Subaru/Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team News
11/16/2007 Team
The rolling course was seemingly designed for 29" wheels. Both JHK and Heather rolled their Gary Fisher 29ers. Jeremy was aboard the carbon hardtail, Superfly with tricked out carbon tubular wheels and 45c tubular cyclocross tires. Heather had her aluminum 29er hardtail setup with 1.8" Bontrager tires.
The pace of the pro race was amazingly fast. Brian Matter finished first aboard his Trek. JHK finished third. Gary Fisher 29er Crew rider Jesse LaLonde finished shortly behind in 5th and fellow 29er Crew rider, Marko LaLonde crossed in 7th place.
Below is Heather Irmiger's recap of the race.
*****
If I were to generalize, I would say that trying to go as hard as you can after taking 4 weeks off of your bike is not fun at all: there's the wheezing, the burning legs and lungs and that passing out feeling that I spend most of my year avoiding. Fortunately, for every generalization, there is an exception. For me, the exception was the Iceman Cometh this past November 11th in Traverse City, MI. Even with a bit of leftover bronchitis and only three rides under my belt since the beginning of October, this event ended up being more fun than I could have imagined.
While the 2007 season was filled with success, it was definitely a bit of a long one for me. Every off-season is different in terms of how I feel about continuing to ride my bike. This October, as I happily left my bikes to hang on the wall, I wasn't even sure I was up for riding to the coffee shop, let alone doing a race in November. But, just in time, the motivation kicked back in and I decided to make the trip with Jeremy following an incredible visit to the TREK factory in Waterloo. This decision was a great one and the perfect way to kick off the next couple months of off-season cross-training.
The Iceman Cometh is the third and final race of what I have come to know as the mid-west triple crown. Ore to Shore, Chequamegon, and Iceman are three events that carry much prestige for people all over the mid-west and the country. I've now raced in two of the three, the Chequamegon and Iceman, and found that these races have every element that got us all riding and racing in the first place: tough competition, those just up for the personal challenge, and the fun festival atmosphere. The popularity of these races has led to such huge participation numbers that the promoters of Chequamegon, and Iceman, starting next year, have had to change registration to a lottery system.
Jeremy and I arrived in Traverse City on Friday, the day before the race. We got there early in the morning and checked into our room at the race hotel, The Grand Traverse Lodge. Our room was awesome with incredible views of the lake and trees with fall-colored leaves. We had a lot of action to pack in the day before the race, so JHK and I quickly built up our bikes and headed out for our chilly, cloudy race pre-ride. The point-to-point course was much more fun than I had expected: fast double track, tight single track, fall leaf cover, sand, and really fast. The course was even complete with a "rest-area": a TV and couch randomly situated in the forest. While there weren't nearly enough long hills for me (zero), I was now officially looking forward to the race - or, in my case, riding as fast as I could!
All week long we had been checking the weather and saw snow and chilly weather in the forecast. At the time, the weather in Boulder was forecasted to be sunny and 65 degrees, so I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to the epic, snowy weather that most Iceman participants have come to expect and even desire. As indicated by the name of the race, Iceman is supposed to be icy, snowy, and cold. In the recent years, the weather at the race has been so mild that the promoters moved the '07 race back a week in hope of getting the bad weather they've been missing. Like I said, I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to this weather - I spend enough time racing muddy World Cups, so I guess I've gotten a bit soft. Luckily for me, and not so lucky for those traditionalists, the weather at Iceman ended up being just perfect: blue skies and just cold enough (45 degrees).
The "warm" conditions were certainly helped by the fact that the pros didn't start until 2:30 pm on Saturday. So, while our dedicated buddies from Gary Fisher, Aaron and Travis, began their race at 9:30 a.m., Jeremy and I happily enjoyed sleeping in until 10:30 (what can I say, there IS a 2 hour time change)! After fueling up with a buffet breakfast and triple americanos, Jeremy and I packed our 29ers into the car and headed to the race start. Now, I'll spare you some of the painful details, but I will tell you that the race pace, set by Kelli Emmet was super fast and hard. I hung on as long as I could to the group and killed myself to the very end of the race - I may not be fit, but there is one fact that I have come to know: mountain biking is just more fun when you're riding as fast as you can. While I would have loved to have placed higher than 7th, those mid-west girls were just too on-fire for me. Besides, I still had a blast riding my 29er and blowing my own gaskets.
While I certainly had my doubts about my ability to have a good time racing in November, the excited parents and kids, 29er enthusiasts and overall race environment proved to be more fun that I could have expected. And while it was clear to me that these mid-westerners know how to put on a fun bike race, I had no idea how well they also knew how to celebrate the last race of the season. After crossing the finish line and hacking my brains out, I was directed from my bike straight to the "party bus." This was basically a stripped down RV complete with sound system and coolers that traveled from the race finish and remained near the party late into the evening at the down-town race celebration. As my fun for the weekend continued in the party-bus with fellow Iceman participants, it was clear that my decision to participate in this race was a perfect one: one that took me back to my roots, reminded me of the reasons I race, and inspired me for my upcoming season.
-Heather Irmiger
Subaru-Gary Fisher Team at the Iceman
This past November 10-11 was the annual Iceman Cometh race in Traverse City, Michigan. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger of the Subaru-Gary Fisher team interrupted their off-season and pulled the bikes out for one last race. The 30-mile point-to-point race is amazingly popular. The 2,500 racer limit was filled in two days. The weekend of the race, Traverse City is flooded with mountain bikers, their friends, and family.The rolling course was seemingly designed for 29" wheels. Both JHK and Heather rolled their Gary Fisher 29ers. Jeremy was aboard the carbon hardtail, Superfly with tricked out carbon tubular wheels and 45c tubular cyclocross tires. Heather had her aluminum 29er hardtail setup with 1.8" Bontrager tires.
The pace of the pro race was amazingly fast. Brian Matter finished first aboard his Trek. JHK finished third. Gary Fisher 29er Crew rider Jesse LaLonde finished shortly behind in 5th and fellow 29er Crew rider, Marko LaLonde crossed in 7th place.
Below is Heather Irmiger's recap of the race.
*****
If I were to generalize, I would say that trying to go as hard as you can after taking 4 weeks off of your bike is not fun at all: there's the wheezing, the burning legs and lungs and that passing out feeling that I spend most of my year avoiding. Fortunately, for every generalization, there is an exception. For me, the exception was the Iceman Cometh this past November 11th in Traverse City, MI. Even with a bit of leftover bronchitis and only three rides under my belt since the beginning of October, this event ended up being more fun than I could have imagined.
While the 2007 season was filled with success, it was definitely a bit of a long one for me. Every off-season is different in terms of how I feel about continuing to ride my bike. This October, as I happily left my bikes to hang on the wall, I wasn't even sure I was up for riding to the coffee shop, let alone doing a race in November. But, just in time, the motivation kicked back in and I decided to make the trip with Jeremy following an incredible visit to the TREK factory in Waterloo. This decision was a great one and the perfect way to kick off the next couple months of off-season cross-training.
The Iceman Cometh is the third and final race of what I have come to know as the mid-west triple crown. Ore to Shore, Chequamegon, and Iceman are three events that carry much prestige for people all over the mid-west and the country. I've now raced in two of the three, the Chequamegon and Iceman, and found that these races have every element that got us all riding and racing in the first place: tough competition, those just up for the personal challenge, and the fun festival atmosphere. The popularity of these races has led to such huge participation numbers that the promoters of Chequamegon, and Iceman, starting next year, have had to change registration to a lottery system.
Jeremy and I arrived in Traverse City on Friday, the day before the race. We got there early in the morning and checked into our room at the race hotel, The Grand Traverse Lodge. Our room was awesome with incredible views of the lake and trees with fall-colored leaves. We had a lot of action to pack in the day before the race, so JHK and I quickly built up our bikes and headed out for our chilly, cloudy race pre-ride. The point-to-point course was much more fun than I had expected: fast double track, tight single track, fall leaf cover, sand, and really fast. The course was even complete with a "rest-area": a TV and couch randomly situated in the forest. While there weren't nearly enough long hills for me (zero), I was now officially looking forward to the race - or, in my case, riding as fast as I could!
All week long we had been checking the weather and saw snow and chilly weather in the forecast. At the time, the weather in Boulder was forecasted to be sunny and 65 degrees, so I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to the epic, snowy weather that most Iceman participants have come to expect and even desire. As indicated by the name of the race, Iceman is supposed to be icy, snowy, and cold. In the recent years, the weather at the race has been so mild that the promoters moved the '07 race back a week in hope of getting the bad weather they've been missing. Like I said, I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to this weather - I spend enough time racing muddy World Cups, so I guess I've gotten a bit soft. Luckily for me, and not so lucky for those traditionalists, the weather at Iceman ended up being just perfect: blue skies and just cold enough (45 degrees).
The "warm" conditions were certainly helped by the fact that the pros didn't start until 2:30 pm on Saturday. So, while our dedicated buddies from Gary Fisher, Aaron and Travis, began their race at 9:30 a.m., Jeremy and I happily enjoyed sleeping in until 10:30 (what can I say, there IS a 2 hour time change)! After fueling up with a buffet breakfast and triple americanos, Jeremy and I packed our 29ers into the car and headed to the race start. Now, I'll spare you some of the painful details, but I will tell you that the race pace, set by Kelli Emmet was super fast and hard. I hung on as long as I could to the group and killed myself to the very end of the race - I may not be fit, but there is one fact that I have come to know: mountain biking is just more fun when you're riding as fast as you can. While I would have loved to have placed higher than 7th, those mid-west girls were just too on-fire for me. Besides, I still had a blast riding my 29er and blowing my own gaskets.
While I certainly had my doubts about my ability to have a good time racing in November, the excited parents and kids, 29er enthusiasts and overall race environment proved to be more fun that I could have expected. And while it was clear to me that these mid-westerners know how to put on a fun bike race, I had no idea how well they also knew how to celebrate the last race of the season. After crossing the finish line and hacking my brains out, I was directed from my bike straight to the "party bus." This was basically a stripped down RV complete with sound system and coolers that traveled from the race finish and remained near the party late into the evening at the down-town race celebration. As my fun for the weekend continued in the party-bus with fellow Iceman participants, it was clear that my decision to participate in this race was a perfect one: one that took me back to my roots, reminded me of the reasons I race, and inspired me for my upcoming season.
-Heather Irmiger
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