Former Riverwest 24 Champ Shares Her Winning Strategy

Originally published in Milwaukee Magazine 7/26/23

The Riverwest 24 isn’t your average bike race. Better known as “The People’s Holiday,” it’s 24 packed hours of cycling and celebration. Individuals or teams race around a route in Riverwest, stopping at “checkpoints” to earn points. Past checkpoint challenges have included singing karaoke, skinny dipping and even getting a RW24 tattoo.  

Last year’s solo female winner, Claire Riordan, has to count her tattoos to remember how many races she participated in – eight so far. But 2022 was the first time she took home the title.

Here’s her winning strategy: “You need to go to all of the checkpoints. Each hour they open a new checkpoint … and I made it to them all.” She’s not just in it for the accolades – she loves seeing the community come together.

“One of the most important things about the event is that it is solely volunteer run,” she says. “It’s all happening just because the people want it to.”

Registration was in May, but you can still bike along for fun, or just stop by to watch on July 28. Kickoff’s at 7 p.m.