contributed photo The first few Illini 4000 bicyclists stop and take a moment to document their arrival in Marshalltown. They showed up Thursday afternoon from Cedar Rapids, stayed the night and left this morning for Des Moines.

The New Hope Christian Church was a restful haven for 18 bicyclists on Thursday. They spent six hours biking through the hottest part of the day, traveling a route from Cedar Rapids to Marshalltown.

The bicyclists, hailing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), are part of the Illini 4000 organization. They are on a quest to bike 75 miles per day across America to raise money and awareness for cancer.

After their overnight stay in Marshalltown on Thursday, the group biked to Des Moines this morning. To ensure they cover at least 75 miles, less-traveled roads make up the routes between towns. The participants began the journey in New York City on May 28, will cross a total of 16 states, and will finish in San Francisco on Aug. 12. So far, they have raised almost $65,710.

Bicyclist Kathryn Choate, 19, had never been to Marshalltown and was in charge of finding a place for the group to stay the night.

“I reached out to New Hope and they were accommodating. They said they would host us,” she said. “It’s a lovely church. They’ve been very welcoming.”

It was also a relief as Choate said they rode through temperatures of 90 degrees during some parts of the trip.

“As a team, we all try to motivate and support each other so we can get to the end,” she said.

Choate just graduated from nursing school and will begin her new job after completing the ride.

Fellow bicyclist and Illini 4000 President Patrick Jamison, 22, said this was his first visit to Marshalltown, and he thoroughly enjoyed his stay. Not only did they get a free place to sleep at New Hope, but also a free showing of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

“The people here are very generous,” he said. “Any town that offers to let a group of 18 strangers stay for free is great. Pretty positive view of Marshalltown so far. People who saw us come into town were asking questions and cheering us on. It’s been a great experience.”

The ride has been a long-time goal of Jamison’s. Having family members struck with cancer, he joined the cause in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the ride until now.

“I didn’t know how to ride a bike until joining Illini 4000,” he said. “I just wanted to do it. It was explained to me the reason we bike is the mental and physical fatigue of riding 75 miles per day is the closest you can get to what a person with cancer experiences every day. It is just a fraction of what they deal with. It’s sort of in solidarity with those who are currently fighting or have fought cancer.”

Jamison just graduated with a degree in supply chain management.

TO DONATE:

People can visit www.illini4000.org to donate for cancer research, and to follow the group on their ride across America. Funds will be given to organizations such as the Prairie Dragon Paddlers, a nonprofit focusing on creating a community for breast cancer survivors and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.