When the 12 bikers cross the finish line, members of Lambda ChiAlpha fraternity will reflect on their struggles and how they aretrying to peddle the annual Bike-A-Thon back into the lives of BallState students.
The annual race has been a tradition at Ball State since 1952,but in recent years the Bike-A-Thon has become a memory whileLambda Chi Alpha members try to resurrect enthusiasm for it. Alumniremember thousands of people attending to cheer on their teams,while now only a couple hundred attend. Bike-A-Thon organizersattribute this decline to lack of motivation and financialstruggles but have hope it is on the road to recovery.
On Saturday, Bike-A-Thon will start on Riverside Avenue with 12teams of four men and five women. The men's teams will race 30miles through surrounding Ball State streets while the women'steams will go 22.5 miles. There are seven fraternity teams and foursorority teams.
Each team will supply its own bikes, with one team riding atwo-seater bike.
Randy Barnard, Bike-A-Thon chairman in 1983, said when heattended Ball State, teams would ride heavy-framed Schwinn bikeswith fat tires.
"Every team had its own bike and would paint them how theywanted," he said.
Barnard said the bikes aren't the only thing that has changedsince he attended Ball State. In the early 1980s Bike-A-Thon was atits peak.
Michael Funk, former Bike-A-Thon chairman and 1983 alumnus, saidBike-A-Thon was the biggest thing on campus and attracted close to10,000 people.
Last year, close to 300 people attended to watch nine teamsparticipate.
Rob Turning, assistant director of student organizations andactivities, said Bike-A-Thon used to attract people from othercampuses and competed with Indiana University's Little 500race.
Barnard said in the 1980s the fraternity had to havequalification trials for the race. In 1983 there were 33 teams thatparticipated, but originally there were 45 teams that triedout.
"There was a lot of pride that came along with being inBike-A-Thon," Barnard said.
Past Bike-A-Thons were held at the Muncie fairgrounds, wherepeople filled the stands and rooted for their teams.
In the 1980s, the week leading up to the race would include aparade, concerts and the naming of a Bike-A-Thon queen.
"The whole year led up to this event," Funk said.
Barnard said it hurts to see Ball State not support Bike-A-Thonlike it had in the past.
"It hurts because it was a big part of my life," he said.
Casey Hoersten, Bike-A-Thon chairman, said last year he tookover and had to start nearly from scratch.
In 2001, Lambda Chi didn't hold a Bike-A-Thon. Participation hasbeen low, but growing ever since.
Hoersten said there just isn't a lot of student interest, andthe Lambda Chis have had trouble getting members motivated.
Turning said when an event is not organized and planned well, itdoesn't receive a lot of attention.
Barnard also attributed some of Lambda Chi's problems to itsdecrease in membership. There are about 50 members in Lambda Chinow, and in the 1980s, membership was close to 160.
This has caused financial problems for the fraternity,preventing it from doing as much as the members would like, MattDraving, Bike-A-Thon sponsorship chairman, said.
This year, Hoersten has seen more interest in the race and hopeshis efforts have started a turnaround for the event.
Hoersten has spent the year sending newsletters to fraternities,sororities and local businesses.
Bike-A-Thon is being held during Greek Week this year, whichHoersten said will help. So might Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity andKappa Delta sorority's hog roast on Riverside Avenue during therace.
Hoersten, who has been working with alumni and Draving, said hehopes his yearlong effort in finding teams and telling people aboutthe event will increase interest.
Draving said it has still been hard to get members motivated,but they are getting things done.
Draving said the money raised through team registration fees andticket sales for an evening event will be donated to the AmericanStroke Association in memory of the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon and tothe Karl Harford Memorial Scholarship Fund. Harford, whose brotheris a member of Lambda Chi, was killed last month in the streets ofMuncie.
Draving said he hopes to raise $2,000.
Last year Lambda Chi raised $1,250 and donated it to ReflexSympathetic Dystrophy research after a Chi Omega sorority memberwas diagnosed with the disease.
John Schmidtz, Lambda Chi adviser, said the members are veryexcited about Bike-A-Thon.
"These guys have been working hard," Schmidtz said. "This is aheritage we've had for a long time."
"I hope it gets back to where it was," Funk said. "That was thebest time of my life."
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