Tandem teammates work together

Ory Maxwell, a freshman music business major, temporarily traded one wheel for two this spring to participate on the Pi Kappa Alpha tandem team for Spring Week.

Maxwell, more commonly known as "the unicycle guy" on campus, shared a bike with Rebecca Grimes, a sophomore speech language pathology major and member of Chi Omega sorority.

"I know it was different for him since he usually rides a unicycle, but once Ory got the hang of the bike he did well," Grimes said. "It was kind of weird because he's really tall and I'm only 5' 2", but we did well on the bike, and he was a great partner."

Even in high school, Maxwell was a team player and someone people could turn to and count on.

"Senior year we didn't have a very strong [basketball] team," said Justin Schramm, high school classmate and a Butler University freshman in a phone interview. "Ory was always there to bring in fans and support the team. He was even our team mascot for a while."

Becoming a competitor on any tandem team is a challenge. Teaming up with another person and attempting to synchronize movements is a tall order. Pi Kappa Alpha's team practiced an hour four to five times a week, said Andrew Willmann, senior criminology and criminal justice and psychology major and tandem rider.

"Practices were about building cohesive team members and preparing physically," Willmann said.

Maxwell isn't only dedicated to tandem and other Spring Week events.

"Ory is not only dedicated to PIKE but also to bettering himself," said Sam Lewis, sophomore marketing major, Pi Kappa Alpha member and the APA. on Maxwell's floor. "I feel like tandem pushed him to the place he needs to be."

"Ory was a workhorse of the team, he always gave 100 percent and did whatever we asked of him," Willmann said.