Chequamegon MTB Festival, live.

From Hayward to Cable on the Birkie trail

The Chequamegon MTB Festival is a mountain bike race through the Northwoods of Wisconsin, held since 1983.

The 2027 festival is on Saturday 18 September. The Chequamegon 40 starts at 10:00 am in downtown Hayward and runs point to point over the American Birkebeiner ski trail, forest roads and snowmobile routes to the Derksen Family Great Hall in Cable. Aid stations stand at the Gravel Pit at mile 12, OO at mile 18 and High Point at mile 30.

The Short & Fat covers 16 miles with the same mix of terrain, starting and finishing in Cable, with an aid station at mile 6.6 on Spider Lake Road. Little Loggers gives children a short loop of their own. Registration for 2027 opens on 1 December.

The race began in 1983 with only 27 cyclists, as an idea to bring visitors to the area after the summer season. Greg LeMond won a rain shortened edition, and riders from Canada have long had a prize of their own. Today the pro field races the same 40 miles as part of the Life Time Grand Prix.

The 40 is fast and suits fit cross country riders who are happy in a big pack, and cut off times apply, with every rider off course by 4:00 pm. The Short & Fat is a good first race. Because the 40 runs point to point, many riders drop their bikes at the start in Hayward, park in Cable and take the bus back to the start. The organiser points spectators to the OO crossing, where the course meets County Highway OO, and the finish festival in Cable runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

On Livebib you can follow a rider who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. That position comes from the rider, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the Chequamegon MTB Festival. It is a simple way for family and friends to see roughly where someone is on course and when to head for the finish.