OUTDOORS
Iceman Cometh - Mountain bikers invade Northern Michigan
November 14th, 2006
Pulling up to Kalkaska Middle School at midnight and setting up camp, I felt like some kind of weird psycho stalker. The temperatures were only in the 20’s and there was a light snowfall coming down. Now why would I be setting up camp in a Middle School parking lot at midnight you ask? Well for the past seventeen years, the first weekend in November means one thing in Northern Michigan; the Iceman Cometh Challenge comes to this part of the state and a few thousand mountain bike racers, riders and those that just want to party invade the sleepy towns that normally would be quiet this time of year. One of the toughest races to come to Michigan is a 27 mile long mountain bike race that leaves the small town of Kalkaska and winds its way through some of Michigan’s most grueling single track, two-track and fire roads. Luckily my wife and I had our camper to keep us warm and keep that biting wind we could hear howling outside off of us. It was hard to think that men, women and children were going to race in this weather in the morning. The day we were sitting in the office at General RV kept replaying in my head when the salesman asked if wanted to get the winter camping package installed in the camper and my wife and I both laughed saying, “We’ll never camp in the winter, No Thanks!”
Waking up at the crack of dawn, frost filling the edges of the camper windows, the parking lot was already filling up with racers. Walking around we noticed there was every type of bike made ready to race. This wasn’t a race only for the elite, no, we noticed there were women, kids, and plenty of older men and women suited up and ready to brave the Northern Michigan trails. I was drooling at some of the best machines fabricated from some of the most exotic metals and plastics on earth which were all gather together in one parking lot. Titanium, Carbon Fiber, Aluminum, Magnesium and of course, plain old steel two wheelers were everywhere. My love of bicycles left me feeling like a kid in a candy store. The other thing we noticed right off was the difference in racers apparel. Some were suited up in lycra tights and skin tight insulated jackets, while others looked like they were going ice fishing they were so bundled up. We even saw a few crazys who were only wearing shorts and t-shirts and were lining up to compete. Remember, it was only in the low 30’s and snow was falling. We also noticed that some people looked like they had just bought their bikes at the local department store and left the rear rack, reflectors and chain guard on. Like I said, this wasn’t a race for the elite.
Riders were warming up on stationary trainers and loading up on carbs making sure they wouldn’t hit that wall at the halfway point. I’m glad this day I wasn’t riding and all I had to do was try and stay warm taking pictures (not an easy task in this nasty wind). It was cool to see Cannondale have a truck and mechanic on hand to tune up anyone’s bike that might need that last minute adjustment, all free of charge. I watched as one guy walked up frantically asking if they had helmets he could buy because he had left his sitting on the kitchen table at home. The Cannondale rep, Andy Schiffer pulled a few different sizes out of a box and asked what size he needed? Once in the proper fit, the racer asked Andy what he owned him which he replied “I’ll see you at the awards ceremony tonight, give it back to me then.” That’s some awesome service and representation of a company in my book.
The race classes were huge and I think I heard this was a record number of participants at around 2700 racers! Goes to show you it’s not as crazy as you think to ride your mountain bike in this nasty weather. Another thing I noticed was the amount of out of state license plates in the parking lot. Indiana, Illinois and Ohio wasn’t that big of a shock, but Colorado, California and a few others that would have come from the other side of the country just to race in our crappy Michigan weather was a complete shock to me. I guess this is a sanctioned NORBA race and for those who followed the entire circuit around the country, just one in the many different locations. Once they started lining up the racers, the tension building took a bit of the chill out of the air. The first wave of riders was off and the race had begun, after that about every four minutes they would line up another wave and send them on their way. It was a shotgun type of start, so it was wild to see fifty or more bikes all speeding down the first straight-away at once. The big shock was how many riders were in the 40-44 and 45 and above class. How cool is that to see every age making such a strong appearance. The tandem and single speeds were out in force too. I can’t imagine racing a single speed through some of the nasty sand Northern Michigan is so known for, let alone a Tandem bicycle.
Timber Ridge Finish Line
When my wife was looking at where we would end up for the end of the race, I thought, ok how weird is that to have the finish line be in a camp ground? Well let me tell you something about the Timber Ridge Camp Ground. Forget your typical thoughts of rustic camp grounds with maybe a horse shoe pit or two and a few out-houses. Timber Ridge Camp Ground is the size of a small town and comes more equipped than most modern day high schools. In-ground pool, sand volley ball courts, sand tug-o-war area, showers and indoor bathrooms for those tent camping and multiple play grounds for the kids; bunk houses, lighted trails, a full service store, cottages and full RV hook-ups! The place was filled to capacity and the party was in full swing. Let me tell you something about mountain bikers in general. They’re not all hardcore athletes; most are beer swilling partiers who like to knock back a few cold ones before, some during and almost all get a little crazy after a long ride. We met up with Mike Earnheart from Dark Horse Brewery out of Marshall Michigan, who was sponsoring a race team consisting of all women!! That’s my kind of Race team, and let me tell you, there were some lookers in the team too. Mike had arms full of high quality, micro-brewed beer and after a few Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA’s warming my belly up, the cold didn’t seem so bad after all. I guess its all in how you treat it. If you just sit there shivering and complaining, the entire day is going to be miserable, if you down a few strong Micro-Brews and just go with the flow, it’s all good.
The racers were coming across the finish line in staggered times, most covering the roughly 28 miles (the course designers had added an extra mile this year at no extra cost) in times ranging from the low two hours to some lazily strolling in four hours after they left Kalkaska. The vibe surrounding the finish area was laid back and very Bohemian. Most riders would cross the finish line and have a group of friends or family waiting, cheering and handing them a cold beverage. There was a local bike shop that had a few ramps set up and two young studs were showing their skills to the group of girls that were watching and cheering. We wandered around mingling, drinking and waiting for the Pros to come across the finish line. Then the Sno-Cone race started. For upcoming racers 12 and under, they had a course that consisted of the last few hundred feet of the track and brought a tear to my eye watching some of these young kids giving that hill they’re all with the crowd going crazy like Lance Armstrong himself was crossing the finish line of the Tour de France. That held everyone’s attention till the Pro class started nearing the finish line.
The Pro class was so fast, they didn’t even start them until 2 in the afternoon. One hour and forty minutes later, they started coming in. That’s flying in my book. Once the Pros were in, the top three in both Men and Women’s division took the podium spraying the cheering crowd with champagne celebrating their victory. From the camp ground the party went to the Grand Traverse Resort where the more than $23,000 in cash prizes and $10,000 in merchandise prizes were given away. What was amazing to me was the fact that these athletes could go all out racing during the day and then party like rock stars all night. From Grand Traverse Resort the party moved to the Loading Docks bar in downtown Grand Traverse where Dark Horse Brewery was throwing a party of epic proportions. I’ll have to admit that we couldn’t hang and we hadn’t even raced, I think the cold weather and the long day of cheering had taken its toll. I think I’m going to have to start riding my bike to the bar in order to train for next years race.
Check out our gallery of the race and see what you think. Start training now for next years event or just come up to Northern Michigan to see if you can party with this wild bunch.
Gallery Here
-- Pat Bonish
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