We’re under 200 spots to go, and we’ve got a challenge for you.
Steve “Iceman” Brown has been trying to get in plenty of miles before we get really, really busy this fall. With registration taking off, we were talking about just how long it’ll take until the long race is sold out. So, in true Iceman Cometh Challenge fashion, we’re having a race.
As of today, Iceman has 186 miles for the month of August, and there are now 167 spots remaining for the 28-mile race. So, will Iceman get to 200 before the race gets to zero?
It won’t if Steve gives the new course a look! We spent the weekend putting in a big effort to take a closer look at a few changes at the start and final five miles of the race. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we’ve got a few wrinkles in place and a few favorite sections coming back in honor of the 30th edition of the race.
All in all, the course is in great shape, although it’s at peak sand due to a very dry August. Things will firm up plenty after Labor Day, and we’re working with our pals at Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to do just a bit of trimming to keep the face-slappers at bay. The only spot to watch for is located in the Water Bottle Hill Bypass at roughly mile mark 9.7 from Kalkaska. There are two extremely big trees down that’ll need chainsaws and some very strong human to shift out of the way.
Watch for more course updates AND to see if we can beat Steve to across the 200 mark! Let’s hope he doesn’t do his course inspection today!
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!
Missed your chance to enter the 2018 ICEMAN????? Our good friend Chuck Grzanka , cycling advocate, and CyclingLawyer.com are once again giving away several entries for the best race in the USA!
Already entered? No worries. Use your winning ticket in 2019. Just visit CyclingLawyer.com and at the very end complete the “Contact Us” page with your info to be eligible for the drawing. Easier than riding your bike for 30 miles through snow, mud or whatever conditions Mother Nature and ICEMAN throw our way on Saturday. Be well. Be safe. Good luck.
For the 30th year in a row, the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Challenge has sold out. What does that mean? Can you still sign up? How?
1. Iceman and his team run a heck of an event. It’s super fun and as popular as ever.
2. Yes.
3. When you sign up at this point, if there are transfers available, you get in and someone else gets out. Just like that. Should the number of transfers get to 0, then your entry is held in a queue, and you are not charged, until one of the 4,000+ riders decides they can’t make the party for one reason or another. When someone decides to get out, you get their entry and they get a refund. Minus a small fee, most of which goes to charity. We’ll stop with the transfer madness mid-October. Then we’ll get cracking on wave seeding.
“The registration protocol of the last three years has allowed riders to register for the Bell’s Iceman races at a time convenient to them and greatly reduced stress levels for everybody across the board so we’re planning on replicating that process for 2018”, said Steve Brown, Event Director.
“Registration for 2018 kicks off with our on-site registration party at Bell’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo onFriday, March 2nd from 10 AM to 4 PM. This year marks the 6th year of the registration party at Bell’s Eccentric Café and the response has been very positive. It has become a celebration about the upcoming cycling season more than registration for the races. “Riders from the past season know they’re guaranteed a spot in 2018 but they still come to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe and register. It must be the Bell’s beer”, quipped Brown.
Registration forms will be available and Iceman staff members will be entering riders directly into the 2018 database on site. Personal attendance is required in order to get registered at Bell’s on March 2nd.
Can’t make it to the Eccentric Café on March 2nd?
2018 Iceman and Slush Cup online registration opens for riders who participated in 2017 (or entered & had to transfer their entry) on Friday March 9th at 9:00 am which provides returning Bell’s Iceman riders a week to register before registration is completely open. (Don’t worry about the invitation code…it’s built into your Iceman account and will allow you to complete your registration).
Online registration for ALL Bell’s Iceman and Meijer Slush Cup riders opens Friday March 16th at 12 noon.
Thus, for riders new to the Bell’s Iceman, there are two options to register. Option #1 is to attend the Bell’s Iceman Registration party at the Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo on Friday, March 2nd from 10 AM to 3 PM. The second option is to register online beginning Friday March 16th at 12 Noon.
A total field limit of 4,500 Iceman riders and 400 Slush Cup riders will be accepted. The March 16th online registration opening for all riders will operate on a “first come – first served” method. The number of entries available on March 16th for the Bell’s Iceman and Meijer Slush Cup will be determined by the number of entries previously received.
The Bell’s Iceman entry fee for 2018 is $100.00 and includes the USA Cycling One-Day License and the online registration fee. USA Cycling members with an annual license will receive a $10 rebate upon showing their license at packet pick-up in November. The $10 USA Cycling annual license rebate is not available for riders in the Pro/Category 1 races.
2018 Meijer Slush Cup entry fees are $70.00 and include a USAC one-day license and the online registration fee.
The 2018 online registration system utilizes your Ice Society account on the www.iceman.com website. Thus, all registrants need to have an active account within the Ice Society. A new capability of the Ice Society is to allow parents to manage their children’s accounts with the same email address.
To eliminate confusion, tandem entries follow the one bike – one entry system. Tandem captains can enter their stoker’s name on their account page.
An USA Cycling account number (not an annual license) is required for each rider. For riders without an account number, you can create an account with USA Cycling by looking for the “sign-up” button in the upper right-hand corner of the www.usacycling.org website.
The 2017 Bell’s Beer Iceman Cometh Challenge has sold out again. We are looking forward to a great event and welcoming riders, new and veteran, to Traverse City. Here’s a brief refresher on the transfer process.
Obtain a USA Cycling account (and add that to your profile). (A USA Cycling account is free and takes about 2 minutes to obtain. Go towww.usacycling.org and in the upper-right corner look for the “sign-in” button. Choose “create account”. -You don’t need to purchase an annual license.)
Sign up for the race, you’re not actually signing up but joining the “I want in” list.
Once an entry becomes available from the “I want out” list, we will send you an email and you will 24 HOURS TO COMPLETE the registration process. So be sure to check your email.
(Transferring Out)
Log in to your Ice Society profile
Check the Gold “Transfer” button in your profile page. Your profile will then be listed on the transfer page of the Ice Society as with an entry to sell.
You will receive an $80 credit (just like buying something, only you get $ back) when your entry is taken by another participant.
**Please note all money transactions for the transfer will be handled through the Ice Society and take a few days to process.
Well, for those of you who waited TOO long and now find the race full we have some good news!
Once again just like last year we at CyclingLawyer.com are giving away entries to the 2017 ICEMAN Mountain Bike Race set for Saturday, November 4th. Easy to register. Visit our Facebook page and click to follow/ like our page then visit our website CyclingLawyer.com and at the back page enter your name and email for a chance at an entry slot. OK, so maybe you are an early bird and already signed up for this year. Well, if you should win ICEMAN says you can use your slot for 2018!!! Don’t wait any longer. The race is only 4 weeks away and the drawing will be third week of October. Clean your bike, change the tires, lube the chain and sign up NOW.
Last year, ten-year-old Cici Copenhaver was entered into the #MIKidsCan Iceman Cometh complimentary entry contest by her grandmother, Barb Svalstad. Cici started riding bikes with Norte! Bicycle Club in the summer of 2016. When she started participating in Norte’s Vasa Domingos Sunday rides she could not get up a single hill. Yet, she stuck with it and learned a lot about drinking lots of water and eating a very healthy diet. Improvement is a process and not always an easy one. Her engagement with bikes even got the rest of her family to ride together.
During last year’s Slush Cup race she walked just one hill and it was a bruiser. Cici finished 2nd in the 10 & Under category and earned a spot on the Iceman podium!
Her coach from Norte!, Ty Schmidt, says that Cici exhibits everything that is positive about cycling. “She’s gritty. She’s tough. And she does it all with a smile. Plus, she wears streamers in her helmet! Who doesn’t love that,” he asked. For the 2017 Slush Cup race, Cici moves up to the 12 & Under category and says balancing school, sports, and Iceman training will be her biggest challenge.
If your daughter or son thinks they could be the next Iceman Slush Cup champion, Blue Care Network is giving away 10 entries so they can prove their mettle! Go to ahealthiermichigan.org and search for Slush Cup by September 15th to find details about training rides, tips and how your little bikers can earn a free race entry.
