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The Rice Thresher
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While the Rice Program Council's Beer-Bike ad in last week's Thresher looked quite spiffy, I'm sorry to report that it mixed up history a bit.

Specifically, it claims that "while Rice men had been busy chugging and biking for over a decade, Rice women got their first taste of Beer-Bike in the form of Tea-Trike."

In fact, Rice women were part of the very first Beer-Bike: The men's colleges fielded a team of 10 men and two women. The women raced the final lap; whichever college was ahead before the women rode got the trophy, but the leader after the women's lap got a keg of beer (to be consumed across the street at Hermann Park since the campus was dry). I figure it's important to set the record straight.

My information comes from a 1957 Thresher article. I just hope the RPC's carelessness (this was pointed out to them before the ad went to press) won't lead to another one of those wonderful Rice myths.

Christof Spieler

Thresher graphics editor

SRC '97

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the March 21, 1997 issue.