After threats of nasty weather it actually turned out to be a great day for the Iceman Cometh mountain bike race. Temps around 40, and just a light mist of rain occassionally. I chose to watch from a dual sport motorcycle which gave me the ability to access many points where the race course crosses 2 tracks or power lines.
I caught the Slush Cup racers in the morning and saw many friends out having a great time. 2 Wheel Tuesday riders Clay and Max were looking good! In the expert classes I watched for awhile at about the 2 miles to-go point. With so many racers it was work to pick out those that I knew 🙂 It appeared that the first single speed racer had a dominant lead, as well as the first tandem bike.
I wanted to catch the pro racers in multiple spots so I headed out to Kalkaska before the start. I caught them in the woods about 3 minutes into the race, then had to hustle to stay in front of them as I paralleled the race on dirt roads and 2 tracks. I took some footage of the lead group at each spot, and it was pretty cool to see the race develop.
I’ve posted the vids up on youtube. Here’s one where the course crosses Sand Lake Road about 5 minutes before Williamsburg Road. A solo rider has a 23 second break here, I think it is Brian Matter, but am not sure. I was amazed that 10 minutes later the break was absorbed.
I dumped the moto in deep sand close to The Wall and got behind the lead group so I hustled to “Icebreaker Hill” about 2 miles out from the finish. A large contingent of local cyclists were hanging out and waiting for the pros. After the lead moto passed we were amazed to see the lead group STILL INTACT with less than 2 miles to go! My camera was full so I didn’t get footage – bummer 😦
Oh, to be able to jump on the moto and follow them in to see how the last 2 miles played out! I bet it was a wild finish. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the race.
2 Wheel Technique 