Englewood wasn\u2019t supposed to be a mudfest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I loaded up a few of the West Michigan Coyotes for what we expected to be a classic WORS weekend. Fast trails. Good vibes. I was there as coach, hype squad and dad, supporting my daughter and a solid crew of young riders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The forecast? Dry. The social chatter? Fast and dialed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then a few days out, the skies opened up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a drizzle. Not a passing shower. A full-on, course-destroying, drivetrain-killing downpour. Over an inch in 24 hours. It was peanut butter out there\u2026and everyone knew it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s when coaching gets real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t just coach kids to pedal hard, I coach them to handle hard things. That means training the body and the brain. Mental flexibility. Emotional resilience. The ability to reset fast when the day isn\u2019t what you signed up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We call it \u201cmud training.\u201d And sometimes, you don\u2019t schedule it, nature just hands you a pop quiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday morning, I watched the Coyotes take it all in. Some buzzing. Some silent. A few trying hard not to freak out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I said this to my daughter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t control the trail. You only control how you show up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We reframed the race\u2026not as a fitness test, but as a mindset test. Not about lap times, but about grit. Heart. Adaptability. Ride the trail you\u2019ve got, not the one you visualized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do I coach on a day like this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTry hard\u201d doesn\u2019t cut it. We train for days like this. Year-round. In every preseason ride, post-race huddle and practice where a kid doubts themselves, then chooses to show up anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when the mud hits, we double down:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Stay loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tense riders crash. We coach relaxed upper bodies, steady heads and eyes up. Laughing at the absurdity? It means you’re in the right headspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Ride what\u2019s real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forget your pre-ride lines. Scan for traction. Commit. Confidence, even in chaos, is faster than fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Protect your gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check that drivetrain. Lube like it matters. Shift like you’re defusing a bomb. Because blown derailleurs don\u2019t win races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Redefine success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slower laps? Heavier legs? That\u2019s not failure, it\u2019s physics. Ride smart. Ride proud. The clock doesn\u2019t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Show up for your crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coyotes had each other\u2019s backs. Pumped up tires. Shared snacks. Cheered loud. You want teammates like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all want a \u201cniceman\u201d kind of day. But training for mudman changes how you ride\u2026this weekend and when Iceman rolls around in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for those who remember 2014 or 2019\u2026you know what I am talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe we\u2019re due again in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll be ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mud or shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Send it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tobi is a passionate mountain biker and ultra endurance gravel cyclist who thrives on pushing his limits in the great outdoors. He has a deep appreciation for nature, savoring the scenic views and challenges of unpaved singletrack trails and long gravel routes. Tobi\u2019s passion for adventure drives him to constantly seek out new ultra endurance gravel races and mountain bike events that take him on new dirt roads. He has participated in the Iceman Cometh Challenge for over a decade. When not hitting the trails or grinding away the miles on gravel, Tobi enjoys camping trips with his family. He is also actively involved with the West Michigan Coyotes youth mountain bike team, where he coaches and rides alongside his daughter, fostering her love for the sport. The solitude of the trails and the invigoration of conquering an ultra-endurance race is what fuels his obsession with mountain biking and gravel cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Englewood wasn\u2019t supposed to be a mudfest. I loaded up a few of the West Michigan Coyotes for what we expected to be a classic WORS weekend. Fast trails. Good vibes. I was there as coach, hype squad and dad, supporting my daughter and a solid crew of young riders. The forecast? Dry. The social … Continue reading “Mudman Coaching: Mindset > Conditions”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[204,18],"tags":[69,165,72,139,179,141],"class_list":["post-1175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tobis-tips","category-training","tag-iceman","tag-iceman-cometh-challenge","tag-kalkaska","tag-training","tag-training-tips","tag-traverse-city"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1177,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions\/1177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}