** Check out Jen Cooper's massive statistics page, including who won which years!

The very first Beer-Bike was held on May 5, 1957, just over a month after the inception of the residential colleges.  Baker College finished first, followed by Will Rice and Wiess.  Hanszen was disqualified for taking a "shortcut."

Since then, Beer-Bike has gradually evolved into what it is today.  Despite past changes and changes to come, Beer-Bike will always remain what is was first intended to be: a friendly competition between the colleges; in short, uniquely Rice.

For more history, visit Beer.Bike.Balloons | A Beer-Bike Documentary.

Here are some excerpts from the Thresher issues covering the 1957 Beer-Bike:

[ Colleges to Enter 15-Mile Bike Race ... April 12, 1957 ]

Tentative plans are now being made for the first inter-(and intra-) college competition under the college sysytem, a bicycle relay race. Participating colleges will be Will Rice, Baker, and Hanszen.

The race will cover a fifteen mile course, beginning outside Houston and ending on the Rice campus. Teams from each college will ride five miles, dismount, and another team resumes the race.

A touch of novelty will be requiring each rider to down an unspecified quantity of beer before his replacement may begin the next segment. No deatils are yet available as to how the team members will be returned to the campus...

[ Four-College Bicycle race Set ... April 18, 1957 ]

Final approval has been recieved from the Dean's office with regard to tne inter-collge bicycle race. The date has been set for Saturay, April 27, at 1:00pm.

The entire school has been invited to line themselves along the route of the race, which will be held on Campus, to cheer the members of their choice team.

Participating colleges will be Hanszen, Will Rice, Weiss, and Baker. The team from each college will consist of ten men, with two alternates. Each memeber of the team will ride one lap.

The race route is as follows: Start at the gym; Ride to Lovett Hall, make one circuit of the Hall; follow the road between Anderson Hall and the Chemistry Building to the point of intersection with the service road, each rider must dismount and consume one quart of unspecified liquid.

Resuming the race, riders will follow the road to the stadium parking lot; a complete circuit of the parking lot will be made, with the teams meeting again at the gym. Here the next rider will take over and the whole cycle begins again...

[ Bicycle Relay Tomorrow 1pm ... April 26, 1957 ]

Tomorrow will mark the first Rice inter-collegiate competition to take place under the college system. The 1957 Inter-Collegiate Bycycle Relay,it will be made up of participants from each of the men's college and the women's college...

Each of the four men's colleges will be represented by a team of ten riders. The women's college will provide two members for each team of the men's college who will ride an extra lap. The winning college of the first ten laps will win a trophy and the winner of the eleventh lap will receive a keg of beer to be consumed at Hermann Park.

[ Bike Race is Reset Sunday at 2:30 PM ... May 3, 1957 ]

The rain fell and the wind blew and the First Annual Inter-College Bike Race was postponed until Sunday at 2:30.

The eccentric nature of European racing bikesand the benefits of a string tail wind have been well examined as a result of the delay...

The Administration approved the beer drinking required for the race late last week so all riders will be required to consume an unspecified amount of the brew at the half way point of each lap...

[ Baker College is Bike Race Victor ... May 10, 1957 ]

A crowd of approximately 500 studenta and faculty gathered at the gym last Sunday afternoon to witness the first annual Inter-College Bicycle Race. Baker College's team of ten men and two women rode the course in 68.4 minutes and became the first champions of the race.

Will Rice was second with a time of 69.4 minutes, Weiss was third with 70.4, and Hanszen was disqualified because they took a "Long" short-cut.

Hanszen, however, not to be squelched, won the beer consuming part of the event with 5.6 seconds total consumption time for the nine riders. Will Rice was also second in this event with a drinking time of 60.1 seconds, Baker next with 66.1 seconds, and Weiss fourth with 75.0 seconds.

Baker College won a keg of beer as the prize, and Hanszen won the keg...