Bike Race - Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival

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NEWS FROM CHEQUAMEGON LAND!

This Just In - May 12, 2008- Off Road Riding Season Opens

Spring was a very long time coming to the land of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. Now, when you consider the rest of the world climate with cyclones, tornados, sand storms and the like a few cool snowy days in April and May are really pretty easy to take. However, the slow spring dry out and warm up meant that the area off road trails were not officially open until May 9. Now that they are open please ride responsibly staying clear of wet and soft areas to not leave tire ruts on the trails that we will enjoy all summer long.

The prerace issue of Fat Tracks was printed and mailed last week. Each of you who registered and the returned entries too will receive a copy of the twenty-four page newsletter. In the Fat Tracks you can read all about the 50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon essay contest, the Gu Clean Up Crew volunteer opportunity and the new Bicycle as Art - The Art of the Bicycle exhibit that will be part of this year's event. You will also note the detailed agenda; weekend's highlights as well as complete event information in the center spread. Take note of the particulars, especially those of you who will be riding in your first Chequamegon event this September. Read all about it in the prerace issue of Fat Tracks.

At the moment we are still working on the review of the preferred start requests. Traditionally we send out new confirmations with the results of those requests by the first week in June. Keep an eye on your mailbox.

Remember if you notice any information that is incorrect on your confirmation card, drop us a line to update your data.

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 1, 2008- Its Almost Spring in Chequamegonland - Well Not Really

As this is being written, it is still looking pretty wintry and white on the slopes of Mt. Telemark in Cable, WI. A few mountain bike tracks have been spotted on the hard pack base of some late season ski trails. The season of dirt riding is a bit further away as our trails officially open on May 1 following the departure of the winter frost from the ground.

White and cold climate aside, spring is a very busy time in the Chequamegon office. The mid-March lottery drawing was just completed and we are busy data processing the entries that are in and those that are being returned. The first item on our data entry list is to punch in the contact info for those who were not selected and return the checks of the unlucky ones.

A note to those of you, who did not get picked in the lottery drawing, be sure to check out the 50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon Essay Contest and the Chequamegon/Gu Clean Up Crew volunteer opportunity noted elsewhere in the INFO section of this web page.

Then by May 1 or as soon as possible, we hope to have all the entry info input in our database, confirmation cards printed and sent out to those who were selected in the drawing.

When you do get your confirmation card please take a minute to carefully review the info on the card. 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 confirmation card. In the coming weeks 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 by 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 in the works and will be in the mail by mid-May. 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 spring 2007 Fat Tracks will include a complete agenda, detailed 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.

Send some balmy spring breezes this way will you? Ride safely and I look forward to seeing all of you on the trails in Chequamegonland.

This Just In - January 16, 2008 - Chequamegon XXVI Entry Blanks and Registration Lottery

February may be the peak of the snow sports season but it is also time to focus on off road cycling in the months to come. Along with wax selection, firm tracks and many kilometers for Nordic skiing, February is also time to focus on getting your hands on a Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival entry blank.

On September 12-14, Telemark Resort in Cable, WI will be the site of the twenty-sixth running of the nation's most popular multi-day off road bicycle event. Some think the toughest part of the event is just getting in.

With the point to point off road bicycle events limited to 2,500 riders, potential Chequamegon participants nervously look forward to the spring registration lottery. To be included in the random registration lottery, race day hopefuls must obtain, complete and send in their entry blanks with payment by the March 15 postmark deadline. Shortly after that date, 1700 riders for the Chequamegon 40 and an additional 800 for the Short & Fat 16 miler will be selected for the 2008 event.

Entry blanks can be obtained in two ways. First, from early February to March 15 the entry form can be downloaded from the event's web page at www.cheqfattire.com. Those preferring the U.S. postal route must send in a self-addressed stamped business size envelope in a timely fashion before the postmark deadline. A hard copy of the entry blank is sent to those sending in SASE.

To be included in the random drawing, lottery participants must meet the March 15 postmark deadline for returning their completed entry form and fee payment to the event headquarters. Entries mailed after the postmark deadline will not be included in the drawing.

Fat tire racing and fat tire fun in the northland is the reward for the 2,500 lucky riders selected in the drawing. After the entries are randomly selected and processed into the computer database, confirmation cards notify those who have been accepted into the event. Those who are not picked in the lottery drawing receive a "better luck next time" letter along with the return of the submitted entry fee. Each year after the event limits are reached nearly a thousand unpicked entry submissions are returned to their senders.

For complete details of the registration lottery procedure and other event information visit the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival web page at www.cheqfattire.com. Direct all correspondence to CFTF, PO Box 267, Cable, WI 54821, 715-798-3594, email to cheqfat@cheqnet.net or stop by the event headquarters at Telemark Resort in Cable.