Rookie riders prepare for race

Anybody who has competed in the Little 500 knows riding a bike in winter-like conditions is challenging. For the next two weeks, rookie riders will experience just how difficult it is to prepare for the Little 500 and stay warm at the same time.\n"Riding in the cold stinks. Especially when it rains," said senior Alan Ireland, a Delta Sigma Pi rider and member of the men's riders council. "Some people are able to do it easier than others."\nRookie Week, the two-week learning experience for the 196 first-time riders, begins Monday at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Female rookies take the track from 2:30 to 4:45 p.m., while the men will practice from 5 to 7:15 Monday evening. \n "Everybody is cold, but it's an important week, and you have to remember everybody else is just as cold as you," said senior Alpha Delta Pi rider Emily Derkasch, chair of the women's riders council. Derkasch said the track is especially cold during the evening sessions when the sun goes down.\n Race weekend is April 20-21, but Little 500 Director Jonathan Purvis said there isn't much available track time between Rookie Week and the race. The track opens for veterans March 1, so rookies have two weeks to learn safety and other aspects of the race without battling experienced riders on the track. \n"Sometimes it can be very cold, but we have to optimize track time," said Purvis, who is a former rider and member of the 1998 Dodds championship team.\nTo combat the cold, rookies are urged by riders council and former riders to dress appropriately. Suggested clothing includes heavy gloves, arm warmers, spandex, helmets and layers of skin-tight shirts. Wind pants and hooded sweatshirts aren't recommended.\n"Wear something close to your skin," Teter rider and riders council member David Eaton, a senior, told a group of rookies at last month's Mass Riders Meeting. "If you wear something loose, and it gets caught on your bike, and you take out a row in an exchange, you're not going to make a lot of friends."\nBesides dealing with frigid conditions, Purvis and Ireland called Rookie Week an "intimidating" experience for other reasons. While many of the rookies have been conditioning for months, Monday is the first chance the riders have to practice on the track with riders from other teams. \nAnother intimidating aspect of being a Little 500 rookie is the administrative work and deadlines facing riders. The Riders Manual is filled with forms riders must complete to be eligible for the race. Rookies must also learn the manual in order to pass the written tests. The pre-test was administered Feb. 8 and the final test is schedule for Feb. 26. \nSafety is an important aspect of Little 500 that will be emphasized during Rookie Week. Pack-riding and exchanges between riders are other aspects of the race rookies will learn during the next two weeks. The 2001 Riders Council, which consists of six men and nine women with race experience, is responsible for guiding new riders through the next two weeks.\n"Rookie Week is the first Little 500 experience for many of the riders," said Derkasch, who is serving her second year on riders council. "It can get cold, but it's a very important week for the new riders"