|
Chequamegon or Bust |
|
|
Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
|
|
Written by Mark Logrbrinck
|
|
Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
Chequamegon 40 Men’s Single Speed
Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival
25th Anniversary
 | | click to enlarge |
Holy crap I am tired. We just got back from a 16 day, 5500 mile whirlwind road trip. We drove through 12 different states with stops in Idaho, Wisconsin and Colorado. Vikki and I both got into the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. So sit back with your favorite beverage. I know it is lengthy but it was a long trip.
 | | click to enlarge |
I sent an application in March and my name was drawn. Vikki and I agreed that if I got lucky we would forgo the Downieville Classic. Too many things in too short of time. Well they cashed my check signifying that my name had indeed been selected. Herein comes the dilemma because Vikki was bummed that she was missing her one race this year. She usually races in the downhill at Downieville. Soon afterwards I got a newsletter from the race organizers. Somewhere near the back of it was an article titled “50 authors can win entries to the race” or something like that. Well I ain’t the best writer but I tried. I wrote how she was bumming, we were coming from California, she has Lyme Disease, how we love Wisconsin (Vikki’s whole family lives there and her parents summer at Lake Nebagamon.) and so on. Well the judges must have had a soft heart. She got accepted and we planned out the trip.
 | | click to enlarge |
Our first stop was in Idaho. David, one of Vikki’s old high school mates, lives in Hailey just south of Ketchum. He works for the Forest Service and his wife Kim is a professor teaching biology at the community college. They have two cool daughters Allison and Autumn, 11 and 9 respectively. Having only been in the northern portion of the state I was looking forward to visiting. Dave, knowing the area and having some buddies who mountain bike, took us to some cool alpine single-track. One of the highlights was helping Dave pick out a new bike. His old one was a carbon fiber Giant Cadex, some 15 years old. I recognized it as soon as I saw it. I had convinced him to ride my El Santo so he could enjoy the rides. This persuaded him to look for a new bike. We went to a couple of shops and he picked out a Trek Fuel 8.0. Pretty sweet. The next best thing to getting a new bike is helping someone else buy one. After many miles of trail riding, eating and laughing with the girls, we left Idaho for Wisconsin.
 | | click to enlarge |
The trip from Idaho to Wisconsin was two days, the first being a 12 hour, 800+ mile day followed by a 10 ½ hour, 650+ mile day. Man it takes a long time getting though Montana and North Dakota. Next time we take a rode trip, a 5-6 hour drive will be a snap. We at last got to Wisconsin and unpacked preparing for the race.
 | | click to enlarge |
Driving to Cable the next morning under gray skies, my hopes were diminishing for a ride. The start for Vikki’s race, the Short and Fat, was right in the middle of town. Being a forest road for the first 8 miles, I drove it in the Toyota. Then the dogs and I rode some more of it on the Mamasita….. Well I rode and they ran. The skies were looking very unfriendly and I was wondering if it would be a mud fest. Friday I rode near Hayward along some of my race course for Saturday. I took a nap with the dogs in Rosie’s Field, a hay field along the course. It was cold and windy and the forecast was for snow and/or sleet. Great. Cold and miserable just how I like my biking.
 | | click to enlarge |
We woke early on Saturday, race day, to a temp of 29. It was cold but not raining, not a cloud in the sky. Vikki and I started our races in separate towns. My race started in Hayward and ended in Cable. Hers started and ended in Cable. So the logistics would be a little tricky. We decided to get to the start line around 9:00 am, meaning we would leave around 8:00 am. This would give us an hour to get in line with a 10:00 am start. We took separate cars to the start. I took ours and her dad drove it to Cable and she drove with her mom to Cable. We also had long time friends from Minnesota, who drove to the great Northwoods of Wisconsin to root us on. Chuck went along to see me off, and Gladys went along with Vikki to see her off. So we had a small cheering team.
 | | click to enlarge |
I unloaded the bike and headed over to the start….yikes….I have never seen so many bikes on their handle-bars holding a place in line for a racer. Maybe I dilly-dallied too long, and should have got there sooner. About that time I was looking at a thousand bikes plus. At this point in line I hear “Tex”. I turned around and saw Chris Smith. I knew he would be there but we just could not get hooked up before. After chatting it up for a few minutes I went to place my bike in line. Well getting there an hour before was a mistake. I was in the rear 1/8 of people. Jokingly I said “when you are in the rear all you can do is pass people”. I never realized how true it would be.
 | | click to enlarge |
The start was promptly at 10:00 am with a cannon for a start gun. Cool. We ride down Main Street in Hayward to the cheers of what seemed the whole town of 2000. We rode out of town to the main highway east out of town. The police had it blocked until all racers passed. The coursed turned to Rosie’s Field where I was napping the previous day. Riding on grass is arduous. After this we head to the woods for the remainder of the race. Up a hill, down a hill, repeat. Not big hills, just lots of them. The most demoralizing thing was the mile markers, 37 miles to go, 36 miles to go, you get the picture. 40 miles is a long way. I was glad to have my single-speed because I have never seen so many broken derailleurs, and lots of broken chains. I finished the race in 3 ½ hours. I was happy with that. I was 1250th place or so out of 1800. Chris Smith finished in 3:15. I think maybe because he had a head start. Yeah right. Anyway it was one, if not, the best races I have attended. I am guessing close to 5000 or 6000 people at the finish line. You have 2500 racers, plus family members, plus 600 volunteers, plus the locals. Oh yeah, and Greg LeMond, Gary Fisher and Steve Tilford raced. Tilford got 2nd place (not bad for a 47 year old), Lemond came in 291st place, and Fisher came in between.
 | | click to enlarge |
The remainder of the time at Lake Nebagamon was with Vikki and her parents, friends, and the dogs. We took sauna, (you can’t marry a Finn without being willing to take sauna) I rode more (not the day after the race), ate, played with the dogs and relaxed. I did not want to head back, but we had to. We packed up and headed to Colorado to visit old friends.
 | | click to enlarge |
We arrived in Colorado in a couple of days after driving through torrential rains in Iowa and almost getting robbed in Omaha. We arrived at Castle Rock for a visit. We spent more time eating, talking, laughing with old friends and neighbors from Los Angeles, and hey guess what, riding. Bill, our old neighbor, and I met his buddy Dave in the mountains on the Front Range of the Rockies. One would think just being the Front Range the mountains would be small. Boy was I wrong. It was a nice single-track loop at around 8000 feet. We cut the ride a little short. I was not feeling well and daylight was waning.
The trip ended with quick stops in Santa Fe, where I rode some of the Dale Ball Trails. Well marked trails like Wisconsin, really nice. Then we spent one night in Flagstaff. I wish I could have rode there…..it is close so I will be back one day.
The race was great, the Mamasita was fantastic. I have been lazy and not written a review for it but I will. I am a 29er convert, it took me a long time to buy into the hype. I shoulda done it sooner. The IRD Fire XC 29ers are good as or better than the 26” version. Oh yeah, the Greyhound Anti-Friction Cream was a life saver. Having never used any creams or stuff it feels weird, kinda like something bad happened down there, but I had no problems in the nether regions. Visit Idaho, Colorado, Wisconsin or New Mexico. All have fine trails and are worth the miles to get there.
Tex |
|
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
