Beer Bike 2013: new timing system, security summary, student feedback

By Dixita Viswanath     4/4/13 7:00pm

New RFID Timing

Beer Bike 2013 marked the debut of a new timing mechanism for the races, Campuswide Beer Bike Coordinator Soorya Avali said. 

According to Avali, a Brown College junior, those in an electrical engineering senior design project called Team Timekeepers designed the mechanism, which is based on radio frequency identification technology commonly used in marathon timing systems.

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Riders have a chip on the helmet they wear which is activated at six points along the track, Avali said.

Avali said this system made the judges' job much easier and that he wanted to use it in future Beer Bikes.

"[Using this system] gives precise lap times," Avali said. "In addition, [it] makes the judges' job easier next year by reducing their workload."

Will Rice College senior and women's bike captain Kylee Talwar said the new timing system was accurate but suggested a modification in the timing system to help broadcast race times to the crowd.

"I can't wait for a timing system where the information is displayed for the crowd to see to help keep track of what places each college is in," Talwar said. "This would be especially helpful during the men's race, when it often gets quite confusing."

Security and REMS

Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, Johnny Whitehead, said the Rice University Police Department was highly prepared for the event and ran into minimal issues during the event itself. 

"Overall, I think things went well," Whitehead said. "We had four referrals to [Student Judicial Programs]; three of them were for urinating in public, and one was for general disruption of property and criminal mischief for beating up a parking lot gate and causing damage to the gate. In addition, we issued two criminal citations for urinating in public to non-Rice students."

Director of Rice Emergency Medical Services Lisa Basgall said REMS addressed any emergency calls that came in and also stood by during Beer Bike to help with any medical emergencies that might have occurred.

Basgall said Beer Bike went well from a REMS standpoint.

"From our vantage point on the sidelines, it looked like quite a few people enjoyed Beer Bike and had a safe day," Basgall said. "It's great to see all of the students, alumni and other visitors on campus enjoy the fun activities and college spirit that Beer Bike promotes."

General Concerns

Talwar said in the future, she would appreciate having more seating for the college sections.

"We need bleachers for the college sections so the crowds can see the races," Talwar said. "It looked very crowded, and a lot of people couldn't see, so there was overspill around the outside of the college sections."

Avali said the campuswide Beer Bike coordinators made every attempt to reserve bleachers but that their plans fell through.

"We tried to reserve bleachers in advance, but [the company] double-booked the bleachers," Avali said. "The only other [company] that we found couldn't assemble in time. I highly recommend future coordinators to get bleachers in the beginning of year."

Hanszen College Beer Bike Coordinator Eric Dai suggested an improvement in the planning of the event itself. 

"The way the system is run right now is taxing on the coordinators," Dai, a senior, said. "We are not given a direct say in most decisions. For example, although we love the caregiving system, they didn't give us enough time to get caregivers and thrust it on us."

Baker College freshman Nitin Agrawal said his first Beer Bike exceeded his expectations and that he is excited for next year's events.

"I was on pit crew [for Baker College], and I had a blast," Agrawal said. "In the future, I would love to see more non-drinking events. Lots of people wanted to participate but didn't necessarily want to drink."

Jones College sophomore Iman Kassir said she was excited to cheer her team on to victory but wanted to have more bathrooms at the track itself.

"I loved the event itself," Kassir said. "However, I wanted to go to the bathroom, but there were only five or so port-a-potties at the track. All the buildings along the Loop were blocked off by RUPD, and I was forced to walk back to [McNair Hall] just to go to the bathroom.

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