Mini trikers to take to track tonight

Last year "Neil Reed" and "Luke Recker" made an appearance in Assembly Hall during the Mini 500 race, so who might show up this year is anybody's guess.\n"The neatest thing about the Mini 500 is that it is a way for students that aren't able to get into the bike race for whatever reason to get involved in the weekend in another way," said Jonathan Purvis of the IU Student Foundation.\nThe Mini 500, at 7:30 p.m. today in Assembly Hall, kicks off the Little 500 weekend. Each year the race has a different theme; this year's theme is "Live to Trike, Trike to Live," a parody of the Harley Davidson logo.\nThe Mini 500 takes a more comical approach to its race.\n"The atmosphere is more rowdy and lighthearted than bike race," Purvis said." But we definitely have group of teams in it that are competitively trying to get the technical side down."\nBecause the Mini 500 is not a typical race, bicycles are replaced by tricycles, enlarged versions of the child-sized three-wheelers.\nBut that is not the only difference between the two races.\nWhile costumes are not required, last year every team showed up in costume. Teams appear in whatever costumes they choose, which explains the parodies of Reed and Recker. Second, training is less strenuous and less time-consuming.\n"Each team is required to attend three practices at Bill Armstrong Stadium," Purvis said. "Then we have qualifications."\nEvery team that completes a lap around the track qualifies for the Mini 500, but the time during qualifications determines placement during the event.\nThe competition is split into three categories -- men, women and co-eds. Each team is placed in a pre-determined bracket and race according to its bracket and category.\nMany people participate in the competition. Everyone from resident assistants to greek members to student organizations are set to race.\nLast year, the women's Ashton Annihilators won in their category and placed first in the qualification times. For the men, Delta Chi won the top spot in qualifications, and in the co-ed category, the Collins Center came out on top.\nWednesday night, the teams went through a final run-through of the competition, and the stage is set for tonight. \nThe event does charge for tickets, unless the tickets were bought in advance.\n"Lots of teams do it for fun, and some take it seriously," Purvis said. "But it is always a fun evening to watch and to participate in"