I volunteer coach a cycling team (Phi Kappa Psi, aka "Phi Psi") that competes in the annual Little 500 bike race at Indiana University. This event is truly one-of-a-kind and should be witnessed, at least once, by all cycling and endurance race fans.

As portrayed in the movie Breaking Away, 33 teams of 4 riders cycle around a quarter-mile cinder track on single-gear Schwinn bikes made specifically for the race. Just as Dennis Quaid and Dennis Christopher hopped on/off the bike in the movie, each team's riders take turns pedaling around the track by bringing the bike in for an "exchange". The better teams are able to execute this incredible two-man switch in tenths of a second (this clip shows the qualification process held several weeks prior to the race--only 33 teams are allowed to participate and typically 40+ try to enter).

Crashes during the race can get pretty gnarly too.

The race lasts for 200 laps, which equates to just over 50 miles -- not an overly impressive distance, but the riders are anaerobic during most of their time in the saddle.

This year's undergraduate Phi Psi riders were Mike Segal, David Schweer, Dan Brown and Adam Mercer. After a valiant effort to catch the lead team (the only team to try and do so I might add), they finished a respectable 5th.

Mark Cuban's HDNet televises the event live, so mark your calendars for next year's race--even if you cannot make the trip to southern Indiana in person, the media broadcast is nearly as exciting.