The annual Tour De Laramie is a longstanding event in the Laramie community that has been enjoyed by community members and students alike for many years. This year, the tour will be taking place on May 5, with the race starting at 4:30pm at Mingle’s Lounge.
Tickets are priced at five dollars for those with a helmet, and ten dollars for those without. All proceeds will go to the Cathedral Home for Children.
Participants will follow a route to twenty different bars across the city of Laramie, including O’Dwyer’s Public House, Bond’s Brewing, 3rd Street Bar, and many more. At each location, participants must order a drink and have their participant card signed by the participating bar before they move on to the next location.
“I actually helped last year and this year, so this is my second year helping,” said Dakota Harvey, the bar manager at Mingle’s.
“We’re expecting double the amount of participants from last year because we have more prizes to give away, we have a lot more going on this year than we did last year.”
According to Harvey, Mingle’s saw 175 participants last year who purchased tickets to join the race.
“Being 21 is the main rule, and they ask that everyone stay off of Grand Avenue and take the back roads. The issue is, if someone who does participate hurts themselves, that’s kind of their own fault. So we urge everyone to be cautious and to not get too drunk,” said Harvey.
“There’s always concerns, these kids are stopping at twenty different bars and taking shots, so that’s probably the biggest concern.”
The first team to finish the race will win a 2023 tour t-shirt and a round of drinks upon their arrival at Bud’s Bar.
“So, we’re later on in the tour, we’re one of the last five stops I think. So, everyone will already be pretty drunk or they’re just trying to finish,” said Haylee Russell, the general manager at the Cowboy Saloon and Dance Hall, “All of the bars downtown are close together. I think the stretch from Mingles to get downtown is the biggest safety concern.”
“[Participants are] all of the legal age, they can all make this decision. Barstool WYO emphasizes to take back roads, which participants really need to make sure they are doing because if they go down Grand, they will get hurt.”
Several bars within the city have decided to not participate in the event this year, likely because of liability concerns having to do with underage drinking.
“It’s a good event for UW students to give back to the community. It’s good that these kids are giving back in one way or another,” said Harvey.
“Make sure you drink a lot of water and eat food before the event happens, that’s what I always tell everyone who plans on going.”
