Modified Beer Bike races rescheduled to April 18

By Viola Hsia     4/15/25 11:08pm

Beer Bike races have been rescheduled for April 18 at 5-8 p.m. The makeup event was announced in an email to Beer Bike captains, coordinators and stakeholders, from the campuswide coordinators and the Bike Captains Planning Committee.

The event will be held at the track, with only three races: the second heat of the women’s race and both heats of the men’s race. The first heat of the women’s race and the alumni races were the only races to occur on the original date of April 5, when lightning ended the event early.

“We understand the disappointment caused by the weather-related cancellations and have been diligently working to provide an opportunity for teams to compete and celebrate their hard work,” the email read.

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A few key changes will be made to the event, most notably that spectators will not be allowed to attend. The rule is to be enforced by the presence of security volunteers and RUPD at the event. Colleges that comply will be rewarded with a 30% reduction in their Beer Bike fine, according to a follow-up email sent to Beer Bike coordinators and captains.

“Unauthorized gatherings near the track may result in event cancellation by campus officials due to safety concerns,” an email read. 

The races will be filmed and live-streamed by a Rice Athletics camera crew, according to the email sent by the RPC Beer Bike Coordinators and the Bike Captains Planning Committee. It said that while they are still working out the logistics, the livestream link will only be available to one person per college to stream in each college commons.

“Ultimately, this event isn’t meant to replicate Beer Bike,” Wiley Liou, one of the campuswide Beer Bike coordinators, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “It’s not another full-day celebration with early-morning and late-night activities; it’s a chance for our racers to finally do what they’ve spent months training for and to represent their colleges. 

While we understand that sacrificing spectatorship is disappointing, we know that the spirit and camaraderie of the teams will still make the races competitive and meaningful.”

Additionally, the relay will consist of only six bikers and six chuggers. Traditionally, Beer Bike teams include eight bikers and eight chuggers. The rosters for each makeup team will include four pit crew members and one alternate biker.

Rolando González, a biker and captain for Lovett College’s men’s bike team, said the team was prepared for rule changes, so the email was not as surprising when it was sent out.

“We were pretty much certain that if this was to be rescheduled, it would not be the same,” said González, a junior. “We’ll have to figure out who sits out, but honestly, that’s a minor concern.”

González added that he was interested to see how the new rules affected judging the race overall.

“I’m interested to see how the new rules will change the outcome [of the race],” González said.

In another break from tradition, throwers  – pit crew members who help launch bikers – will not be allowed onto the track. Instead, “riders are to start behind their start line from a standing start (one foot on the ground) and start riding entirely on their own once their chugger finishes,” according to the email.

Liou, a Baker College junior, said that the decision to resume the races took a while to be made, with factors like time and the RPC budget being major concerns. 

“Initially, the idea of resuming the races seemed out of reach,” Liou wrote in an email to the Thresher. “But when a group of Bike Captains came forward with a strong desire to finish the races, momentum kicked up and our committee was able to get things off the ground. We’ve spoken directly with as many captains and campus partners as we could in the short timeframe, and there is mutual interest in executing this sanctioned event without compromising safety.”

In terms of how the rescheduling will affect the final results, Liou wrote that they are still internally discussing this. For the races that did happen on April 5 – both alumni heats and the first heat of the women’s race – Liou said that the alumni results are currently in the appeals process, and are expected to be released later in the week. The Women’s Heat 1 results will be released along the rest of the makeup results.

The cancellations on April 5 marked the first time Beer Bike had been canceled in five years, since the races did not occur in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This rescheduled event represents a historic first for Beer Bike,” the email said. “We appreciate everyone’s dedication and passion for seeing this year’s races to the end.” 

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