MILWAUKEE — This weekend marks the 16th year of Riverwest 24, a quirky and beloved bicycle race in Milwaukee. And as the name suggests, riders are gearing up to try and last 24 hours.
There is no official route, just a suggested one — meaning most roads in the area won't be closed — and drivers, bikers, and pedestrians in Riverwest should all be on the lookout.
"We have about 1,300 riders registered — but since we started opening bonuses up to the community it's hard to determine how much actual involvement there's going to be as the race gets going," explained Katie Maedke-Hall, one of the race organizers.
Registered riders have four places where they have to stop and check in, but they won't earn points unless they have a helmet and a bike light.
"There are also 48 bonus checkpoints where you can do different activities to gain points toward your overall score," added Maedke-Hall.
Amber Zahn leads the course operations team and says safety is the top priority. "It's our number one... two and three," she said with a smile.
Zahn wants everyone to be on the lookout for riders and volunteers in Riverwest. She says some will be easy to spot. "The famous noodle people! Those are our course ops volunteers that point out traffic hazards, like buses and cars, with pool noodles. So that's a fun thing to see."
Wendy Mesich, the race's community engagement coordinator, calls it her favorite holiday of the year. She says when neighbors get to know neighbors it leads to friendship... and sometimes... to the altar! "We've had people meet on the routes. We've had two weddings as bonus checkpoints, you show up and you're a guest of the wedding," she explained with a laugh.
Organizers say the event also invites people to explore what the urban biking environment can look like. "It's an easy way to get into it because you're with people that bike more often and if your bike breaks there are tons of people around," said Mesich.
The race starts at 7 o'clock Friday night and it's not too late to get involved. Registration is closed so you can't sign up as an official team but there are opportunities to volunteer along the course, help serve or eat dinner at the Riverwest Food Co-opor jump in and hit those bonus checkpoints.
Click here to visit the Riverwest 24 website.
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