I like to think the idea for the Tour de Dick’s emerged in a fashion similar to other great epiphanies of the past, but instead of a Middle Eastern teahouse or a Renaissance period cafe as the point of illumination, it was Rooftop Brewing Company’s deck on a cold night.
My friends had just been debating which Dick’s Drive-In is the best in town. There are five in Seattle and one in Edmonds. “Has anyone ever put together a race from Dick’s to Dick’s?” I asked.
A friend who does regular bike races with treasure hunts and action items (ingest this weed edible here, take this Fireball shot there) agreed to help organize the race. It ended up being a stupidly fun time—and you need stupidly fun things to do if you are in college. You probably can’t legally ingest edibles or take shots, but you can eat as much Dick’s as you want.
Dick’s is not a perfect company—they fought hard against an employee tax that would have raised money for homeless services—but they’re local, they offer their employees better benefits than other fast-food places, and, Jesus, their fries are good.