We don’t have a race this year, but we’ve all got memories to get us through winter and all the way to November 2021. Here’s my favorite. Continue reading “The Ghosts Of Iceman Past: My 2016 Double”
Tag: Fat Bike
Moving Fast into March: No Hibernation for Iceman Cometh Nation
Here at Iceman HQ, all this talk of March 1’s festivities has us itching for some riding. If getting signed up for the 30th edition of the Iceman Cometh Challenge doesn’t get you fired up to ride, then you’ve been cooped up inside for way too long!
Iceman athletes haven’t been hibernating. From Nordic skiing, fat biking, and even hopping on the trainer, our racers have been working hard to maintain and build fitness for a full season that seems to add more killer events every year. Remember the off-season? Well, that’s not really a thing anymore!
Around here, there is a fat bike race nearly every other week, and that’s a sport that’s grown to include races across the state. Some of the best Strava scores of the past two months have come from events like Fat Chance! at Crystal Mountain and the Big M Fat Bike Race near Manistee.
Activities on Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Rouvy count toward your Ice Society Strava score, and there are dozens of riders who have been raking in the points since November. New virtual events and races have made indoor racing a lot more fun and make it possible to ride with bike nerds from around the world.
Of course, some folks need to swap their pedals for skis to enjoy winter, and we’ve had a blast following the Michigan Nordic ski scene from Noque to Cote Dame Marie. This weekend, the 43rd Annual North American Vasa will start and finish in the same spot as the Iceman ends at beautiful Timber Ridge Resort. For Iceman racers, it’s got to be just a bit of a relief that they get to go down Icebreaker to start their 12, 27, or 50 km ski events, rather than finish up that short but cruel little slope.
There are also two fat bike races as a part of the Vasa’s Festival of Races, and it’s a testament to Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association that racing on their expertly groomed and simply gorgeous Winter Sports Singletrack draws so many rabid fat bikers. NMMBA also played a huge role in designing and laying out our 2018 Iceman course, and they do a great job incorporating their years of racing and riding in putting together a fun, fast, and exciting route that suits a wide range of abilities.
If you’ve had a hard time peeling yourself off the couch, we really hope that get yourself signed up for the 30th edition of the Iceman Cometh Challenge gives you the motivation to get moving, and maybe even try something new before winter fades into spring. The countdown to our 30th year starts in earnest in just a few weeks with events at 7 Monks in Traverse City and Bell’s Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo. More details to come, but make sure you’ve got a plan in place to make this year’s race your best yet!