Taylathon is a Taylor University tradition in which riders must transition on and off of the same bike. There's a catch, though -- the bike can never stop moving. It's a battle of the classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) as the men's and women's teams, respectively, race around a track that goes through campus to come out victorious and win Taylathon. This tradition is a favorite of many students on campus and the competition is always great, even if you don't participate. Many students prefer to watch the race, but for some, the goal is glory. The road, however, is not easy and often ends in injuries (mostly minor).
1. Your alarm goes off at the butt crack of dawn every morning so you can practice.
2. Then comes the slow trudge across campus to the track.
3. The first time you ever practice transitioning onto the bike
4. And once you're finally on and think you're doing well
5. But you finally manage to stay on and not fall off
6. Then comes the transition off the bike. How you feel....
Vs. How you actually look
7. How happy you are when you can transition on and off and your team is doing really well
9. Then you have to go to class the rest of the day so you look like this
10. You think about eating healthy. (Key word being think)
11. It gets close to race day, and you get paranoid, so you try to fit in just one more practice.
12. Race day rolls around and you're thinking "We've totally got this"
13. You walk out onto the track feeling like a boss
14. Your team has a pep talk
15. Then, the race finally starts.
16. Your team is doing great.
17. And you're cheering them on with every ounce of excitement in you
18. You see a couple crashes
19. And you're praying it doesn't happen to you
20. You fall for the first time
21. But you shake it off
22. Once you realize your team is in first place.
23. And you go on to win!
24. All those practices were worth it and after four years you won
25. And it's the highlight of your Taylor career
26. So you reward yourself with a good nap
27. Even though you can't wait for next year
For a look at Taylathon, watch the video below for highlights from 2015's men's race. This article is dedicated to the amazing senior girls team - Lauren, Lauren, Tia, Ellie, and Micaela. I had a blast racing (and winning!) with you ladies and this race will forever go down as one of my absolute favorite Taylor memories.
