Race season begins

While many students are bundling up in the 30-degree weather and thinking of spring break, others are outside for hours on bikes, riding at fast speeds and thinking only about training. It might seem crazy, but come April 15 and 16, the ones who roughed it the most, trained the hardest and braved the cold could possibly call themselves Little 500 Champions. \nBeginning today, Little 500 veteran riders will take to the track for the first time this season. Although rookie riders usually have the luxury of riding on the track the week before it opens for everyone else, this year's newbies haven't been as lucky; snow during the first week of March has kept them off the track for the first two days of training. \n"I don't think it's affected them at all," said Cycledelics rider and women's Riders Council President senior Laura Horvath. "The rookies we have this year have been amazing. I think they have caught on a lot faster then people in the past, so they would have been bored if we would have had practice the last few days."\nThe cold weather isn't making any of the veteran riders nervous either; they say they're ready to start riding somewhere other than inside and to get things started for the season. While Alpha Tau Omega riders have a sizable amount of base miles and a weeklong trip to Tucson for training under their belts, senior ATO rider and Riders Council member Hans Arnesen said the team is looking forward to getting on the track together. \n"It's a time where we can get all our teammates out on the track; get a feel for it again, turning to your left and doing a lot of circles," Arnesen said. "Obviously the weather hinders training because it's not as nice to ride for hours outside when it's so cold, but if it's in the thirties and not wet, we can get out -- as long as you wear enough clothes."\nATO, which placed second in the 2004 men's race, and other teams, such as women's champion Kappa Kappa Gamma, are gearing up for a successful repeat season. Kappa Kappa Gamma rider Jess Sapp said her team has also been training in warmer climates to get a leg up on competition and using rollers and weight training to stay in shape before the track opens. Once the season officially begins, Sapp said the track opening is a chance to work as a team, be together and enjoy Little 500. \n"It's the time when obviously it's been a year since we have done pack riding and exchanges, so we really use this time to re-familiarize ourselves with the track," Sapp said. "But also to be together as a team; during the semester it's easy to have different schedules, so this is the chance to get together and work as a team."\n-- Contact Senior Writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.