72 days of cycling, working for a cure

72 days of cycling, working for a cure

Hitting the Pacific Ocean, Brad Topol, senior in engineering, was as far west as he could go. After bicycling for 72 days, Topol and the other 20 members of the Illini 4000 team finished their cross-country journey from New York City to Seattle, Wash... <more>

72 days, 4000 miles, 1 cause & memories to last a lifetime!

Hello again! As promised here is my ride wrap-up, something that I’ve been putting off in part because writing this brings to reality the fact that the ride is indeed over. It’s been exactly two weeks since I said goodbye to my Illini 4000 teammates in Seattle, 14 days that have seemed like months and years as I miss them so much. For 72 days they were my family, our daily destination my home and we got up each morning and rode our bicycles. It may sound strange to say I feel homesick but then maybe that makes sense after spending 72 days with such an amazing group of people. Disconnected from the so called real world for sometimes days at a time it didn’t matter the day of the week or what the weather might be, braving the elements we got on our bikes and pushed through it together.

Since returning home I’ve often been asked the ever so popular question “How was your summer?” Impossible to sum up in just a few words I often find myself at a loss for words and reply amazing or awesome neither of which can really justify just how incredible the experience really was.

Starting in Central Park that chilly May morning with the Atlantic Ocean to our east we got on our bikes and pedaled through cities and over mountains, on back roads and highways. We laughed and cried and laughed some more growing as a team with each passing day. While I was reminded of the reason in which I was riding every day as I put on my (ever so wonderfully smelling) Illini 4000 jersey, it was the people we met who grabbed our hearts with their stories and brightened our days with their kindness and enthusiasm that made the hard days so much easier. There were days where the climbs seemed to last forever. Days where a lack of sleep and aching legs made me want to stop to nap or walk, but onward we went; rejuvenated by the thoughts of those affected by cancer, the sight of tippy hill signs and the sound of a teammate whistling or singing a silly song to take our mind off the task at hand. From the busy city streets of New York City, Philadelphia and D.C. to the rolling green hills of South Dakota. Over the Big Horns and Rockies, westward to the Pacific and north to Seattle, it wasn’t always easy, but it was an amazing summer that I will never forget.

I realize that not everyone has the luxury or means of taking 72 days to cycle across the country and hope that through our stories, photos, videos and blogs we were able to share our journey with those following along both near and a far. The support of so many people made the ride what it was and to them all I can say is thank you. From family, friends and alumni to generous strangers who so kindly opened their homes, places of worship and schools to provide for us, giving us food and donating however they could to the cause for which we ride, thank you – you’re amazing!

The memories from those 72 days will last a lifetime, spent with friends I will never forget. I can’t even begin to list the memories from this summer, but am reminded of them each day in some way or another. Onions will never be the same, as I learned this summer they are much more than a vegetable you grow in the garden. Sixth grade boys may not be able to cross state boundaries but with their moms permission can lead you in the right direction when you get lost. It’s amazing how a 120 mile day on the cue sheet can be shortened to 80, thanks to one special rider playing a joke on teammates! Bugs CAN find your ear canal when riding down the road, however thankfully come out with a few drops of water! From using plastic bags as rain jackets to eating blackberries off the side of the road, cold nights in Yellowstone to the mosquitoes of Wisdom, Montana. Ice cream circles, fiestas and mustache Montana. Christmas in July, Panera Bread, warm springs the list goes on forever!

We talked with numerous people touched by cancer this summer whether it was while touring hospital oncology units, sitting down in Portrait Project interviews, attending Relay for Life or the Northwest Cancer Summit! Together these experiences provided us with a small glimpse at the lives of those affected by cancer, with people telling us their stories of struggle and hope. The ride may now be over with everyone having gone their own ways, but the cause is still there and I know that as long as it is The Illini 4000 will continue to do its part in the fight. I’ve been asked numerous times to compare this summer’s ride to last and while I could I’m not sure that would be fair as while both were similar they were also quite different. Like an infant in its first year of life the Illini 4000 has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, learning through experience to build toward a future that looks quite bright.

Looking back on the summer I have to say that this may just be the most amazing team I’ve ever been a part of and I’m truly proud to have been a member of it.

I4K 2K8’ers I miss you! Thanks for the memories!

Mini update!

It's been awhile! I haven't put together a final post yet as I want to let things sink in a little more and maybe write some post for all the weeks I missed before I post my final recap, however I know people have been patiently waiting for updates so I thought I'd say hello and let everyone know that I've made it home safely. So far I've moved and uploaded my photos (it looks the same just a different link address - with a lot more photos), I'll be adding video and filling in some blogs from my journal throughout the coming days so check back often as I'm not done yet!

I4K'ers - I MISS YOU!

Packing up

I woke up this morning with the mindset that it was just another rest day – which it was. Kind of. Those of us staying in the Chabad house were up at 8:30 a.m. and headed up the street to the AEPi house where we met the male members of our team and headed out on our final bike ride together making our way to downtown Seattle where the University of Illinois College of Medicine was hosting a brunch for us at a rather fancy restaurant called Campagne. The food was an amazing spread of egg casserole, fruit, organic yogurt and granola with enough food to send everyone out the door full. After leaving the restaurant we gathered in the street near Pike Place Market for a final team photo before exchanging hugs and saying goodbye to our teammates who were leaving from the brunch. A group of us headed a few blocks north to Olympic Sculpture Park where a press conference was suppose to be held. We waited in the park and then waited some more and finally took a group photo in front of the fountain before departing as the press forgot to show up! Nick, Dana, Rachel, Andrea and I all headed back to 21st Avenue NE (our stay over location) passing by Seattle’s Space Needle on the way. Back at the Chabad house Andrea left to spend the afternoon with her mother and Dana and I each spent about an hour re-packing our bags in preparation for our flights home tomorrow. I then journaled for awhile before heading out on my bike to explore the streets of northern Seattle stopping at Tully’s to buy a Green Tea Mango smoothie and then finding a shady spot on the University lawn to sit, relax and journal some more! (It’s been a busy few days and I have a lot to catch up on!) Around 6:00 p.m. I headed back to the Chabad house just in time to say goodbye to Brad and Yiming who were both getting ready to leave. Andrea, Dana and I sent them off by chasing the Topol’s car down the road waving to them! We then walked up to the AEPi house to see what our teammates there were doing for dinner. We ended up walking to the QFC grocery store with Allen managing to take the long way there, as we walked almost a mile when the store was actually just down the hill from where we were staying. I bought Ritz crackers and cheese for dinner along with peanut butter cup ice cream – the dinner of champions! On our walk back we dropped Andrea off at her mom’s hotel and then went to the AEPi house to dine. When we finished eating Jon and I began the daunting task of unpacking and repacking the support van. Doing this involved taking everything out of the van, sorting it into boxes that would be taken back with riders as checked baggage and securing everything with tape to ensure it all made it back safely. Around 1:00 a.m. Praveen and Dana joined in the packing party and by 2:00 a.m. we had everything sorted and the boxes ready to be tapped shut. I fell asleep around 3 a.m. to get three house of sleep before getting up at 6 a.m. as that’s when we will begin shuttling people to the airport in the morning.

Seattle = check!

Distance: 85.10 Time: 7:03:29 Avg: 12.0

Seattle! After 72 days on the road we arrived in Seattle, Washington today riding to the University of Washington and then Magnuson Park where we were greeted by family and friends.

The day began in Yelm where Pastor Gerry at Emmanuel Lutheran Church got up early to make us pancakes before sending us on our way. We all sang the 12 days of I4K for the pastor before Jay gave an amazing Mosher speech inspiring us and reminding us of how far we’ve come in the past couple of months. Nick then had everyone take a McDonald’s toy from the briefcase John and Allen had given him yesterday to attach to our bikes. I took a TailSpin toy of Kit in his racing plane and attached it to my handle bars so that my bendy Uncle Sam was hugging it. We then rolled out of the driveway of the church with roughly 70 miles separating us from a toilet paper finish line in Seattle.

Less than three miles up the road Amy got a flat and John, Connie and I pulled over to wait while she changed it. When she was done the four of us continued on until meeting up with our amazing morning van drive Allen Tran around the 20 mile mark for our first water stop. We grabbed a few handfuls of Fruit Loops and other random cereals that were in the snack door, filled up our water bottles and chilled for a few minutes with Jon, Nick and Brad before continuing on. Jon, Nick and Brad shortly caught up to us and rode we all rode the next 20 miles to lunch in Kent as a group. About two miles before lunch Kit tried to make a Dinosaur Dave escape, jumping out of Uncle Sam’s arms when I hit a bump crossing a bridge. Thankfully he bounced backward and not into the water below allowing me to rescue him and secure him inside my jacket pocket until we reached lunch. Lunch was in the parking lot of Safeway in Kent. There we met up with Mr. Ger who had kindly offered to drive the second part of the day thus allowing everyone to ride into Seattle together including honorary I4K 2K8 member Allen. We feasted on leftover toasted cheese sandwich from the night before along with the traditional peanut butter and jelly one last time. I reattached Kit to my handle bars this time with a shoe lace to prevent any further escapes in the busy Seattle traffic. Brad copied down the directions for Mr. Ger and by the time we were ready to leave lunch Nick’s bike was covered in toys all taped to the handle bars, seat post and fork.

We had about 20 miles to cover before reaching the University of Washington where we were meeting at the fountain before riding to Magnuson Park together as a team. I rode with Jon, Nick, Brad, Allen, John, Connie and Amy after lunch and as we got closer and closer to the city we could see the Blue Angles flying overhead as part of Seattle’s Summer Celebration. This celebration added a few complications to our route as a few of the roads we were going to follow were closed. After navigating up and down some rather steep hills we met up with a friendly biker who worked at the University of Washington and kindly led us the final few miles to campus and the fountain where our teammates were waiting. We had Allen take a few team photos in front of the fountain before getting back on our bikes and beginning to make our way toward Magnuson Park. The Burke-Gilman Trail took us the majority of the way from the University to the park, although getting into the park after getting off the trail proved to be a bit confusing. Once we finally made our way into the park we turned to the left and could see the orange and blue colorful Illini banners along with our family and friends gathered alongside the lake. In two lines we made our way down the sidewalk and toward the crowd where a toilet paper finish line was stretched across the sidewalk. As we approached the line Jay made a sprint for the finish crossing the line and breaking the toilet paper. About 20 people had come out to show their support for our team and their warm smiles greeted us along with two picnic tables of food! We took a few team photos in front of the lake before making our way toward the food tables covered with Pizzas, salads, veggies, fruits, chips and much more. Jill from ACS in Tacoma, WA was there to show her support on behalf of ACS and thanked us for what we had done while also reading some cancer statistics. Jon and Nick thanked everyone for coming out and Matt’s parents made a surprise presentation of t-shirts with the slogan “We Did It” to all team members! After about an hour of mingling with the crowd we packed all of the left over food into Nick’s father’s car and got back on our bikes to ride to our host location near the University.

The girls are staying at the Chabad House while the boys are only a few blocks down the street at the AEPi Fraternity house. It’s rather weird to be separated after spending 72 days together but in two days we will all go our own ways which I know will be an even bigger change. When we arrived at the Chabad house the Rabbi gave us a tour of the house after which we unloaded our bags from the van and said goodbye to Xixi as she has opted to forgo the Chabad house and stay with her parents at their hotel. After unpacking our bags we took advantage of the facilities offered to us and showered! It feels nice to be clean again although I still seem to find dirt that’s permanently attached itself to my legs. There are six of us staying at the Chabad house tonight with Amy and Xix both doing their own things. When we were all nice and clean Dana, Andrea, Yiming and I headed up the street to the AEPi house to see what the guys were up to. We found them gathered around a large screen television watching a movie ready to celebrate our arrival in Seattle! I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch watching television. Around midnight I woke up and found most of my teammates downstairs celebrating. Still overtired I walked back to the Chabad house and went to bed. I’m a tired girl.