Chequamegon

Beginning in 1983 with only 27 cyclists, Chequamegon has now grown to become one of the more revered off-road MTB festivals in the country.

In a unique attempt to hatch a post-season tourist draw to the area Telemark employees Tom Kelly, Dan Hunt, Mike Cooper and Phil VanValkenberg and Phil Rasmussen of the Lakewoods Resort brainstormed the idea of a bicycle race on the American Birkebeiner ski trail.

The Chequamegon MTB Festival was born as a featured point-to-point 40 mile off road event from Main Street Hayward, WI to Lakewoods Resort in Cable. Contrary to popular belief, Gary Crandall, aka “The Fatman” and soon to be long time event director, did not dream up the event concept, however he did race in it the first year and finished a very respectable 12th. Admittedly there were only 27 riders but not bad for his first off-road race.

If ever there was a case of the right people, in the right place, at the right time, coming up with the right idea, this was it. Mountain bikes were coming into popularity, the American Birkebeiner trail offered a challenging race course, accommodations and volunteers were plentiful, and it doesn’t get any more beautiful than Northern Wisconsin in mid-September. The originators thought it couldn’t miss and 25 years later it is clear that they were right