Anticipation rises as Beer Bike nears

By Seth Brown     3/11/10 6:00pm

On your mark, get set ... oh, Beer Bike is still a week away. On March 20, the Beer Bike Parade will take students to the Beer Bike track, where students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the Rice community will watch the four races of this year's Beer Bike.The race schedule this year will be slightly different due to the addition of an exhibition race between Duncan College and McMurtry College. The alumni race will start at 12:40 p.m., 20 minutes earlier than in past years, and the exhibition will start at 1:25 p.m. The exhibition will follow alumni race rules, which means that there will be five male and five female bikers and chuggers on each team, with each biker riding two laps and each chugger drinking 12 ounces.

McMurtry biker Aaron Daniels said he is excited to get to participate.

"I think we're pretty good - we're getting the training going, and I think we're going to be ready," Daniels, a freshman, said.

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The women's and men's races will be held at 2:10 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Assistant Dean of Students Boyd Beckwith said the scoring will be computerized, which means that penalties will be added on to the final time, and not taken by the participants. This should also speed the calculation of final times and winners.

The winners will then be announced by 4 p.m. at the track. This year's winners will receive Beer Bike 2010 belt buckles, which will also be on sale for $7, or $5 with the purchase of a Willy Week shirt.

The race this year will feature a number of food offerings, including Papa John's, Taco Cabana and Red Bull. Beer Bike has several corporate sponsors this year, including Papa John's and Taco Cabana, which have offered large discounts, and The Princeton Review, which is donating courses which will be auctioned off after Beer Bike.

Beer Bike Coordinator Brian Henderson said he is excited about having corporate sponsors this year.

"This is the first time in a long time anyone has taken action [to get sponsorships]," Henderson said.

Arrangements have also been made to accommodate the 3,000-4,000 people expected to attend. In addition to the bleachers that have been used in past years, four to six smaller bleachers will be rented to hold an additional 300 people.

In order to ensure the safety of attendees, racers and those who return to their colleges, each college will be expected to provide five caregivers, and there will be 15 Emergency Medical Technicians on duty.

Though caregivers will not be expected to provide medical attention to students, they will be prepared to to recognize when Rice Emergency Medical Services needs to be contacted to help students who have consumed too much alcohol.

Wellness Center Director Emily Page said students should have a lower threshold for responding to concerns about their peers, and watch for difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, irregular pulse, prolonged vomiting, or convulsions throughout the week among their peers.

"My advice would be to celebrate, have a good time, but the whole idea is to have a good time," Page said, warning against overindulgence. "When students drink more than they should, it leads to regrettable experiences."

As Willy Week and Beer Bike approach, many students look forward to enjoying themselves.

Hanszen College sophomore Taylor Hall said that she is particularly excited for this year's Beer Bike.

"I love Beer Bike - it's the cutest day of the year," Hall said. "All my friends from other schools are coming this year, and I don't think there's a better example of Rice culture.

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