Another way of proving we are better than Purdue...

Purdue’s Grand Prix doesn’t even compare to Indiana’s Little 500 (this is an undisputable fact).

SHIRT ORDERS!

If you would like to order a shirt please do so ASAP. They are all due tomorrow by 3 p.m. Please email iusaa@indiana.edu or bwathen@indiana.edu with any questions. You can pay with cash, check or credit.

Crew necks $10 and V-necks $15

Individual Time Trials on Wednesday!

Hey Fans!

Thanks for all the amazing support you gave us on Saturday. Thanks to you all we are in the top half of the race. We will have a pit in turn 3 (the turn on the back stretch closet to the entrance) and our jerseys are yellow and orange (easy to spot).

This Wednesday is Individual Time Trials! This is a four lap individual time trial. It begins from a standing start with one rider in each turn. All the women vets, rookies and alternates compete to determine the fastest women in the Little 500. All 6 of our riders will be participating!

6:05 p.m. Danielle Thoe
6:35 Morgan Smith
6:55 Helen Han
7:05 Kelsey Holder
10:25 Laura Bliss
10:45 Megan Caldwell

Also the Alumni Association took some great pictures of us in our kits last week that you can see above. Again we want to thank the Indiana University Alumni Association and Student Alumni Association for all their support. We promise to make you proud on race day and as Alumni!

Qualifications Coverage

RideOn was featured in photos, videos and results published by the Indiana Daily Student over the weekend. Check it all out!

Check idsnews.com all season for up to date race results and multimedia or follow ids_litte5 on twitter!

UPDATED Quals Results

RideOn just qualified with a time of 2:59:49!! That is good enough for 16th place out of 33 women's teams. Great ride to Helen, Megan, Laura, and Kelsey!! No faults & lots of speed.

Delta Gamma (2:44.76) took the pole for women, while Sigma Nu (2:25.91) took the poll for men. The rest of the race results can be found at the IDS website

Fan Shirts

You have until March 31st to get your fan t-shirts for RideOn. There are two styles both pictured below. The crew neck is $10 and the v-neck is $15. You can pay with cash, check or Visa. To order a shirt you can stop by the Alumni Center on 17th or you can contact either Blake Wathen bawathen@indiana.edu or iusaa@indiana.edu or any of the riders!! GET THOSE ORDERS IN!!!

QUALS!

Hey All! Just a reminder that our qualification run is tomorrow at 12:40 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Wear any SAA shirt or red to support the team. We will be unveiling our new cycling kits and the team.

The final quals order is Helen, Megan, Laura and Kelsey! Can't wait to see you all there!

Presidential Seal of Approval

In 2008, Barack Obama stopped by the women’s race during a trip to Bloomington. 

T-Shirt Time

Members of the Little 500 Committee will be selling RideOn t-shirts through March 31st. The designs are shown below. The crew necks cost $10 and the v-necks cost $15. If you would like to buy one, please contact a committee member (or, if you do not know anyone on the committee and would like to buy one, comment on this post and I can get an order form to you :) ). We will not know the colors of the shirts until after Quals this Saturday, but they are going to look really awesome!


  

It's Time!

It's already Thursday?!? Man, this week has flown by…

When you're nervous about something, isn't that what usually happens? It's like time speeds up to the point you just want more time to prepare for.

With quals on Saturday (which everyone should attend, by the way) we've been at practice doing one lap and an exchange over and over again. This is the most important spring series event, considering we will be able to choose our pit. Little 500 season is officially upon us.

Final Quals Line-Up: (and in order of appearance)

Helen Han

Megan Caldwell

Laura Bliss

Kelsey Holder

Let's go get em girls!!

After-party

After the first Little 500 in 1951, rioters at the Varsity Villas overturned cars and set them on fire. This led to 400 arrests. 

12:40 p.m.

Our Qualification time is 12:40 p.m. this Saturday March 26th! Be there to watch us Qualify for the Little 500!!

Countdown to Qualifications

Before we are officially allowed to compete in the big race on April 15th, RideOn (and every other team) must qualify to participate. Qualifications, the first of four spring series events prior to the race, are just under a week away. T-minus 6 days! Next Saturday, March 26th, is the big day!

We have Monday through Thursday of this week to perfect our exchanges, chisel down our lap times and mentally prepare for total domination. The past month and a half on the track and the countless hours of training will all culminate next weekend.

Along with ultra-intense training this upcoming week, we will also be doing our fair share of carbo loading. You should all join us in the fun on Friday, March 25th at the DeVault Alumni Center for our RideOn Pasta Dinner. The whole team will be there signing autographs, so get excited!!

Here is an outline of the official rules for Quals. (More detailed information can be found in the 2011 Little 500 Team Manual.)

Qualifications will take place at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The attempt will consist of four consecutive laps, with each designated rider riding one lap. Team qualification times will be determined by a drawing supervised by the Little 500 Cycling Committee.

Upon being instructed to take the track, the number one rider will complete one warm-up lap, and upon crossing the starting line the official timing will begin. After one lap, rider one will exchange the bicycle with rider two. This exchange must take place within 16 feet of either side of the starting line (a total of 32 feet). White lines will mark the exchange zone.

In making the exchange, rider two must be in complete control of the bicycle before the rear wheel crosses the second line indicating the end of the exchange zone. In order for the judges to determine that rider two is in control of the bicycle, it will be necessary for rider two to have sole possession of the bicycle within the exchange zone.

Rider two may not touch the bicycle until the front wheel crosses the first line of the exchange zone. Rider one may not touch the bicycle after the rear wheel of the bicycle has crossed the second line of the exchange zone. Either infraction shall result in a foul.

In the case of a full bike exchange (2 bikes involved), the receiving rider can place his/her bike against the first line of the exchange zone. The rider must stay stationary until a "tag" is executed by the incoming rider. The incoming rider, including bike, must be stopped by the second line of the exchange zone. Failure to do so will result in a foul.

The same exchange shall take place between rider two and rider three, and rider three and rider four. When rider four crosses the finish line, the checkered flag will be waved and the team's qualifying time will be final unless the attempt has been canceled.

The thirty-three teams and their order of starting position will be determined by the official time of the qualification attempts. Ties will be decided by the first team to record that time in the fewest attempts. In the event that a qualified team is disqualified or withdrawals, its position will be considered vacant and qualifiers in lower positions shall be moved up accordingly.

Hopefully that paints a pretty clear picture of what to expect on Saturday. Tomorrow night we have a meeting to find out our assigned qualifications time, so stay tuned for that information. We'd love to have your support while we attempt to qualify!

#RideOn!

Thirsty Thursday

We gazed out across the surrounding trees and rocks. No urban life could be seen or heard. Only minutes from the city of Bloomington, the four of us stood transfixed by the beauty Indiana hides within its muddy woods and ever-going hills.

We had accomplished our mission: see Rooftop Quarry, the quarry made famous by the movie Breaking Away.

On Thursday morning, Megan, Laura and I followed Helen south of Bloomington to find the quarries. Helen, a townie herself, had been to the quarry before and vaguely remembered the paths. Danielle's knee had been hurting from her injury last year, and she opted out of this ride.

After a steadily uphill ride, we rode into a neighborhood and stashed our bikes at the end of a dead-end rode. Trudging into the woods, we found the quarries.

Megan immediately exclaimed, "That's the rock they jump from in the movie."

She called her parents to tell them the news.

Laura began planning good angles for photos.

Helen stared in her humble way.

And I sent a picture text to my parents:

breaking away :)

The view easily made Thursday's ride the best of the week and topped any alternative spring break plans we chose not to participate in.

We were looking at a piece of a legend. Rooftop Quarry plays a role in the lives of Bloomington daredevil-ish kids. Teens skip classes to hang out and jump from the tallest rocks into the green, garbage-filled water. The quarry shows the relation between townies and IU college students in the movie Breaking Away. Its personality weaves in and out of Little 500 history.

There we stood, becoming links in this history.

Immersed in the culture, I realized I am part of Little 500.
Ride On is a new piece of this legend.

Turkey Tuesday

After Monday's adventure of a road-ride our team was confident that we would have a Trouble-free Tuesday, but apparently not confident enough as Tuesday turned out to be an EPIC Heroes’ Journey tale, filled with 12+ hours of team bonding, flats, and new friends.

Part I: Towards the Deer

Tuesday started out pretty cold and rainy, but with hopes of clear skies and dryer pavement Helen, Laura, Megan, Kelsey, and I began our own two-wheeled journey. Our ride started off well enough, the rain stopped falling and the sun even attempted a cameo, but about 8 miles out of town the adventures really began. After spotting some unusually red-colored deer lawn ornaments we decided it was imperative we take a picture with them.

But first, I had to get off my bike. See this was my first time riding with clip-less pedals and I had yet to take the mandatory first timer spill. So, while coasting to a stop and desperately trying to kick either of my heels sideways I eventually lost all momentum and fell sideways. And because my bike was still attached to me I was stuck on the side of the road, upside down, with my bike literally stuck on top of me. Awkward. If you can’t imagine that sight, Laura was kind enough to capture a picture:

Dead Danielle

Once I untangled myself we walked across the street for a photo op with the beautiful deer:

Deer, Megan, Danielle, Helen, Kelsey, Deer

Part II: Homeward Bound?...Eventually
A couple miles after our deer sighting we decided to head back to campus for some lunch before spending the afternoon at the track. With the many flat areas on our ride we decided to take turns leading a paceline. All went well for about six miles before a rough patch of Indiana asphalt took Kelsey’s tire. We stopped to switch out her tube and found her tires near-impossible to remove or put back on. Approximately a half-dozen tire levers and 20 minutes later we were all set to get back on the road…and then Megan looked down. Yepp, Roger with another flat.

Laura, bike doctor.

And while I'm not suggesting couples therapy, maybe Roger’s continual flat issues are just calls for attention. I mean, it took Megan 20 minutes to notice he was flat, talk about complete disregard!! Anyhow, we were in for another tube session. At this point a men’s Little 500 rider drove by in his car to pick up his teammate stranded w/ broken derailleur. He offered help, but we kindly turned down his offer, as it was just a tube. It was just a tube, but of course we managed to put a hole in it, this may or may not be attributable to Laura’s strategy of tweeting while tube-changing. With no patch kit and no more tubes on us we were in a bind…until this same rider drove back past us with his teammate. Feeling like idiots, we flagged him down to give Megan and Roger a lift back to campus.

Megan, obviously assisting Danielle with Roger

At this point Laura and I had been stopped and hunched over in the cold and wet for over a half-hour. Being tightened up and conveniently stopped at the bottom of a hill got the ride back off to a good start. But with some encouragement from camp counselor Laura, she and I both made it back to the DAC alive and well.

Part III: Friends at The Track
After a quick jaunt to Panera it was time to hit the track! During Spring Break, the track is 99.9% filled with, meaning it was LOUD, PACKED, and FAST. And the boys are mean. Alas, we struggled through it, rode some laps, and practiced some exchanges.

After one of these exchanges, which Kelsey did complete perfectly (really), she somehow ended up on the ground and kind of rolled into the pit of the boys of Sigma Alpha Mu. After some conversation with them about our bike’s strange handlebars (see Helen’s crash story) they offered to set us up with a new pair later that evening.

Because we had already planned on having a team dinner that evening we decided to invite the boys over to eat tacos and hang out. The boys had to debate whether they could come eat our chicken or not, see for the Sammy boys their dinners must alliterate and Tuesday was “Turkey Tuesday.” Debate of the ages. In the end they decided they could come eat with us. Now our bike has new handlebars and we’re even friends with some of those mean boys from the track!

Jackets!!

We got our jackets today and they are amazing. We look great on the track, more pics to follow.

I am not happy with Roger.

So who is Roger? And why am I mad at him?

Roger is my bike. And today he decided to get a flat tire while I was on a ride out to Lake Monroe on a beautiful Bloomington Sunday with Helen and Laura. We were only 10 miles out on 446 (for Bloomington local) when my back tire flatted. And of course none of us had a pump because Tim (our coach) told me that having one on my bike made me look like a dork. So I was forced to call our friend Alex, the team 'doctor,' to pick me up. Needless to say I was not amused on the car ride home, as I had just wasted a glorious day. But as I was sat watching Penn State attempt to upset OSU in the Big Ten Tournament I started laughing.

My bike is named after one of the most influential men in my life Roger Millikan. Roger was a household name to many in the Southern California cycling community during the 80s and 90s and a close family friend. He raced with my parents in Southern California and was the founder and coordinator of the El Dorado ride, a weekly ride in El Dorado park that included riders of various categories. He was famous for his loud personality, passion for the sport and unwavering dedication and loyalty to his friends. He taught me thevalue of hard work, how to tape handlebars, what love means, and that In-and-Out Burger makes everything better. Tragically he passed away in 2004 after a 9 month battle with Pancreatic cancer. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to witness. I watched a man so full of life waste a way in a matter of months.

Five years later I found myself in Bill Armstrong stadium watching the Women's Little 500 race as a Freshman and I knew that I had to ride the next year. I joined Team Relativity and we rode to a 7th place finish in 2010. I know that Roger was there that day

at the track and that he was screaming louder than the whole stadium combined. And I know that both Rogers, my bike and Roger Millikan, are on every road ride with me. So today I know he was probably laughing at me for being more concerned with looking like a dork than being safe. And I know if he had picked me up from the side of the road a double-double and milkshake from In-and-Out Burger would have followed.

It's impossible for me to stay mad at Roger for too long. Now that he is all patched up I will be happy to be back on the road tomorrow with all the girls as we count down the days until Qualifications. And I know Roger Millikan will be there in spirit next Saturday on the track when we qualify for the 23rd annual Women's Little 500 and I guess a Steak-n-Shake milkshake will just have to do.

Spring Break in Bloomington!

Most IU Students are in Panama City, Daytona or South Padre this week, to escape the gloomy mid March rain here in Bloomington. But most of the Little 500 teams are here in Bloomington taking advantage of longer track hours and empty roads. So this week Helen, Laura, Kelsey, Danielle and I will be perfecting exchanges for qualifications and enjoying the chance to go on long rides without school, work, etc. to distract us. So keep checking the blog this week because we will be all Little 5 all week. 13 days until Qualifications, see you there!

Check out our logo

This logo will appear on the T-shirts we will be selling around campus in the near future. We hope to see you proudly wearing this logo and supporting our team. Locations and dates of sale will be updated on this website at a later date. 

We are the Champions

The first Little 500 race was won by “The Buccaneers”—from Cravens hall in Collins.

Unsurpassed Awesomeness

Little 500 is the largest collegiate bike race in America and the greatest weekend in college sports.

Crash Crash Crash!

Monday's practice started out as usual. We signed in, warmed up, stretched, and did some exchanges. After a couple of exchanges, I joined a pace line and then it happened.

After a couple of fast laps, two girls in front of me decided to pull off without really saying anything. I slowed down immediately, and I thought everything was going to be alright. However, there were people riding on the right side of the pace line and those girls could not pull out all the way so they tried to get back into the pace line. I didn't have any choice but to ride into them. There were some scrambling and I went down. I can’t remember if anyone else did.

When I realized what just happened, I was laying on my back on the track, looking at the sky. I saw the EMC people running towards me, heard the announcement about the crash and people asking me "Are you okay? Did you break your collar bone?" Thankfully, I didn’t break anything, but I could feel pain in my side, my hip, my elbow, my quad, and my knees. I laid on the track for another few seconds then I got up. My legs were shaking really hard, because we were going pretty fast in the pace line before the crash. I was coughing my lungs out, not because of the crash but because I’ve been sick forever. People probably thought I was dying or something.

Fortunately, I wasn't seriously injured (I have bruises and cuts, here and there), but unfortunately, the left side of the handlebar was completely bent.

A few moments later, I was thinking, “I have something to write about on the blog!” I was pretty excited. Now I can say that I have crashed on the Little 500 track! It can count as one of my milestones in my cycling life, right? Hopefully it would be my last one, and there won’t be any more from our team.

Hollywood Trivia

       The movie Breaking Away, which is based on the events of the Little 500, won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 and jump-started the career of Dennis Quaid.

Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes

The Little 500 sets itself apart from other bike races because of its use of exchanges. With four riders and only two bikes, the bikes must be transferred from one rider to another in an efficient and safe manner... Thus, the Exchange!


Two types of exchanges occur in a race: man-to-man and bike-to-bike.


In a man-to-man exchange (Woman-to-woman is what I call it; however, I'm sure rider-to-rider would be politically correct), one rider dismounts the bike while the next rider mounts it. Two techniques are used.

1. The dismount-to-mount is most commonly used. The rider on the bike brakes once in the designated pit, lifting her left leg over the bike and dismounting. While this is taking place, the next rider takes off in a sprint, catching the bike handles as the first rider dismounts. The second rider continues to run on the left side of the bike, and throws her right leg over it, landing on the seat.
   
2. The ghost rider sounds as scary as it looks. As the current biker is entering the pit, she brakes with one hand in between her legs on the seat. Pushing off with her hands, she exits the bike from behind. The next rider catches the bike in the same way as the previous and mounts the bike.

Bike-to-bike exchanges take place when the two riders making the exchange have drastic height differences. For instance, Laura Bliss has legs longer than the Eiffel Tower, while Helen Han's legs stand at a slightly-below-average height. These lovely ladies will most likely use the bike-to-bike exchange.

1. In this exchange, the first rider brakes into the pit, dismounting as if she were conducting the dismount-to-mount exchange. The new rider stands with her bike on her right side, tapping the first rider as she brakes. The new rider takes off and mounts.

Riders' Council members teach exchanges to rookies during Rookie Week. Someone who is liable to bruise easily may find these when she wakes up the morning after learning exchanges.