Most people look to the groundhog for signs of a coming spring. In Bloomington, people just wait for the proliferation of serious bike riders as they shift into serious training gear on city streets and county roads for April’s Little 500 men’s and women’s bicycle races at Indiana University. Apparently, spring is here.

This year signals the 52nd running of IU’s Little 500 men’s bike race, scheduled for Saturday, April 20, at 2 p.m. in Bill Armstrong Stadium. Last year’s race winner, Phi Delta Theta fraternity, will occupy the No. 1 position out of 33 teams after running the fastest time in qualifications.

The women’s race, the 14th since it was added to weekend events in 1988, is scheduled for 4 p.m. on April 19 in the Bill Armstrong Stadium. Out of 30 teams, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority claimed the fastest qualifying time. Last year’s women’s race winner was Roadrunners, an independent team.

Modeled after the Indianapolis 500 auto race, men bikers ride 200 track laps to total 50 miles on one-speed Roadmasters, while women ride 100 laps to complete 25 miles. Each of the bike teams is comprised of four riders who switch with one another during the race.

The Little 500 is sponsored by the IU Student Foundation as a fund raiser that provides 34 scholarships for working students at IU. It also will provide three new $1,000 scholarships this year in memory of three IU students who lost parents in terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center towers last September.

Little 500 draws approximately 20,000 people to campus each spring. It inspired the 1979 academy award-winning film Breaking Away and has more recently been featured in Sports Illustrated and USA Today.

For more race information or to buy tickets in advance, go to:

http://iusf.bloomington.com/