Day 10: Fayette, OH to Elkhart IN

Tuesday, June 8

By executive order of our leadership team, we were expected on this 90-mile day to mess around more. Apparently the goofing off quota was not being filled in recent days, and we had to make up for lost time. We would be biking in three states today, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, which gave us our first opportunity: ridiculous state sign pictures. Riders climbed on the post signifying entrance into Michigan, stripped off jerseys and ran into the fields, biked mistakenly the wrong way, and generally held a poor work ethic. Further down the road was a house advertising free kittens. That’s right. Aside from the chickens, dog, and rabbit, there were adorable tiny balls of fluff that riders held, cuddled, and tried to smuggle away in jersey back pockets. In accordance with our theme of hooliganism, we also stopped at a hunting store. We tried to pick appropriate souvenirs from among the rows of crossbows and firearms. One rider secured a donation of one arrow while others liberally applied camouflage face paint.

We realized we had traveled maybe 15 miles in about 2 hours, so we decided to actually start biking (I know; who does that?). We soon left Michigan and entered Indiana, where we again stopped to take pictures of our state sign shenanigans. At mile 60, we were met with a lunch of McDonalds [Quick shout-out: this McDonalds allowed us to order anything we wanted. 5 McFlurries? No problem. Happy meal? Sure thing. We had so much food it was ridiculous], Taco Bell, and Subway. After quickly stuffing our faces (and powernapping), we hit the road again. Around mile 75 some rain hit us hard. When biking in groups in the rain, the water from the back tire of the person in front will spray back and soak the riders behind. Because of the physics of bike tires (it’s all very complicated stuff), there is approximately a 100% chance of the water spraying directly into the face of the person behind you. We withstood the storm, though, and made it into our gracious hosts, who met us with bike mechanics offering pro bono tune-ups, food, hot showers, and more food.

One story from today stood out. One of the van drivers, while searching for the post office, explained to a random passerby what we were doing. She told our driver to come back after she stopped at the post office. Upon her return, this lady donated to our cause and gave our driver a blanket (as it was cold and rainy). Random deeds like this occur with regularity on the 4K, but they are each immensely appreciated and a pleasant addition to our day.

-Kevin Cochran