Dave Simmons

Chequamegon 40

Fun times in Wisconsin this past weekend. Rick and I headed over to Hayward on Friday night and met up with Brian and his secret weapon for the Chequamegon 40 on Saturday. We went and registered and had a few plates of spaghetti to tide us over until the morning. Rick found us a great little cabin to stay in at the KOA. It was chilly until the heater warmed us up. The nighttime low was 25F. We were up bright and early to witness the cold temps at 4:30am. We headed over to the start line and got some sweet starting positions on the second row. Then it was back to the cabin to thaw out until the race started at 10:00am. We all decided to wear the long sleeve insulated TBB jerseys as the temps weren't supposed to get over 55F. They worked out great. Plenty warm at the start and on the fast downhills. We all had great races. Brian did the Brown Bears proud with a 235th placing and a time of 2 hours 38 minutes. He even beat Greg Lemond and Gary Fisher. Way to go Brian! I came in at 731st place overall with a time of 3 hours 4 minutes. A half hour better than the last time I did this race in 2004. Rick was towards the back of the pack making sure everyone else made it to the end : ) A very respectable 1673rd place for the Mangan with a time of 4 hours and 39 minutes. Great job Rick on your first Cheq 40! I bet he shaves at least 45 minutes off next year. Now on to the pictures.

Our accomodations for the night.

This was the most comfortable swing ever.

Brian's secret weapon for the race : )

Brian on the internet and Rick reading it.

Our cozy beds in the heated portion of the cabin.

"The Mangan"

The doublemint Brown Bears : )

One last picture off of the Chequamegon race site. It is the best picture to date of "The Mangan". Click here for a full screen shot of terror : ) There's evidence of Rick's bushwhacking skills as well. Outstanding Rick!