Category: Training Tips

2021 Is Here…and November Is Coming!

Oh, hello there strangers. 

 

We’re finally through 2020 and things are slowly looking brighter, happier, and healthier. We have a long way to go, but thanks to the hard-working medical professionals, essential workers, and everyone who has done their part to stay safe, we can start to look at getting together in November! 

 

Every single edition of the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge is special for its own reason, but we understand that this one, well, this one is going to be different. We’re hoping that November 6, 2021 serves as the family reunion we all didn’t get in 2020 and the one we’re all desperately hoping to bring our mountain bike community together. 

 

We wouldn’t even be talking about a 31st edition of the race without the thousands of riders who chose to defer or donate last year’s entry, so when you line up this November, make sure you say thank you to the guy or gal next to you; odds are, they helped to make this year’s event possible. 

 

Those same folks will get the first crack at registration. If you donated your entry, you’ll receive a link in your inbox that will allow you to get signed up. You can start feverishly hitting ‘refresh’ on your email account the week of February 15. 

 

If you deferred your entry to 2021, you’ll get a link that will allow you to register for the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge or Meijer Slush Cup. We were hoping that we’d be able to just squeeze everyone in automatically, but our legal team reminded us that waivers are kind of a big deal. 

 

If you’re waiting to see what the COVID-19 situation looks like over the next few months, don’t worry; the link for your deferred or donated entry won’t expire until September 1. 

 

There will be questions. Jessica will have all the answers at icemaninfo@iceman.com so don’t hesitate to reach out! 

 

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to host our traditional in-person registration parties at 7 Monks in Traverse City and the Bell’s Eccentric Café. However, you can have a party all your own at 9 am on March 5, when all available spots are open to new Iceman riders! It’ll feel like the good ol’ days of hopping on right at 9 and registering because there aren’t many spots available!

 

Since we’ve had an awful lot of time to come up with some cool things to do, make sure you’re checking out a few neat things we’ve added to registration this year. 

 

Iceman Registration Donation. Last year, generous Iceman racers raised over $16,000 for Michigan Mountain Bike Association by adding just a few dollars to their registration. This year, we’re hoping to raise just as much for the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. GTRLC protects and preserves natural areas all over northern Michigan including Arcadia Dunes, Bullhead Lake Natural Area, and Glacial Hills Pathway. They also helped to save the Sand Lakes 160, a 160-acre parcel of the Pere Marquette forest that serves as a critical point of intersection for dozens of Traverse City trails, including the heart of the Iceman course itself! 

 

Virtual Training Challenge. One of the toughest aspects of the past several months has been finding the motivation to get up and get moving without some of our favorite rides, races, and events. We’re hoping to recreate your riding community and help you nail your best Iceman Training Challenge. Join the 500, 1,000, or 3,000 mile Challenge groups and rack up the miles from March 5 to October 30. Along the way, you’ll earn milestones, get coaching tips from your favorite Iceman pros, and have a chance to win prizes from Iceman, Bell’s, Trek, Clif, and more. Each challenge group will have its own club on Strava, and if you hit your challenge goal, we’ll move you up to keep you riding! Watch for more on this next week! 

 

Donate A Sno Cone Entry. Every kid deserves a chance to shred. This year, we’re making it easy to donate a free spot to the Sno Cone race at checkout. We’ll give the spot you donate to any kid who wants to race but whose parents can’t swing it. No stress, no questions asked. Let’s build the next generation of mountain bikers today. 

 

We’ve also been working on an Iceman Zwift Meet-Up to give riders from across the country a chance to ride together, get in a tough workout, and connect! Watch for a Meet-Up calendar, instructions on how to join, plus links to the official, always-updated Iceman playlist and workouts for each ride!

For The Fun Of It: The 2020 Course

Last week, we made the call. No doubt the announcement that this year’s Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge wouldn’t happen disappointed a lot of people, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive calls, emails, and text messages in the days since our racers heard the news. Your support has made a very tough time so much better, and we can’t thank you enough for the donations and kind words.  Continue reading “For The Fun Of It: The 2020 Course”

Heart & Heat of Summer

     We’re getting in the heart and the heat of summer! As the weather improves and the miles rack up, we’re deep in the woods looking at ways to create a unique, challenging course that will keep you on your toes.

     So, how does a course come together? One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle comes from working with Northern Michigan Mountain Biking Association and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to learn more about logging plans. Each year, the DNR harvests timber from state land, and there are times that their planes involves sections of the Iceman course.

     We try to forecast those plans and establish new ways around logging forests, or anticipate clean-up efforts in the event that the logging in finished before race day. One of the important elements of refreshing logged sections of trails is to keep them open not just for the first Saturday in November, but to ensure marked and unmarked trails remain accessible year-round for riders.

    There is one section scheduled to log this year, but no date has been set to work on the Make It Stick area we’ve used the past few editions. On the bright side, we can open up the ‘old’ route in no time, and that flexibility gives us time to work on Make It Stick if logging operations are finished with a few weeks before November 7.

     We are also looking at last year’s wave times, average speeds, and other information to inform where and how we can reduce back-ups and open racing. After a tough 30th edition made even more difficult with rain, snow, and mud, 2020 was always planned to be a world apart. Instead of one for the climbers, we’re working on a route suited to the rouleurs, the strong riders who put out a lot of power on the flats and can really put the hurt on other riders when the race hits the Vasa.

     At this stage in the season, we have a few ideas in mind and have given the proposed, top secret route to just a few locals who will be riding the course to establish some baseline times and give their impressions. With group riding slowly coming back, we will also be able to get a better idea of how the new course breaks up slightly larger groups of, say, ten to fifteen.

    Once the DNR is open and taking permits, we’ll finalize the route and create some high-quality maps to submit for their approval as a part of our event permit. Once those receive the green light, we’ve got a course!

    Want to be ready? Get riding. Plan on faster, flatter, and a shorter course that puts the emphasis on horsepower over climbing.

Excuses for Why Your Iceman Didn’t Go to Plan: A Free List

Preparation for a race like the Bell’s Iceman Cometh is extensive. Our racers ride up to a few hundred miles per week, putting in endless hours of physical exertion in the hopes of a fast ride on one special Saturday in November. They open their wallets to make sure they have the best equipment, the lightest parts, and the most aerodynamic gear to ensure they’re leaving no watt unused. Months of preparation all boil down to how two hours unfold with 4,000 of your friends.

But sometimes, it’s all for naught and the race doesn’t go quite to plan. In this scenario, it’s just as crucial to be prepared for all of the uncomfortable questions post-race; mostly, “How’d your race go?”

To help you prepare for that question in the event of an off day, here are some free excuses to keep in your back pocket. For added effect, we’ve translated these excuses into their actual meaning for bystanders so they know what really caused you to finish 168th place ride in the men’s 56-57 year old class. 

  • Oh man, I was flying until Headwaters, and then the lights just went out and I bonked hard.

Translation: “I sucked wheel all the way to Headwaters and then got dropped like a sack of potatoes.”

  • My race went ok, but I got stuck behind people on a singletrack section and lost a ton of time.

Translation: “I sat-in and refused to take a pull on the front of the group on the fast flat sections, then complained people in front of me were going too slow in the singletrack.”

  • Legs just didn’t have it today.

Translation: “I drank way too much beer last night.”

  • My stomach didn’t like that new energy mix I tried.

Translation: “I drank way too much beer last night.”

  • I don’t really care where I finished. I was just out there to have fun, man.

Translation: “Maybe I should have done the Zwift races on the trainer instead of watching Golden Girls on Netflix all October.”

  • I didn’t do great, but it’s just because I haven’t had much time to train.

Translation: “I’ve been drinking way too much beer.”

Boom. You’re now completely prepared for the race and we can’t wait to see you in Kalkaska on November 2nd. At the end of the day, we just hope everyone makes it to Timber Ridge safely and has one heck of a good time. Whether you’re out there to take on Geoff Kabush or if you’re wearing a tutu and rocking a unicorn costume, we want you to make your Iceman Cometh experience your own. We’ll keep the fires roaring and the Bell’s beer cold for you. 

One Gear, No Fear: Kyle’s Singlespeed Tips

Mud. Cold. Rain. Snow. Countless hills and one of the most competitive fields in the country. You wouldn’t think any racer would possibly want to make the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge harder. Then, deep into the race, you realize the guy or gal sprinting up every hill is doing it with just one gear. Singlespeeders are some of the toughest riders in the woods, and they’d tell you going without a derailleur isn’t much harder, just a different kind of hard. We check-in with Singlespeed wizard/legend/good dude Kyle Macdermaid on why not shifting holds so much attraction and the best ratio for the drag race between Kalkaska and Traverse City. 

It’s been a few years since I have raced Iceman Singlespeed, (but man do I miss it sometimes.) Many people believe SS is a lot harder than running gears, but to me, it’s never seemed that much harder. It’s harder at times and easier at others. SS forces you to use momentum, use your fellow riders (find a wheel when you’re at 120rpm and tuck in) and works as a natural rev limiter. On fast sections, you are forced to draft, or just rest a bit as you only have so much gear. Yes, the hills are going to be a battle, but you attack them and run if you have to.

The big question with SS is always, gearing, gearing, gearing. What gearing are you running? How many gear inches are you pushing today? What’s your gain ratio brah? For Iceman, my plan has always been to run a couple of hills. Event 1 is almost always a run unless you hit it really clear in your wave, as people slow down too much for an SS rider to make it up in the sand. I would plan on potentially having to run the top of Make It Stick if need be, and I always plan on running Anita’s. I made Anita’s once on 36×16 and it was some of the worst race strategies I’ve ever had. That level of effort, especially late in the race was akin to a race-finishing all-out-sprint effort, and I completely exploded at the top. I pulled 10 seconds back on the person I was chasing (Collin Snyder) but lost more than a minute from the top of Anita’s to the finish as I was so blown up.

Okay, as to my actual gearing advice for Iceman:

If you are a general racer, just looking to finish with a good time, I would suggest dropping one tooth in the rear over typical go to singletrack gearing. If you ride 2:1 or 34×17 normally, go to 34×16 for iceman.

If you are looking to podium Iceman in SS, (and it’s not a mud year) you are going to need a taller gear. I would say a minimum of 62 gear inches (or 36×16 on a 29er.) If you are really shooting for the win, you might be able to squeak it on 62 gear inches if you can really spin, but something like 64 or 65 would be better. If I were racing SS this year, I’d be on 37×16, running a 29×2.2 tire.

Some single gear race advice:

-You really need to work with your geared brethren. Even if you are running a big gear (64+ gear inches) you are going to be spinning out on fast sections like Sands Lakes Road, parts of the VASA, etc. If possible, try to latch on to a good group of geared riders during the flat/fast sections, (even if you have to sit up for a couple of seconds so they bridge to you.) Stay in the draft and then jump to the front of them when you hit the hills as they’ll probably dump gears and slow you down.

-Run Anita’s. Yes, it’s possible to make it up it, but run it.

And remember, even if some geared people beat you, (which they will) you’re still cooler as you did it on one gear.

Need help with your gearing? Check out this handy gear calculator to determine your set-up, or see your range with your current gears, too.

Drop Bars: Good Idea, Bad Idea, GREAT Idea?

Drop Bars: Good Idea, Bad Idea, GREAT Idea?

Last year, Geoff Kabush won the 29th edition of the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge. This was no surprise. The kind of bike he won it on did, however, raise some eyebrows. 

Riding the Iceman on drops bars isn’t new; we’ve seen plenty of riders brave the course on cyclocross and gravel bikes over the years, with varying degrees of success. For racers with plenty of experience on skinny tires and the handling skills to throw themselves through sandpits and come out the other side upright, it can actually be an advantage to have bigger gears and a more aerodynamic position on the bike. 

New kinds of bikes are making drop bars more and more realistic for races like Iceman. With tire clearance for 650b wheels and 2.25” tires, they’re essentially putting mountain bike wheels on gravel or road bikes. Our course doesn’t offer rocky, rough terrain that demands suspension, and if you can do a dozen push-ups, you’re probably strong enough to meet the rigors of splashing down a few tree roots, even if your teeth chatter. 

We’ve already heard a ton of people talking about riding drop bars this year, and Kabush’s win last year is definitely a big factor behind the renewed interest. It’s something I’ve done plenty of times on Out’n’Backs and, I’ll admit, I loved having the big gears and smaller tires barrelling down Sand Lakes Road en route to the start in Kalkaska. 

My very first Iceman I decided to race the Pro wave, mostly due to spending a good fifteen hours the day before manning our booth at the SRAM Ice Cycle Expo all Friday. Pros have the luxury of sleeping in a bit! I lined up dead last, hoping to stay out of the way. I was the only rider on a cyclocross bike; next to me, coincidentally, was the first rider to ever to do the Pro race on a fat bike. Less than five miles in, I hit a root so hard that it bent by rim and the brake pad (and these were cantilever, remember those?) got stuck against under the rim. After a few minutes I got the wheel rolling, although the brake was ruined. At the very least, I was moving, but spent the rest of the day battling that fat bike not to get last. 

Since then, I’ve done the course on everything from 35mm cyclocross tires to thick, meaty 2.25” Thunderburts with drop bars, very similar to Kabush’s winning set-up. It is so fast on the open sections of the course, and if you have the right gearing, you won’t suffer at all on the climbs or descents. Where drop bars hurt you is when you don’t get to decide where to ride. Riding in a big bunch or group means you’re constantly switching lines, whether by design or at the mercy of a fellow rider. It’s in those moments where having a rigid bike makes you pay more; the speed-robbing root, bouncing through loose sand or along a deep rut. Suspension is really forgiveness, and with drop bars and your weight over the front of the bike, you pay for every single mistake. 

Can you race Iceman on drop bars? Totally. First, fit the biggest tires you can into your bike; most traditional cyclocross bikes can fit a maximum tire width between 38 and 43mm. Some can fit a 650c wheel with 27.5” mountain bike tires; that’s the way to go if you can! Get out as often as you can and work on your handling skills, and give the course plenty of recon rides to know where you want to be in each section. Additionally, ride the wrong lines, too, so you’re ready to recover from bobbles on race day. Can you win Iceman on drop bars? Well, are you Geoff Kabush?

The Top Secret Formula For Wave Assignments REVEALED!

The Top Secret Formula For Wave Assignments REVEALED!

It’s September and we haven’t had any need to dig out the shoe covers yet! Rest assured, the chill will descend on the Midwest soon, and you can expect to spend an extra ten minutes digging through bins and closets for your warmers, booties, covers, and coats. That first ride in the cold, in a misty rain, with squealing brakes and a generous deposit of sand coated on your chain; it’s a sign of the season. 

Just as important, and perhaps just as exciting, are two crucial dates for our races. First, transfers close on October 11. We really appreciate everyone who has transferred out so far, and we encourage you to do so if you aren’t going to make it. That $20 fee goes to support Norte Youth Cycling and the Grand Rapids Dirt Dawgs, two really cool programs that get kids on bikes. Additionally, you’re making a spot for another rider to race Iceman. For riders who have done this dance a time or two, it may not seem as big of a deal, but cast your mind back to your first timing lining up in Kalkaska; you won’t ever forget it. 

The second date is October 18, which is the latest date we hope to have wave assignments ready. Riders tend to think of wave assignments as a sort of Harry Potter-esque Sorting Hat; everybody wants to be in Gryffindor, everyone thinks they should be in Gryffindor, and a wave that isn’t to your liking is like getting Hufflepuff. (Sorry, Hufflepuff). If you don’t get this metaphor, ask your kids. 

First off, we hope you know that we spend a lot of time trying to get these wave assignments right. Over the years, we’ve adopted two formulas to put people where they should be, both from a competitive standpoint and from a safety stand point. Having riders of vastly different abilities and speeds on the same square foot of trail is the riskiest business, and it isn’t fun for either party. 

It all starts with the following:

Rider with past results:

Average overall place for up to the last 5 years, then doubling your best place of those results. Then those results are ranked and split up into the waves. The first 4 waves have 150 riders per wave, then the remaining waves have 80 per wave to allow room to manually move or place riders as needed.

Riders without past results, but with Strava data:

Strava riders are ranked by their total activity scores for the year. They are then placed by rank after the past results rider waves.

Using your five-year average helps us remove your worst results, whether it be a bad day, a bad mechanical, or season where you just didn’t get to train to your normal standards. We double your best result so that it makes the most of your very best day. 

For riders without a result or Strava data, we have a number of waves dedicated to specific age groups based on average and best finish times. 

The best way to influence your starting position is to race Iceman, but it isn’t the only way. There is certainly some element of ‘pay your dues’ to the system, but we take a lot of pride in working with races to look at their Training Score and helping them find a wave they will have a great experience being in. 

The other question we get a lot is how the Training Score is determined. Trust us, this took a ton of thought, trial and error, and tweaks to get right. The formula is as follows:

( Distance (Miles) + Total Elevation (Feet) + Moving Time (Minutes) ) / 20

A lot of riders say that you can skew the score by riding far, or climbing a lot, or riding a long time; the reality is that if you’re going big in any one of those categories, it’ll pay off. It’s not perfect, but it’s the same for everyone, and that makes it pretty darn fair. My tip? I took a look at my normal training ride and found it to have a Score of 80; that’s 90 minutes of riding, with 1,474 feet of climbing, and 30.8 miles. That’s a pretty doable ride for anyone, and if you need to knock off a little climbing, it won’t kill the score. Hopefully, that gives you some perspective on where your training is. 

As we ease into wave assignments, we’ve got a few things that will help make it go smooth. If you ride for a team or club, consider compiling all of your wave requests into a single email so we can process them all at once and do so with a few less emails to chase. Second, include a link to your Training Activity page so we can look at it without searching. Finally, relax. We’re going to do our best for you, and no matter what wave you end up in, you can still have a great race and a really good time. The course is fast, open, and challenging; we feel confident that by the time you hit Timber Ridge, you’ll be tired and ahead of every single rider you deserve to be ahead of. 

Questions? Let us know via email IcemanInfo@iceman.com and remember, we won’t be able to change your wave assignment until after they’re assigned. Until then, get training…and maybe take a second to look for your knee warmers right now!

#NovemberIsComing: Jeff Owens’ Tips For Race Day

#NovemberIsComing: Jeff Owens' Tips For Race Day

It’s time. Labor Day Weekend is but a distant memory (or was it yesterday?), the kids are back in school, and all eyes are focused on November 2. For some, Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge is the ultimate test of the season and every second counts. For others, it’s about finishing. My dad always talked about races about racing; whether he was in the lead group or off the back, he always measured how good his day went based on how long he was in that mindset of racing, not surviving. 

To get you prepared, we bugged a plethora of locals. From the local hero ranks, we pulled the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. In addition to running Max’s Services and traveling the globe to support his kids, Jeff Owens somehow finds time to be one of the fastest riders in town. He’s finished as high as 16th in the Pro race, and he offered his advice on how to get ready for Iceman from a few weeks out through a few miles in. 

1. Don’t kill yourself at the start or first half of the race trying to keep up with people who are faster or just flying by you. You will catch those people once they get tired. Ride your pace and get with a good fast group to conserve energy for later; make sure to help keep the pace up and don’t be content to sit in the whole time. Help with the tempo, because you need to make some friends for later in the race.  

2. The hardest part of the race doesn’t happen until you get to Rock so be ready when you get there to work hard with the group you formed. 

3. Keep that wheel in front of you on those tough climbs like Anita’s and the CC Climb, a few seconds of suffering to hang on with that rider in front of you makes a huge difference, you can recover so much faster when you have that wheel once you get over the top! 

4. Don’t forget to eat/drink even if it’s cold! Grabbing bottles and food with cold hands and bulky gloves isn’t fun, but you have to make the effort. Plan where you’re going to eat and drink ahead of time.

5.Don’t try new nutrition on race day. eat stuff you have used and works for you.  Also, try hard to wake up early enough that you can eat breakfast 3 hours before your race, you have to get that food in your system and if you’re over 25, you need those 3 hours to digest. 

Have fun. We’re all amateurs; you can only do so much. Don’t ruin the experience by getting too worked up, too nervous, or disappointed with how it goes. If you hit Timber Ridge tired, you did it right; then it’s time to crack a beer.

Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge – One Wheel at a Time

Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge- One Wheel at a Time

There is a factor, an intimidation factor, for new riders when it comes to the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge. Maybe it is because the word challenge is in the title, or maybe it is the fact that a 30-mile mountain bike race through the Northern Michigan woods in the late fall is just down right crazy sounding!?!

Regardless, of why there is a little mystery or intimidation around this incredible athletic event, we want those who are entering for the first time, with little experience, or looking at trying to challenge themselves in the future to know that they absolutely can do it.

That is why, we have recruited a rider who has done only one Iceman Cometh Challenge before, and is in the beginning stages of riding to let us all join his journey as he trains for the Iceman 30! This gala as Steve “Iceman” Brown calls it, is the perfect year to have new people join us and see what this challenge is all about.

We will be following Matt Haase as he trains for his second Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge, on his social media accounts as well as all the Iceman social media accounts. Our awesome race director Cody Sovis will be giving him training tips and even take him on a training ride or two to prep for the race!

Let me introduce you to our guinea pig *ahem* I mean our newish Iceman rider. Matt Haase is a 31-year-old corporate pilot from Traverse City Michigan. Since learning to ride bikes at the age of 5, Matt has enjoyed biking and exploring mountain biking. While he has been riding on those two wheels for a while – 31 minus 5, well you can do the math, he would still classify himself an intermediate beginner as he says, “I still don’t know what I don’t know.” But through this process he will have some mountain biking education and you learn a thing or two along his journey as well.

In his adult years, he has grown to enjoy the social side of mountain biking a lot, meeting people on and off the trails but values the fitness aspect as well which will be part of pushing himself during training. He is trying to get training in about 3 days a week which as he puts it is a jump from his zero days a week now. I think we can all feel that at one point or another!

I asked Matt what is light at the end of the tunnel is, or what is he looking for most at the end of the race, “The Bell’s Beer” spoken like a true Iceman rider. Help us cheer Matt on in his training and his ride as his goal is to finish the race in under 2 hours and 30 minutes! Hopefully joining in on Matt’s journey can help motivate you to push through on your journey as well.

To follow Matt and his training follow Iceman accounts:

Facebook @IcemanTCMI

Instagram @icemancomethtcmi

Twitter @IcemanTCMI