A taste of the Qualidays

This is the true post of Little 500 riders picked to have their lives surrounding America’s Greatest College Weekend posted to the web. To find out what happens when the IDS stops just reporting and starts getting real…check here for The Real Ride — Little 500 style.

For a lot of IU students, Quals is almost a greater day of celebration than all of Little 5 week combined. Fans waking up around the time they usually go to bed (or not sleeping at all) and keeping the fun going until they pass out in the afternoon may seem like an absurd concept, but it's certainly one of the best traditions surrounding the Little 500. The number of tweets you see resembling "quals got the best of me" or "best day of my life" only confirm that.

For us riders, Quals is an entirely different beast. Each team has a unique approach to the event, where four laps can leave you set up well for raceday success, far behind where you were expecting to be, or, in a worst case scenario, out of the race entirely. Some teams, mine included, like to go as early as possible, hoping the track will be pristine and the nerves will be the most calm. Others, like Phi Psi, always try to go towards the end of the day so they know where they stand immediately. Others have no preference at all, just leaving it in the hands of the Little 5 powers that be and focusing on riding their bicycles.

Here's what my night/morning looked like:

Friday p.m. - Saturday a.m.
9 PM: turn in Quals bike
10 PM: attempt to go to bed
~2:30 AM: actually fall asleep
5:15 AM: wake up/shower/get dressed
5:45 AM: Kroger breakfast supply run
6:00 AM: Omelettes at our liveout
7:00 AM: Warm-up on road bikes
7:30 AM: Send-off from the house
7:40 AM: Check-in
8:10 AM: Showtime

When we got to the track, we could immediately tell that conditions were not ideal. As if the 22-degree wind chill wasn't bad enough, the track just looked ugly. The cinders are extremely finicky, and the frigid temperatures, combined with a lack of rainfall, led to a loose, mushy track. After seeing Sig Ep start the day off with a 2:36, our suspicions were confirmed that times would be unusually slow. Even more unfortunate, after watching Fiji's last rider fall in turn 3 on their last lap, we knew we were going to have to be extremely careful.

Our fans were absolutely incredible, and having their support kept us motivated as we stripped down to our short-sleeved skinsuits.  My fly lap was decently fast; our exchanges were clean; and we ended up with a 2:29.27. Even though we'd gone under 2:25 several times in the past week, we felt fairly confident that our time would be able to hold up pretty well later in the day, especially if the track conditions did not improve.

Much to the dismay of all the teams that went in the first few hours, however, the track seemed to thaw out and get faster as the day progressed. As a result, a few of the traditional powerhouses are lower than they would have liked, and the line-up as a whole is far from what many predicted. We ended up seventh, which is an excellent spot to be in come April 16th. Major props to the Sigma Nu guys, who came out of nowhere to shock everyone and seize the pole, and to the rest of the field who fought miserable conditions all day.

Amidst all the uncertainty that accompanied 2011 Quals, I do know one thing for certain: this is going to be one unpredictable running of the Little 500.  19 days, folks, get excited!

Eric Anderson is a junior majoring in Finance and Economic Consulting.  He is in his second year riding for Beta Theta Pi.  Beta finished fifth in the 2010 race. Beta qualified seventh with a time of 2:29.27 for the 60th running of the men's Little 500.