Chain Gang finishes 6th at Wausau 24-hour bike race | Ozaukee Co. Sports

WAUSAU — Four local youths recently tested their endurance in a 24-hour mountain biking race.

The four-person team traded off riding through Wausau’s Nine Mile County Forest on Saturday, July 26 through Sunday July 27. The Wausau 24 is the largest 24-hour mountain bike race in the Midwest with over 850 racers competing in six-hour, 12-hour or 24-hour races.

Each team consisted of between one and four racers, tag teaming through the day and night to complete the race.

Local mountain bikers participating included Will Greymont and Kason Kaminski of Cedarburg, Jacob Butler of Grafton and Harrison Ebbers from Port Washington. Two of the youths are 18 years old, so all four youths needed to enter their team in the adult race category.

The team named themselves The Chain Gang. Each racer completed a 12mile lap through the wooded hills and valleys near Rib Mountain before tagging off with a teammate. It took about 60 minutes to complete each lap.

The daytime temperatures were in the upper 80s with high humidity. At night, the temperatures were comfortably in the upper 60s but the riders had the challenge of biking though forest trails in the dark with only two lights — one on their handle bars and one on their helmet.

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To add to the night time challenge, each racer completed two consecutive laps during the night to allow teammates a few hours to sleep between their legs of the race.

The Chain Gang completed 23 laps during the 24hour period, slowed slightly by a mechanical issue with one of the bikes six miles out on the course which set the team back about 60 minutes.

Although it was an accomplishment simply to finish the 24-hour race, The Chain Gang put forth a great effort, surpassing many adult teams from 20 different states, including athletes sponsored by major biking manufacturers.

The Chain Gang from Ozaukee County finished in sixth place out of a field of 20 teams in the 24-hour, four-person male team category.

All four of the local athletes got their start in mountain bike racing by competing with the local youth mountain biking team, Ozaukee County MTB. The team has just begun their season and interested bikers entering grades six to 12 can get more information at www.ozmtb.org.

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