{"id":1552,"date":"2026-04-27T02:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T20:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2026-04-21T23:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:20:45","slug":"lets-have-some-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/lets-have-some-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s have some FUN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is an exciting time of year, folks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sun\u2019s peekin\u2019 out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stuff\u2019s turnin\u2019 green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We get to RIDE OUR BIKES AGAIN!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ok, ok; I know a lot of people ride throughout the winter, too. And sure, Zwift is fine and fat bikes are cool, but WOW is it nice to see everybody out and having fun on the trails again. Roadies, Dirtbags, Commuters, Single Speeders, whatever-those-insanely-fast-MiSCA-kids-are, even Gravel Riders; we all have one <em>really <\/em>big thing in common: we love riding our bikes. Maybe you nerd out on tire pressures or have a notebook of single speed gear ratios. Maybe you stop and take pictures of flowers during your ride. Maybe you just send it. I promise none of these things are all that different. You can\u2019t do this stuff from your couch or on your phone (ok, you <em>can <\/em>watch tire reviews on YouTube but that does not technically count as cycling).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh gosh. Speaking of YouTube. When was the last time someone told you \u201cyou\u2019re doing it wrong\u201d? Maybe nobody said it out loud but you felt it anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re wearing the wrong clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re wearing the wrong shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ve got the wrong tires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re riding the wrong bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re doing the wrong workouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you having a good time riding your bike?? Then you\u2019ve basically nailed it already. The internet and the bike industry <em>love <\/em>overthinking bikes. There are also a lot of unspoken rules and riding etiquette from back in the day that could stand to be refreshed or just fade away completely. I\u2019ll drop a couple of my own general pointers below but they\u2019re just like, one guy\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bike: You really can\u2019t do <\/strong><strong><em>any <\/em><\/strong><strong>of this without one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Fit is important. It\u2019s cool to be comfortable. Don\u2019t give in to pressure from your gravel friends who slam their stems just because they think it\u2019s aero and will make them more attractive to members of the opposite sex. Mechanical condition is also important. Breaking down on the side of the trail is pretty much the opposite of fun. It\u2019s only April now but do you remember mosquitos?? Terrible. The worst, even. As long as your bike is up for the kind of rides you need it for: you\u2019re good. Spending more does not necessarily make it faster (might be fun though).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Helmet: You only get one brain\u2026don\u2019t screw it up.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Ok despite what I just said this one\u2019s actually pretty important and you can get it wrong. Safety is one place where spending more money might be in your best interest. Get one that\u2019s comfortable. One you actually like. Wear it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Apparel: Being naked in public is frowned upon so you\u2019ll have to pick something.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Yeah, don\u2019t overthink this one either. Stay comfortable. Regular ol\u2019 tee shirts are super sweaty so maybe avoid those but pretty much anything else is fine. Padded bike shorts are <em>not <\/em>for dorks, seriously. Wear whatever shoes you\u2019re comfortable in. Only clip in if you want to. Aero socks are silly and <em>are <\/em>for dorks. If you like the grip or protection of gloves, great! If you don\u2019t care about gloves; skip \u2018em. Unless it\u2019s cold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Training: Hey, sometimes it\u2019s fun to go fast, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>or<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Training: Ugh, do we have to? Turns out no, actually, but it may increase your overall capacity for fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Very few people are naturally gifted, the rest of us have to work for it. Sorry. But again: don\u2019t feel like you have to spend a bunch of money. Coaches, fitness apps, nutrition plans\u2026most of us don\u2019t need \u2018em. Ride more! Sadly there are no secret hacks. Sometimes lifting, high intensity intervals, and even running (gasp) are time well spent.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s going to be like a million things that will try and stress you out between now and race day in November; don\u2019t let riding your bike be one of them. Keep it simple and don\u2019t put too much pressure on yourself. We all want to be confident. We all want to get stronger. And from elite athletes to experienced amateurs to raw beginners, we all ultimately hit the trail for precisely the same reason: fun. Don\u2019t ever forget it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Let\u2019s have a <em>great <\/em>time, everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you Aaron Schutter @aaron_two_tired on being our 2026 Iceman Cometh Challenge Trailblazer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an exciting time of year, folks. The sun\u2019s peekin\u2019 out. Stuff\u2019s turnin\u2019 green. We get to RIDE OUR BIKES AGAIN! Ok, ok; I know a lot of people ride throughout the winter, too. And sure, Zwift is fine and fat bikes are cool, but WOW is it nice to see everybody out and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/lets-have-some-fun\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Let\u2019s have some FUN&#8221;<\/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":[69,165,72,114,206,139,179,141],"class_list":["post-1552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trailblazer","tag-iceman","tag-iceman-cometh-challenge","tag-kalkaska","tag-registration","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\/1552","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=1552"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1555,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions\/1555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}