It's quite a haul to get to the Iceman MTB race in Traverse City,MI -- but there's some amazing redeeming qualities to that event that make it worth the drive.
A quick recap with more later.
--For all the hoopla about the questionable weather going in, the rainshowers and/or snow held off other than scattered rain or snow pellets of precipitation.
--The race has a "wave" format instead of a mass start like Ore to Shore & Cheq 40. Great idea considering the quality & general width of the trails and single track. By the time our Pro race started at 2:30, despite a thousand or so previous racers, the trail held together, maybe soft in a few spots but no mud to speak of.
--I think whether you're in the pro start or any other the course is incredibly fast. Note, I DID NOT say easy, it's just fast. Winding 4 wheeler & ski trails with some forest road and single track tossed in.
--I didn't feel necessarily intimidated lining up with the best in the business, and held with the main group of 20 for several miles into the race, even climbing a space or two. It would get stretched and slightly come back together, but with each stretch the distance got further to Matter, Bishop and company to the front. I don't think it's insanely fast how they start... it's insanely fast the pace they continue at.
--After 20 minutes my legs just didn't stay "opened up". Many times I can shift into that 5th gear, but again like last week I felt stuck in 4th and the heart rate monitor showed I down a few beats from where I should be as well.
--From that point it made for an interesting race with a few highlights and a few more low lights -- more on that later but wound up crossing the finish line in 1:44, just a mere 17 minutes behind Jeremiah Bishop, the winner. Congrats to some good efforts by Brian Matter (2nd place I believe), Marko Lalonde (8th or 13th I think, he beat Sam Shultz but lost to the other brother Andy by 9 secs), Chris Peariso (10th) and Mike Phillips (12th) - guesses from the conversations I had but it should be pretty close.
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