The month of April and bikes are no strangers.

Preparations for this year’s Little 500 are in full gear. The women’s race will be at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25, while the men will hit the track at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26.

It’s not just the racers who need a tune-up on their bikes.

April is also Bike Month, and Indiana University’s Transportation Demand Management and Office of Sustainability held a free bike repair event April 11 outside Ballantine Hall.

Anyone — students, faculty or Bloomington residents — could get their bike checked out by local mechanics free of charge.

One of those mechanics was Greg Souder, the head mechanic for the Little 500. He said most of the bikes he worked on had issues with gear shifting and chain loops — parts he said are nowhere to be found on Little 500 bikes.

“It’s way different,” he said. “The Little 500 bike have no shifters, no brakes — the only brake on them is the coaster brake we all had as kids where you just pedal backwards. They’re really easy to work on.”

Souder repaired dozens of bikes, but Angela Tharp’s was a challenge. She brought in a used bike she bought last year, which she said she only rides when it is 60 degrees and warmer.

Souder worked on her bike for more than 25 minutes.

“It turned out I had sort of a bent screw in there,” Tharp said, “and some other things going on that I never would have been able to figure out on my own.”

Souder said he was glad to see bikes that needed fixing.

“I’d rather see them ridden and used than sitting in a garage somewhere,” he said.

While the free bike repair event was a different pace than race day, Souder said he enjoyed serving the community in a different — but similar — way.

“Everybody’s so appreciative of the help we give them, even though we don’t have a lot of parts here to help them out,” he said. “We do a lot of the regular maintenance that — gets neglected I’ll say.”

He said he set up his tools and equipment for the event exactly as he does during the Little 500. At the races, though, the hope is they’ll never be needed.

That is rarely the case.

“It’s a very relaxing day except for those few when somebody brings you something,” he said.

Souder said he prepares six extra bikes during the days leading up to the races — two for each of the three sizes racers can choose from.

“In my seven years, we’ve never had to use one of those,” he said. “Riders have to wreck and completely ruin both of their bikes before they can come and get one from me.”

Tharp said she feels comfortable riding her bike again.

“It was so easy and so nice,” she said. “I’m hugely appreciative and — gosh — the people are fantastic.”

Souder will be back for another free bike repair event April 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p..m. outside Herman B Wells Library.