“Meet My Trail Partner”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n First, let\u2019s talk about my bike setup. Everyone, I\u2019d like to introduce Betty. I\u2019ve named my bike after my late grandmother. Grandma Betty was someone who didn\u2019t mess around. She loved her family more than anything and would fight for them no matter what, whether they were right or wrong. Looking back now as an adult, I\u2019ve always referred to her as a powerhouse woman, and my bike is a powerhouse on the trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I ride a full suspension Orbea Oiz that I\u2019ve had for about two years. This is a custom bike from Spain. I just replaced the seat post with a new Envy carbon post, and with pedals, it weighs in at 25 pounds. I have DT Swiss hubs paired with the Oquo carbon wheelset. The lightweight carbon frame is a beast on climbs. It\u2019s incredibly efficient without sacrificing strength. The 120 millimeter travel front and rear strikes a perfect balance, plush enough to handle rooty, bumpy terrain, yet tight enough to stay snappy and responsive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the features I love most is the Squidlock remote with three-position suspension settings: open, medium, and lockout. This allows me to switch on the fly depending on whether I\u2019m climbing, flying through two-track, or tackling single track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The KOM saddle bag carries two CO2 cartridges and a tool to fix flats. I\u2019m using the Revgrips Pro Series grip system, which always makes me feel in control. I\u2019ll keep some GU gels in the top frame bag, though I may remove this by race day. My Garmin 1040 head unit keeps me on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For tires, I\u2019m running aggressive options this year: a Vittoria Mezcal 2.4 in the front and a 2.4 Vittoria Peyote in the rear. If the course turns into a mudman, I\u2019ll switch to the Vittoria Barzo XC Race 2.4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A big upgrade this year is my drivetrain. I installed the new Shimano XTR Di2 last week. I was hesitant about the old Di2 because of crash mode, but the new design allows the derailleur to pivot and spring back if it\u2019s hit. Shifting is smooth and precise with no guessing. Whether climbing Make It Stick or transitioning from single track to double track, getting into the right gear quickly makes a huge difference. The new battery holds a charge for up to four weeks, and I\u2019ll carry a spare on race day just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I won\u2019t have bottles on the bike because I\u2019ll run a pack. I\u2019ll carry Skratch Super Carb along with Skratch Hydration Mix, which works best for me in taste, carbs, and sodium. Everyone is different, so use what works for you. If I need to rinse my palate, I\u2019ll grab water on the course instead of carrying extra weight for something I might not even use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One special thing I\u2019ll do on race day is wear white sun sleeves with a personal touch. The day after Iceman is my daughter\u2019s first birthday, so I have arm sleeves in hot pink that say \u201cLucy\u2019s Dad.\u201d If you see a middle-aged man with those sleeves riding, that will be me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Eve of the Epic Ride<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Friday before the race feels like Christmas Eve. Enjoy the expo, grab your number plate, and check out the vendors. You can find some great deals, and I\u2019ve been known to make a few purchases myself (always with the wife\u2019s approval). Grab a Bells Beer and soak in the moment. We\u2019ve all worked hard for this. But once you leave, get focused and prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I highly recommend riding the finish if you can. If you raced in 2022, you know about the last corner where Tyler Orschela lost the race. Pre-riding the finish will give you confidence and help you anticipate corners, pump tracks, and other technical sections. I\u2019m lucky to have a good friend nearby, so I can park at his house and ride down to scope it out. Depending on time, we\u2019ll ride the Slush Cup course for a few extra miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the ride, eat well, fuel up, and rest as best you can. I try to stretch and use leg compression boots whenever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking a Little Ride Through the Woods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The morning race has arrived. Stick to your morning routine and eat something easy to digest; I stick to a simple peanut butter and jelly. While getting ready, I listen to my Iceman playlist. Being born in 1981, I\u2019ve been exposed to a wide range of music. On my playlist, you\u2019ll find Bob Seger, Metallica, Bryan Adams, Nelly, Imagine Dragons, Eminem, Lil Nas X, and more\u2014anything to get the adrenaline flowing. I\u2019ll have a bottle of water and one of Skratch on the drive over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once at the airport, get your legs ready. The first part of the race is about positioning. I spend about five minutes in Zone 1 heart rate, about the same time in Zone 2, and then two 30-second threshold bursts. I like to get into my wave corral early, usually in the second row, for a good draft out of the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this warm-up, I have a \u201cgo song\u201d playing. In the 1996 movie Twister<\/em>, there\u2019s a line, \u201cTaking a little walk through the woods,\u201d followed by one of the best guitar riffs I\u2019ve ever heard (that is, until I came across Seven Nation Army<\/em>). The song Humans Being<\/em> by Van Halen is on repeat until my wave gets called. Then I shut the music off, start RaceJoy, pack my phone, and focus on the start line and taking a little ride through the woods\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Wheels, One Epic Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In closing, have fun and ride within your comfort level. Remember to communicate when passing or being passed. This is racing, and sportsmanship matters. Pedal hard, pedal fast, and give it your all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See you at Timber Ridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you to Chris Mutnansky @the_racing_ref for being our 2025 Iceman Trailblazer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To all my fellow Iceman riders, this is it! What we\u2019ve all been working toward is finally upon us. We\u2019re only a few weeks away from taking off at the airport. In my final post before the race, I\u2019m going to share my bike setup, along with my day-before and race-morning routines. Remember why you … Continue reading “The Countdown: Calm Before the Chaos”<\/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":[69,165,72,139,179,141],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trailblazer","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\/1448","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=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1456,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions\/1456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.iceman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4743064018496441236.jpeg?fit=1536%2C2048&ssl=1\")
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