The Iceman has grown over the past 20 years. I can still remember my first Iceman, 6 inches of snow and bone chilling cold. But in between all those years, I skipped a few here and there, it has grown to be something bigger then results or simply any one person. Sitting around the finish line everyone has a story to tell of the days race. How they got held up by a slower rider or crashed in a sand trap. But beyond that It's a celebration of cycling that can be enjoyed by the young & old, veterans and first timers along with the fast & slow. Trust me, results do matter to the select few but of the 4,000 some riders its just about being out riding your bike and getting to the party in one piece. This years weather was picture perfect and the Iceman was a no show but that just made the party at the finish that much more enjoyable. If you didn't attend this year, you can now crawl out from under that rock you've been hiding under. And for those of you that didn't have fun this year, you never will.

My race. Well, that was far from picture perfect like the weather but in the end it all balanced out & I luckily came away with my 2nd Iceman victory (40+ single speed) with a hard fought race against legendary competitor & great friend Danny Klein. I think the last time Danny and I race against each other on the mountain bike side of things was back in the early 90's. He'll tell you that I always just rode away but don't believe him. The guys a legend in Michigan and a class act on both the MTB and Road.

In hindsight the race played out perfect for me and in the last mile it came down to positioning. Truth be told, it could have came down to either of us wining. I just got luckier at the end of the race with the slower riders in front instead of at the beggining. 4 miles in I was following Danny & I got gapped trying to get around to pass slower riders. Danny ended up riding away as I waited up to 2 minutes for some ladies to let me pass them in some singletrack. For the next 20 miles I get to ride my own pace, up,down and over the flat road sections but always wonder if I'll see him again? 6 miles to go I spot Danny up ahead in a open field climb and make the catch a mile later. Did he under estimate the Pony?

The last 3 miles Danny attacks every climb with ferocious speed and skill(kinda like a Tuesday night ride.) I get stuck behind rider after rider on the climbs and even have to run 3 of them in the last 2 miles after coming to a stop. I decided at 1 mile to go that I needed to lead into the last section at Timber Ridge since I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the finish. I jump ahead and sprint out of every corner like its the last. At one point near the finish we hit some more riders and I use them this time instead of being used and squeezed between them opening a gap to the finish. Game over and victory...

The rest of the day for me was hanging out with my Wolverine teammates, telling stories of the days battles and cheering on the Pro's at Williamsburg road & the finish line. After the Official awards ceremony it was no beer or party bus for me but back home for some much needed rest. I still have training to do along with some business to conduct come December 6th and there will be plenty of time for partying come winter...

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vets park cx elite men start from jay moncel on Vimeo.

Ann Arbor is always a turning point of sorts for my season. We're just over the mid season point by one race and it's 5 weeks until the State Championship, which is still a long way to go with a road full of potholes which lies ahead. The trick from here on out is to get down that road without hitting one along the way. As some of you may or may not know, most years I'm sick by now but with my off season surgery I'm feeling better then ever at this point. One pothole avoided so far.
My results have been about what I expected so far this season with two good wins in Ohio. I've also accomplished another mid season goal which was 3 out of 4 USGP podiums. Inside the state it's been a bit disappointing with a rash of 3rd and 4th place finishes. Not what I really want but I'm finding it hard to be motivated to race locally when only 9 guys line it up.

The attrition rate on the state level for cyclocross is disappointing. Guys can't decided where they want to race & are moving up and down out of the Elite race each week. I figure by the end of the season there will only be 5 guys starting in the Elites. Somehow we need to get more people to move up to Elites but who wants to get their head kicked in for 60minutes by guys like Mike, Tim & Burke.

And for all you guys that though Ann Arbor was muddy. You've gotta be kidding! We've haven't seen muddy conditions at a cross race here in Michigan in a long time. Probably Bloomer way back when and even that doesn't measure up to some races I've been in out of state. I just hope we can produce some mud for one race this season, the State Championships because Springfield Oaks could be a great course if so.

Next up is Iceman and hopefully some good training in the next few weeks. See ya'll in Kalkaska...

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3rd again...I had a better battle on my hands today though, staying at the front of the race for a couple laps. But once again, I just didn't have the power & got popped off losing a small bit of time. Then I ended up riding ~20 seconds behind Ali and Mike the whole race & ahead of 4th ironically by ~20seconds. I knew if I kept the gap close I might be able to catch them towards the end if they started messing around.

The course was almost 90% the same from yesterday except a touch drier. Matt & I couldn't decide whether to describe the ground as either riding on play-doh or a memory foam mattress? Either way, it was once again a power course with very few technical sections to master.

Mike ended up staying with, and then attacking Ali with a 1/2lap to go. Then Ali started fading bad. I came to find out later he was bonking but when I railed past the pits I heard guys yelling that Ali was in trouble up ahead. I punched it & smelt blood in the water trying to close it up. I ran up that damn flyover as fast as I could. Then I saw Ali up ahead, I punched it again into a tricky 180, then across the deep play-doh mud & onto the finishing stretch. Head down & flat out I came up about a bike length short...a half second more and I would've been 2nd.

That is why no matter what spot your in you keep racing, because you never know what can happen if the guys up ahead make a mistake or have a mishap. remember that lesson kids...

Overall, I had a great weekend along with my fellow Wolverines & Michiganders. I won some great prizes from USGP sponsors Stanley, Bobs Red Mill, SRAM, Cliff bar, Schlamm, Action Wipes & Selle Italia. I also should be sitting in a solid 3rd place overall in the 2010 USGP Elite Masters 35+ standings which I'd like to hold onto till after New Jersey. One thing I'm looking forward to these next few weeks is it will be nice to have a couple weekends in a row at home to actually start training instead of just racing and recovering during the week...I need to find more coal to shove into the engine before New Jersey.

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