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Bicycling with Mark Parman 25 years on, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Fest is still the place to be Many riders in this year's 25th annual Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival will have no recollection of the event's first running. How could they, since they weren't born or they weren't old enough (18) to enter the 1983 Chequamegon 40? Festival director Gary Crandall figures that 40 percent of this year's field was either ineligible or nonexistent back then. These young mountain bikers never had a chance to experience the U-brake, padded crossbars, leather-strap helmets and motorcycle brake levers. Or the joy of friction shifting, the wonderful warmth of a wool jersey and the lumber-wagon ride of a rigid bike. On the other hand, you could sign up at the first Chequamegon the day of the event for a mere $12. And if one were thinking ahead and registered early, it cost just nine bucks. But there was no need to preregister when only 27 mountain bikers showed up at that first race billed, nevertheless, as "The Ultimate Challenge in the Ultimate Sport." Bob Chadderon, front and center on this year's CFTF poster, was there in 1983 on a cobbled together bike. After seeing a flier at a local bike shop, he and a friend decided to drive north and give the race a try. Chadderon's the guy rounding the corner front and center on Main Street in Hayward, wearing long polyester pants. "I wore long pants because I thought we might get into briars and brambles," Chadderon said. "And that first bike was a 5-speed I assembled from a scrap-heap frame, a BMX fork and front wheel." Chadderon, a paper mill engineer from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., said his first priority in building the bike was to do it "cheap." Chadderon missed some Chequamegons in the mid-90s, but he has ridden every race since 1998. Twice, including this year, he has resorted to the last-ditch essay contest to get into the race after the lottery had filled and he was bounced. "Now (the CFTF) is a family tradition," he said. "My son and I ride, and we have my daughter's family and five grandkids there every year." Gary Friedell, who's ridden the event for 20 years, echoes Chadderon. "What started out as a serious event when I was single and riding a lot is now a fun event and a great family outing," said the property manager from Hopkins, Minn. "My family has grown up riding the event." Friedell said he hopes to ride the Chequamegon 40 with his daughters someday. "I'll be 60 when my oldest is old enough to do the 40." When Friedell did his first race in the lat '80s, the race was just reaching critical mass, having grown to about 700 riders. "I would say about '87 we realized that with more people we needed more volunteers and a bigger venue," Crandall recalled. "Holy mackerel, that was a lot of people." In 1988, the race moved from Lakewoods to Telemark Resort, a larger facility better able to serve the burgeoning numbers of mountain bikers coming north for the annual event. The event continued to grow through the '90s, even as the popularity of cross-country racing crested and began to decline. The race first reached its field limit of 2,500 riders in March 1996. The 1998 race sold out the weekend of the 1997 race, back when riders could still sign up for next year's race a year in advance. "That was one of the most stressful times we've ever had," Crandall said. "We had to deal with next year's entries during the weekend of the race. Everybody decided to not take the chance (of not getting into next year's race)." Mass panic ensued, like a run on a failing bank, as riders grabbed entry forms, filled them out quickly and handed them in before the limit was reached. Since then, would-be entrants must submit by March their entry into the lottery and hope and pray they get selected. Without a field limit, the event today, given its growth rate, could conceivably draw 5,000 riders. CFTF staff instituted a field limit in 1999 to ensure fairness to all riders, reduce wear and tear on the trails, as well as maintain the quality of the event. This year, 875 riders were turned away from the event, although several dozen of those not initially selected wrote essays that won them spots. The race remains immensely popular – arguably the most popular one-day mountain bike race in the country. For Chadderon, Friedell and most of the riders, the CFTF is about spending time with family and friends. At a certain point, the popularity of the event – the lure of its strange-sounding name alone – draws them north. Success breeds more success, and that has certainly happened with the CFTF. It's the one race that everyone knows and wants to do. But its appeal runs deeper than that. For the past seven years, twin brothers Jon and Mark Hirsch have been piloting a tandem together at the CFTF, so for them the annual race is obviously a family outing, yet it's something more. "There's no race quite like it," Jon Hirsch said. "The mass start down Main Street with the hum of 2,000 mountain bikes is unbelievable." Hirsch feels that for the average mountain bike racer, the Chequamegon is the biggest mass start experience of the year. Where else can a guy with a department store bike line up with a former Tour de France winner or a NORBA national champion. According to Friedell, it's the Chequamegon atmosphere that attracts the September crowd. "There is great camaraderie and a fun atmosphere," he said. "It really reminds me of the good old days of mountain bike racing when it was more grass roots." After 25 years and growing one hundredfold, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival remains a grass-roots event. Simply put, it's just a fun thing to do. Mark Parman lives in Wausau, Wisconsin, where he teaches English and journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County and has served as a judge for the CFTF essay contest.
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