By Steve Vockrodt     May 11, 2005

Perhaps if Adam Mills didn’t stretch the truth every now and then, the Kansas University Cycling Club might not be quite what it is today.

Cycling usually is not the first sport youngsters try. Mills was no different. He chose to play soccer with a childhood friend when he was a teenager.

The catch was Mills’ parents told him his friend’s parents would have to give him rides to practices. Mills’ friend received the same word from his parents.

So both fibbed and told their parents that arrangements were made, but instead they rode their bikes to practice. It didn’t take long for Mills to realize he preferred biking to soccer. Mills went on to KU and was part of a core group of cyclists that founded the club.

“When we started, there were no jerseys and no recognition,” Mills said. “Pretty much every sport has something.”

Now the KU Cycling Club will play host to the National Collegiate Championships this weekend. And for the next two years as well.

As of Tuesday night, there were 352 riders who had signed up, and 761 total entries combined. The largest group is the Division I men’s road race with 127 participants.

Rider Brian Jensen thinks the KU club will be competitive.

“We do have a strong team this year which is good,” Jensen said. “Hopefully, with these three years, it will help the club grow.”

Jensen is another transplant to the cycling. He came from Denmark on full scholarship to run for the KU cross country team. Despite some success as a college runner — he qualified for the 1998 NCAA cross country championships at Rim Rock Farm — he found that running in college wasn’t what he expected it to be and was relieved when it was over.

“It kind of wore me out,” Jensen said. “Once you’re done with collegiate track and field, there isn’t much out there besides road racing.”

So he merged his endurance capabilities with cycling. Last year, he won 18 races.

“If I didn’t win, it was one of my teammates,” Jensen said. “Sometimes I work for my teammates and sometimes my teammates work for me. I kind of wish I had started cycling earlier because I’m getting older.”

Stephen Schneller was fairly young when he started. His father was a cycling enthusiast and encouraged his son to start riding as 9-year-old in Garden City.

Schneller — whose last name fittingly means faster in German — hopped in his first race when he was 18. He went to Benedictine College in Atchison his freshman year, but transferred to KU because of its strong cycling program.

“It was definitely a factor,” Schneller said. “I knew Lawrence was a strong cycling community, so it was a factor.”

That’s why cyclist Kim Kissing is excited Lawrence will play host to the championship.

“It’s exciting to see what everyone else thinks of Lawrence because I really love Lawrence,” Kissing said. “All the courses showcase different parts of Lawrence.”

Kissing started cycling after she progressed from high school cross country to triathlons and eventually to biking. Despite the difficulty and expense of getting started — her first bike, which was stolen, cost $600; her current bike $2,000 — it’s been worth it thus far.

Schneller said he hoped the event would bring even more exposure to the city’s already burgeoning cycling activities.

It will be Schneller’s third championship event, and he expects the third time will be the charm. He had a flat tire his first year and wasn’t quite in shape last year. But even after suffering a pair of setbacks, he said there was no bigger cycling event in the area.

The notion of hosting such a prestigious event wouldn’t have been taken seriously a couple of years ago.

“Now we have nationals in Lawrence,” Miles said, “and a few years ago, that wasn’t even a possibility.”