Lalonde Wins Chequamegon 40

The day after Nicks wedding there was even more reason to celebrate. Amanda (Jesse Lalonde’s wife) was standing up in the wedding as well and her husband had just won the Chequamegon 40. It’s a 40-mile mountain bike race that draws the largest mass start list I know of. I think they limit the field to 2500. Not only did Jesse win it, but he won it on a fully rigid 29” single speed. That’s something I would have though impossible until now. I remember doing it in 2002 and getting my first concussion on a bike. One of the medics told me to stop but a fan basically put me back on my bike and pushed me down the trail until I started pedaling on my own. He just kept yelling “You’re top ten, you’re to ten, you can’t stop now” I ended up 18th and went into shock after the race for a few hours. Oh the memories ( or lack there of).