“A 24-hour bike race? You’re crazy!” - Everyone who I have ever told about the Riverwest24 in any context whatsoever
“That was super fun.” - Everyone who I have wangled into participating in the Riverwest24
I’m not going to dive into a lot of details about the event itself and its history because this is a trip report, and we have 24 hours of action to cover, but these are the basics. The Riverwest24 is a 24-hour bike “race” in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee that takes place every July. Riders complete as many ~4 mile loops around Riverwest as they can. To most, it is more of a community-based neighborhood party than actual race, with dozens of bonus checkpoints facilitating fun, education, and connection.
This was my second year competing, and I don’t foresee myself missing it any time in the near future. Maybe number three is finally tattoo time.
Set-Up
We got a bit of a late start Friday afternoon (my fault) but arrived in Milwaukee with what should have been plenty of time to sign our waivers and enjoy a vegetarian dinner before the 6:30 “mandatory” rider meeting. Step 1 - easy peasy. Step 2 - not so much.
I cannot fathom the logistical nightmare of feeding 1,500+ people in a 2-hour window in the middle of the street. Last year seemed well-oiled. But this time a food deficit and rider surplus had us waiting in line, my back tightening, for 45 minutes only to receive meager rations of a sloppy joe and miss the starting gun. An inauspicious beginning, especially for newcomers to our team. On the bright side, we avoided the crowded commencement lap and were able to go straight to our first bonus.
Spirits were subdued, as three-fifths of the party still had no idea what they were getting into. But we saddled up, and I pressed the start button on my watch, hoping that it would be able to track the 24 hours of shenanigans we were about to get into.
Friday Evening
No matter how you treat The People’s Holiday, as it is known, you are going to get some exercise simply from 24 hours of relentless motion. But in my rookie year there were no added workouts tossed in for fun. Our first bonus this year was a rowing/burpee Crossfit session, and the second a cross-country bike course around a park. We all got our hearts pumping for what was to come.
I’m curious of the overall strategy when scheduling bonus checkpoints (which are only open for 2 hours each). This year felt frontloaded with engaging, energy-intensive tasks - probably smart. Our next was perhaps the most memorable of the event, with all five of us needed to act out a short scene from Harry Potter in front of fellow riders. I learned a lot about SPOILER ALERT Dumbledore’s death.
We rode out as night settled in and the peculiar became that much more eerie.
After showing the new team members the rest of the course and learning a little about a ride for MS and a dog named goblin, we cranked on to Amorphic Beer, for what we thought would be a leisurely bonus stop. I crafted a pretty decent marshmallow trebuchet, narrowly missing the ring of fire, but mother nature had cooked up something more sinister.
Our weather apps had been painting a picture of a dash of rain around 10 pm, with heavy stuff moving in at 1 am. Ten o’clock was more than a dash. Luckily, it hit right before we intended to depart, and there are worse places to be stuck in the rain than a brewery.
More than anything, the Riverwest24 is about letting go and rolling with the punches. You WILL miss things. Energy levels will wax and wane. Presence is both key and almost forced upon you. There is no time to be anywhere else. There are bonuses to do.
We braved the rain to get to…another brewery, where a Japanese man with a chicken taught us to yodel and we were once again stranded when the heavy stuff hit. Standing still felt wrong, and some riders decided not to. Things may have been different for us if we possessed a place to dry out and not just a canopy tent on the lawn of an elementary school.
Karaoke. A garage film festival. The fastest bingo game ever. Intertwined with this late-night fun were reflections on substance use and bullying, as well as a longer-than-appreciated conversation with an inebriated local. With a desire to push through but breakfast starting in just four hours, I decided to get a few winks around 4 am. Tomorrow would be a new (dry) day.
Saturday Morning
I only half-jokingly attribute my ability to restart the engine to the fact that I don’t like coffee. I love sleep, but once I’m up and there’s something to do, I’m gonna go do it. No caffeine crutch needed. A bike yoga bonus helped jump the battery a bit.
Initially dispiriting, the breakfast line moved expeditiously, and after grabbing a full tray, one of my favorite moments took place. “Is that an AFE joke?” a stranger shocked me with as she jumped in my path and pointed at my shirt bearing our team name, The Mind Goblins. It is. I’ll spare you the explanation, but when someone also taking part in your niche event is a fan of your favorite podcast, you can’t help but smile wide and stumble your way through an awkward interaction.
Tummies full, the day was ready to begin. We learned about a local sobriety house, then contributed to some local art pieces, and designed our own pro-choice buttons.
Both years that I’ve participated, the sun has been there to provide warmth and vitality throughout early Saturday. It’s a real boon to the system and a welcome companion. Our bodies and minds were moving a bit slower, but we got some laps under our belts and hit about half of the available bonuses.
This around the time when you begin to ask yourself how much more is in the tank and how hard you can push.
Saturday Afternoon
As I noted earlier, this event is all about being where you are. But it doesn’t hurt to be able to knock out a quick bonus or two in the brief moments you have between other endeavors.
I got advice from a bartender. Our team shared what they love about Milwaukee. And suddenly we were off to a beer sampling and a paddle in the river. It’s about this time that your mind and body begins to reject everything you’ve put it through for the past day and night.
Fortunately, the neighborhood has its fair share of quiet pockets, even during this hectic event, and we were able to find a peaceful pizza joint to relax for an hour or so. I felt surprisingly good, but still, nourishment was necessary.
I meandered for a few final laps, skipped the nacho cheese jump, and waved goodbye once again to the best neighborhood festival I’ve ever attended.
The coming and the going might be the most peculiar parts of this event for out-of-towners. You deprive yourself of sleep and stoke your excitement for 24 hours and then have to pack up and drive home with the setting sun as soon as all that stimulation is ripped away. It might be worth investing in an AirBnB next time around.
Don’t ever ask me to do something on the last weekend in July. I’m busy.