Sponsored by the IU Student Foundation and occuring every spring, thousands of people come together to watch the men’s 200-lap race as well as the women’s 100-lap race.
Although students and fans nationwide look forward to this event all year, cyclists are doing their part year-round to make sure they are entirely prepared for the race.
Luke Momper, Little 500 Riders Council president and rider for Delta Tau ?Delta, said he came to IU with the intention to join the cross country or track team
He ended up finding other opportunities in cycling through the Little 500 and Little 500 Riders Council.
His freshman year, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta and was involved with Little 500 from then on.
“(Delta Tau Delta) took a guy who had a bit more racing experience over me for race day team, so I was right on the fence helping with pit stuff and coaching,” Momper said.
“I almost think that was advantageous to see (Little 500) from a behind-the-scenes perspective my first time racing.”
Momper has participated in Little 500 as a rider ever since. As president of the Riders Council, Momper is responsible for teaching “rookie riders” everything there is to know about the race, including how to jump on and off a bike and how to ride in a pack.
All of these skills and more are taught during the off-season in Rookie Week, a 10-day training session for all new riders during the spring, Momper said.
“Everything you’re not supposed to do on a bike, for Little Five, you have to do on a bike,” he said.
Chris Craig, a member of the Riders Council and rider for Beta Theta Pi, said the start of the school year is what he refers to as the “base-building” part of training.
“This (training) is leading up to our winter training,” Craig said. “For example, I did a 90-mile ride yesterday in about five hours. It’s turned into a norm for us. We’ve accepted it as a lifestyle and I truly enjoy getting out there and doing those long rides now.”
Craig said he and the rest of the Beta Theta Pi race team have a special, newly instated tradition for ?training.
“For the last two years, we’ve gone down to Panama City Beach and, in one week there, we rode 500 miles,” Craig said. “The team comes down and we bring a couple people from our fraternity to cook for us. It’s a really fun week and we enjoy getting out of the cold weather.”
Craig said he makes a point to train on a bike six days a week as well as in the gym three days a week.
As the race gets closer, however, Craig said he will turn his focus from long, endurance-based workouts to more specialized strength sets, including spending the majority of his time working on the outdoor track at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Although training for spring takes up a large part of racers’ time, Momper said riders are no different than any other college ?student.
“There’s a common misconception about Little Five: we’re all die-hard bikers, no one has any fun, no one goes out,” Momper said. “That’s why we try to keep it light-hearted. Guys go out. Guys party. We have social lives. Guys have internships (and) jobs. Some guys are members of other clubs and committees around the University.”
Momper said the commitment a rider puts into the off season is what pays off during the Little 500 weekend.
“If you don’t want to ride and put in 20-25 hours a week, maybe 15 for the younger guys, that’s going to show by the time you’re put outdoors,” he said.
For more information about Little 500, visit ? iusf.iu.edu or IU Student Foundation and the Riders Council on Twitter at @iusf and ?@IURidersCouncil.
