Every year the University of Indiana runs a bike race called the Little 500. The most recent happened to take place last week and it would seem that the "Cutters" won again. I am most intrigued by this amazing event and i think it would be great if a similar event were to happen in Dublin. We could run it for messengers and people who ride fixed or single speed bikes and donate whatever funds we're able to raise towards a charity for injured cyclists or pedestrians who have become the victim of a hit and run involving a motor vehicle...more on that at a later date. So the Little 500 was visited by Barack Obama this year and Lance Armstrong has visited it in the past, that's some good press! If you're from the States you probably know the rules and the race history already, but for everybody else, here is a brief summary. It's an annual, 200-lap race that pits fraternities at Indiana University against one another riding one-speed, coaster-brake bikes. The first race was in 1951. The bikes are all old school Schwinn's (aluminium frames excluded) that cost around $300 and are paid for in the form of a deposit which is returned to the payee if their team doesn't want to hang onto the bike after the race. I'd sure love to get my hands on one...
Particpants in the 1977 Little 500
Participants in the 2008 Little 500
Schwinn Little 500 2007
2 comments:
I live in Cincinnati, My job takes me to Bloomington and Indianapolis two or three time a month. These bikes are all over there for about the same price as the deposits sometimes less.
I saw one on the indianapolis craigslist for 175, but it was a 1997 bike
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