{"id":1179,"date":"2025-05-15T20:41:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2025-05-15T20:41:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:41:25","slug":"welcome-back-icepeople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/15\/welcome-back-icepeople\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome back Icepeople!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s safe to say that we’re officially settling into spring up here in Northern Michigan (is it though?), and that means there\u2019s even less excuses to grab that two-wheeler and start putting in the miles! Yet again I thought maybe I would talk about fitness and training programs, maybe nutrition as well, but find myself here on a Monday night really thinking about both the motivations to get out there, along with the \u201cexcuses,\u201d and the reason(s) we put off that long ride early in the morning or a quick one during our lunch break. I really don\u2019t think there is a wrong answer in terms of the “excuses” part; just simply put: life happens. But where do we interject and assert to ourselves that we aren\u2019t going to let \u201clife happen\u201d and we\u2019re going to get out there? Spoiler-alert: this is also a family appreciation post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My uncle, who I\u2019m also lucky to call a very good friend and an extremely trusted mentor once told my brother Erik and me right before we went off to college three things to live by: 1) Never miss out on a good time, 2) Never leave fun to find fun, and 3) You always remember the chances you don\u2019t take (edited from its original for censorship purposes). While I\u2019m pretty sure two out of the three don\u2019t necessarily apply to biking (or maybe they do?), the third one even as a \u201cslightly\u201d different take from the original is something that we can all think about. We all know the famous quote from Wayne Gretsky: \u201cyou miss 100% of the shots you don\u2019t take.\u201d But, how many times can you look back at your life and say \u201cman, I should\u2019ve done that.\u201d Hopefully not very many, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a single person who doesn\u2019t have a few items on that list. The reality is, we all have to make a living for ourselves. You may have a family as well. Life is about keeping a bunch of plates spinning all at one time, while trying to fit in the things you love, the things that make you happy, and most importantly the things that make you feel like\u2026 you. So when you choose to get on the bike, hit the trail, or carve out 30 minutes for yourself, you\u2019re not just training, you\u2019re choosing joy. You\u2019re saying \u201cyes\u201d to what matters to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In my first post I talked about the people around us who make it possible for us to do what we love. And coming off of Mother\u2019s Day, I can\u2019t help but give the biggest and most love-filled shoutout to my wife (and mother to our 3 year old) who lets me put in the time I need to feed not just the competitive nature that comprises a large chunk of who I am, but also just the general sense of happiness that riding gives me. I\u2019m fortunate that she understands that part of me, but there are certainly times it\u2019s not ideal with a young one in the house, and we navigate that together. But I think one of the fundamental aspects of being able to \u201cget up and get out there\u201d is knowing that the people in your circle believe in you. And not only do they believe in you, they love you and want to see you fulfilled. There are any moments where I\u2019m in appreciation of the support, but man if there isn\u2019t anything more powerful than wanting to work hard and do my best for them – I\u2019ve had that thought almost regularly when cranking an out and back, or even just a loop around 25k so I can hit Anita\u2026 \u201cembrace the suck, do it for you people.\u201d Many don\u2019t understand the obsession we (I\u2019d guess 98% of you still reading this far) have with this sport, but I guarantee they recognize when something brings you absolutely joy and fulfillment. That kind of fulfillment is contagious, it lifts you up, and it lifts those around you too. The more you chase what lights you up, the more you radiate and attract positivity and happiness to those around you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve always been a believer that motivation is an emotion; it\u2019s something that comes and goes. When we settle deep into comfort zones and complacency, it makes that emotion even more difficult to access. Like many of you, I grapple with that shifting emotion. Some days I just \u201cdon\u2019t feel like it.\u201d I referenced the book Do Hard Things by Steve Magness in my last blog, and let this serve as a reminder that \u201ctoughness\u201d is not innate; it\u2019s a skill that is trained, and most certainly earned. As a kid growing up, I remember hearing \u201cdiscipline, discipline, discipline\u201d from my coaches if I wanted to play at the next level\u2026 To the point where it\u2019s really not appealing or \u201cmotivating\u201d when typing that just now. But there is truth to it. When the emotion of motivation is not there, discipline is what gets you out there anyway. And when you make it part of your day, it becomes routine. I think once you have the routine figured out and commit to not breaking it (discipline enters the chat), you\u2019re already shaving minutes off your 2025 Iceman time! I am so very lucky in the sense that I have people in my life who understand what it means for me, and that’s what keeps me going out… to get better for my people, to make them proud, and to be an example to our little man. To show him that we work hard, but we also have fun while doing it. Even on the hard days, even on the \u201cdon\u2019t feel like it\u201d days, you\u2019re building something. And each effort, no matter how small, is a brick in the foundation of who you\u2019re becoming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So get out there. Get out there for the people in your \u201cvillage,\u201d and more importantly, get out there for you. You deserve it. You\u2019re already crushing it just by having signed up. Now go turn that commitment into watts. Let\u2019s ride bikes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you to Mark Daisy @markdaisymusic for being our 2025 Iceman Trailblazer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s safe to say that we’re officially settling into spring up here in Northern Michigan (is it though?), and that means there\u2019s even less excuses to grab that two-wheeler and start putting in the miles! Yet again I thought maybe I would talk about fitness and training programs, maybe nutrition as well, but find myself … Continue reading “Welcome back Icepeople!”<\/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":[205,18],"tags":[69,165,72,139,179,141],"class_list":["post-1179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trailblazer","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\/1179","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=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1185,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions\/1185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}