Willkie Sprint

"For many years women students on IU's Bloomington campus participated in the events of Little 500 week by racing against one another on tricycles. In 1988 these entertainments were eclipsed by the inauguration of a 100 lap women's bicycle race run on the same track as the men's race. In her smart and engaging book Kerry Hellmuth, who competed in the inaugural race, recounts how the race was established, the arduous routines of training for it, and then in exciting chapters the running of the race itself. She also describes the making new friends, learning from outstanding teachers, studying in the hallways of the music school so that she could listen to students practicing, sleeping out all night in Brown County to look at the stars, and other pleasures and discoveries of her remarkably full first year as a university student."—Donald Gray, editor, The Well House Reader

"Woven through this gripping story of a bicycle race are threads of a larger and longer story about women's struggle to gain the rights and opportunities enjoyed by men. Kerry Hellmuth and her cycling teammates, along with all the other competitors in that historic race, helped move our nation forward on the difficult, generations-long path toward gender equity. This lively memoir invites us along for the ride."—Scott Russell Sanders, author of Small Marvels

"Anytime a barrier is broken it is cause for celebration. Such is the case in Kerry Hellmuth's real life tale of a team of young women making their way into a famed American competition too long denied to their kind. It takes a lot of perseverance to compete in Indiana's famed Little 500 bike race. But it takes even more to make history. Somewhere The Cutters are smiling."—John Roach, author of Way Out Here in the Middle

"With heart and humor, Kerry Hellmuth shares her cycling team's journey to victory in the inaugural Women's Little 500 — from their kick-off meeting to their final lap. This coming-of-age memoir documents an important first for women's sports through the experiences of an underdog team. It's a powerful story about perseverance, unbreakable friendships, falling in love, and learning who you are."—Sheryl Sandberg, Founder, LeanIn.org and OptionB.org