Approximately 1,300 bikers will take to the streets of Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood on today and Saturday for the 11th annual Riverwest 24.
The 24-hour bike race takes place each year on the last weekend of July from 7 p.m. on Friday to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Participants can race solo or as part of a team as they loop around the suggested 4.6-mile route with an objective of completing the highest amount of laps in 24 hours.
Riders can deviate from that route, but in order to complete one lap, they are required to visit four checkpoints in the correct order along the way.
The volunteer-run event, which first started in 2007, is more about building community than it is about cycling.
“By encouraging bikers and spectators to come out for a full day we hope to show off Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood and encourage biking in an urban environment,” its website says. “Through this exercise in stamina, team work and merriment we hope to build an event that all people in Milwaukee and beyond can enjoy by participating in, volunteering for or by cheering on the riders.”
Riverwest 24 was chosen as a finalist for this year’s Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI) in the Brewers Community Foundation Public Space Award category.
