bodies could fit.  Breakfast, sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, it was all being ordered and all so tasty after just about 20 miles of riding.  The teams sat and ate their feasts and were feeling very good about the day ahead.  Back in the outside world, the weather was changing, but we’ll spoil it now that the rain, or more aptly, shower, did not last long. 

What is that just around the corner?  Route 6, of course!  Despite the bustling highway the team was, as always, grateful for a wide shoulder. This next stretch of the route the team was very excited for as we had heard our second rest stop of the day would be Baker’s Candies. It is a 6,000 square feet store filled with as much candy or soda any human could ever want. With over 1,000 different types of candies and over 200 different bottled sodas the team definitely had some tough decisions on what to buy. Either way a candy store was the perfect rest stop for us as the sugar gave us the boost we needed to finish the day. 

Whenever we got to the stayover the day was just beginning. After we arrived at the stayover we were provided a wonderful chili dinner by the people of St Paul Methodist Church. Today was full of surprises but the best one is yet to come. After dinner one of the church members took us upstairs to the top of the church which had a very beautiful dome on top with bells inside! We were already amazed by the beautiful sight, but it got even better. The guy from the church pulled out sheet music that he wrote himself and started playing Oskie-Wow-Wow (a fight song from the University of Illinois) for the whole town to hear! For the last surprise he let our whole team try and play the bells ourselves. Maaike even got to play her very own rendition of Oskie-Wow-Wow on the church bells. A lot of us less musically gifted were also able to play a scale and some slightly less technical songs. Overall this was an amazing experience that we were not expecting at all. This is the beauty of participating in Illini 4000. Every day is an adventure and you never know what surprises are in store for you. As the team goes to sleep tonight I am sure we will all be thinking about what adventures tomorrow holds.

Day 26: A New State for Everyone: Nebraska! - Atlantic, Iowa to Omaha, Nebraska

Today, we continued following Route 6 towards Omaha and Iowa gave us a fitting send off for what was a very enjoyable state for a lot of the riders.  We challenged roads of various terrain, tackled some more rolling hills, crossed the Missouri River, and made it to a state that not one of the riders on the team had ever been to before.  Particularly, compared with yesterday, this was a day to remind us that the time on the road can still be fun and enjoyable.  

Ride Overview

Mileage: 66.8 miles

Elevation: +3,868 ft. / -3,940 ft.

Points of Interest: Iowa/Nebraska Border, Looking Up Sculpture, Omaha, Discovery Playground, Old Market

Tales of the Trail

Immediately coming out of Atlantic, the team hit a gravel road that had some climbs and descents that got a little spicy.  We thought we were in for a rough day if this was just the prologue for the rest of the route.  Luckily, everyone made it through the more challenging terrain without an issue (not to say there weren’t issues later, but here we were good).  Actually, this is where we had some of the best and most expansive views throughout the whole ride.  Cutting across this way to the highway we eventually got on was worthwhile not only for the view, but also for the lack of other vehicles.  We encountered many more of those today.

Back on Route 6, we settled into formation in the shoulder and got ready to hold that for the next 60 miles until we reached Omaha.  Riding this way is definitely not a favorite because of the quicker traffic and having to stay in a sometimes bumpy or debris filled shoulder, but it does beat taking gravel or dirt roads all day and detouring to add many more miles to our already long routes over the Summer.  Route 6 is not a bad place to watch the miles tick by either.  It is a historic road after all!  (The white paint on the telephone poles made this road somewhat different and special compared with any other highway.)

Throughout the day we took a total of just two rest stops which kept things moving along quickly.  In between them, the group with Parker, Anthony, Tada, and Max had some incidents with Parker doing a backwards summersault (totally okay now though) and Anthony falling while attempting a 1-footed track stand.  For the remaining riders on the road, it was business as usual.  The landscape was staying mostly the same as it had been the last couple of days and the winds were nothing brutal, so that made the ride feel pretty routine.

The real stories today come once everyone made it near, or close to Omaha.  The team with Aadit, Nishk, Ehsan, Ren, and Cole did a ton of side questing on their way to the stayover!  First up was a stop at a running track next to the bike trail where a race between Nishk, Aadit, and Cole went down.  The one lap was close, but Ren saw Cole cross the line first.  Somewhere, video footage exists as evidence, but we won’t show that here.  Then, it was off to the edge of Council Bluffs where at the Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, this team and the others (who were ahead) took a stop to look at the Omaha skyline and the Looking Up Sculpture by Tom Friedman.  We had to take in our last views of Iowa before crossing the Missouri River into Nebraska.  On the bridge, everyone stopped to commemorate the moment.

Once they were in Nebraska, that adventuring team got right back into it.  They stopped at a water feature to cool off and have some fun.  While they got totally soaked, the water did help wash some of the grime from the wet roads of the day before from their frames.  Then, there was a park adjacent to a science center called the Luminarium with some amazing, winding metal slides at the top of a jungle gym that they had to try.  A few odd looks from some of the kids, but smiles and words of encouragement from the parents meant the task was doable and it was worth it.  Those slides were awesome!  To make this time wasting all worth it outside of the fun, they made a final stop at a bike shop to pick up some parts that will be needed further along in our Summer journey.

After dinner at the stayover, most of the team decided to make a trip into Old Market, Omaha since the evening was still young.  We found vintage stores, candy shops, ice cream, arcade machines, and enjoyed having some time to explore the city.  (Omaha was another place that ended up being larger and more lively than we could have imagined.)  Since there was a Cheesecake Factory just a mile from the stayover, Maaike and Aadit made this a mandatory stop on the return trip.  Shortly after that, it was time for rest and getting ready for the last ride before our upcoming rest day in Lincoln.

Day 25: Headwind Monster - Des Moines, Iowa to Atlantic, Iowa

Precarious morning weather conditions put us in a position of questioning whether we would make it to our stayover in time today. We did. Battling through the strongest headwinds of our whole trip the team powered through when times were tough. This is saying a lot since yesterday we had the shorter ride into Des Moines and our bodies were feeling the most rested they had been since Chicago. 

Ride Overview

Mileage: 86.6 miles

Elevation: +3,205 ft. / -3,093 ft.

Points of Interest: Rolling Hills of Iowa, Bike Path out of Des Moines, Casey, Casey’s, Adair Water Tower

Tales of the Trail

As you heard from the introduction, today started off with some decision making. Last night, we had been watching the weather and trying to determine what the morning would have in store. Thunderstorms was the answer. Luckily, our ever brilliant ride leader Maaike had the foresight to push the alarms back (all the way to 7:45!!) and gave us plenty of time to sleep. 

It was quite jarring to not start our day of biking until 9 in the morning instead of the usual 7. Although definitely necessary as we were able to let the thunderstorms pass before we headed off on the bikes. With mostly everyone donning rain jackets it looked as if rain was on the forecast, however we stayed dry! With a late start to the day and headwinds throughout, we knew that it would become a long day of biking. Throughout the whole day though the whole team’s spirits were still high as we kept trucking along. We had a few hiccups throughout the earlier parts of the ride. Some of the bike trails we were on had been closed, and a few others were very muddy. This became a slight problem for some of our riders who have rim brakes as the mud gunked up their brakes, which took a little bit of time to clean off. Some of the riders enjoyed biking through the mud as we do not get to off-road very often. One of our riders did take a tiny fall in the mud, but everyone was okay. 

After this the team got to the first Casey’s rest stop of the day. Which by now has become kind of a staple rest stop for us as they are all over the midwest. At this Casey’s we met two very interesting people: a librarian who got to do a portrait with half the team and was able to tell us all about the kids in her life who have been affected by cancer, and a father and son from Norway who are biking, on a motorcycle, from Boulder, Colorado (which we will be arriving to soon!) to the east coast. The team split in two with about half deciding to go talk to the librarian for a portrait and the other half deciding to stay at the gas station to get food, rest, and converse with these bikers. I was part of the group who stayed and talked to the bikers so I am unfortunately unable to regale the portrait, but I am sure that it will be uploaded to the website to be able to be viewed later. The two bikers were awesome though and even let me sit and take a picture on their bikes! It was so awesome to talk to the dad who was telling me all about the ironmans he has done in the past. (triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run) This is very convenient as I, Parker, have always said I would love to do an ironman at least once in my life. By now we are very prepared for the biking portion, and a few of my teammates and I always joke about doing an ironman together next year. We will just have to see where life takes us. While not a crazy long triathlon, our ride today being an 85 mile long day in headwinds definitely wore out the team. 

 The rest of the day was full of headwinds, a few gravel roads, many cows on the side of the road, and an undefeatable human spirit. No matter what the day was looking like or whatever happened our groups were determined to stay in the moment and just focus on what they could control. As it got closer and closer to sunset our groups were still racing against time, and the wind. Eventually one of the groups made it to the stayover at a YMCA. The other group however did not make it in time before it started to get dark, so they had to shuttle. While a little disappointed with not being able to finish the ride, everyone was very proud of the effort they put in and what everyone was able to accomplish today. We definitely went to bed with a sense of camaraderie knowing that we all were able to push ourselves today. Now we will just have to wait and see what tomorrow has in store for us. 

Cyclists Corner

Rider: Aadit Kolar

How are you feeling today?

Yeah, I mean, not the best, you know. We weren't able to finish the ride today because we had a lot of mechanicals along the way. That's always unfortunate, and the headwinds were killer today. But you know, we're on this ride to collect portraits for the Portraits Project, and I was super glad to play a part in getting the team or giving the team the opportunity to hear from a wonderful librarian today, who told us about three people she had taken care of that had passed away from cancer, and it was, it was really beautiful hearing from her, and I'm really glad that we got to do that, was definitely the highlight of today

Is there anything that you personally think or like hope that you'll gain from the ride?

From the ride, I was hoping to get better at working with people and being close with, you know, 12 other people in a tight knit group, that we're like working hard every day, or biking hard every day, but also having a lot of fun. It's definitely kind of a trial by fire, because you know, interpersonal issues get magnified when people are tired, but I think it's been great so far. Teammates and I have got along really well, and I'm super glad for that. We've been really bonding well, so that's something that I was hoping to gain out of the ride, is a sense of the ability to form community with people that are very different for me, and I've so far have been doing that.

How have you surprised yourself since New York City?

Kind of in the same vein, honestly, I was scared going in that we would be at each other's throats by now, but people have been great at communicating, myself hopefully included, and I think we've let our differences make us stronger instead of letting them divide us, and I'm glad for that.

Where is your hometown, and then if there was food from there that you could have with you in every town during the ride, what would it be?

Yeah, I grew up in Bangalore, India, the state of Karnataka. It's the fourth biggest city, I believe, in India. Beautiful place, and if there's something, some food I could have from there would definitely be masala dosa, is what we call it there. It's kind of a crepe, I guess you could call it like a savory crepe with potato filling. We actually had the opportunity to try it in New York, some of us, I think Lauren did, so that was really special to be able to share that with people.

How is the ride progressing for you?

Pretty solid. We're on day 25 today, I believe, of 77 so we're a third of the way through the ride. Yeah, pretty much exactly. It's been really good so far. I'm really glad I got a bike fit, really glad I got a bike fit. I was really worried going in that I would get injured, because I have a tendency to get injured pretty easily, but luckily my body's been holding up. I've been feeling pretty good every day, and I've been very grateful that you know I've been able to ride almost every day in good physical condition. So yeah, it's been going good.

What do you think your role for the team has become, regardless of what chore you do?

That's a good question. I like to think I help support the team. I know I'm not always the best team player, but I try to try to lift people up when they're feeling down.  I hope I've been able to do that so far, and I like to do that in the future as well.

What has been your favorite snack in the van so far?

That's a good question. It has to be the baked goods that the churches and the beautiful communities have been able to donate to us along our way. It's not just the snacks themselves, but the care that they're made with, and the generosity that people have shown us, that has definitely made them special to me.