After several months of anticipation and preparation the day for the Iceman Cometh was finally here. I had an afternoon start time and sleeping in should have been on the agenda, but with the whole family racing the alarm was set for 7:00AM. Ellie and Kiersen were racing the Slush-Cup at 9:00, Laura was set to go at 11:00, Keegan was taking off at 12:00 in the MYC 12-18 group, and lastly Geoff and I were in the Pro/Cat. 1 race at 2:30. The first stop of the day was Timber Ridge for the girls at the Slush Cup. Ellie and Kiersen did awesome, with Geoff and I following along, and ended up placing 3rd and 5th in the girls 10 and under race. More importantly, both of them made every hill without walking.  Ellie did it with her new 1×9 and no granny gear!  Geoff and I now had time for some breakfast and a little relaxation while Laura and Keegan were giving their all during their races.  We went back to the hotel and made some final preparations.  I made sure I had my Infinit Nutrition mixed up and ready to go along with one final check of the Superfly.  At 12:30 we picked up my dad and it was off to Kalkaska for the start of our race. We made a few attempts to get updates on Laura and Keeg, but had no luck.

Once we arrived at the start, it was all business as Geoff and I attempted to look calm and relaxed.  We decided to ride the first part of the race as our warm-up and it was really cool to see all the big names out and about.  I felt like a little kid as Geoff and I would pass someone then laugh and talk about how good they are.  Everyone started lining up about 15 minutes early and we were able to secure a fairly decent spot towards the front.  The really fast guys covered the front row and we were right behind.  The next thing you know we are off headed down the street at 30mph.  The pace was crazy, but I was able to hold my position.  As we neared the end of the pavement it got a little hot as guys tried to move up at the last second.  I placed myself right in the middle, held my ground and was happy to be sitting about 20th.  The first 2 track was pretty uneventful with no big issues.  Once onto the first single track gaps started to open up and I was getting nervous.  Once back on double track I put in a big effort and was able to latch on to the end of the lead train.  It was about 20 guys and we already were getting a decent gap.  Everything was going well then we came to a little hill with a turn at the bottom.  I could see guys slowing way down and tried to cut the corner and shoot by, but the guy in front of me unclipped and I ran right into his leg.   I had to unclip and run the hill and the lead pack was now gone.  I had a little while by myself, but a few guys came back from the lead group and a couple caught me and we continued to clip along.  The rest of the race we stayed pretty much together as a group of 7 and were really hammering.  Mike Simonson and Derek Graham were killing it and setting a blistering pace.  I stayed with the group up Anita’s Hill, up Icebreaker, but lost a little ground on the final single track and then lost a lot of ground up Woodchip, although Dan McGraw did his best to try and make me faster by yelling at me all the way up.  I was able to finish 5th out of the group and 20th overall.  Geoff came across a few minutes later and just missed being in the top 50.  I was stoked to see that I finished so high and had to keep looking at my computer to confirm my time of 1:37.  I know the course was fast, but I never thought I could go under 1:40.  It was an absolutely awesome race and I am very thankful to have the ability to ride with guys that are some of the fastest around.

Keegan and Laura also did well and had very respectable times of 2:19 and 2:35.  Keegan ended up 22nd in his group, but was the first 12 year old and even the first person under 15.  I hope that he continue’s to love racing and if he keeps improving he will win this race someday!

Dan K