Collins Men riding for a reason

They are riding with the goal in mind of helping other people.\nThose other people are located halfway around the world in southern Asia.\nThe Collins men's team realized they should take a different approach to their racing after the team finished No. 24 in the 2004 race. If the team finishes in the top 15 of Little 500, the team will donate pledges raised for Mercy Corp. Based in Portland, Ore., Mercy Corp. is an international humanitarian organization, which is currently placing special emphasis on assisting people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2004.\nCollins Men have already put themselves in a prime position to accomplish this task as the team qualified No. 11 for the 2005 race.\nAccording to www.mercycorps.org, since 1979, the group provided more than $830 million in assistance to people in 80 nations and more than 91 percent of the agency's resources are allocated to programs that directly assist those in need. Mercy Corp reaches more than six million people each year.\nSenior Ryder Timberlake brought the philanthropy idea to the team's first meeting last fall and then performed much of the legwork to accomplish it. \n"Lance Armstrong is the classic example of philanthropy tied to an athletic endeavor," said sophomore James Coulter.\nTimberlake credited senior John Palmer with pulling in one of the team's biggest pledges of $200.\n"By race day, if we could break $2,000, that'd be great," Timberlake said. "It's not a goal, but it would be nice."\nNone of the current riders on the team rode in last year's race. Palmer is the only rider on the team to have a race under his belt as he last competed in 2003.\nTimberlake is a former runner who once had aspirations of taking his running career to the professional level, but injuries sidelined him in his attempt to reach his goal.\n"If I was going to put a whole lot of effort into athletic training again, I want it to be meaningful, because personally, I get really obsessive and perfectionistic about athletics," Timberlake said. "So this is kind of a way to do it and not have to be obsessive about being the best, because it's not about going out there and winning the race, it's about going out there and doing something."\nEven with the team starting the race in position No. 11, there is always the chance its riders could finish the race well below its starting position. If this were to occur, Charles Benson said the team has pre-addressed, no postage necessary envelopes to be sent to the Mercy Corp. that the team will mail to those who pledged money. The team will ask those who pledged to still contribute to Mercy Corp. even if the Collins men do not achieve thei goal of a top-15 finish. \nTimberlake said the team probably has one of the best coaches -- Gary Palmer, John Palmer's father -- because he rode in Little 500 and has done everything short of being a professional cyclist. The team hopes the knowledge Gary Palmer gained from 1978 to 1981 when he rode for Teter Wissler 5 - finishing as high as third in 1980 -- will guide Collins men to its goal.\n"You look at the amount of money some of these guys put into their biking teams, it's too much," Timberlake said. "Athletics can bring out so many good qualities. It teaches you discipline, it teaches you perseverance, it teaches you to endure suffering for a higher purpose, and if you are just doing that just to have a good reputation or so all the girls want you or whatever, that's a waste. You're doing it for the wrong reasons. No one is perfect on our team, but to have that be your purpose in training is not the right idea."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Steve \nSlivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.