Steve Inskeep, host of NPR's "Morning Edition," gave Milwaukee's own bicycle "Bipolar Plunge" its 15 seconds of fame this morning, using the event to tease its 8:30 a.m. newscast.
The NPR host referred to the third annual Jan. 1 event, in which a handful of hearty bike riders rode straight into icy Lake Michigan. Inskeep mentioned the event by name, noting that organizers had to break up some icy before getting in the water.
"Bipolar Plunge" was created by Rush-Mor Records' Bill Rouleau, the guy who brought Milwaukee "Biktoberfest," "Tour de Farce" and the Bay View Pumpkin Palace. Rouleau said he thinks NPR caught wind of the event because the Associated Press covered it yesterday.
Rouleau said he's participated in the plunge all three years, including one previous year, as a test.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
