(This story was updated with new information.)
Green Bay Press-Gazette reporter Richard Ryman responds to fans’ questions about the Green Bay Packers. This is a regular feature published as long as there are questions to answer.
You can send questions to rryman@usatodayco.com.
Mo: How is it determined which players ride the kids’ bikes to practice? Are some players not allowed to participate due to injury concerns, and if so, who makes that call?
Richard Ryman: Timely questions, Mo, especially given the huge turnout of kids with bicycles during the first day of training camp on July 29. It was the longest line I’ve seen in many years of going to training camp.
The selection process, for both players and kids, is partly controlled, but mostly random.
There are two parts of the bicycle process. One is the DreamDrive, which features bicycles with sidecars. There are five of them sponsored by American Family Insurance. American Family is responsible for choosing the kids. On July 29, the opening day of camp, the kids were former patients of American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. Among the players riding those bikes were Tucker Kraft (his knee is looking good, by the way), Luke Musgrave and Damien Martinez. And I missed the other two.
As for the rest, it’s pretty much up to the players to volunteer to take part. I say pretty much because for rookies and younger players, “there are certain expectations,” although the Packers won’t go so far as say they are ordered to participate.
The players pick the kids, who are lined up along the fenced-in path from Lambeau Field to Oneida Street.
Veterans have the option of opting out. Former quarterback Aaron Rodgers and some of his buddies were usually no-shows, although you can probably understand why. In Rodgers’ case, it would have created unbridled chaos. But Jordan Love does it and sometimes even coach Matt LaFleur. This year, Micah Parsons had his first bike experience, escorting three girls to the practice field.
As to injured players, I expect there are discussions if need be, although, depending on the degree and stage of injury, players probably don’t need to be ordered to stand down.
Players ride bikes, if the bikes are big enough, and sometimes carry them if they’re quite small, and on rare occasion they break them. Also, increasingly, they have the option of riding scooters, which in some cases is easier to do.
If you’re a kid and want to secure a rider, the best advice is to get there around 9 a.m. It helps to be at the head of the line. They usually start heading to the practice field about 9:45 or 10.
The players/bikes tradition dates to at least 1958. For many decades, it was a highly informal process that many traditionalists think was more pure and more charming. But like everything in the NFL, and by extension the Packers, it’s more corporatized now. But if you look at the faces of the kids (and sometimes the players) they don’t appear to feel slighted.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @RichRymanPG and on Instagram at @rrymanPG.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Reader asks how players and kids are chosen for Packers bike tradition
Reporting by Richard Ryman, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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By Richard Ryman, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
