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1 tradition, 30 miles

Nov. 5, 2009

Shanna Taylor | Staff Photograph Waco junior Colin Powell chalks a checkered finish line on fifth street Wednesday in front of Fountain Mall in preparation for Bear Downs.

Sarah Groman | Staff Photographer Representing Team Cyclist Manifesto, Magnolia sophomore, left, Conner Anderson and Chicago, Ill., sophomore Ryan Donahue make some final adjustments to their team's bike before the start of the Bear Downs race Wednesday.

Sarah Groman | Staff Photographer Representing Team Accounting, Copperas Cove graduate student Bruce Moss rides ahead of other bikers Wednesday during the Bear Downs Race.

Sarah Groman | Staff Photographer The first racers of each team anxiously wait for the signal to start the Bear Downs race Wednesday evening.

By Laura Remson
Staff writer

"Glory," said Dayton senior Brazos Fielder and Bear Downs race director. "They ride for glory."

Wednesday was the first Bear Downs, a 30-mile bike race around campus, since 2002.

There was only one all-girls team, making Pi Phi's team the instant winner.

The winner in the men's race was Baylor Cross Country. Second and third went to Trinoceros, a triathlon team, and Hooshearted respectively.

During the race, there were a few crashes, but they only resulted in minor injuries. The ambulance never left the race route.

Though Student Foundation set the limit at 30 teams, only 19 competed in the event, putting the number of participants at 76.

One team is The Cyclist Manifesto, whose members wore red shirts with the team name written in magic marker. Team members included Chicago, Ill., sophomore and team captain Ryan Donahue, Magnolia sophomore Conner Anderson, Lorena sophomore Steven Diedrich and Livermore, Calif., sophomore Maria Knorr.

"Have fun and not get hurt -- that's the goal," Donahue said.

The team was excited to participate this year but pointed out that some of the other teams looked really good.

"We're underdogs," Donahue said. "We're not extreme cyclers."

Fielder's opening speech for the event for the race was unusual, but did the job.

"It's going to hurt. You're going to have tears streaming down your face," Fielder said. "Push through the pain."

Bear Downs was postponed from Thursday after heavy rains made the course too dangerous. Fort Worth senior and another race director Aaron Bryant said that it was difficult for student foundation to choose a date six months before the event, not knowing what the weather would be like.

"If there's any bad weather at all, this cannot happen," Bryant said.

Now that the race has finally happened, there is excitement throughout Student Foundation.

"It's something cool for the students," Bryant said.

The route started between Fountain Mall and the Vera Martin Daniel Plaza, traveling down 5th St to the Bill Daniel Student Center, just before the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat. The racers then turn left, barreling down to seventh street, where they took another left. The third turn is at Speight, where racers nod to Judge Baylor's statue before making their final left turn back onto fifth street.

Each of the 43 laps is .7 miles, making the entire race 30 miles. Teams in the relay were required to trade off riders every three laps, giving members time to rest between.

"[Riders] had a meeting and they've practiced the course," Christy said.

Bryant explained that the racers know a number of different colored flags, each of which is a different signal to the riders. One will inform them of a crash, another tells them to slow down or go full speed.

There were precautions taken along the route to keep riders safe. Each of the four turns had hay bales to provide cushioning if there was an accident and there was no pushing allowed. The race route was also inspected for holes or unevenness and were filled and smoothed.

Following this year's race, Student Foundation and Baylor's Risk Management will reassess to see if the Bear Downs tradition is something that could be continued on Baylor's campus.

Christy pointed out that restarting this tradition after so many years has been a long process.

"It's a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of care," Christy said.

The race was stared in 1972 as a fundraising event for the Student Foundation scholarships. Christy explained that the most recent canceling of the race, in 2002, was because the event was no longer raising money and merely breaking even.

"It's an awesome tradition for Student Foundation and Baylor," Bryant said. "It's extremely exciting. There's been lots of response. There's so much history."

One nod to this history is the prizes for first through third place. Student Foundation used wheels, helmets and handle bars of old bicycles and painted them gold for the winners. "We wanted to make it a little different than a normal race," Christy said.

The Noze Brothers made their presence at this year's race known, starting off at the line with the other riders. Their conformity ended here; the four brothers didn't seem to know the meaning of a relay, running and carrying their bike beyond the first turn.

"I know a lot of people riding in it and I wanted to see if I could ride next year," said Lake Jackson junior Ryan Parker, who watched the race. Parker and Plano junior Lauren Garofalo started watching the race at the first turn, expecting the worst.

"We expected the first turn to be bad," Parker said.

Garofalo remembers seeing old photos of the race during the 80s, where riders wore short exercise shorts.

"I think it's a cool tradition to bring back," Garfalo said. "I think it's always good to see traditions come back."

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