60-mile bike ride to keep 'torch alive' for Crouse

As a semi-professional bicyclist and a former Little 500 rider, Charlie Crouse is used to fighting off other bicyclists. \nOn Friday morning, though, the other bikers will be his companions, not the competition. \nCrouse will lead about 50 other bikers who will join him in the Dance Marathon's first "Torch Relay," held to honor the memory of his sister, Ashley Crouse, who was killed in a car crash in April 2005. He will carry a torch that will ultimately be placed at Dance Marathon to remind dancers of Ashley Crouse's dedication to the event and to the children at Riley Hospital for Children, according to a press release issued by IUDM. \n"It was her passion down here in Bloomington," Charlie Crouse said. "Number one, she was a philanthropist. She was passionate about it because she could help so many people." \nThe idea of holding a torch relay first surfaced two years ago, IUDM president Josh Wendahl said. \n"She loved the idea," Wendahl said. "She kept telling the guys, 'get on it, make it happen.'" \nBut the relay did not happen that year. \n"After Ashley died, that kind of jump-started the idea again," Wendahl said. "But last year the timing wasn't right for us to plan it." \nNow, two years later, the idea that Ashley Crouse loved will finally happen. Instead of watching it, she will be remembered by it, Wendahl said. \nCharlie Crouse hopes the relay will encourage even more people to get involved in the event. \n"The success of Marathon is driven by the number of people in it, and this brought another aspect to it," he said.\nMembers of different Little 500 teams, including independent Bella Veloce and the IU Cycling Club, will join Charlie Crouse and the Kappa Kappa Gamma bikers for the ride, a 60-mile journey that is expected to take about four hours, Wendahl said. \nBikers will leave Indianapolis at 9:30 a.m. Friday and will have a police escort at least until they reach the outskirts of Indianapolis, Wendahl said. \nThe ride will end at Wildermuth \nGymnasium in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation for the opening ceremonies of the 16th annual Dance Marathon, which will run from 8 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Sunday. To raise money for the Riley Hospital for Children, 1,056 dancers plan to stay on their feet the entire 36 hours. \nAshley Crouse was the vice-president of Dance Marathon in 2005, Wendahl said, and she was extremely dedicated and enthusiastic about the cause. \n"I remember one of my first impressions of her was how dedicated she was to it and how much energy she always had for it," said junior Anna Gardner, a member of Crouse's sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. \nGardner and the four other members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Little 500 team will ride in the relay to "keep her spirit alive," she said.