Essay contest awards guaranteed race spots

March 27th, 2013

With a random lottery drawn limit of 3,100 riders, hundreds of applicants will fall short in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival selection process. Shortly after the March 15 entry submission postmark deadline, race applicants will learn if they made it or not.  Those unlucky in the draw or late in the application process still have a chance to ride in the sold out September 13-15 cross county events.

The Chequamegon Festival which is sponsored by Trek and produced by Life Time Fitness will award fifty guaranteed reserved entries to the winners of the 50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon essay contest.

In spite of the contest title, you do not need to list fifty individual reasons for wanting a race spot. Past contestants have submitted Chequamegon themed stories, songs, poems, drawings, parodies and even children’s chunky crayon notes. Submissions may be written, drawn, photographed, filmed and/or recorded. 

Past contest winners have used tales of personal relationships, lifestyle motivations, historical connections, advocacy efforts, competition goals, personal demographics, geographic location and countless other reasons to sway the contest judges. What ever the reason, the authors of the winning essays will receive a reserved race spot in the sold out event.

A multi-point scoring system is applied to each contest submission. Originality, creativity, humor, sincerity, special effort and other undisclosed factors will produce a total essay score. Contestants are advised to give it their best shot.  With hundreds of contest submissions, the competition is keen.

Essays must be legible, with a 500 word maximum (most are much less) and if three dimensional in nature be less than two foot by two foot in overall size.  All submissions must be postmarked, emailed or otherwise delivered to the Chequamegon office no later than July 1. After the submissions are judged, winners will be selected and all contest participants notified of the outcome by July 15.

Winners will get reserved entries. Those out of the winning column will be encouraged to join the spectator or volunteer fun over the Chequamegon event weekend. The decision of the judges is final in this last-chance-at-an-entry-spot essay contest. All essays become property of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, will not be returned and may be reproduced at some future date without further notification.

To be included in this year’s “50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon” essay contest postmark your submission by July 1 to the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, PO Box 267, 13460 Spruce Street Cable, WI 54821. Emails are acceptable if received by that July 1 deadline at cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com.

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GU Clean Up Crew leaves no trace

March 27th, 2013

Responsible use with a focus on trail stewardship is key to the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival’s organizational philosophy. This core value is essential to insuring that the event weekend trails are left in great shape for future rider’s enjoyment. In support of a leave no trace focus, GU Energy Labs returns again this year to sponsor the event’s trail clean up effort.

The GU Clean Up Crew will be on hand to see that what ever is left behind is packed out. The assignment is to sweep fifty-six miles of linear race course that has been traversed by 3,100 riders over the race weekend.

You can join this commendable trail advocacy effort as a volunteer team member of the GU Clean Up Crew. Sixteen volunteer crew members will be selected from those who best complete the statement, “I want to be on the GU Clean Up Crew because…”

Those interested in one of the crew spots should send in or email a short written statement postmarked by July 1 to the Chequamegon race office. GU Crew chiefs Joe Timmerman and Erik Hansen will select the team members from among the submissions received. All applicants will be notified of the crew selections by July 15.

As the event weekend draws near, those selected will receive further instructions about their specific race day clean up assignment. On race day, the crew members will be assigned one of three trail clean up sections insuring that the entire trail is left in good shape following the racer’s passing.

A job well done deserves an appreciative thank you. Each volunteer GU Crew member will receive an assortment of GU Energy Labs products including GU Energy Gel, GU Brew, GU Chomps and other GU premiums. In further recognition of the noble clean up efforts, each GU Crew member will receive a guaranteed Reserved Registration for the 2014 Chequamegon event.

This is a great opportunity to participate in a note worthy Chequamegon effort to do something good for the trails. Join the GU Clean Up Crew, you will be glad you did.

Crew applications should be submitted by the July 1 postmark deadline to: GU Clean Up Crew, PO Box 267, Cable, WI54821 or you can email your submission to cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com .

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New and Improved 2013 Chequamegon Start Gates

January 24th, 2013

Here is the updated information replacing previous on the new Chequamegon 40 and Short & Fat start gate system we will be using this coming September- (revised 3-1-13)

This September’s Chequamegon 40 and Short & Fat 16 start lines will feature an expanded start gate system allowing additional spots for rider placements and providing a safer roll out in both events.

In the Chequamegon 40, the number of start gates will be expanded from five to seven.  In the Short & Fat, five start gates will be offered up from the traditional two.  In both events placement criteria will be the best of the past two year’s finishing times in each event. Start gate assignments will be assigned regardless of gender or competition class.

Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival

Start gate time splits for the Chequamegon 40

Start Gate 1      race time less than 2:16:00

Start Gate 2     race time greater than or equal to 2:16:00 and less than 2:31:00

Start Gate 3      race time greater than or equal to 2:31:00 and less than 2:46:00

Start Gate 4      race time greater than or equal to 2:46:00 and less than 3:01:00

Start Gate 5      race time greater than or equal to 3:01:00 and less than 3:16:00

Start Gate 6      race time greater than or equal to 3:16:00 and less than 3:31:00

Start Gate 7      race time greater than or equal to 3:31:00

Start gate time splits for the Short & Fat

Start Gate 1      race time less than or equal to 1:02:00

Start Gate 2      race time greater than or equal to 1:02:00 and less than 1:07:00

Start Gate 3      race time greater than or equal to 1:07:00 and less than 1:12:00

Start Gate 4      race time greater than or equal to 1:12:00 and less than 1:17:00

Start Gate 5      race time greater than or equal to 1:17 and less than 1:22:00

Start Gate 6      race time greater than or equal to 1:22

Automatic Gate Assignment

Individual rider start gates will be automatically assigned utilizing the finishing time criteria loaded into the registration data base. Those without previous two year’s event results will by default be assigned to the last gate in each event.  At the time of registration if the rider requested preferred gate assignment and provided previous verifiable race results, those previous results will be considered in assigning a gate.

Notification and Request for Reconsideration

Once your gate assignment has been made and you have been notified via confirmation email, you may request a further review for reassignment to another gate.  Requests for further start gate review must be made in writing prior to September 1.  Email to cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com preferred, however you can send a written request via the mail as well.  All gate reconsideration requests must be accompanied by a $10.00 administrative fee payable by MasterCard, VISA, personal check or money order.  The decision of the race officials is final.  After September 1 no further start gate re-considerations will be made.

The expanded start gate system will allow placement of more riders by quantifiable ability criteria resulting in a smoother and safer roll out in each mass start event.  At the event, each participant’s start gate will be indicated on both their Tyvek body number and laminated handle bar number provided at bib pick up. Position within each of the assigned gates is on a first come first served basis.

 

 

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Chequamegon 31 Registration to Go Online

November 20th, 2012

31st  Chequamegon Fat Tire Dates Set in September

Cable, WI – For immediate release – November 20, 2012

Off road bicyclists from across the country and overseas will converge on Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisc. for the 31st Annual Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival sponsored by Trek on September 13-15.   A sold out field will test muscles, minds and pedal powered machines in the nation’s largest mass start point-to-point off road bicycle event.  The Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival is owned and produced byChanhassen,Minn.  based Life Time Fitness.

In 2013, the event’s registration limit will be raised to 3,100 riders.   Also new to the coming year, each attending participant will receive an event T-shirt as part of their registration fee.

The main event of the weekend, on Saturday, September 14, is the Chequamegon 40.  The mass start roll out of 2100 riders from Hayward’s Main Street at 10:00 a.m.  is not to be missed.  A select few elites will compete for the chance to be called champion, while the rest of the field is made up of citizen’s class athletes in it for the adventure and personal challenge inherent in the forty mile off road journey.

The Short & Fat, a 16-mile companion event, offers an additional 1000 cyclists a shorter but challenging back woods cycling opportunity.   This rolling mass of cyclists will launch fromRandysek Road in Cable at 10:00 a.m.

Both events head cross-county utilizing a twisted maze of wooded trails to arrive at the Telemark Resort finish line in Cable.   A Children’s Bicycle Parade is held before the start of the racing excitement at both start lines on Saturday.

Registration for the cross country events is limited to 3,100 and selected via a random lottery in March.  Registration for this year’s event will move to an all online procedure.   The registration process will go live on the www.cheqfattire.com web page on January 1, 2013.  To be eligible for the lottery drawing, applicants must apply online by the March 15 submission deadline.   No hard copy mail in registrations will be available for 2013.

On Sunday September 15 of the Chequamegon weekend, participants can also enjoy  the Rough Stuff Poker Ride, a bicycle orienteering event.   The Rough Stuff offers a timed competition and a fun for all poker ride division where fastest times and top poker hands win prizes.

Rounding out the weekend, the Sunday Funday Events are free, fat and family fun for adults and children alike at Telemark Resort in Cable.

With a combination of fat tires, friends, family and fun it is not just a race, it’s a really great time.  For more information about the event weekend contact:  Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, Inc., PO Box 267, Cable, WI 54821, 715-798-3594, cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com  or visit the event’s web page at www.cheqfattire.com .

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Chequamegon Event Race Courses Marked

August 31st, 2012

Just in time for Labor Day weekend preview, both the Chequamegon 40 and Short & Fat 16 mile races courses were marked in advance of the September 14-16 event weekend.

The Chequamegon 40 course is marked with blaze orange arrows from the Highway 77 entrance to Rosie’s Field atFish Hatchery Road all the way to the Telemark Resort finish line.  Please note at this writing the hay in Rosie’s Field has not been cut.  We hope to have that resolved by race day.

The Short & Fat 16 mile course is marked with hot pink arrows from Randysek Road at Cty Hwy M in Cable to the Telemark Resort finish line.

The leaders at Lake Helaine heading to Telemark

Riders should note the race courses are not closed to traffic or other trail users.  Be aware that you will encounter on coming or same direction traffic on the multi-use trails, forest roads and other trails used on race day.

Please remember that the both race courses share trails and routes with other users.  Traffic will be encountered and should be expected.  Caution is urged as many route sections have two-way traffic from the other users.

Please notify the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival office at cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com if you encounter any downed trees, other obstructions or any alterations to the normal course marking signage.

For further information visit www.cheqfattire.com or consult the event blog at www.blog.cheqfattire.com

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Little Bellas Camp Returns to Chequamegon

August 6th, 2012

Little Bellas mentoring on mountain bikes program will once again host a Mountain Bike Camp at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival this September 14-16.

The Little Bellas camp is presented by Specialized and made possible with the sponsorship support of Becker Law Office, Primal Wear and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. Professional riding sisters Lea and Sabra Davison run the all girls mountain bike program open to young females ages 8 through 12. Lea will bring the added experience of being the reigning National Champion and Olympic team selection to the camp. With a focus on improving skills and having fun, the camp is a good opportunity for girls looking to try out mountain biking as well as those who are ready for the next level of challenge.

“We aim to create a community to empower women through cycling, accent the importance of goals and a healthy life style, and emphasize a positive female bond. While this program is centered around creating a female camaraderie on bikes, it is most importantly about having fun in a constructive environment.”

Wonderful mentoring and great fun with Little Bellas

Last year’s camp was well attended and received by those who participated. Rave reviews were received from the first year participants. This well organized youth mentoring program is a welcome addition to the fun family atmosphere of the Chequamegon weekend.

Space is limited in the Little Bellas Chequamegon Mountain Bike Camp. For sign up and other information visit www.littlebellas.com.

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Chequamegon & Gu Team Up to Clean Up

March 29th, 2012

The Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival sponsored by Trek has a long standing sustainable and responsible trail use philosophy.  This commendable core value insures that the area trails are left in great shape for future rider’s enjoyment.  In support of this tread lightly focus, Gu Energy Labs returns to the 2012 event to sponsor the Gu Clean Up Crew. 

The GU Clean Up Crew will be on hand to see that what ever is inadvertently left behind when 2,750 riders pass is packed out and disposed of properly. You can be a part of this commendable trail advocacy assignment as a volunteer crew member. Sixteen volunteer crew members will be selected from those who best complete the statement, “I want to be on the GU Clean Up Crew because…”

Those interested in being considered for one of the crew spots should send a short written statement to the Chequamegon race office postmarked by July 1. Team members will be selected from among the submissions received. All applicants will be notified of the crew selections by July 15. Before the event weekend draws near, those selected will receive further instructions about their specific race day clean up assignment. On race day, the crew members will be assigned one of three trail clean up sections insuring that the entire trail is left in good shape following the racer’s passing.

Gu Clean Up Crew members ready to pick the trail clean

 A job well done deserves an appreciative thank you. Each volunteer GU Crew member will receive an assortment of GU Energy Labs products including GU Energy Gel, GU Brew, GU Chomps and other GU premiums. In further recognition of the noble clean up efforts, each GU Crew member will receive a guaranteed Reserved Registration for the 2013 Chequamegon event.

This is a great opportunity to participate in a note worthy Chequamegon weekend effort to do something good for the trails. Join the GU Clean Up Crew, you will be glad you did.

Crew applications should be submitted in writing by the July 1 postmark deadline to: GU Clean Up Crew, PO Box 267, Cable, WI54821or you can email your submission to cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com .  The Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival is produced by Chanhassen, Minn. based Life Time Fitness (www.LifeTimeFitness.com ).

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Essay Contest Awards Race Spots

March 28th, 2012

With a random lottery drawn limit of 2,750 riders, hundreds of applicants will fall short in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival selection process. Shortly after the March 15 entry submission postmark deadline, race applicants will learn if they made it or not.  Those unlucky in the draw or late in the application process still have a chance to ride in the sold out September 15 cross county events.

The Chequamegon Festival which is sponsored by Trek and produced by Life Time Fitness will award fifty guaranteed reserved entries to the winners of the 50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon essay contest.

In spite of the contest title, you do not need to list fifty individual reasons for wanting a race spot. Past contestants have submitted Chequamegon themed stories, songs, poems, drawings, parodies and even children’s chunky crayon notes. Submissions may be written, drawn, photographed, filmed and/or recorded.

Past contest winners have used tales of personal relationships, lifestyle motivations, historical connections, advocacy efforts, competition goals, personal demographics, geographic location and countless other reasons to sway the contest judges. What ever the reason, the authors of the winning essays will receive a reserved race spot in the sold out event.

A multi-point scoring system is applied to each contest submission. Originality, creativity, humor, sincerity, special effort and other undisclosed factors will produce a total essay score. Contestants are advised to give it their best shot.  With hundreds of contest submissions, the competition is keen.

 

Essays must be legible, with a 500 word maximum (most are much less) and if three dimensional in nature be less than two foot by two foot in overall size.  All submissions must be postmarked, emailed or otherwise delivered to the Chequamegon office no later than July 1. After the submissions are judged, winners will be selected and all contest participants notified of the outcome by July 15.

Winners will get reserved entries. Those out of the winning column will be encouraged to join the spectator or volunteer fun over the Chequamegon event weekend. The decision of the judges is final in this last-chance-at-an-entry-spot essay contest. All essays become property of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, will not be returned and may be reproduced at some future date without further notification.

To be included in this year’s “50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon” essay contest postmark your submission by July 1 to the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, PO Box267, 13460 Spruce StreetCable, WI54821. Emails are acceptable if received by that July 1 deadline at cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com.   

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How Early Can I Set My Bike Up at the Start Line ?

February 8th, 2012

On Saturday morning, many riders who did not qualify for one of the designated starting gates hope to get the jump on a good start line position in the first come first served start gates.  An undesirable and illegal hazard exists when bikes are laid down on the city streets prior to the officially posted street closing time.

The City of Hayward and Town of Cable grant permission to close down Main Street for the Chequamegon 40 and Randysek Road for the Short & Fat event at 6:00 a.m.

It is important that bikes are not laid down on the streets before the street closing barricades go up to officially close the streets.

In both Hayward and Cable the start lines are in close proximity to fire departments and ambulance services. These essential services must be able to access their service areas via the customary roads. Since the official closures do not go into effect until 6:00 am, early morning local traffic is also inconvenienced with early bike lay downs.

At each start line there will be signed off-the-street early line up areas adjacent to each of the designated start gates. Early arrivals should line up in an orderly fashion near their designated start gate and wait until the start line chief gives the word to move to the street.  At the discretion of the start line chief, an earlier that 6:00 a.m. on street line up may be allowed.  Riders arriving early should remain with their bikes in the early line up area until movement to the street is permitted.

We ask all racers to maintain order, fairness and safety at the start line. Please do not jeopardize our valued municipal permissions and observe the posted lay down times and locations.

Placeholder Bikes at the Start Line

In the Chequamegon start line operations, placeholder bikes in the start line area that have no one attending them are referred to by the bandit patrol as “ghost bikes”. 

The unattended ghost bikes fall into two basic categories:  a bike that has NO RACE NUMBER attached to it or a bike has a RACE NUMBER attached to it. In either case ghost bikes belong to registered participants who plan on returning to them just prior to the start. 

In general, registered riders leaving ghost bikes at the start line are off warming up on their race bike, standing in the portable toilet line or perhaps having just one more cup of coffee before the start.  The riders have every intention of coming back to the start line and claiming or replacing their ghost bike just prior to the start.

Bikes at the start line in Hayward

As the start time approaches ghost bikes are problematic if the owner does not return in a timely fashion. For that reason there is a specific time that unnumbered ghost bikes must be replaced with bikes with numbers and when race numbered ghost bikes must be attended at the start line.

All ghost bikes without race numbers must be removed by their owners and replaced with race bikes with race numbers no later than 9:30 a.m.

All ghost bikes with a race numbers must be attended by the rider no later than 9:50 a.m. or they will be removed from the start line.

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Start Gates Added to Chequamegon 40 Start

February 2nd, 2012

This September’s Chequamegon 40 start line will include an expanded start gate system allowing additional spots for preferred rider placements. 

In the long race, five start gates will be available with specific qualifying criteria.  Start gate qualifications will be as follows for the Chequamegon 40:

Gate 1          Top 100 men, top 40 women, top 5 tandems, top 5 mixed tandems based on the better of the two previous years ranking.  Gate 1 will replace the traditional “Preferred Start” area that has existed in the Chequamegon 40 start for many years.

 Gate 2         Overall rank 101 through 200 based on the previous two years ranking.

 Gate 3         Overall rank 201 through 300 based on the previous two years ranking.

 Gate 4         Overall rank 301 through 400 based on the previous two years ranking.

 Gate 5          Overall rank 401 and above on a first come first served basis.

 Those without previous two year’s Chequamegon 40 results may submit recent race resumes for consideration for placement in start gates 1 through 4.  Gate placement is at the discretion of the race officials. 

Each gate will have some discretionary space available that will be filled solely by the decision of race officials.  While Gate 1 will include the noted men, women, tandem and mixed tandem rankings, Gates 2-4 will be based on overall finishing rank regardless of gender or competition class.

As riders are added to the entry database, the past two years overall finishing data will automatically be reviewed.  Gate placements will be assigned and riders notified on their confirmation cards sent once all the entries are added to the database.  On site, race day entrance to the specific start gates will be monitored by range specific bib numbers issued to each who qualified.

For those who do not qualify for Gates 1 through 4 there will be little change in the traditional first come first served line up in Gate 5.  For those who do qualify for Gates 1 through 4 based on the previous two year’s overall rank the line up spot will offer an improvement over the past.  Please note that the position within each of the gates will still be on a first come first served basis.

For the Short & Fat event, no change is planned in the start gate system this year.  The traditional “preferred start” will take place in Gate 1 with the balance of short race riders filling in on a first come first served basis in Gate 2.  

In the Short & Fat the top 75 men, top 40 women, top 5 tandems, top 5 mixed tandems from the previous two years will automatically qualify. Other Short & Fat Gate 1 placements will be considered based on previous finishing results on a space available basis.  Those without Short & Fat event history who wish to be considered for Gate 1 placement must submit a short verifiable race resume for review.  The decision of the event officials is final.

As with any other database change, once the assignments are made and the confirmation cards sent, any further request for consideration or further review for qualifying gate assignments must be made in writing prior to the September 1 deadline. As with all event of choice, competition class or start gate requests a $10.00 fee must accompany the request. After September 1 no further requests will be reviewed or changes made.

Our goals in the expanded Chequamegon 40 start gate system include: qualifying a greater number of top riders with a specific start gate assignment, alleviating some of the early morning line up crowding and providing additional opportunities for some discretionary placement in start gates.

Due to staffing limits, space requirements and city service logistics, it is not a goal to manage the entire start area line up or to institute a wave start.  Even with the expanded gate system, riders who do not qualify will still show up early for the first come first served spaces.  While we do not intend to manage the entire line up, we do hope to provide a better start for the greater numbers who qualify.

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