FRIDAYYY April 25 Links and Banter
It's a wonderful day to play bikes.
[Last year, I profiled the Novus Cycling team at a different publication and had a few fantastic interviews with the riders, including the podium-finishing women's team captain Dorothy Curran-Munoz and the men's captain Kobe Thompson.
This year, Novus kindly agreed to put up with my bullshit again and answered a few questions! Thank you to this year's women's team captain, Ada Brandstatter, and good luck tomorrow!-AlmaOtter]
Where did you grow up? Why did you enroll at IU? How did you start cycling? Why did you decide to join Novus?
I grew up in Northwest Indiana, by the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore. I transferred to IU after two years at DePaul University in Chicago. I really missed trees, so I came down to IU to visit a friend during Little 5 weekend 2 years ago. I loved the energy on campus that weekend. It solidified my decision to transfer. So, I decided I wanted to try Little 5 when I came to IU. I met up with the previous captain of Novus the summer before I came to IU and really liked chatting with her. When I got to IU, she introduced me to the rest of the team, and I just loved all of them! It was Novus or nothing after my first ride with the team!
What’s your major and what are your goals post-IU?
I am majoring in Environmental Sustainability Studies with minors in Water Resources and Political Science.
How do you view your role as captain of the team? What are your teammates like on the bike and off?
I try to be a very democratic leader. There are girls who have been on the team longer than me, and even more girls who have been biking longer than I have. So, I try to make sure everyone feels valued and heard. Which isn’t all that hard, because I truly value everyone’s opinions and want to hear what new ideas or advice from previous experiences people have.
My teammates also make it easy to be a captain. All of the girls work together to keep us motivated, on and off the bike. We all want to see everyone succeed, so there is so much support and encouragement all the time. It's so nice to have such a strong and reliable support circle, especially when long workouts in the dungeon-y basement get hard.
What do you do in your free time when not cycling?
When I am not biking, I love playing Scrabble. A few of my teammates and I put a bunch of blankets in the back of my car and drove out to Morgan-Monroe Forest to play Scrabble in the back of my car the other day. I would say that is my favorite non-biking activity.
What’s the goal for this year’s Little Five? Do you feel any pressure after last year’s podium placing?
Novus Women's Cycling has never gone down in placement. The past three years have only trended upwards, and we would like to continue that trend! Last year’s 3rd place finish doesn’t leave us too much room for upward mobility, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. There are a lot of super strong women’s teams, so it will be tough, but we love a good challenge. At the end of the day, we are part of this team for all 365 days of the year, not just one day in April. So, even if everything goes wrong on Friday we will still be happy with the hard work and fun we’ve had over the past 364 days prior to this year’s race.
On Friday, what will you be listening to while getting pumped up for the race?
On Friday morning, the whole women’s team is coming to my house to have a pancake breakfast! It will be a nice way to start the day - with some calm and giggles. We will surely put on some throwback songs, probably sourced from one of Mya’s “confidence” playlists.
After the race, what’s your recovery/celebration meal going to be?
My whole family is coming to support me during the race, so I am super amped to hang out with them after the race. My family loves playing music together, so we will probably make some burgers for dinner and then have a jam sesh at their Airbnb.
