Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 11, 2005

Kankakee, IL
Today we departed Chicago from the UIC campus who graciously provided us with beds, a luxury we always look forward to during any stay. The road out from the city was a difficult for everyone. Our two van drivers for the day, Jenn Sciarps and Jessica DeLeon, had to escort all the riders for 20 miles for our safety. The road condition was very poor and it seemed like someone was always calling out road hazards: potholes, manhole covers, grating, broken glass, bumpy roads, etc. The yelling died out toward the end of the escort because either the riders lost their voice, or simply grew accustomed to dodging the hazards. We pulled off at a Burger King for a bathroom break and actually ended up with a donation of 10 Whopper combos for lunch, but more on that later. The escort finally stopped at the first water break well outside of the city limits.

Some riders wanted to continue immediately, but I enjoyed the break and rode out with the last group. The road up ahead seemed rather docile to the riders in that the shoulder was kind, cars gave us room, and it was smooth blacktop. And then we reached US 45…

I think the truckers in Pennsylvania and Ohio going 60+ mph were less scary than the cars and the road on US 45. First, there was no shoulder. This always causes problems for the riders because then we have to be watching closely for holes in the road because if something comes up and you’re not ready for it, you’re going down. That happened today in my group when there was a car radiator laying right in front of us and we had to swerve into the road to avoid it. I called it out, but it was hard to hear and the last rider fell to the ground. Thankfully there were no more cars coming from behind that may have made it much worse, but it still isn’t fun. Next, the cars that were driving behind us would not give an inch to us. They blew by at 45 mph many times just a foot away from us. It took 100% of my concentration to stay in a straight line, keep a steady pace, watch out for road hazards and call them out, all just to avoid the traffic there because of the heavy commercial district.

Back into the country on US 45, I was able to relax a bit. The traffic died down, and there was a decent shoulder about half the time. Though there were still a few potholes to avoid, at least the cars gave us 4 or 5 feet of room on average. The lunch break was a few miles past the town it was supposed to be in, so I was thrilled to see the group sitting on grass and in the shade with food in hand. Out come, among other things, the 10 Whoppers that were donated back in Chicago. A few were eaten, two were left, but 6 mouths still wanted some. One was passed around and everyone took a bite out of it until it was gone. Then the last one was put through the same circle, only this time people were supposed to take as large a bite as possible. Weijie started it off, but his bite was rather small and thus weak. Around it went, Aaron took a huge one near the end, Mark was next in line, and Trang just devoured what was left handing Mark just a pinch of bread. Needless to say he wasn’t too thrilled, but we laughed when it took Trang a few minutes to finally swallow. If someone had a bout with mono during the trip, the entire team would be wiped out.

I tried to nap at lunch, and opened my eyes to some ominous clouds overhead. Most groups had left, mine departed soon after. It was about 20 miles into Kankakee on a relatively straight and flat road, but the wind basically sucked. It probably added 45 minutes to the ride because it was 1) very strong and 2) directly in our faces. I basically accepted the fact that it would be a long ride, and then I was able to enjoy myself riding in our group two-wide on the shoulder when there was room, talking, laughing. We stopped to take a picture of a rainbow about 2 miles south of us from the rain clouds. It spanned quite a distance, not very high, but fat and wide, and even touched the ground on both sides. It’s the little things like that rainbow that make the riding memorable day to day.

Arriving at the YMCA in Kankakee and finding showers that sat next to a hot tub was simply amazing. It was one of the best showers we’ve taken yet and coming to it at the end of a very hard and windy day was gratifying. Afterwards, we headed to the First Presbyterian Church for dinner where they had a fabulous dinner waiting for us. We loved the variety of the food and all ate so much that we could barely move afterwards. The desserts also disappeared rapidly. Following the meal, we took our bikes to the local high school for the Kankakee Relay for Life. We were able to ride our bikes around the track once and after introducing ourselves, passed out our brochures as well. The Relay participants were very receptive towards us and gave us a warm welcome. We stayed until the Luminaria ceremony, which was inspiring in reminding us of why we are doing this ride and all the other people out there who have been afflicted by cancer. It was a great way to end the night as we get ready for a long day tomorrow!

David, Cheng