| Part of An Obsessive Guide to the Greatest Alumni Tradition Ever |
| Beer-Bike Timeline |
| 1957 | transition to college system in March/1st InterCollegiate Bicycle Relay Race held on May 12 |
| original date rained out | |
| 4 colleges, plus 2 Jones women per team, only 1 bike per team | |
| extra long route (approx. 2 miles per rider), each rider stopped to chug at Chem Lec | |
| Baker won, Hanszen DQ'd for Fondren shortcut | |
| 1958 | first songfest |
| incorporated into Rondolet weekend (since 1947) | |
| drinking age 21 | |
| 1960 | race course shrunk to Inner Loop (including a 90 degree turn) |
| separate biking & chugging teams, pit crews | |
| space in front of current Bioengineering building served as pit | |
| 1961 | RAIN |
| colleges already spending money on bikes | |
| chug practice at Hermann Park featured in "Escapade" magainze | |
| 1966 | first Tea Trike: advent of second women's college (Brown) |
| RAIN | |
| 1968 | race course moved to parking lot on east side of stadium, now 2 laps of 1/2 mile track |
| Wiess "slingshot" idea | |
| "hill" in pavement begets the chant "he's over the hill, he's 40 yards out, he's 30 yards out …" | |
| songfest eliminated (WRC kept winning) | |
| parade slowly develops (trek to stadium lot) | |
| 1972 | end of Tea Trike as Brown/Jones do first real Beer-Bike race for women |
| other colleges soon to be coed | |
| drinking age becomes 18 at some point? | |
| end of Rondolet Court | |
| 1973 | rained out twice |
| 1974 | First Beer-Bike with coed colleges: Baker & Hanszen have both men's & women's teams |
| 1975 | Baker woman rides for Baker men's team |
| Hanszen woman rides for Hanszen men's team | |
| introduction of "Team Wiess" cheer | |
| 1976 | Lovett Tshirts: "we may not finish, but we always come" |
| team uses unicycle, motorcycle, rickshaw, etc. | |
| 1977 | rained out twice |
| first "double": Baker wins both races | |
| beginning of corporate sponsors: beer companies | |
| infamous "Hanszen maneuver" | |
| 1979 | RAIN |
| debut of GSA men | |
| "Breaking Away," biking interest increases, ironmen/women | |
| helmets required | |
| KTRU "bozobus" broadcasts | |
| development of themes (Myth Power Value) | |
| 1982 | drinking age now 19 |
| Wiess wins first alumni race | |
| 1983 | first "sweep": WRC take all three races |
| Martha Crandall rides on winning WRC men's team | |
| (rule changed to prevent women riding in men's race after that) | |
| event broadcast on HSE cable network | |
| 2 major track accidents (no crowd barriers) | |
| 1985 | first real track, move to west side of stadium, 1/3 mile loop |
| women's race increases to 2/3 mile for each rider | |
| track funded by $$ from colleges | |
| Club 13 at Beer-Bike (March 31) | |
| 1986 | wreck rule revised (replacement rider only has to do remaining laps) |
| 2nd WRC sweep | |
| Greg LeMond wins Tour de France that summer (1st American) | |
| 1987 | drinking age back to 21 (as of September 1, 1986) |
| first year of university cycling team | |
| 1988 | last year grad students allowed to ride for colleges |
| closest men's finish ever (Jones finishes .25 second ahead of Lovett) | |
| all colleges now fielding men & women's teams (Sid & Brown went coed in fall 1987) | |
| lucite cans begin to replace steel "tall boys" | |
| 1989 | closest alumni race finish ever (Will Rice finishes .2 second ahead of Hanszen) |
| 1990 | controversy in men's race -- Jones penalized 10 sec for person crossing track, ends up in 2nd place |
| 1991 | closest women's finish ever (Hanszen finishes .2 second ahead of Jones) |
| 1992 | pit paved, first GSA women's team |
| rainout, event held the following Friday afternoon | |
| rules added prohibiting disc wheels wheels, triathlon bars | |
| water balloon parade develops | |
| 3-women rule eliminated in alumni race | |
| 1998 | track gutted & repaved with more pit space/lanes (preparing for new colleges) |
| 1999 | 3rd WRC sweep |
| 2002 | Martel College's first race |
| 2003 | Beer-Run held instead of Beer-Bike |
| "Will Rice Invitational" bike race held following weekend | |
| 2004 | last year to celebrate in president's pool |
GSA's first-ever title (men's) |
|
| 2005 | Alumni race cancelled after Martel "runner"/WRC 7th biker crash |
| 2006 | highest finish ever for GSA women's team |
| 2007 | Event postponed due to student death |