The Iceman has transitioned from a neighborhood weekend event back to just a race. I can remember when we would pile bikes and bodies from five families into vehicles heading north for the big event. This year, Taylor and Jay were injured, and Kevin was unable to attend due to a work commitment. Scott was coming up from North Carolina to join Mike, John, and I for the race. Austin and Taylor would be coming along to spend some time with the other kids. John and Susan graciously opened their home to the five of us on Friday night. The racers stayed in the guest room in the basement, which was quiet, dark, and provided some much needed rest before the big day. I am not sure what time, if ever, the boys went to bed.
Saturday was an early and cold start to the day. Temps were in the upper 20's as we ate breakfast and got ready to leave at 7:00. We picked up another racer, Shaun, on our way to Kalkaska for the 27 mile race back to Traverse City with 2,500 other riders. We got our bikes ready, layered our clothes, and said goodbye to Susan as she headed back to pick up the boys. Shaun was first off at 9:40, followed by Mike and John at 9:45, then Scott and I at 9:50 in the singlespeed category. My goal was to start fast and try to catch those in front of me. I finished 4th in Singlespeed and 91st overall. I was able to pass John and Shaun along with 264 other riders, but could not close the gap on Mike. Overall, I was very happy with my results and could have probably only gone a minute faster without any other riders on the course. On our way back to Portage, we stopped to visit Jay at the hospital.
Yearly Mileage: 7764