THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
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Cyclist discusses life on the bicycle
GOING DEEP
SHANE KUCERA
skucera@kansan.com
Editor's Note: Athletes at the University of Kansas are more than just victories and statistics — they're real people with opinions on sports, life and love. Each Thursday, Kansan sports writer Shane Kucera sits down with a student athlete and discusses issues beyond the playing field.
Matt Spencer, Derby sophmore, wears spandex all the time. He's a member of the University of Kansas Cycling Club and spandex is their uniform.
Spencer is the club's vice president and a competitive racer. The club is growing slowly but steadily, and Spencer said that because of all the attention surrounding Lance Armstrong and the trendy LiveStrong bracelets, the sport of cycling was receiving more attention.
This week, Spencer talks about his life on and off the bicycle.
pares to other sports?
Q: Why did you get into cycling?
A: When I was younger out in Colorado, I saw a bunch of guys mountain biking and it looked like a lot of fun, so I got into it in junior high.
Q: How do you think cycling com-
A: You've got to be on your toes the whole time because it's not like a sport where you go for 15 or 20 seconds and then you stop and go again. It's really dynamic and it's always moving. It's like chess on wheels.
Q: What has kept you in the sport for so many years?
A: Just everything about it.
People that race and ride are usually passionate about the sport, so it's easy to keep motivated and always find new people to ride with. It's a lot of fun and it keeps you healthy.
Q: When you're riding, what do you think about?
A: All sorts of stuff. We go on rides that are anywhere from an hour to four hours long, so there are usually jokes being thrown around and just random news stuff. For inspiration on the bike, I think about races I've seen and I just try to gather from that and work with it.
Q: Would you say cycling is a social sport?
A: Oh yeah, it's a very social sport and it's a big team sport. You rely on your teammates a lot during races and even going to train with people. It's a lot safer to train with more people rather than just going out on the road yourself.
Q. Why are you involved with the cycling club instead of just riding and training on your own?
A₂: It gives you a chance to meet more people and its a lot easier to
travel in groups. That allows you to race in a lot more places.
A: Actually it's not bad. I like it. You move a lot easier and it really cuts down on wind resistance and keeps the sweat off your body. Plus, they're pretty dang cool looking.
Q: How do you like the spandex outfits you ride in?
Q: Do you ever wear spandex when you're not racing?
A: No, no. it's comfortable but it's not that comfortable.
A. I'm still trying to figure that out. I'd like to go as far with riding as I can, and I'd also like to get my business degree. Hopefully that will help me out in the bike industry, and maybe I can be a sales rep for a cycling company or help manage a team.
Q: What are your goals in life?
Q: What's the most important thing you've learned at Kansas?
A: Always have a backup plan.
Things can change so quick in your life because you can be completely planning on something and then find out there's something you like more, or you can find out you don't like something as much as you thought you would. Just always be prepared for anything.
A: As vice president I just help out with a lot of organizational stuff like meetings, and I handle a lot of the travel. I'm just learning how to put on and organize races, and I'm trying to get people motivated to come out and be a part of the club.
Q. What are your responsibilities as vice president of the cycling club?
Q: Do you ever get sick of riding a bike?
A: Honestly, yeah, there are days when you just don't feel good and the weather is bad and you just feel like staying home to play video games. You just have to think that you need to be ready for the races. Training isn't always fun but during the races it definitely pays off
Q: Should college athletes in programs that make a profit receive a portion of the money or extra benefits?
A Yeah, they should if they're making more money for the University. If they're making more money they should definitely get a longer cut of the money, because without their teams making money for the University, we wouldn't be able to do some of the stuff that we're able to do as an athletic program as a whole.
Q: Have more members joined since Lance Armstrong won the last Tour de France?
A: It seems like you just see a lot more people out on bikes, and as far as sales reports go, there are a lot more people buying bikes right now. That shows that at least the interest is going up.
Kucera is an Omaha, Neb., senior in journalism.
Matt Spencer, Derby sophomore and vice president of the KU Cycling Club, focuses as he rides his bicycle. Spencer said he would like to find a way to incorporate his biking passion with his business degree.
John Tran/KANSAN
Teams fight for Bowl Championship Series bids
Kansas athletics calendar
Today
Women's basketball vs. Washburn, 7 p.m.
TOMORROW
Swimming vs. Houston/Harvard, 6 p.m.
Volleyball NCAA Tournament at Seattle, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Men's basketball vs. Pacific, 2 p.m.
Swimming vs. Houston/Harvard, (p.m.)
Going into the final week of the regular season, only one team is set for a specific spot in the Bowl Championship Series.
Michigan will play in the Rose Bowl. Everything else will be put in place Saturday in six games involving eight ranked teams.
First up will be Pittsburgh trying to wrap-up the Big East's automatic bid to the BCS against South Florida in a game rescheduled because of a hurricane.
About two hours later the former beasts of the Big East, Miami and Virginia, play for the
Atlantic Coast Conference crown and its BCS bid.
Then the national championship contenders begin their final push toward the Orange Bowl to play for the BCS title.
Southern California (11-0) plays crosstown rival UCLA, starting at 3:30. The Trojans are in first place in the BCS standings and have locked up a BCS berth as Pac-10 champs. With a victory they'll earn a trip to Miami and a chance to make it back-to-back national titles. A slip sends them to the Rose Bowl.
"There is a lot at stake regarding where we'll end up. The elements that add up are good for us," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "It would be a great game even if there were no wins on either side. But the fact that we have to deal with all this pressure is good for us."
Just about when the Trojans and Bruins are heading to halftime, Auburn and Tennessee kick off the Southeastern Conference title game in Atlanta.
34-10 in Knoxville in October.
The unbeaten Tigers (11-0)
are third in the BCS standings
and probably need a loss by USC
or Oklahoma to get the Orange
Bowl. They beat the Volunteers
"We played them early in the season, but you can throw that out and they will have a grudge on their shoulder and they will come out with more enthusiasm," Auburn running back Ronnie Brown said.
About an hour and a half after the Tigers-Volunteers start their rematch in Atlanta, California, fourth in the BCS standings, tries to secure its spot in the BCS at Southern Mississippi.
the Golden Eagles can spring the upset — or at least make the Bears look bad — and put the Longhorns in the BCS.
Shortly after that, Oklahoma and Colorado get going in the Big 12 title game in Kansas City, Mo. The Sooners appear to control their destiny — win and they're off to Miami to play for a national title for the second straight season.
"We won't sit around and watch other games on television Saturday; we will keep focused on the Colorado game," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.
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