Mark Sirek has some advice for those thinking of competing in the Riverwest 24-Hour Bike Race.
“When you feel like laying in a crying huddled mass on the side of the road while crows pick at your lifeless body,” he says, “take solace in the fact that you are participating in a yearly legend in the greatest neighborhood in the world.”
Part criterium, part block party and part celebration of neighborhood pride, RW24 (as it’s known by participants) consists of bikers – either solo or in teams of up to six people – riding continuous 4.6-mile laps around the neighborhood from 7 p.m. July 30 to 7 p.m. July 31. Racers earn points for each completed lap, tallied in real time at riverwest24.com.
Paul Kjelland, Jeremy Prach, Steve Whitlow, Chris Fons, Kelly Hillard and Mike McGarry started the race in 2008 as a way to showcase their neighborhood and encourage biking in an urban environment.
To keep riders’ and spectators’ energy up, the race includes special events and checkpoints along the way, such as an overnight dance party, a pancake breakfast and a stop at a tattoo shop to get an RW24 tattoo. These are optional, but bonus points are awarded for participating. Last year, a total of 170 teams and solo riders took part. The winning team completed 78 laps and 22 bonus checkpoints for a total of 100 points. Evan Pack completed the most solo laps with 62.
“My ass hurts,” Pack said afterward. “But damn it feels good!”
Riders can take rest stops, but some power through the whole 24 hours. Prizes change every year and include everything from a handmade trophy by artist Scott Van Vreede to various swag donated by local businesses.
Joe Regan, who completed the race last year, says the race’s festive nature kept him going when he was dragging. “Everyone just seemed to be having a blast,” Regan says. “The organizers and volunteers were fantastic. I think quite a few of them went 24 hours, too.”
For this reason, Sirek says the hardest part of the race has nothing to do with the endless pedaling or sleep deprivation.
“I suppose the biggest challenge,” he says, “is waiting 364 days for it to start again.”
