Little 500 energizes local bike scene

Little 500 is more than just a campus bike race.

In Bloomington, it’s part of a rich biking culture.

Jim Schroeder, president of the Bloomington Bicycle Club, moved to Bloomington because of the biking tradition of the town. He considers himself an “aficionado” of “Breaking Away,” the 1979 film chronicling the life and times of a local cycling team.

Schroeder and other Bloomington residents are planning community biking events even as Little 500 participants prepare to pump their pedals around Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Schroeder leads an annual “Breaking Away” bike ride time place around the time of
Little 500.

“Every year, we have a bike ride where we ride around Bloomington and go around to all the places in the movie or that used to be in the movie,” he said.

It’s an easy, 15-mile ride, he explained.

This year’s “Breaking Away” ride will begin 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Bryan Park Pool parking lot.

Mechanic Ethan Harrell, with Revolution Bike and Bean, said he sees an increase in Bloomington bikers as spring and Little 500 wheel in is evident.

“We do see an up-flow as the weather changes for spring and people get jazzed for Little Five,” Harrell said.

This time of year, he said, is a great time for residents to begin biking. People driving cars are usually more aware of bicyclers on the road, training for the race.

The best part about Bloomington is there are paths to bike everywhere, he added.
“You can get almost anywhere around Bloomington on a bike,” he said.

Revolution also becomes involved in Little 500 as teams request bikes to be built for them by the shop, he added.

Harrell works as a mechanic for two Little 500 teams, CSF Cycling’s women and men’s teams.

But even though he works directly with serious riders, he said it’s fun to see the variety of people who come into the shop.

“We got guys who come in who want to train, extreme mountain bikers and professors with bikes that they ride to work,” Harrell said.

For Schroeder, he said it’s about getting a wide variety of people involved in biking. The Bloomington Bicycle Club is for beginning riders — it’s not a racing club, he said.

Several members are coaches for Little 500 teams and alumni of the race, he added. For more serious riders, he leads a 100-mile ride once a week.

He said he enjoys seeing the upswing of interested riders around Little 500 and seeing more people become interested over a long term.

“I think a lot of them enjoy it, not just for Little Five,” he said. “They really have the bug for bicycling.”

However, he said he remembers working with one student who didn’t really understand Little 500.

“She said ‘You mean there’s a bike race during Little Five?’” he said. “So I had to explain to her what the race is all about.”