Trail conditions for this weekend's sold out Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival events should be just about ideal. At this writing the trail tread is dry and fast with only a very few traditional spots of standing water on hard packed logging roads. If anything it might be a bit too dry for this weekend's event resulting in some loose sand pockets on the bottoms of some of the rocky downhills.

Both the Chequamegon 40 and Short & Fat will cross areas of recent or active logging. Riders should be aware of trail tread changes and loose organic debris in those areas.

Those pre-riding either race course on Friday September 15 should be aware that the routes are not closed to traffic and you may encounter recreational vehicles on any of the town roads or multi-use trails. Also please note the Chequamegon course marking staff will be on both courses on Friday doing final course marking for Saturday's event.

If you are registered to ride please remember to bring your photo identification to bib pick up to receive your race materials. If you are not registered to ride thank you for observing our 2,500 person limited field and for not riding on the race course if you are not entered.

Travel safely to Chequamegonland. Its going to be a great weekend of fat tire racing and fat tire fun.

This Just In - August 25, 2006 - Count Down to Chequamegon 2006

It's that time of year. The squawking geese are gathering up in small groups and looking south. The bright green ferns of summer are turning brown. The days are getting shorter and it sure seems like it is raining more frequently. It must be getting close to Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival time.

In preparation for the big off road race weekend here are a couple of things to note:

Any competition class changes, requests for preferred start considerations or event changes from the long to short race must be requested in writing prior to the September 1 deadline and be accompanied with a $10.00 processing fee. No requests will be considered after the September 1 deadline.

Registrations may not be transferred from one person to another for any reason. You will be required to show you photo identification at bib pick up to receive your race packets. You may not pick up anyone's race materials other than your own. We do not keep a wait list for redistribution of no shows during the race weekend. You must be registered to ride in any of the Chequamegon Festival events.

Course marking for the Chequamegon 40 course is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday August 29 and 30. Weather permitting the long course will be marked from the Rosie's Field access to the American Birkebeiner ski trail off Highway 77 east of Hayward to the Telemark Resort finish line in Cable. Please remember that the course is open to traffic and you will encounter vehicular traffic along the way.

On race weekend a number of forest roads will be closed to spectator travel. The details of this will be in your race packets and can be found in the Info - Race Week link on this web page. Telemark Road, Spider Lake Fire Lane, Boedecker Road and Janet Road will be closed to spectator traffic from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Those who need access for racer support must obtain an ACCESS PASS from the race headquarters to be allowed passage.

For those who have not qualified for a preferred start position, self-seeded gates have been established for the Chequamegon 40 start. Five individual start line gates will be designated on the south (primary school/armory) side of the Chequamegon 40 start area this year. PREFERRED START NUMBERS ONLY will be allowed in the first gate. Four other gates will be identified with suggested finishing times from 2 1/2 hours through 4 hours plus. Please select the appropriate gate based on your projected finishing time. These placements are available on a first come first served basis. Once a section is filled you must load in the next available section.

Ride smart as you prepare for this year's event and travel safely to Chequamegonland. We'll you in a couple of weeks.

This Just In - August 1, 2006 - Did I say dry and dusty??? How about wet and wild!!!

Well cancel that 7-25-06 report about the dry and dusty summer in Chequamegonland. Since I wrote and posted that report less than a week ago, we have had anywhere from 6 to 7 inches of rain in the northland. The parched ground is soaking it all up, low rivers are flowing more fully, waterfalls are being charged, the biting insect population has been rejuvenated and there is a celebratory symphony of frogs croaking their delight at the added moisture. Rain glorious rain.

This Just In - July 25, 2006 - The Dry and Dusty Summer Continues in Chequamegonland

Well with that report title I hope to reverse the very hot and abnormally dry trend we have had all summer in our region. Rainfall is well below normal, trail treads are dry as a bone, small ponds are shriveling and fire danger is at an all time high along the trails of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. You can all start your rain dances at any time now as Mother Nature could use some moisture to refresh and revive her Northwood's forest.

Rain or shine aside, plans and preparations are in full swing at the Chequamegon race headquarters at Telemark Resort. Supplies are being ordered and shipped, staff members are reviewing their assignments, and community groups are lining up to volunteer, all in anticipation of the 24th running of the nation's most popular off road event.

A lucky fifty of you are beaming brightly having just received your reserved registrations as the winners of this year's 50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon essay contest. This was a tough one to judge with 234 well-crafted submissions in the last chance at an entry contest. There were sincere letters, humorous poems, children's drawings, original songs and photographic pleas to be selected a winner in the contest. Thanks to everyone who sent in their contest submissions this year.

Speaking of event entries, here is a reminder of the few simple registration rules at the Chequamegon event. First you must be registered to ride and by now all who are registered have or will about to have a confirmation card to verify your status. We absolutely will not tolerate bandits (those riding unregistered) in the event and our Bandit Patrol will do their best to eliminate the unregistered riders from the event. Secondly registrations may not be transferred from one person to another for any reason whatsoever. Photo identifications must be brought to bib pick up and no one may pick up the race numbers for any one else. Thirdly, while we understand that some of you cannot attend for a variety of reasons, we do not allow refunds of fees for any reason. Finally you may change events from the Chequamegon 40 to the Short & Fat 16 mile if you wish but the request must be received in writing before September 1 and accompanied with a $10.00 administrative fee. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to drop us an email, letter or phone call.

If you come to the Chequamegon area for training or pleasure rides stop by the Chequamegon headquarters at Telemark Resort. We are usually here during the week and hopefully out on the trails on the weekends riding them ourselves.

Everyone enjoy the rest of the summer and I hope to see you all this coming September.

This Just In - June 15, 2006 - Hot Fun in the Chequamegonland Summer

There is lots of cycling activity in the land of the Chequamegon this time of year. Of course we are working daily to get ready for the big event this September. Event supplies are being ordered, staff members are attending meetings and community groups have been contacted for their help. Along with the event planning there have been countless bikes on cars landing in Chequamegonland to ride the hundreds of miles of CAMBA trials.

Speaking of CAMBA trails be sure to visit www.cambatrails.org to find out the latest in the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association's trail development program. Miles and miles of new single-track trails will constructed throughout the summer in the Hayward Cluster from the Fish Hatchery Park access to the American Birkebeiner Trail to the Mosquito Brook Trailhead. The second phase of the project will go from Mosquito Brook all the way to County OO trailhead.

In addition to the new trails being constructed in Hayward, the new Namakagon Cluster single-track trails are done, being ridden and receiving rave reviews. Built to IMBA standards the new trails are more rider and maintenance friendly. Check them out this summer. Don't forget to help CAMBA with this great trail project by contributing to their Single-track Trail Development fund. Info can be found on the CAMBA web site.

Here is a Chequamegon administrative note for those who applied for a Preferred Start with their Chequamegon entry this year. If you applied your confirmation card said "To Be Determined" in the Preferred Start field. We just completed the selection process from the hundreds who applied, updated the database file and sent new confirmation cards to all applicants. A cover letter sent with the new cards explains the selection process. Congratulations if you got in. If you didn't get in the preferred area and want to appeal our decision please do so in writing as soon as possible by submitting other updated race results for us to consider. Remember no changes will be made after September 1.

Still trying to find some way to participate in this year's sold out Chequamegon Festival event? Remember that submissions for the "50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon" essay contest and the "Chequamegon/Clif Bar Clean Up Crew" volunteer opportunity are due by July 1.

The 50 Ways contest will award 50 reserved Chequamegon entries to the authors who best present their case for getting in this year's sold out event. Trail advocacy in action is the name of the game for the Clif Bar Clean Up Crew. This volunteer opportunity will send fourteen volunteers out to help with the clean up after the race has passed. Crew sponsor Clif Bar will lay on the schwag for the crewmembers and each volunteer will receive a guaranteed reserved registration for the 2007 Chequamegon event. Info on both of these programs can be found on the INFO page of the www.cheqfattire.com web page.

Join us for some hot fun in the Chequamegonland dirt this summer. Miles of trails, crystal clear skies, clean cold water. Why go anywhere else??

This Just In - May 2, 2006 - Spring has Sprung in Chequamegonland

Spring is a busy time in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival office. Not too many bikers coming through yet, but numerous event related projects are in put motion, supplies are being ordered and staff members are about to be reminded that the event is less than five months away.

Since the mid-March lottery drawing, we have been busy punching in all the entry data into the computer. Just before our May 1 target date, all the entry info had been input in our database and confirmation cards printed and sent to those who were selected in the drawing. If you haven't gotten your card yet you should receive it shortly. Please take a minute to carefully review the card when it arrives. Email us with any corrections or omissions. If you believe you were selected and did not get your confirmation card, drop us a line and we'll send another.

Those of you who requested a preferred start with your entry will find a "To Be Determined" in that field on the card. Now that all the entries have been input in the database we will be pulling up all the requests for men, women, tandems and singlespeeds to review them for past results and submitted resumes. We hope to have the preferred selection project completed in early June. After the decisions are made, we will update the data and send new confirmation cards to those who requested a preferred start with either a "Yes" or "No" in the confirmation card field.

The pre-race issue of Fat Tracks is just about to go to the printers and will be mailed shortly after that. This twenty page newspaper will be sent to all those who entered, those whose entries were returned and to a wide mailing list of shops, industry members, cycling clubs, media and local businesses. The pre-race Fat Tracks includes a complete agenda, event information, event stories, sponsor listing and the important group of advertisers. Please remember to support our sponsors and advertisers for they are one of the big reasons we can continue to produce this large event.

I want to extend a personal invitation to one and all to come visit the area's trails that are maintained by the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association. Visit CAMBA at www.cambatrails.org to discover hundreds of miles of user friendly off road routes.

Enjoy the spring, ride safely and I look forward to seeing all of you on the trails.

This Just In - April 4, 2006 - 2,500 Entries Selected - 900 to be Returned

Shortly after the March 15 postmark deadline the 2006 Chequamegon registration lottery was held at Telemark Resort. On the evening of the drawing, nearly 200 hours of volunteer labor was provided to pick and process this year's entrants. The resulting drawing identified 1700 entries for the Chequamegon 40 and 800 entries for the Short & Fat. After the events were filled, a record of nearly 900 entries remained to be returned to their senders.

Thanks for your patience as we process those that were selected and those that were not. As of this date, we have just finished processing the entries to be returned. Those notifications and returned checks will be dropped in the mail this week.

Next on the agenda for registration processing will be punching in those that were picked in the Short & Fat 16 mile event. Following that, the participants picked in the Chequamegon 40 will be input in our database. Confirmation postcards will be sent first to the 800 Short & Fat entrants and then to the 1700 Chequamegon 40 entrants. If things go smoothly we should have the confirmation cards ready to go out between the end of April and the beginning of May.

For those who can't wait to get their confirmation cards or return letters we suggest that you check with your bank to see if your cashed check has been processed. Generally if your check has been cashed you are in. If it hasn't you are not in and you will be getting the check and a cover letter in the returns mailing.

For those who did not get chosen in the lottery please find the INFO and then NEWS links on this web page for details of the "50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon" essay contest that will award reserved entries to winning authors. Also on that NEWS link are the details of the Chequamegon Clif Bar Clean Up Crew volunteer opportunity.

The registration of the Chequamegon cross-country events is limited to 2500 for reasons of sustainability of the trails, safety of the participants and sanity of the staff and volunteers. To help us attain those goals, we ask that you not ride in the Chequamegon events if you are not registered. If you were not chosen for the Saturday events we welcome you as a participant in the Sunday events that are not limited, as a spectator or volunteer. Thanks for your understanding and consideration of this request.

Happy Trails to you all as we head into the riding season.

This Just In - March 10, 2006 - The Lottery Drawing Clock is ticking.

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left before the March 15, 2006 postmark deadline for submitting your Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival entries for this year's lottery drawing. 1700 riders for the Chequamegon 40 and 800 for the Short & Fat will soon be picked in a random drawing.

The volunteer crews are gearing up for the big lottery drawing scheduled just a few days after the postmark deadline. If you haven't gotten your entry blank from this web page or via a mail request do so today. Did I mention that March 15 is the POSTMARK DEADLINE for submitting your entry.

While the skiing and snowshoeing are still great in the northland, it won't be long until the white stuff will melt, the trails will dry out and we will be back cruising the sweet single and double tracks of the Chequamegon area.

This Just In February 15, 2006 - Entry Blanks Flow to Fat Tire Office as Lottery Countdown Begins.

If you haven't quite yet gotten your hands on a copy of the 2006 Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival entry blank, filled it out and sent it in you might want to get on it soon. The March 15 postmark deadline for submitting entries for this year's event is approaching rapidly.

Those who submitted an envelop earlier were sent their entry blank a few weeks ago. If you didn't get a hard copy in the mail, a pdf file of the entry blank can be found on this web page under INFO and then under the REGISTRATION links. Be sure to follow the link that contains the lottery drawing procedures too to get the details on how the random drawing works.

After the March 15 postmark deadline for entry blank submission, Chequamegon March Madness will ensue as over fifty community volunteers gather at Telemark Resort to pick, open, process, highlight, count and alphabetize the 2,500 entries that will be selected in this year's lottery drawing. They also gather to commiserate with those who were not picked and have to be returned to their senders. A scheduling note, while the postmark deadline is March 15 for shipping off your entries, the actual drawing will be on or near Tuesday March 21. This gives us a few extra days for everything to clear the postal system.

Before the drawing begins, the thousands of entries received are mixed thoroughly in a big canvas laundry cart. The pressure is definitely on for the one eyes-closed-entry-envelop-picker who randomly selects the envelopes to be included for the 1700 Chequamegon 40 entries and 800 Short & Fat entries.

Thanks for your understanding that with a registration limit of 2,500, not everyone can get in. If you don't get picked you will have your entry and check returned shortly after the drawing. Just give us a couple of weeks to punch them in our database before returning them.

If you do get in, you'll get a confirmation card just as soon as we can get them punched in. Normally this takes place by May 1 or sooner depending on the progress we make processing the paperwork. Thank you for not emailing or calling us to confirm your acceptance until we can get them all punched in the database. A good sign of your envelope being drawn is that your check is cashed. Check with your local bank to see if your check has cleared. If it has it's a pretty sure sign that you are one of the chosen.

If you are not selected don't lose all hope. Be sure to read the press releases on this web page under INFO and NEWS about the "50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon" essay contest. The contest will award fifty reserved entries to the best essays about why you want to ride in the sold out event. We will also be looking for Chequamegon Clif Bar Clean Up Crew volunteers for our trail clean up during the event weekend. There are many ways to participate in the Chequamegon weekend even if you don't get picked in the cross-country event lottery.

Good luck in the drawing to one and all. We hope to see you at the races in the fall or on the wonderful CAMBA trails all season long.

This Just In January 4, 2006 - Chequamegon Winter Wonderland.

So far winter in Chequamegonland has been typified by moderate temperatures and lighter than normal snowfalls. The result is a beautifully white woods but it's not quite the knee-deep snow and the rattles your teeth cold that we usually experience in the cold season. It is definitely enough like winter though to enjoy the Chequamegon woods on our many ski and snowshoe trails.

And speaking of enjoying the Chequamegon woods, the 2006 clock is ticking down toward the March 15 postmark deadline for this year's registration lottery. The lottery, an annual rite of Spring, will determine the 2,500 participants in the 24th Annual Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival sponsored by Trek to be held this coming September 15-17, 2006 at Telemark Lodge in Cable, WI.

Those who have either sent in a self-addressed stamped entry form request envelope or who left one at last year's event will be sent a 2006 Chequamegon entry blank on or about February 15. Watch for it in your mailbox shortly after that. Those of you who haven't already requested an entry blank and want one sent to you should send a self-addressed stamped business size envelope to CFTF, PO Box 267, Cable, WI 54821 marked "Entry Blank Request" as soon as possible.

On or about February 15, an electronic option for getting an entry blank will be available on this web page. At that time you will be able to download and print out the 2006 entry blank to complete and send in with your payment in time for the lottery drawing.

Please remember that entries for the cross-country events are limited to 1700 in the Chequamegon 40 and to 800 in the Short & Fat. The pre-registration lottery that will determine the lucky 2,500 riders who will be enjoying the 24th Chequamegon events is held shortly after the March 15 entry blank postmark deadline.

TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR'S LOTTERY DRAWING, COMPLETED ENTRIES AND PAYMENT MUST BE POSTMARKED TO OUR OFFICE BY MARCH 15.

Check under INFORMATION and then under REGISTRATION on this web site for completed details of this year's Chequamegon registration lottery.

For now, while you are waiting for the next off road cycling season to come around, why not plan a trip to Chequamegonland for some winter recreation and relaxation. Our many trails are great for skiing and snowshoeing and a variety of quality special events are held throughout the cold season. Visit the Cable Area Chamber of Commerce at www.cable4fun.com or the Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce at www.hawyardchamber.com for this winters recreational and race opportunities.