Transcription: 500 Fever
By Jean Martin
‘Round and ‘round they’ll spin!
With the approach of the Little 500 next Saturday “500 Fever” has returned to campus again. Preparing for qualifications today cyclists have peddled day and night around the countryside and around the Univee track, often until past midnight.
The Student Foundation Committee has been busy with final preparations at the I.U. Foundation Office with the phone jangling constantly as housing units call ex. 304 for advice and rules information.
Tickets for the race at 1 p.m. next Saturday in Memorial Stadium are on sale at I.U. Ticket Office.
The South Hall Buccaneers, winning team in the first Little 500 bicycle classic, will be out of the race this year, Med Southerland, Buccaneer captain, said Friday.
Little 500 rules do not permit I.U. trackmen to ride in the race and the South Hall B team did not find out about the ruling until too late to reform their squad. Three of their six team members are also cindermen.
A jinx night occurred at the University High School track as several teams ran into some unexpected snags Wednesday.
Kappa Delta Rho’s four-man team, which had a lot of tough luck in last year’s race, seem to be ill-fated still as its bike crew had to call it a night when the chain of the bicycle broke.
In last year’s race Stan Salomon had a collision before completing a circuit. X-rays showed he had a fractured cheekbone.
This year, headgears are on order to protect riders from accidents. The headgear will be light-weight football helmets with foam rubber padding inside.
The Sigma Pi team, which has looked very classy on the practice field, also had a pair of bad spills. But Capt. Phil Parsons reported that the team will be ready to go for today’s qualifications. In the 1952 race, the Sigma Pi’s were ninth.
Last year’s No. 31 team, Sigma Alpha Mu, went unscathed, one night last week, bit its bicycle did not fare as well. Damages for one evening’s riding were a broken pedal, a loosened seat, a lost license plate, and bent handle bars.
According to several unofficial reports, it looks as if last year’s fastest qualification time of 2:58 for a mile will fall by the wayside. Several teams have already gone at least ten seconds under that mark.
Many units have had rigid training programs for their teams. Phi Kappa Psi, whose team had the fastest qualifying time in 1951 and placed third in the 1952 race, reports that their team has given up smoking for the race.
Veteran Bob Carlton said that in both races they have had no accidents, a fact to which he attributes most of their success. He said that they are doing a lot of cross country work and at night are working on their exchanges.
Alpha Tau Omega, which placed fifth last year, is planning a bicycle trip to Indianapolis – with a man following in a car. John Shafer, team captain, said this trip will be made after qualifications.
Pi Kappa Alpha, which placed thirty-third unofficially in the 1952 race, is expecting “to move halfway up in the winning field,” according to Robert Howes, team captain. The team is planning a weekend trip soon, he said. Mr. Howes said that with the return of two of their previous linemen, the team has improved over last year.
Two veterans of the North Hall Friar team, Jerry Ruff, and Gene Strause, spent some “riding time” in Florida over Spring vacation. For seven days they rode twenty to twenty-five miles daily, Russ Keller, team manager, said. Mr. Keller said, “The team is in better shape now than it was a year ago.”
