Will Rice rides record times to Beer Bike sweep

By Margeux Clemmons     3/26/09 7:00pm

The results of Rice University's favorite event of the year, Beer Bike, are out, and Will Rice College broke the women's track record at 16 minutes flat. The record-setting time helped Will Rice seal a sweep of the men's, women's and alumni races.This is the fourth time that Will Rice has swept. Will Rice is the only college to have won all three races in the same year in the over fifty-year-long history of the intercollegiate biking and chugging relay race. Will Rice's last sweep was in 1999, and its previous two sweeps were both in the 1980's.

After the Will Rice men clinched the sweep, the members of the college promptly rushed onto the track, chanting and holding up four fingers.

"We're no longer doing high fives," Will Rice Beer Bike coordinator Matthew Dahlgren said. "We're doing high fours."

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Dahlgren, a senior, said Will Rice has been on the brink of winning for several years, but a malfunction in an alumni biker's bicycle last year kept the team from having a shot at taking all three races. He said the college's dedication to training, tight-knit community and the chemistry of returning team members, all of whom felt it was their duty to sweep, contributed to the accomplishment.

Campus-wide Beer Bike coordinator Mark Eastaway said that by winning, Will Rice has painted a target on its back for next year's Beer Bike and that he expects someone to step up and prevent another sweep.

"I think its clear that since it has taken them [Will Rice College] 10 years to get another sweep, they need to start ignoring Orientation Week, as that's another week off their training regime," Eastaway, a Brown College senior, said. "[Mary Chapman, fellow Campus-Wide Beer Bike coordinator,] and I are thinking of adding a clause to the rules that states if Will Rice sweeps ever again, then they have to throw a public party. And not show up."

Dahlgren responded to Eastaway and other college members by saying he understands their jealousy.

"I really just don't think [the other colleges] know how to love something," he said. "They really don't know what it's like to feel so passionate about Beer Bike, to feel the phoenix coursing through their veins."

Brown came in a close second in the women's race, with a time of 16:24.

Jones College won second in both the alumni race and the men's race.

"Jones had some of the fastest splits," Eastaway said. "It's a shame, because once you get pushed back in the pack its very, very hard to come back because it's almost essential to have the leader in your proximity to push you harder and also to draft off of until you make your move."

Jones also showed a strong start during the women's race before one of their bikers, Jones sophomore Michelle Pyle, skidded off of the first curve on her second lap after another biker bumped her. Pyle was aided by Emergency Medical Services immediately after the accident and had no major injuries, Chapman said.

Sid Richardson College was disqualified from both the men's and women's races for using a unicycle. Additionally, Jon Allison (Sid '08) rode the entire alumni race by himself.

Sid was also punished for its unconventional use of "rockets."

"They did also manage to discharge a fire extinguisher while biking in the men's race for extra-super bonus disqualification," Eastaway said.

Eastaway also commented on the amazing performance of the chug teams of the race, which began at 1 p.m., saying the chuggers should receive more recognition for their contributions.

"They don't get enough credit," Eastaway said. "A lot of them have a hard time standing up by that point, and yet they still manage to stand up straight and drink a lot of water very quickly. Simply amazing."

In addition to the historic race results, the overall event of Beer Bike ran on time thanks to the established traditions and well-documented plans passed down from previous Beer Bike planning, Eastaway said.

"This was probably the smoothest Beer Bike I've been witness to in the four years I've been here," he said. "The colleges got all their stuff done, the staff were amazing and helped us out so much, and it really came together to be an amazing day. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves."

Eastaway also applauded the Rice Program Council on the success of Willy Week leading up to Saturday.

The festivities on Saturday began early in the morning when individual colleges gathered in their commons, played music, drank beer and ate snacks. The Beer Bike parade along the Inner Loop began at 11:30 a.m. with a large-scale water balloon fight between all of the colleges. This year, colleges were limited to one balloon-ferrying truck instead of the normal two. Due to this change, which was made to facilitate next year's introduction of Duncan and McMurtry Colleges, the race began 30 minutes earlier. When all was said and done, Hanszen and Brown Colleges were the last to have balloons left to throw, Eastaway said.

Eastaway said the only hiccup during the day was the disappearance of the coordinators' golf cart during the calculation of results. The cart, carrying approximately $20,000 worth of equipment, including walkie-talkies, was found later that afternoon in front of Valhalla with all of its contents intact an hour and half after the coordinators filed a police report with RUPD, Chapman said. She added that the same cart was stolen and found last year after the race.

Chapman and Eastaway made several adjustments to the festivities this year, one of which was to remove sodas from the undergraduate concessions. Chapman said the change was to avoid student dehydration and that water, lemonade and Gatorade were provided as a healthier and less expensive option. The coordinators also arranged to have music playing between the races, a first for Beer Bike, Chapman said.

More spectator stands were set up for this year than in previous years, Chapman said. She added the turnout for Beer Bike was exceptional and that so many alumni showed up that some were told to leave.

"I thought it was really cool that when we went out there to set up, there were people already eating under tents at 8 a.m.," she said. "I think that's why Beer Bike is such a great event. You're only here for four years, but Beer Bike is part of you forever, and that's really refreshing.

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