That pretty much sums up how I am feeling right now. The Iceman Cometh Challenge was this past weekend in Traverse City, MI. Yah, Yah, I know why the heck am I still riding my bike, much less racing it in the middle of November in Michigan? I still try to figure that out every year as the leaves start to fall along with the temps. End of October comes, and its hard to mentally stay on your game for another 3 weeks to stay/get prepared for what could happen with Midwest weather. I think I wore out my refresh button on my computer, between trying to buy those damn Rockies World Series tickets, and trying to make the weather channel page dude give me a better forecast. I have said it over and over, I can ride in the cold! No problem, I can dress for that, but add precip and wind, and I curl up like a little baby! So the day finally arrived this past Saturday, and mother nature actually decided to let the sun come out one last time before it permanently hibernates til early May. Temps were in the 20's while warming up, but no wind and no rain/snow, so I wasn't complaining. I had one more hurdle to figure out now, the bike...... The Bike you ask..... Well, stupid me decides to buy a new bike from a buddy's shop in MI. No biggie right? Wrong!!! I wasn't able to actually even see it until the day before the race much less even ride it. So I got a 45 minute preride on Friday on it, and it was time to race it. Once again, just a stupid bike, you ride them all the time you say. Yah, well this happen to be a hardtail (which I am not used to) and a 29'er. Which means the wheels are 3in larger than a normal bike. So Geometry, Handling, etc.... are all different. Actually I can't complain anymore, the bike felt great, and it was definitely fast. My back is still tight from it, but My massage on Fri should take care of that.
26 degrees at the start!!! BRRR!! I did warm up in the down vest too!
It's almost go time...... Losing more layers.
It was a good race, the fields were super stacked this year, and I think when all the Pro/Elite riders heard that the likes of Ned Overend, JHK, Ross Schnell to name a few were gonna show up, I think some people downgraded to be competitive. I was super happy with my time. I cut 11 mins off of last year. My time this year would have put me 2nd in mens expert, but the competition was fierce and I ended up 8th. Kinda disappointing, but I felt good out there and that's a good way to end the season.! Good trip back to MI. Everyone had fun. Here are some more pics to enjoy.
Williamsburg Road Crossing. 16 miles into the race, still with the 2nd pack. Sitting right where I wanted to be, about 2 mins off the lead pack.
Coming into the finish, trying to find anything left in the legs. Trust me there wasn't much if any!
Pudge and I are still smiling at the finish! 
