06/03/2026
Illini 4000 Bike Team is on a mission to bike from New York, NY to San Francisco, CA in 79 days. Starting on May 22nd to Aug 8th. Thirteen bikers have a goal to raise awareness and funds for cancer research and patient care. On Monday June 1st, the bike team stopped in Zanesville to spend the night at Bethel Community Center in the Putnam neighborhood. Welcoming the group were Bethel Board members Beth Newland and Amy Hursey and Zanesville Mayor, Don Mason. The Bike team members are all college students ranging from 19 to 30 years old. Mason spoke to the bike members asking about college programs. Biker, Lauren Faber said she is a Junior in food science and shares discussions with other bike members about food choices. The team requested a spaghetti dinner and Lauren said that pasta is a carb rich food that provides the bikers with energy. Olive Garden donated the spaghetti meal including salad and rolls. The students have a wide background. Mayor Mason spoke with bike member, Ehsan Homace who said he is from Iran and studying to be a Bio Physicist. Newland asked the group why they chose to complete this trip. Maaik Nickert replied (on video) that most of the team have a reason that involves a family member with cancer. She stated her reason stems from a love of cycling, love of cause, and love of people! Ren Goodfriend said (on video) said her grandpa died from cancer and she wants to learn how to talk about cancer while supporting a sport that he loved (cycling) and the cause.
Illini 4000 requests to hear cancer stories from the communities they visit. During the spaghetti dinner several members from Zanesville shared their story. Kathy Campbell who worked as the Program Coordinator at Bethel told the group that for her, cancer is NOT a “Journey” because for her family a journey is something fun to be an adventure. So Campbell labels cancer as a “Fight.” This is her second bout with colon cancer. She is an Air force Veteran and takes on cancer as an enemy. She stated that “the thing about cancer is that you can have it for a long time and not know it.” Tom Newland also shared his cancer story that involved several skin cancer removals and two episodes of lung cancer. He said the “number one thing about having cancer is not to worry about it because worry can kill you faster that any disease.” Oncology Specialist, Katie Huber, agreed that a person’s positive attitude has shown to be important for healing from cancer. She added that her job involves collecting cancer data from Muskingum County which is reported to both state and national data bases. She said that cancer is growing more widespread and includes all ages. In her own life she has made significant lifestyle changes to reduce the chance of getting cancer.
A member of the bike team asked what impact poverty has with cancer patients. Katie said that our community has much poverty and patients may struggle with getting to their appointments due to the high gas prices. Their phones may not work so the appointment reminders are not received. Kathy’s doctor recommended a certain prescription, but her health plan did not cover it. She became an advocate for herself and asked the price of it as a “cash payment” and was able to purchase the drug at minimal cost.
As the evening went on, bike members prepared for the next day. They cleaned their bikes, sink washed some clothes, planned the route, while a couple members did push ups (one for each mile rode that day). They will be up before dawn and pedaling to the next stop in Columbus. Visit the Bethel Mission page for more information about the bike team.
