{"id":1374,"date":"2025-08-27T20:10:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T14:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/?p=1374"},"modified":"2025-08-27T20:10:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T14:10:04","slug":"less-than-90-days-until-the-main-eventlets-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/less-than-90-days-until-the-main-eventlets-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Less than 90 days until the main event\u2026let’s go!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So\u2026you signed up for the Iceman Cometh Challenge? Hey, congrats, I\u2019ll see ya out there! You\u2019ve officially committed to one of the Midwest\u2019s most iconic (and unpredictable) point to point mountain bike races. Whether it\u2019s your first time or your fifth, this 30-mile trail party from Kalkaska to Traverse City is no joke. Let\u2019s be REALLY real, most of us aren\u2019t here to win. We’re here to ride, survive, break personal goals, maybe thrive, and not get passed by a 12-year-old in the final 2 miles (again, ugh). We are also here to have fun, ride bikes, drink booze, eat delicious food, and spend time with the best community on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some folks are pushing 300+ watts and chasing QOM\u2019s (or KOM\u2019s) but what about the rest of us? We’re just trying to train smart, stay consistent, and maybe not walk up Make it Stick this year. Right now, we\u2019re in that funky in-between phase where it’s far enough from race day to not totally panic, but just close enough to realize…oh crap, I haven\u2019t trained as much as I said I would back in June. The good news is, it\u2019s not too late. September 1st kicks off my semi-official, kind-of-structured-but-not-too-serious training block. That gives us 74 glorious days to climb hills, ride trails, eat snacks, ride with friends and pretend like we\u2019re pros (HAHA, okay).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year, I had a big mindset shift. I stopped trying to be full gas on every ride and started focusing on just enjoying the process of riding my bike, having fun, making friends, and yes smashing singletrack when I feel good. I\u2019m bringing the same vibe into Iceman 2025. Let\u2019s be really clear when I say I\u2019m starting a \u201cplan\u201d, I mean that loosely. Like, “I\u2019ll write it in this blog and probably ignore it if I\u2019m tired or if spaghetti and Netflix sounds better” kind of plan. This isn’t boot camp, it\u2019s getting your butt in the saddle and spinning your legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At this point in the season, most of us have built up a decent endurance base enough to ride the flats, little punchy climbs and fake our way through a longer ride. Iceman is a sneaky little beast, though. The first 20 miles? Total fun. You’re cruising through two tracks and singletrack, feeling great, and then you hit Williamsburg and think, “Wait, that was 20 miles? I’m crushing this!” then… the climbing begins. Relentless, punchy, morale testing climbing. You grind it out, keep pushing, and just when you think you’re in the clear, Icebreaker shows up for your final dance. That\u2019s the moment when your legs scream, your huffing and puffing, and you seriously start questioning all your life choices that led to this point. Remember, you paid for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I also want to note. Icebreaker hill is single handedly the MOST exhilarating experience. You have literally hundreds of people cheering you on, and those cheers get louder and louder as you get farther up the hill which gives you that last punch of effort you need. To be honest, I cry every time I get to the top because the vibes are so electric and that adrenaline is PUMPING.  There is one particular rider that comes to mind when I think of this climb. He came around the corner out of the single track to start climbing and you could tell he was totally gassed, and the pros were about ready to close in. He got half way up and the look on his face was defeated and as he started to put a foot down, the crowd went absolutely WILD and this man started grinding and made it the rest of the way up without stopping. It was seriously the best experience to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, in early September, I\u2019m easing into hill work. Twice a week, you\u2019ll probably find me grinding up climbs at our local trail, Maple Hill. It\u2019s short, but it\u2019s got long punchy climbs and fun descents, perfect for simulating that last 8 miles of Iceman without driving to Traverse every weekend. Remember, not every ride needs to wreck you. Easy spins, races, gravel rides, recovery rides, and chill group rides all count. Sometimes the best rides are the ones that end with a group of people at a trailhead all talking about their life and all the amazing things they have done on a bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If there\u2019s one thing that matters for Iceman, it\u2019s time in the saddle. Most riders finish in 1.5 to 3 hours, so it makes sense to train your body (and booty) for that kind of effort. The next 68 days I\u2019m aiming for longer rides at an easy to moderate pace, not spicy, just cruising. Let\u2019s also talk about weather and trail conditions. Iceman has a reputation for being…well, unpredictable. It could be sunny and 60 degrees. It could be snowing sideways with some rain. It could be peanut butter mud. You really, just never know. As much as I despise riding in less than stellar conditions, I\u2019m going to try to get out in those less than perfect trail conditions a couple times to ensure that I continue to stay confident in my bike handling skills in those conditions. Slick roots, sand pits, soggy thick dirt, and sketchy corners, bring it on. If there\u2019s anything sketchier than a greasy downhill corner, it\u2019s a greasy downhill corner with 30 other people around you yelling, \u201cRider Back\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re not peaking or following a rigid plan, that\u2019s 100% okay, actually it’s more than okay. You don\u2019t need a power meter or a coach. Just ride your ride, recover, and keep going. Keep your body happy, fueled, your bike in one piece, and your stoke high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The real win? Just having a reason to ride consistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Training for Iceman doesn\u2019t have to be extreme. It doesn\u2019t have to be perfect. It just has to be fun, because that is the vibe of the whole event. So start where you are. Ride when you can. Push yourself a little, but not off an embankment. Come November, you\u2019ll be ready, legs and lungs willing, to roll across that finish line at Timber Ridge RV Resort with a smile on your face and dirt on your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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74 days people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you to Haleigh Curtis @curtis_haleigh_mtb for being our 2025 Iceman Trailblazer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So\u2026you signed up for the Iceman Cometh Challenge? Hey, congrats, I\u2019ll see ya out there! You\u2019ve officially committed to one of the Midwest\u2019s most iconic (and unpredictable) point to point mountain bike races. Whether it\u2019s your first time or your fifth, this 30-mile trail party from Kalkaska to Traverse City is no joke. Let\u2019s be … Continue reading “Less than 90 days until the main event\u2026let’s go!”<\/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],"tags":[69,165,72,206,139,179,141],"class_list":["post-1374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trailblazer","tag-iceman","tag-iceman-cometh-challenge","tag-kalkaska","tag-trailblazer","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\/1374","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=1374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1380,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374\/revisions\/1380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}