Not So Little (500) Afterall

Every kid remembers that triumphant day the training wheels came off of your first bicycle and you made it down the driveway without falling. Recreational bicycle riding always fades off though as kids become teenagers, and few people ever pick it up again. Most adults come back to it to lose those unwanted pounds, but some people take riding a bicycle to the next level.

Most have heard of the Tour de France, and I am willing to be everyone knows of Lance Armstrong, if not for his skill on the bike, but with his campaign against cancer. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 7 times, but it still is not the coolest thing he has been a part of. No, he saves that title for the Little 500. After watching the event for the first time he said, "I've won the Tour de France, and seen the Indy 500, but the Little 500 tops them all."

As for myself, I had barely even heard of it before coming to Bloomington, but once hear you can't not hear about it. You hear of the famous weekend in April where the campus has only one thing on its mind: the best college weekend that celebrates the Little 500. I never knew truly what to expect, but now I can tell you all about my first experience with it.

It's not mistake the Little 500 falls the weekend before 'dead week.' Everyone knows the centerpiece is the actual race, but we also know there is much more to it. This is Indiana University, and the students are not going to ever pass on a chance to let loose and have a good time. Most people start early in the week, but few last until the end. But that doesn't mean you can't find many good times throughout the entire week.

I was a novice to the whole experience so I can't say I saw it through to its full potential, but thats why I have three more goes at it. Believe me when I say I had an awesome time, though. From "Breaking Away" on Dunn Meadow on Wednesday until an impromptu family lunch on Sunday afternoon. The weekend itself featured the best weather anyone could imagine. The sun was high and hot, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. That also means sunburns, but everyone needs a good base tan.

I have never seen a bicycle race before, other than the Tour de France on TV, and that always made me question the sanity of some poeple. The Little 5 is on a quite smaller scale, and much more enjoyable to watch. You get to see them pass more than once. At first it was interesting cause it was fun to see how they raced, and the pack was bunched. Then we got our first lapped team, which we cheered for. A few wrecks, some bad exchanges, and 120 laps later we had 6 teams on the lead lap. So from there on out it was awesome watching them race, their different strategies, and the exchanges. It all built up to a one lap sprint to the finish between five teams with the Cutters winning for a record eighth time.

Matt rode his bike up, Greg drove in Saturday morning, and we all had a splendid good time. It set the bar high for Little 5's still to come. But if they all can be this good, I'll be darn happy.