Cinder Tracks and Pedal Dancing

“JANK!!! QUAL QUAL QUAL QUAL!! WERE TAKING SHOTS AND I PUKED IN THE ATLANTIC!!” This is just one example of the probably twenty drunken texts I got from my pledge brothers who were partying in Fort Lauderdale over Spring Break. While they were drinking the day away, the bike team was hard at work in Bloomington. The decision to stay was a tough one, but looking back on the week that was, it was the right decision. A typical day for us went something like this:

9:00am - Wake up. Snooze alarm clock.

10:00am - Wake up. Snooze alarm clock.

10:30am - Wake up. Resist urge to snooze alarm clock and get some breakfast with the rest of the team.

11:00am - Track opens and we start to collect our gear to head over.

11:15am - Still trying to find those damn sunglasses…

11:20am - Found um! And we’re off to the track!

11:30am - Roll up to the track in a mix of street clothes and bike gear that always seems to mystify some of the other bikers. The majority of these guys seem to take their gear (and safety) too seriously, because they’re always showing up to the track with their helmets, sunglasses, gloves, shorts and jerseys already on…and they’re still in their cars!!

11:35am - Do our warm ups and start the days exercises

12:00pm - Biker tan lines are firmly setting in.

12:30pm - Finish up whatever it is we were supposed to be doing on the track and start to work on our exchanges

1:00pm - We become convinced that we can beat Cutters and head home.

1:20pm - Lunch and hydrate

3:00pm - Wake up. Snooze alarm.

3:30pm - Wake up and start to re-gear up for a road ride.

4:00pm-6:00pm - RideRideRideRideRideRideRide

6:30pm - Shower and get ready for a crazy night!

7:30pm - Wake up. Snooze alarm.

8:00pm - Wake up and eat dinner. From there we changed it up every night! Some nights it was a movie, other times we met up with sorority bike teams and had dinner or just hung out.

Yes, the life of a cyclist is glamorous, but all the hard work has paid off. Going into Spring Break, our best lap times were around 35 seconds. As of now, the best lap time on our team is 33.5 and then 33.7 seconds. Quals is comin up, and we’re hoping to put in a time of around 2:25. Let’s Ride!