The Beer-Bike relay race has been an annual tradition at Rice University since 1957. Every spring, Rice's nine residential colleges tap into their college spirit and prepare for the bike race, chugging competition and entrance parade. For some, the pre-race water balloon fight is the highlight of the day; for others, it's the bike race or the beer drinking.
THE OLD PARADE
Beginnings (1976-77)
The parade that Rice students have come to know and love today has been a slow evolution from its beginnings in 1976. There were no balloons back in 1976, and there really wasn't much of a parade either. What occurred was that Sid Richardson and Lovett Colleges had an unofficial contest for best entry to the race. The Lovett team rode in on unicycles, motorcycles, bicycles for two, a 19th-century highwheeler, and carried the master's daughter in on a rickshaw. Not to be outdone, the team from Sid arrived carrying torches, followed by a band that played the theme from the Olympic Games. In 1977 the contest continued, with students arriving on mattresses and Lovett for the first time entering with trucks blaring "Flight of the Valkyries." Sid followed them, marching behind a crucifix, in their familiar position of last.
The Old Parade (1978-1992)
From the years between 1976 and 1991, the parade that most Rice students know did not exist because of one major factor: no water balloons. The parade was still just a competition for the craziest entry. The balloons made their first appearance not in the parade, but in what would become a pre-Beer Bike tradition, the water jack. In 1988 Will Rice announced in the special Beer Bike issue of the college newsletter, The Phoenix, that 100 water balloons had been purchased and would be launched on an anonymous neighboring college at 5:45 Friday night. The balloons were introduced in the parade in 1991 and were an overwhelming success with everyone, except possibly with the Rice Campus Police. In 1991 there was no fine system, so the Campos simply asked the students not to get them wet. As they soon found out, extremely intoxicated 19- to 22-year-olds tend not to listen. The official notice of fines came in the 1992 suggestions written to the Beer-Bike Committee. They noted that "more police officers will be needed for the parade, and race officials will have to devise penalties for infractions during the parade." The portion of suggestions about the parade was closed with, "this is really the best part of the race day and the most difficult to manage." This echoed the sentiment of many students, who felt the parade was the best part, and allowed them to participate where they might not otherwise do so. One Rice alumna who did not get to enjoy the water balloon fight, Jen Cooper '90, said, "The water balloons allow a way for people who aren't athletic or aren't interested in chugging or being really organizational to participate. If it lets them participate, great."
WATER BALLOONS
The Water Balloon Fight (1993-present)
Today the water balloon has become probably the most important part of Beer-Bike with the exception of the beer itself. Colleges prepare weeks in advance by getting students to fill up hundreds of balloons. Once these balloons are filled and in their barrels or trashcans, the water jacks commence. Since they first began with Will Rice in 1988, now every college has some sort of water jack leading up to Beer Bike. What's left of these balloons are loaded onto the trucks Saturday morning, and then the students let the balloons fly. Over the past couple of years, the fine system has been tightened and safety issues raised. Many students have reacted negatively towards what is happening. In a survey Rice students were asked about their parade attendance and if anything should be changed about the parade. One opinion was, "It's way too early in the morning." The negative sentiment was also echoed with, "I don't know, I've never gone to it." The subject of the fine system also came up as one student said, "[The officials] should be less picky about violations." Also said was, "The parade was a blast! The water balloons are great because it takes some effort (and stupidity) to get hurt, even when drunk." What every student and official understands is that with hundreds of water balloons flying, the chance of them getting hit is pretty good. What makes the officials mad are stories like this one from senior Brock Tautenhahn on his freshman parade experience: "I've only been at the parade once, my freshman year, and we racked up quite a few violations. I think everyone on my truck was aiming for the officials and security people with their water balloons." In our survey we also received several interesting and strange suggestions to make the parade better. One says, "No more St. Arnold, it sucks!" The student was referring to St. Arnold's beer, which has been the official beer sponsor for the past few years. Another student said, "They should fill the water balloons with shaving cream." Obviously that would be way too messy and would never happen. Perhaps the best and most outrageous suggestion comes from a male student who said, "We should include a 9th truck, with Hooters girls." Whether or not any of these changes occur, one thing is certain ‹ the water balloon and the parade have cemented themselves as permanent fixtures of the Beer-Bike tradition.
BEER
As the name of Beer-Bike suggests, the love of beer makes up half of the Beer-Bike competition. Beer-Bike isn't just a race; it's a relay race, and before racers switch off, each team's chugger needs to perform a swift, glorious chug.
1957
As Baker, Hanszen and Will Rice Colleges planned for the 15-mile off-campus bike race that became the precursor to Beer-Bike, the idea of chugging beer is first introduced. According to the April 12, 1957 issue of The Rice Thresher, "A touch of novelty will be injected by requiring each rider to down an unspecified quantity of beer before his replacement may begin the next segment. No details are yet available as to how the team members will be returned to the campus." After undergoing some changes, the race is held May 5, 1957. Bikers chug one quart of beer in the middle of each lap of the race (one lap being a circuit of the Inner Loop). Baker, the first college to finish 10 laps, gets a trophy; Hanszen, the victor in the beer-drinking competition, wins a keg.
1959
The "Beer-bike race by intramural field" is listed in the schedule of Rondelet weekend festivities, marking the first use of the word "beer" in the name of the event.
1961
By now there's a firmly established tradition of keeping separate beer teams and bike teams.
1966
The lack of a dedicated women's race leads to the invention of Tea Trike, a women's race held before the Beer-Bike race in which bikers chugged Earl Grey, not beer.
1977
In a day when the Texas drinking age was 18, it was perfectly acceptable for beer companies to sponsor Beer-Bike teams. This year Coors sponsors the Brown College team and Schlitz sponsors the Sid Richardson College team. By this point, colleges also have themes for each Beer-Bike. Listen to Jen Cooper's memories of Beer-Bike themes (mp3).
1984
Detroit's Stroh Brewing Company covers part of the race's expenses in exchange for sponsorship rights.
1986
The Texas legal drinking age goes from 19 to 21 on Sept. 1. There's no grandfather clause to allow those who were already over 19 but not yet 21 to continue drinking after Sept. 1, so huge parties mark the last night of legal under-21 drinking on Aug. 31. Water is made available to underage chuggers in lieu of beer at the 1987 Beer-Bike, in addition to the non-alcoholic beer that had already been an option.
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