Scholarship Information

June 1, 2024 (update from Christian)
2024 Roger Kramer Memorial Scholarship Announcement
The Roger Kramer Memorial Scholarship is open once again.  You can download a Scholarship Application.  Scholarship Guidelines are also available.  While I have never met Roger personally, we were definitely kindred spirits and he was passionate about writing and cycling.  Anyone crazy enough to co-found the Tour De Donut and Tour de Stooges is cool in my book.  He was an active member of Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society (BABES -- what a cool acronym).

 

 

May 1, 2024
Roger Kramer Memorial Scholarship History

 

The Roger Kramer Memorial Scholarship was created in 2013 in memory of one of the Tour de Donut’s founders.  Roger died suddenly in November, 2012.

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Roger was a well-known fixture of the bicycling scene in the St. Louis area.  He hosted a website, Roger Kramer Cycling, with detailed information about the many tours he rode, his thoughts about bicycling and giving back to the community, as well as a cycling blog that was considered to be one of the best sources of information about bicycling in the region.

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During the winter of 1988-89, Roger was one of the four Mid-America Bicycle Club officers who helped brainstorm the original concept of a fun ride involving eating donuts to spoof the Tour de France.  The first Tour de Donut was held the following July, 1989 in Bethalto, IL.

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Roger also helped to found the Tour de Stooges ride, which is held annually in Lebanon, IL. He was a ride leader with B.A.B.E.S.--the Belleville area Bicycling and Eating Society, and hosted the BABES website for several years.

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Here’s an excerpt from Roger’s blog on his 1995 Tour de Donut win:

 

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​Photo: Kramer takes the lead in the Tour de Donut

“I skipped involvement with the ride a couple of years in the early 1990s, and a guy by the name of Evan Williams of Kansas raised the bar to 25 donuts eaten. I returned to the ride in 1994 — no longer as an organizer — and finished a respectable third, but I wanted more. When I found out Evan wouldn't be riding in 1995, I decided this race was mine! There's no way I was going to eat 25 donuts, but I figured somewhere between 15 and 20 could win it. I managed to eat 15 donuts and finished the ride in two hours. The donut bonus took 75 minutes off my time. Another guy ate 25 donuts, but his road time was slow enough that he couldn't catch me.

I won the yellow jersey!​​​