INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

NUVO/BAP rides away to a commanding lead

It was an inspired weekend for the NUVO/BAP bicycle racing team as they took a commanding lead in the overall racing series. Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park and the Indiana State Fairgrounds were venue hosts for an enjoyable weekend of bicycle racing. The staff at Fort Benjamin Harrison did another fine job this year assisting race promoters Dan & Joanne Daly in pulling off a great race on the 2.5 mile technical course through the state park. Forty seasoned and fit riders lined up for this 12-lap event on one of the toughest courses in the Midwest. There is a challenging uphill grade, a narrow one-lane road for difficult passing, a fast curvy hair-raising downhill and a furious sweeping downhill curve finish. Many teams were tenacious and in good form trying to pull away from the field. The rest of the field refused to admit defeat, however, as there were no breakaways. Competitor Dean Peterson said it best: “I took the lucky flyer and my wheels clattered through the turn.” On the last lap, Pat O’Donnell (a medical student at IUPUI), riding for the pro West Virginia Team, latched onto the Decatur Illinois Spin City Team, lead the rush to the finish, jumping around at the last hill to come around for the win. Harry Clark (Texas Roadhouse) was second, Dean Peterson (NUVO/BAP) was third and Joshua Carter (Spin City) was fourth. More than fifty riders lined up Sunday on the Indiana State Fairgrounds course. The riders came ready to race as they pedaled around the 1.5 mile course in less than three minutes, far faster than speeds in 1869 (see below). The 60 minutes-plus two lap event saw attacks on every lap. All the big teams deterred any breakaway moves until three laps to go as a four-man breakaway, represented by four big teams, took charge as the rest of the field struggled to come up with an answer. Joshua Carter (Spin City) was first, Kevin Vanes (Team Bloomington/Touchtone Energy) second, Matt Riggs (People’s Burn Foundation) third, and Eric Anderson (NUVO/BAP) fourth. The final race in series is the NUVO/BAP Classic at Brookside Park on Sunday, Sept. 14. A bit o’ history Bicycle racing started at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1869. Elizabeth Fihe from the Indiana State Fair Publicity Department researched the fairgrounds archives and found that “in a mile bicycle trial, W.V. Hoddy, Terre Haute, pedaled to a $50 first prize over eight other entrants with a time of 8:45. George Thudium of Indianapolis received a $25 second prize, with a time of 10:02.” Betsy Caldwell Library Assistant, Reference Services, Indiana Historical Society found that “close by at 30th and Central, Indianapolis had a bicycle race track called the Newby Oval during the 1890s and its most famous bicyclist was Marshall “Major” Taylor.” In fact, the Velodrome in Indianapolis, built in the early 1980s for the Pan American Games, was named for Major Taylor.