For my last post, I was hanging out at 10,000ft getting ready for the Leadville 100 and going over and over in my head about pacing strategy (hence my last post on pacing!). I\u2019m happy to report that I finished the LT100 and brought home that highly sought-after buckle! However, my pacing strategy went out the window when I realized my power meter was dead on the start line\u2026 rookie mistake (change your batteries before race day!). There are so many takeaways from that race and what it takes to get over the finish line, as well as all the things I\u2019ll do differently next time (here we come 2027!), but most of that I will save those for my personal page since we\u2019re here to talk about Iceman. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time talking about mentality, gratitude for the people in our \u201ccamps,\u201d training and pacing, etc. But this time, I think it necessary to talk about the race itself and the vibe we experience in the Northern Michigan woods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.iceman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_1505.jpg?fit=1206%2C894&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen you\u2019re doing endurance races, there is something special about the folks who are out there with you; everyone is going through the same kind of suffering at their own pace. We\u2019ve all experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. One thing I will say about Leadville, was that it was up there as one of the best ride experiences I\u2019ve had at a race. It\u2019s not about what place you finish, it\u2019s about getting to the finish. For the majority of folks out there, they\u2019re \u201ccompleters\u201d and not \u201ccompeters.\u201d The race is against the clock since you only have 12 hours to finish. All throughout the course, it\u2019s just positivity and encouragement. I mentioned on my big long Strava post that I gave Alexey (Vermuelen) a holler when he went past me on a climb to go catch the lead group, and all he responded with was \u201cgreat job, you got this!\u201d That\u2019s the vibe out there; everyone encouraging one another to keep going. Everyone supporting each other, asking if you need anything, willing to lube your chain, sacrifice a gel, you name it. It\u2019s another reminder of why I love the MTB community and the sport in and of itself; people doing hard things and cheering on the people they\u2019re racing against to do hard things. I\u2019d say the biggest (and only) disappointment of the day (besides my power meter battery being dead) was the finish line vibe. I actually was quite surprised how quiet it was when crossing the finish line, then hanging around afterwards. People were really there just to cheer on their riders (which totally makes sense), but man I thought for a Life Time event it would be similar to Iceman. I remember thinking \u201cdang, do they know what all of these people are going through out there? Y\u2019all should be yelling and cheering loud for everyone rolling over that line!\u201d It\u2019s also very feasible to consider that just about everyone out there was probably up at 4am to be at the start line and SAG for their rider, but nonetheless; Iceman\u2019s finish line vibes are unmatched! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.iceman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_1224-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAs riders, whether it\u2019s a 10 hour race or a two hour race, there\u2019s so much good we can do for each other out on course. The smallest \u201cgreat work\u201d can be enough just to give someone a little extra push. And on the other hand, we have heard (and read) the stories of folks who sacrifice their race to stay with a downed \/ injured rider and keep them comfortable until medical arrives. These stories are the most powerful and the most inspiring. What a great reminder of how beautiful human nature can be, even when two people may be completely different. This is what sport does, this is what this community does – it brings people together, and it\u2019s a beautiful thing. On the other hand, many of us have experienced the racer who is likely really fast but had to start in later waves. Etiquette and manners sometimes go out the window for these folks, and maybe this is a call out to you if you\u2019re this person\u2026 be nice! Slam it on the two tracks and the flats, you\u2019ll get to a faster wave next year; don\u2019t ruin someone else\u2019s day! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.iceman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_1235-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1700&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAll in all, I suppose the message here is: Let\u2019s not forget our responsibility as riders out there. Be the one who cheers others on while climbing \u201cMake it Stick.\u201d Be the one who rips a downhill section and still finds breath to thank a volunteer. Be the one who encourages that gassed-out stranger next to you on that last climb up Icebreaker into Timber Ridge. Ride hard, ride fast, ride happy. Just ride. And don\u2019t forget the people who make it possible for you to show up. For many of us, it\u2019s a year-round addiction and I\u2019m beyond thankful that my wife supports me through the early mornings, the endless gear tinkering, and all the weird oatmeal and rice experiments. Friends and family are the unsung heroes of Iceman alongside the volunteers. They put up with our training, our pre-race nerves, and our race recaps (on repeat). Give them hugs. Buy them beer at the end. But most of all, keep the vibes on course positive. You never know when you may help someone overcome something that seemed impossible to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you to Mark Daisy @markdaisymusic for being our 2025 Iceman Trailblazer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here we are at the beginning of September, and although we have a couple more weeks of \u201csummer\u201d by calendar, I can\u2019t help but feel like we\u2019re officially into Iceman season! At this point, you should be cranking out watts and putting in the miles to get the best day out of your legs when … Continue reading “Let’s Talk Vibes”<\/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],"class_list":["post-1383","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"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383","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=1383"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1388,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383\/revisions\/1388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}