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Chequamegon FatTire Festival |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Chris Smith
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Thursday, 27 September 2007 |
Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival
Cable, WI
September 14-16, 2007
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I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky winners again this year. One of over 2000 selected by lottery to participate in the 25th anniversary of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. This is Midwest mountain biking's largest gathering of the tribe.
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The cornerstone of the three day weekend's festivities is the Chequamegon 40. 40 miles of fast, rolling trails and fire roads through the beautiful northern Wisconsin pine and hardwood forests. Gary Crandell and his crew have done an outstanding job with this festival. There's a reason that thousands of mountain biker's eagerly await that post card in April that confirms that you were one of the lottery winners for a chance to race. This year being the Silver Anniversary, many past winners and celebs showed up to share the experience. Gary Fisher, Greg LeMond (who raced in the 40), Travis Brown, Steve Tilford and Maurice Tierney were there. The Fat Tire Festival draws folks from all over the US and Canada, including Mark "Tex" and Vikki "The Flyin' Finn" Logrbrinck from Northridge, California. It was great to meet up with fellow Bikeman.com teammates and get to know them. Tex rode a sweet Salsa Mamasita single speed 29er in the 40 while Vikki rode in the Short & Fat (a 16 mile race run in conjunction with the 40 mile race, sharing a finish line). The Short & Fat was Vikki's first ever cross country race and she was quite proud to have ridden the gnarly hike-a-bike sections that may other racers had to dismount.
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This year I was finally able to arrive in time for the Friday fun. There was a collection of "vintage" mountain bikes assembled by Trek. Of particular interest (to me anyway), was a brand new 1995 Bontrager DeLuxe Race Lite. The curator said they found it at a European distributor. This is the same frame I raced the 40 on. However, mine has been rebuilt with Sram, TruVativ, Chris King and Thompson components. The suspension fork has been replaced with a custom rigid fork that duplicates the geometry of the original Bontrager fork crown. I've never owned a more reliable drive train than the XO triggers paired with an XO rear derailleur. The other Friday event was a tour of the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association's (CAMBA) extensive trail system. I chose to ride the Ojibwe trail. 13 miles of tight, technical singletrack with a fair helping of rocks and roots... we definitely pegged the fun meter! CAMBA does an excellent job of maintaining hundreds of miles of trails in this area. Trails are well marked and detailed maps are available. I highly recommend spending some time in the saddle if you're ever in the area. Visit their website.
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Temps were on the cool side for the weekend. On the trip Friday to Cable traveling through Michigan's upper peninsula I had the pleasure of encountering the first snowfall of the season. Saturday's wake up call revealed a temp of 26 degrees and a very heavy frost. Start temps warmed up to the high 40's and the race was pretty comfortable. The 40 begins with a mass start down the main street in Hayward, Wisconsin. 1700 racers rolling out through town to a chorus of cheers, whistles, and cowbells. Out of town we turn onto a state highway for a mile or two and then it's a hard left onto "Rosie's Field" and we're off. Unfortunately, so were my water bottles. "Rosie's Field" is particularly bumpy and a cold splash on my leg indicated trouble. A downward glance and I saw the bottle of electrolytes jettison. No worries, I've still got a bottle of water and I can replenish at the food stops. At mile 10 I reached for the water... gone. Rigid forks should come with a disclaimer regarding water bottles. I'll be investing in a Camelbak soon. At the 16 mile mark I stopped to fuel up and rehydrate and chat with Vikki's father and his friend for a couple minutes. It was there I decided that I'd back off the pace and hit each food stop and get to the finish line feeling good for the 10 hour drive home. My split at 16 miles was 1:13, which had me on pace for a 3:00 finish to equal last year's effort. By the time I reached the 30 mile mark, the famed "Seeley Fire Tower" climb I felt great but had slipped back. About a mile or so from the finish we crested the ski hill at Telemark Resort, from there it's a downhill screamer to the finish line. It's a great feeling to crest that last hill and take in the view of the massive crowd at the finish. My finish time was 3:17. Next year's goal is 2:50.
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Some unique things from this year's festival. It was here a few years ago that I first saw a 29er, and it was here this year that I first saw a 36er. Yep, 36" hoops. And it was raced. The only question I had was... Where did he find the tires? The other unusual thing... For the first time in 25 years the 40 was won by a single speed. Jesse LaLonde clocked in at 2:11 (his brother Marko finished 4th, also on a single speed).
Thanks for reading. Be happy and healthy.
Christopher Smith
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