Weekend Schedule

FRIDAY, June 17th
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5:30-9:00 pm
Number Pickup and Door Prize Displays
5:00-8:00 pm
Friday Spaghetti Dinner
6:00 pm
Registration Closes
7:00-7:30 pm
Rider/Crew Q & A Meeting
SATURDAY, June 18th
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6:00-7:30 am
Late Number Pick-up
6:00-8:30 am
Saturday Breakfast
7:15-7:30 am
Crew Meeting
8:00 am sharp!
START of the National 24-Hour Challenge
SUNDAY, June 19th
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8:00 am sharp!
FINISH of the National 24-Hour Challenge
8:15 am
Mileages Become Final Free Rider Breakfast
8:30 am
Awards Ceremony (Including Door Prizes)

A Weekend of Activity

Riders begin arriving Friday afternoon, with tent set-up, late registration, and number pick-up – as well as the spaghetti dinner – happening. Old friends meet. New riders and crews receive a friendly welcome, and all the advice they could ask for.

The ride itself begins at 8:00 am on Saturday. The Kalamazoo Pipe Band gets riders off to a thrilling start! Participants begin The Day Loop, a rolling-to-hilly 50 miles through scenic Barry County. There’s a checkpoint at the southern end of the loop at Delton Kellogg High School, just under 25 miles into the loop. After the riders depart, their crews can leave on an alternate route to meet their riders at the Delton checkpoint. Then, the only sounds at Thornapple-Kellogg Middle School are from the Amateur Radio Communications Group, using radios to keep contact with the lead car, the Delton checkpoint, and the two broom wagons – even when cell service fails.

Somewhere between two and four hours later, the riders return to TKMS, cruise through the main checkpoint, and head out again. They’ll need to complete three of these 50-mile loops before evening. Once 5:00pm rolls around, riders who have completed at least two Day Loops can embark on Night Loops! From then until 8:00 am Sunday morning, they will ride a 7.6-mile fairly flat route, beginning and ending at TKMS. Both Checkpoints are well stocked with quality fruit from Family Fare Supermarkets, water, and plumbing facilities. When the riding is done at 8:00 AM, riders and their crews are treated to a free breakfast at TKMS.

Our awards ceremony begins at 8:30 am with door prizes from our sponsors. Medals are awarded, and the traditional Siegel Silver bowls are presented to the top-mileage male and female riders.

While we often hear “I’ll never do that again”, most riders soon begin planning how they can improve on their Personal Best next year!

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