The Chequamegon 40 is a point-to-point mass-start mountain bike race that runs from Hayward to Cable, Wisconsin every September, over the American Birkebeiner Ski Trail. It’s been running since 1983 and is one of the bigger mountain bike races in the country. The course is 40 miles of wide grass trails, forest roads, and doubletrack through the Northwoods — fast and punchy, not technical, but it sorts people out. There’s also a 16-mile short course. The race is a stop on the Life Time Grand Prix, which is a big deal — it brings out the top pro endurance racers in the country and puts the race on a national stage. We’ve been doing this one since 2013 and it’s basically become a family tradition. cheqmtb.com
We’ve done this race quite a few times. The early years I (Steve) did the long race and the boys were little and did the kids fun events. This was the first mountain bike race I did after getting back in shape and riding bikes again after almost 10 or so years of not riding.
When the boys moved into the short adult race, then Lynn joined them as well. Kyle has done the long race the last couple times with Lynn and Reid doing the short while I sat out, just to coordinate logistics and make sure everybody is all set. This past year; Kyle, Reid and I were going to do the long race and Lynn was going to drop us off and meet at the finish, but then we had to back out at the last minute and never made it up there.
At a glance
| Location | Cable, WI |
| Discipline | Mountain bike |
| Distance | 40 miles |
| When | September |
| Series | Life Time Grand Prix |
| Official site | cheqmtb.com |
Results and Race Recaps
2025 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2018 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013
2025
Results
| Reid (40 mile) | 82nd in 2hr 43min |
| Kyle (40 mile) | 80th in 2hr 43min |
2023
Results
| Lynn (16 mile) | 123rd in 1hrs 51min |
| Reid (16 mile) | 22nd in 1hr 6min |
| Kyle (40 mile) | 174th in 2hr 58min |
Bike setups
| Lynn | Bike: Niner Air 9 RDO · Wheels: ? · Tires: ? · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
| Reid | Bike: Niner Air 9 RDO · Wheels: DT Swiss XR 1200 · Tires: Maxxis Recon (front) / Icon (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
| Kyle | Bike: Cervelo ZHT-5 · Wheels: Bontrager XXX Rim on DT Swiss 240 Hub · Tires: Vittoria Barzo (front) / Mezcal (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram GX AXS Eagle |
Strava
2022
Results
| Lynn (16 mile) | 97th in 1hr 53min |
| Reid (16 mile) | 22nd in 1hr 6min |
| Kyle (40 mile) | 358th in 3hr 10min |
Bike setups
| Lynn | Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.5 · Wheels: ? · Tires: ? · Drivetrain: Shimano Deore |
| Reid | Bike: Niner Air 9 RDO · Wheels: Stans Arch · Tires: Maxxis Recon (front) / Icon (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
| Kyle | Bike: Niner Air 9 RDO · Wheels: Bontrager XXX Rim on DT Swiss 240 Hub · Tires: Vittoria Barzo (front) / Mezcal (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
Strava
2021
Results
| Lynn (16 mile) | 141st in 2hr 6min |
| Reid (16 mile) | 187th in 1hr 28min |
| Kyle (16 mile) | 107th in 1hr 20min |
| Steve (40 mile) | 80th in 2hr 39min |
Bike setups
| Lynn | Bike: Niner Jet 9 RDO · Wheels: DT Swiss XMC 1700 · Tires: Nobby Nic · Drivetrain: Shimano Deore |
| Reid | Bike: Trek X-Caliber · Wheels: Bontrager · Tires: Bontrager |
| Kyle | Bike: Niner Air 9 RDO · Wheels: Stans Arch · Tires: Vittoria Barzo (front) / Mezcal (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
| Steve | Bike: Trek Supercaliber 9.8 · Wheels: Bontrager XXX Rim on DT Swiss 240 Hub · Tires: Bontrager ? · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
Strava
2018
Results
| Steve (40 mile) | 155th in 2hr 48min |
Bike setups
| Steve | Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.8 · Wheels: Bontrager Elite 23 · Tires: Bontrager XR1 f/r · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
Strava
2015
Results
| Steve (40 mile) | 168th in 2hr 34min |
Bike setups
| Steve | Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.8 · Wheels: Bontrager Elite 23 · Tires: Bontrager XR1 f/r · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
You couldn’t ask for better racing weather for the Chequamegon 40 in mid September. My Garmin showed that it was in the 50s for the entire race and then it warmed up real nice for the afternoon. It was about 20 degrees warmer at the start line than it was the year before and I was able to hang at the finish line in shorts and a t-shirt while enjoying my post race beverage! This was my 3rd Chequamegon 40 race and it is hard not to keep coming back.
Going into the race, I wasn’t sure if I would go again next year as I have been building this huge interest in Endurance racing. There are a few 100 milers on or around the weekend of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival that I have some interest in. That being said, I think I am already convinced to come back again next year. The race is extremely well run and is a great family weekend for us.
Pre Chequamegon 40 Race
Our kids stepped off the school bus Friday afternoon and we were ready to roll out. The bikes were packed in the truck and the travel trailer was hitched up! Like most of our weekend racing activities, this would be another family weekend of fun. We rolled into the Hayward KOA Friday evening to find a campground full of mountain bike racers and I knew I was in good company for the weekend. I drove up to Telemark Friday evening with one of my racing buddies to pick up our packets.
I love going to races that are big enough to have packet pick up the night before. I just love the atmosphere and the anticipation of the ride. I like getting my gear all laid out the night before, my race number / chip attached to my bike and gels taped to my bike’s top tube. I don’t really get nerved up about racing itself. I absolutely love the ride and can’t wait till the race starts. I do get nerved up about making sure I have all my gear like my helmet, shoes, glasses, gloves and Camelbak all set to go, so I don’t show up at the start line missing something.
I woke up early to eat a couple of eggs on a tortilla and then left the KOA at 6:15 to stage my bike in Gate 4, my assigned starting gate. It turned out that I was not the most ambitious person that morning, but I was still able to grab a really good spot in the second row of Gate 4. It feels a bit weird dropping my bike off and walking away so early, but I am trying to work my way up each year. The further I can get toward the front of my assigned gate, the less passing I have to do at the start of the race.
I was all set to race at this point and hung around camp till about 8:45 before heading back to the start line in Hayward. My wife and kids hung out for a bit and then headed toward the OO Road checkpoint about 15 minutes before the race start. My wife says that traffic can be a bit congested if you wait till after the race starts to drive out to OO. Racers have to be at their bikes in the starting gate, no later than 9:45 or your bike will be pulled from the line up. This isn’t real conducive to getting in a good warm-up, but the rollout to Rosie’s Field is a good warm-up in itself.
I was staged next to a guy that had done the race 8 or 9 times and said he couldn’t help but come back year after year. We exchanged a few words about this race being such a great event and I really liked what he said about not being able to ask for a better day. He said something like… “I get to spend the day with 2000 of my best friends”. This is why I don’t get nerved up about the ride itself. Regardless of how the ride goes for me personally, it’s going to be a good day. My wife asked me earlier if I was ready to go and I was like, of course… “I get to ride 40 miles of trails and have a cold beer afterwards”. I can’t ask for much more than that.
The Chequamegon 40 Race
Chequamegon 40 Start To OO Road Crossing
The race had started up in Gate 1 as I stood over my bike with one foot clipped in waiting for the wave of bike movement to reach me. I couldn’t wait to get rolling. As we made our right hand turn onto 77, the field started to thin just enough to provide some space to make up some ground before hitting the tight section of trail heading up to Rosie’s Field. I wanted to get out in front of as many riders as possible in the first part of the race.
Rosie’s Field was a bit different this year as there was a new road / drive put in that we had to cross over that was already rutted up pretty deep from the 100s of riders that passed before me. I went wide to avoid as much mud as possible early in the race because, I don’t like wasting my drivetrain in the first couple of miles. Little did I know that it wouldn’t really matter as the course was extremely wet and my bike would be covered in mud spray by the time I hit the OO crossing anyways.
I was feeling really good and following my plan to pretty much peg it for the first 5 miles. I just wanted out of the congestion. I gained spots as I hammered every single up hill. My legs were feeling good and I kept pushing hard past the 5 mile mark as I continued to pick off more places. I got a bit nervous that maybe I was pushing too hard, too early as my heart rate was hanging in the 160s and pegging the high 170s at the top of the hills. I was picking up a lot of spots though and figured I would risk it.
When we reached the gravel on W Phipps Fire Lane, I put my high cadence skills to work and split as many gaps as I could. We re-entered the Birkie Trail at mile 11 and I was starting to feel the impact of pegging the heart rate. I remember at one point thinking, that I better back off at some point or I was going to blow up hard. Traffic was starting to clear up a bit and I noticed I was starting to ride on and off now with a few of the same guys that were pushing hard as well. I did end up backing off a bit at some point to try and calm the heart rate down. I was getting close to the OO crossing at the 15 mile mark, which is a bit of milestone in the race and a big spectator spot.
When I came through OO, my wife and kids were there cheering for me with some signs that my kids had made. My wife yelled out 12 minutes to me, which was the amount of time I was back from the leader Jeff Hall at this point. My wife, later told me that he came through OO with a bit of a gap from the other leaders. Not that I would catch the lead group, but is fun to know where you stand. I have a habit of giving my wife and kids a quick thumbs up to let them know I am doing ok whenever I come by them in a race, but I was pretty focused and feeling the impacts of my hard push thus far and just gave them a quick nod as I raced by. My wife said that she could tell in my face that I had been pushing it.
OO To Top Of Fire Tower
After just a short amount of Birkie trail, I was soon out on Janet Road, another section of gravel. I tried to keep on the gas and knew we would be hitting a section of trail soon that had been congested the last two years that I raced the Chequamegon 40. I pushed up the last bit of gravel road before hitting the trail with not too much traffic around.
I entered the trail at a good pace which starts as a two track with single track dodges around some big mud holes. The trail eventually narrows down a bit and is probably the tightest section of trail on the entire course, even though it was still wide enough for a large ATV. I fell in line as the paced slowed and the lines of riders became wheel to wheel in a single line and took the opportunity to recover a bit. There was a section of loose sand that was washed out and there was a lot of brake riding as we came down it. I was fully recovered at this point and getting a bit antsy. The pace was slowing and the line up of riders was getting tight and I decided to make a move around to the left once we passed the washed out sandy area.
I yelled “on the left” a few times as I made my way up the side of the ATV trail. Somebody yelled out with a bit of a sarcastic tone “whoa, easy turbo!” I usually enjoy a bit of commentary from other riders on the trail, but I was a bit annoyed at the tone and ignored it as I kept on the gas. I kept working my way up the left side of the trail as I took a few hanging tree branches to the face. In hind sight, this section of trail was shorter than I had remembered from previous years and we soon dumped out on the wider gravel road. So, I suppose I could have been more patient, but I was pretty focused on my ride.
We dumped out onto some wider gravel shortly after this and I kept up the push. I knew Fire Tower was the next milestone in the race, but didn’t want to be in traffic when I got there. I carried good speed on much of the fire roads and gravel on the way to Fire Tower as I attempted to split gaps from group to group, while working my way up the gravel. I was able to pick off a few more spots and of course I lost a few spots here and there to others pushing themselves harder than I was capable.
It doesn’t matter how hard you think you are pushing yourself. Unless you are the lead guy, there is always somebody else out there pushing harder than you. I remember a guy coming by me with a gate 7 bib number on. I tried jumping on his wheel before getting dropped hard. This guy had definitely worked his way through some traffic and was on a mission. I love seeing somebody that focused out on the trail. It always inspires me to work harder.
Fire Tower To Finish Line
I hit Fire Tower with a small gap, both in front and behind me. I think I could have made a harder push up Fire Tower, but I settled into the short open space that I had and granny geared up it knowing that we still had the climb up the Birkie Rollers before the finish. Fire Tower was uneventful as I made my way to the top before enjoying almost 2 miles of downhill on the other side to rejoin the Birkie Trail again.
I did well up the first half of the Birkie Rollers, but was starting to feel the leg fatigue build up on the last couple hills. The Birkie Rollers just keep going and feel like they will never end. Nevertheless, I felt like I was holding my own and continued to push myself. There were a few of us that had been rolling together now for the last 20 miles and pushing the pace together over every hill. My climbing style has evolved this year quite a bit as it was a major weakness for me last year. Now it is becoming one of my strengths out on the trail. I still have more work to do for sure, but I have made great improvements from last year.
When I reached the top of the Birkie Rollers, I knew I was missing my finish line goal of 2:20 by quite a bit. This was the home stretch though and the next few miles would be a lot of fun with some really fast sections of rocky downhill roads. I was trying to make up as much time as possible while enjoying the ride. I worked with another racer at one point to split another gap as we both knew the finish was getting close.
I did lose a couple spots at one point as I found myself struggling a bit at the bottom of one of the last few climbs. I could here the spectators as we approached the very last hill to the top of Telemark and I knew this was my last hard push. I was able to reel a few riders back in before cresting the top of Telemark to make the fun decent down the ski hill to the finish. Once over the top, you just let it rip down the ski hill and enjoy the ride. There is a left hander with a small up hill just before the finish that requires a good push to keep your speed. I stood up on the pedals, exerting my last bit of energy over this little hill before spinning hard across the finish line.
Chequamegon 40 Race Summary
I ended up finishing in 2 hours, 34 minute, 8 seconds and in 187th place overall. I was 32nd in my age group of 35 – 39 year olds. I really would like to have gone faster, but I can’t complain. I had some major improvements over last year. I finished just over 5 minutes faster than last year, but last year’s course was slightly shorter and running really fast, where this year’s course was really wet and riding slower. I moved up about 350 spots from my last year’s finishing place and I feel really good about that. Referencing what I said earlier, that unless you are the lead guy, there is always somebody pushing harder… I still got beat by 186 other racers, but it was a hard push for me and every race is another building block. Plus, it is never a bad day when you get to ride 40 miles in the dirt.
I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go, since I had been focused this year on endurance with the Lutsen 99er and the Maah Daah Hey 100, but I was able to push a fairly consistent high pace from my stand point, for most of the race without burning out. I’d like to continue to push that wall back and be able to push at higher and higher speeds as I build into next year. I think it will help me in both the shorter, high speed races like the Chequamegon and the lower speed long distance endurance races as well.
I was a bit nervous at the beginning that I was pushing too hard, but I was able to continue the push for the most part. I was bib number 820 and passed a lot of people the first 10 miles while trying to make up ground. I was really hoping to finish under 2:20 and in the top 100, but I will have to give it another go next year. Once you’ve done the Chequamegon 40, it seems like a hard race to not come back and do again.
I am 3 years into it and have been working my way up through the starting gates a little bit each year. It can be frustrating at times, but I think that is part of the fun of it and the lure of the race. It’s part of the accomplishment and feel good at the end, knowing that you gave it your all and if you pick up a few spots from last year, then you have nothing to complain about other than you have to wait another 12 months to do it again…
The race is only part of the event. The whole weekend is the event. I got to spend the weekend camping with my family and friends while being surrounded by people that share my same interests. Each year, I meet new people and make new friends. The race ends with a nice festival with food and some good micro brews. My kids enjoyed the heck out of the kids events and are looking forward to the next one. Hopefully everyone else had the same great weekend and good stories to come out of it that we did.
Fall is hitting here in Minnesota and I would love to continue racing, but I am also looking forward to a couple Fat Bike races and a good training block to do some heavy racing next year. The next event on my list at this point is the Solstice Chase in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin in late December. It will be my first Fat Bike race and I still have to get some good winter riding / racing gear, but I can’t wait to get out there again. Unless I get real antsy and jump into another race at the last minute, then this might be the last race report until the Solstice Chase at the end of the year. That being said, next year’s racing is going to come up fast and I plan to do quite a bit more 40 / 50 and 100 milers since that is where I feel at home. Until then, enjoy the great cool weather riding in the fall and hopefully I see you out on the trail somewhere.
Strava
2014
Results
| Steve (40 mile) | 480th in 2h 39min |
Bike setups
| Steve | Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.8 · Wheels: Bontrager Elite 23 · Tires: Bontrager XR1 f/r · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |
The 2014 Race Report
It was one heck of a cold morning…
The previous year, I started in gate 7 as it was my first race and finished in 3 hours and 12 minutes, which gave me a gate 5 starting position this year. I headed down to the start gates around 6:30 a.m. and staged my bike at the start of gate 5. It wasn’t a huge advantage, but I’ll take anything I can get as I am trying to work my way up through the ranks.
I was not really feeling my greatest at the start line. I just felt tired and I really couldn’t get my legs to warm up and stretch well. But, there I was. The cannon went off and the waiting for the role out to start moving back in the cheap seats of gate 5 had begun. As with any mass start event, especially this one with over 2,000 people, it is a little messy. I kept myself clear of danger and only had one close call when somebody in front of me “brake checked” a little hard, but no contact was made.
When we made a left onto the trail system, the pace damn near stopped, as 2 paved lanes of bicycle traffic made a left onto the narrow ski trails climb. I had to get out of this mess. I made some progress across Rosie’s Field and then around mile 5, the big bottleneck happened around a major mud hole.
I was getting really hot and decided I would rip off my leg and arm warmers here, since I had to get off the bike and do some standing and walking through the bottleneck anyways. I should have never put the warmers on that morning. I didn’t lose much time, as things were bottlenecked pretty bad.
Once I got through the bottleneck, traffic thinned out a little and I could move decently fast. I still wasn’t feeling that great all the way through 10 to 12 miles. I hadn’t really been able to get my heart rate to settle down the first 10 miles, except for when I was waiting to get through the bottleneck around the mud hole. I backed off a tad and tried to focus on getting my heart rate relaxed a bit. I had been running my heart rate above 170 and knew that I needed to get it down around 160 to avoid burn out.
It took a couple of miles, but I was able to get things settled down and get back on the hammer. I mentioned this at the beginning of the year, but I’ll say it again, I need to work on my leg strength. I can spin up a pretty high cadence on a flat, but I’m still struggling on laying down the power in a climb. I am going to have to start doing some hill repeats or something to build some hill climbing power. I can granny gear it up just about anything, but I just don’t have the uphill speed that I need. I know this is also an area where I could make up a lot of time in the Lutsen 99er, on the first long climb up Caribou Lane.
I hammered down the downhills and flats and played it conservative on the climbs. We hit a little bit of single track and I just fell in line and used this to recover a little. The group I was with at this time was working through the single track pretty good.
We finally made it to Fire Tower climb, where it was a little congested. There was a line on the right that was walking and a line on the left that was climbing. I dropped to granny gear and fell in behind the guy in front of me. I was feeling good. I could tell the guy in front of me was struggling and I knew if he didn’t make it, that I wasn’t going to have much space to get around and through the congestion. I wasn’t feeling good enough to cut up the middle though and keep my balance, so I opted to yell out encouragement to the guy in front of me to “stay in it”. He let me by at the top of the first section and thanked me for the encouragement. I chuckled, because I knew it was all for my own self preservation.
I shifted up a couple gears in the flat before hitting the rest of Fire Tower, which turned out to be a mistake. I got about 15 feet up the second section and shifted my chain right into my spokes when trying to drop back into granny gear. That being said, I was able to pull my chain out and get right back on and finish the climb. Now, I had a rush of adrenaline going. I made it up the climb without walking and I was within 10 miles of the finish. I came off the top of Fire Tower and poured on the heat. I knew I wasted some time at the beginning trying to work my way up from gate 5 and then getting held up at the big mud hole bottleneck, but I was mostly surround by bibs with gate 3 on them now.
I ended up coming across the finish in 2 hrs and 39 minutes. This was 33 minutes faster than last year. You could make the argument that the course was a few minutes faster this year, since they cut out just over a mile because of the storm damaged trails. I believe that would be true for the leaders that were out in front of the congestion, but I feel like the bottleneck at the big mud hole, more than made up for it.
I am really looking forward to next years racing season, expanding my race schedule and finding my way closer to the podium, if not on it. Life is short and it is never too late for anything. I got a new trainer to spin on for the winter and will be ready at a higher level next year!
Strava
2013
Results
| Steve (40 mile) | 1045th in 3hr 12min |
Bike setups
| Steve | Bike: KHS · Wheels: 26″ rim brake Mavic CrossRide · Tires: Bontrager XR1 f/r · Drivetrain: Sram GX Eagle |