Midwest MTB Report

by Jay Richards
September 20, 2023

The third week of September!—hard to believe as summer-like weather continues, but fall colors are exploding up north, a simple reminder that cooler months are coming. It has been a busy month of events and racing, especially last weekend with the mighty Chequamegon, the 40th running of the race, taking place along with a few other events. This week's report includes a full recap from Chequamegon, including an interview with our featured rider this year, Jenna Rinehart, as well as highlights from the Marji Gesick and the F-M Enduro, plus a couple other related highlights as the season slowly winds down (but some of the best riding of the year.)

40th Annual Chequamegon Mountain Bike Festival

Formerly called the “Fat Tire” before the name change by Life Time Fitness who assumed ownership of the event a few years back, the Chequamegon Chequamegon Mountain Bike Festival took place over the past weekend for the 40th edition of the iconic 40-mile race in the hilly big woods of the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest. It was also a stop on the Life Time Grand Prix, featuring some of the top riders in the country and a special start area and later go time for the Pro racers.

I was one of the riders that toed the line in the age-class race, starting in downtown Hayward for what would be a 42-mile hammerfest through the north woods of Wisconsin. One of the highlights of the downtown start is the buzzing sound of the rollout, experienced by both the riders and the hundreds of spectators lining the street. Awesome stuff. It is also the most nerve wracking moment of the race, and this year was no exception as an unfortunate crash occurred as the front group rolled out onto highway 77, shortly after I had bunny hopped on to the median after the right turn, dangling through street signs, watching a hundred or so riders zip on by.

Once we hit the turn off Wheeler Rd, the spot where the Pro racers would start, the selections started to fall into place and the groups formed. I took a risk in making a hard effort to get up towards the front, looking for fellow team rider Ben Olson and my son Jake Richards who was farther up. I eventually bridged up to Ben and settled into a chase group of about 20 as we hunted down the 15 riders in front of us.

Our group would stay intact for much of the race after the crash at the start, and I was willing to dig deep and stay near the front, taking pulls even though I knew I wouldn't be conserving energy like some of the riders behind me. Ben had the same mindset and made some super strong attacks near the end to put on a gap but our group was so strong that nothing was sticking even though we shelled a few riders off the back. The final four miles I was at the front, going cross eyed to split up the group, but unfortunately the course was longer than I expected and all the matches had been burned by the time we got back on the Birkie trail which was a sprint finish. A bit disappointing to lose some spots in the sprint, but overall very happy with the race, especially to ride clean and smooth and cross the line in one piece. Much appreciation to all the race organizers, volunteers, and basically everyone that makes this special race happen. Can’t wait for the next go around!

The Pro races started later in the day and I touched base with Jenna Rinehart who is a seven-time winner of the Chequamegon 40. The field this year was as strong as it has ever been and Rineahart shares her experience below:

Congrats on another awesome Chequamegon finish!! It seemed like this year was super fast and so tight, both races. Obviously there is the Pro field and a super strong field, how does this compare to the other Chequamegons having a separate start with such a stacked field?

Thanks! Chequamegon just keeps getting better and better in the women's field. This was definitely the most stacked and my favorite edition yet. I think we really put on a show at this year's finish and showed just how exciting women's racing can be when we have the opportunity to have our own race not influenced by the men. It just changes the race so much. For years and years with the mass start the women's race was just jumping on a fast train of guys, hiding from the other women, and hanging on for as long as possible. Now we get to have a tactical and tighter race. It's something I never thought I'd have the opportunity to experience at a race like Chequamegon so I'm really grateful for it. I didn't mind racing with the men in the past when the women's field was smaller but now with the Grand Prix field it's definitely just so much more fun to race with your peers. I think the Grand Prix is really helping create a stronger women's field. So I hope we can see more separate starts and have more exciting races like this in the future.

How did the race unfold?

It was full gas from the start with no margin for error. You had to be laser focused and elbows out aggressively the entire 2.5 hours to just stay in the pack. If you lost focus for just a bit you would find yourself quickly at the back. There were lots of bumping and tire rubbing close calls.I entered the Firetower climb in a fairly good position. 2 riders were able to break away from the rest of us but I was able to jump on a train of heavy hitters as we rolled over the top. 6 or so of us had a small gap over the riders behind us. We tried to keep the gap but they were able to close it as we approached the Birkie Rollers. A group of 11 of us were still together when we hit the last 7 or so miles of ski trail. This year's course had a new finish that was harder with narrow twisty rollers and steep punchy climbs. As we headed through the dodging puddles and riders that started earlier in the day, we started to lose a few riders in the group. I was working hard to stay on the 4-5th wheel. We made the final corner and went on to the long open straight away to the finish line. It was a long sprint for 3rd-8th places. It came down to a photo finish and a little confusion on what timing mat was the official one. In the end it was decided I was 7th overall and 6th in the LifeTime Grand Prix.

Do you miss the downtown start or is the pro start safer and more controlled?

Haha honestly I don't miss that start one bit. It's cool to ride down Main Street and for the spectators to see, but it's just so dangerous. Every year I did it I was just so thankful to make it to Rosie's Field unscathed. I can still hear in my head the noise of bikes crunching and people sliding on pavement. Seems like every year there is a crash and some ended pretty badly. The Pro start is hard but super safe and fair. Even if you start a bit further back you have plenty of time and space to work your way up. The steep grassy climbs just sort of naturally sort things out.

You had quite a lead up to this event, racing in the Dakota Five O and Gravel Nationals with solid results in each, (nice work btw) Did you feel you were recovered properly going into Chequamegon?

Thanks! 3 totally different races which were really fun. I had my eye on trying Nationals but didn't decide until after Leadville to do it. It wasn't too far from the Dakota Five O so I decided to hang out in the Black Hills for a few days with my gravel bike. It was actually my 3rd time in Gering/Scottsbluff this year so I was getting pretty familiar with the course and terrain. I was also looking to get a little more gravel racing experience before the last two LTGP gravel races. I was definitely a little nervous about being recovered after racing 130 miles and being able to do the different efforts it takes for Chequamegon. I took a couple days really easy and then did one intensity workout midweek followed by a couple days pre riding the course. It was a little stressful week in between but thankfully I ended up feeling really good at Chequamegon.

With that said, how are you feeling at this point of the season and the remaining two events? Will you plan to do any other races?

I'm feeling really good, having fun, and still motivated. I'm really loving the variety this year. It just keeps things fresh and interesting and I think has been key for helping with burnout. The races are all so different and new for me. As soon as I'm finished with one I'm already thinking about the next race and how I need to change up my training, studying the course, the logistics, and equipment needed etc... Besides the last two races in the LTGP I'm also going to do the new MTB race Lifetime is putting on in Bentonville called the Little Sugar. Its 100k MTB and is the weekend before the last Big Sugar gravel event of the LTGP. It's mostly all singletrack and the field will be stacked so it should be hard and fun! I'm considering Iceman but it's a 12 hour drive and usually always so hard to keep pushing into November so I'll just wait and see how I'm feeling after the last LTGP event.

Will you be able to get to Colorado any days before? Did you pre ride that before Leadville?

I will only have time to get to Colorado a day or two before the race. So I'll just have to see how showing up at the last minute to altitude treats me this time. I'm hoping it goes a little better than Crusher. Yes, thankfully I did get the opportunity to ride almost all of the course when I was out acclimating for Leadville in August. I'm just hoping to check out the start and finish again before the race. The race has over 10,000 ft of climbing and climbs to almost 9,000 ft so it's going to be a tough one.

Fan favorite Payton McElveen had a great post of his day in the Pro Men race and is shared below:

"Man Chequamegon was crazy! Like Brendan Johnston said: like racing a XCO start loop for 40 miles. I had a great race, finishing on the podium with 4th place in a pretty wild 14 man sprint for the win, but it’s the preceding 39 miles I’ll remember most from this one. The conditions were very fast, with just a bit of slippery mud. As is the trend in US off-road racing, the field was faster than ever. We had a big group slicin’ and dicin’ for position from the gun, and I was surprised by how many hung in there despite the speed and aggressiveness. The level here has just gone up so far."

"Although the course was a lot punchier in the last 5 miles this year, the speed was just too high for anyone to get away. Charging for the line in a group like that and being greeted by (thousands?!) of northern Midwest MTB fans was so cool. This race rocks. Thanks Wisconsin!"

Chequamegon Mountain Bike Festival Results

Marji Gesick

The Marji Gesick is a pretty crazy race, quoted as being one of the hardest single day races in the country. Not sure I would call it a race—more of a war of attrition as riders battle so many factors to meet goals. Barry Buhr has completed 8 Marji’s and was on his way to completing his goal of earning the under 12 hours buckle. While it’s hard to completely recap the full day, Buhr posted simply about his accomplishments while faced with challenges:

"I set out with plans for a 13:30 finish. Then…

My rear shock blew out within the first 25 miles. Thankfully a kind gentleman let me take his shock pump with me for the day. Every 30 min, I would air up the shock, get 10 min of good performance, 10 mediocre, and 10 min of super soggy 90% sag riding…and repeat. I estimate I pulled that pump out 25 times. It made an already tough day unnecessarily tougher..

I will humbly be thankful for my 8th finish in 8 tries. It was also great to ride with Adam G and help him get his first 100 mi mtb finish."

Marji Gesick Results

F-M All Trail Enduro

Pat Crary reports on the FM-Enduro:

"The first FM-Duro event was a success using the 3 main singletrack trails in the Fargo Moorhead network. Flatlands Cycling hosted and prepared the 3 courses and posted many volunteers on each trail. Starting @ Iwen/Lions in Fargo @ 8 AM . The first riders took off one by one, staggered by 45ish second intervals. Approximately 38 men and women participated in this free event. Iwen was a bit wet with morning dew, zero wind, and a rock hard packed trail with dusty corners and well maintained shrubbery. Kudos to FMTB for keeping all the trails in top shape. My ride to the trailhead took me into line and quickly I was on course. The hardpack trail was fast but if you got off the main vein your tires became wet and would collect dirt making the ride challenging but super rad and fun."

"One "hotlap" and we moved to Gooeberry Park in Moorhead which for me is my favorite of all the trails in FM ( imagine that ).... Some people drove from Iwen and others rode from park to park making a true Enduro. Gooseberry is a near 4 mile loop and we dropped in at the parking lot start. My muscle memory took over on this lap and I passed a few riders who had either slipped out on dusty corners or some tricky off camber corners. I dumped it on a fast double S corner and quickly hopped back on and I think I had the fastest lap at goose ! Sub 15 min lap was the norm for the fastest riders. We moved lastly to MB Johnson park and one by one started our ride featuring MB island and the newest addition "SE loop". This trail was the first built by the FMTB's and continues to see tires daily. Following the ride Flatlands fed us and gave out custom awards and had a big table full of swag. It was an awesome event and will look forward to next year. I've ridden all these trails in one ride but this was a treat to have the whole trail marked, volunteers keeping us safe at dangerous pedestrian sections allowing us to go for hot laps and many PR's and KOM's attempted. Results can be found on Flatland Cycling Facebook page. Great work by FC and I can’t wait for next year !!!"

F-M All Trail Enduro Results, Photos

New Trail Construction in Minnesota

Trail building continues in full force across the country. A few of the new trails in Minnesota were recently highlighted on Singltracks.com, and one of the new trails is said to be geared toward advanced riders. The MPRB is also working on a skills course at Bryn Mawr Meadows Park which was covered in a report by Kare 11.

Keep the wheels moving!