Chequamegon 2009 Fat Tire Highlights

This is our friend Mark, who by the way has done this race for many years now. Mark & I arranged to do a water bottle hand-off on top of Seeley fire tower hill. Mark's wife does a hand-off @ County Rd 00. Thank heavens Bike Man brought the tire pump, as Mark unfortuneatly had a slow tire leak which cost him lots of time....bummer.

This climb up to the fire tower hill is incredible rocky, steep and long. My whole purpose of being up there is to yell as loud as I can to encourage the riders to not get out of their pedals. Actually, it's much harder to push your bike up the steep hill than to ride it out. Unfortuneatly, many cyclists bale out in front of someone trying to spin up the hill and sometimes that forces you to get out of your pedals, or in worse cases, to wipe-out. I always hate to see that, but it happens a lot at this particular hill.

This guy just felt the need to stick out his tongue at me! There's always a few riders who don't behave themselves'!!!!!

I just caught the tail-end of this guy trying to do a "wheelie" of enjoyment! In other words, some cyclists just love to show off. However, one must be careful because your wheel can come down at an angle while doing a wheelie and you can cause someone else to wipe-out! Beware of the show-offs, ha!

Someone added a few signs at the top of the hill this year.....could it be the Chequamegon Mama's? Yes, the mama's really do exist (a cycling group from Hayward, Seeley & Cable area).



I loved this guy's jersey.....Mudd, Sweat & Gear!

Miss Becca with the "cow bells." Every year we hear cyclists yell, "hey, more cow bell."

So, when the cyclists finish their race, where do they park their bikes? At the Bike Corral....of course. Like 2,400 mountain bikes. Every year, we have fun supporting the mountain bikers. I always get accused by my family of yelling way too loud, but I always lose count of how many mountain bikers udder, "thank you" as they ride by me (yes, I loose my voice). It's a tough hill climb and most just need some encouragement to stay in their saddle's. I remember that hill vividly, as I rode the Fat Tire race ten years ago. I peddled my butt all the way up the famous fire tower hill, because a few spectators were cheering me on...I will never forget that feeling of personal accomplishment. So now you know why I yell so loud.