Bikers make the rounds for GGP

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By Brittany Brownrigg, May 3, 2009

Candace Moseley is in charge of the Student Foundation and overseeing the races of the GGP. She credits the success of this year’s event to the co-chairs of GGP: Brendan Basaran, Shawn Hines, and Amanda McIntosh. All three of the students are also members of the Student Foundation.

           

The co-chairs said that this event is designed for all of the students to participate. This is a campus-wide event that the co-chairs want everyone to know they can take part. These students focused on increased student participation and support for this year’s events. This year these students started a trolley system that took students to GGP so they would not have to walk.   Student Congress also provided students with breakfast and free t-shirts. 

           

“We have put a lot of work into this year, and we feel it will be the best GGP yet,” said Basaran.

           

“This is one of the reasons I joined Student Foundation . . . to be able to help plan GGP,” said Hines.

           

To start each of the races off, Karle Schaefer, the 2008 Indianapolis 500 Festival Queen and Franklin College senior, drove the 2009 Indianapolis 500 pace car for the bikers.

           

“Every year they get a new pace car for the [Indianapolis 500] race,” said Schaefer, who will crown a new Festival Queen later this month.

           

Schaefer drove this year’s pace car, a Chevy Corvette, around the Masonic Home loop to signal the start of the race and to help the bikers start the event.

           

This year’s GGP was made up of three bike races. The women’s race took place first, and consisted of teams racing 50 laps around the Masonic Home loop. 

 

The Franklin College women’s basketball team, the Ballin’ Bikers, claimed the GGP victory for the women for the second year in a row. The team consisted of Traci Lippold, junior, Kristina Appelhans, junior, Jennifer Redicker, 2008 graduate, and Kim Eiler, head women’s basketball coach. The women credited their basketball practices as their preparation for this year’s event. 

           

After racing 70 laps, the coed winners of this year’s GGP were Jordan Morris, senior, Jen Walters, senior, Betsy Galbraith, freshman, and Paul Galbraith, senior. Their team was named Least Resistance. They credit their win on their bikes and their team member Jen Walters.

           

“We literally had to pull her [Walters] off the track,” said Paul Galbraith.

           

The men’s race was lengthened for this year’s event to 100 laps around the Masonic Home loop. The 2009 winners for the male race were the men from Phi Delta Theta. Jake Hojnacki, sophomore, Kevin Martin, sophomore, Adam Schwartz, senior, and Tyler Roell, junior, all earned their first place title for this year’s GGP.