There’s something about Iceman Cometh MTB race that just hits different. Something about waking up in the dark, loading bikes and watching your breath fog in the headlights as you drive toward Kalkaska.
All year long, Iceman lives in our heads. It’s the story we tell after every training ride, the one goal sitting out there on the calendar like a challenge you can’t shake. Then November hits and it’s not just a date anymore. It’s a calling.
Because Iceman isn’t just another race.
It’s the race.
The biggest one day mountain bike race in the country happens right here in Michigan. 30ish miles of frozen dirt, sometimes mud, singletrack, sand and pain that somehow turns into the most fun you’ll have all year. It’s tradition. It’s chaos. It’s closure.
More than six thousand riders line up in Kalkaska chasing something different. A time. A rival. Redemption. Maybe just proof they can still do hard things.
You can feel it before the start…the nervous laughs, the cowbells, the hum of tires on cold ground on the airport runway for warm ups. The sound of every rider who has spent the last year preparing for this exact morning.
Months of intervals. Hundreds of miles. Early alarms. Late rides.
It all leads to this one stretch of trail through the woods of northern Michigan.
From the first sandy two track out of the airport to the last climb into Timber Ridge, Icebreaker if you’re lucky and Woodchip if you’re cursed, Iceman will humble you. It will test your legs, your lungs and your mental game but if you keep pushing, if you find that extra gear when everything says stop, it gives something back.
It gives you proof.
Proof you belong here.
Proof you earned it.
Proof you can take a hit and keep pedaling.
That’s why people train all year for this. That’s why they load up cars and trailers and drive hours through whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at us just to attach a number plate on their bars.
Because when you finally cross that line, covered in mud, shivering, exhausted, you don’t just finish a race.
You join a legacy.
Iceman isn’t a ride. It’s a ritual.
It’s Michigan grit on full display.
It’s high fives from total strangers and frozen smiles that say, we made it.
And for the Coyotes, it’s the grand finale.
The last send of the season.
The Catalina Wine Mixer of mountain biking.
We trade warmth for speed, fear for flow and comfort for chaos. We ride frozen, filthy and fearless because there’s no other way to finish this thing. You don’t fake it out here. You earn it pedal by pedal.
This is the one that breaks you down just to build you back up.
This is the one that reminds you why you love it.
This is Iceman.
This year, the Coyotes showed up ready to write their own chapter in that legacy….loud, fearless and absolutely unhinged in the best possible way.
This year’s Iceman course brought more singletrack than ever…a serious curveball for anyone expecting a “mountain bike race for roadies”. The new sections were tight, technical and absolutely legit. I LOVED IT! The Coyotes didn’t just survive it…they thrived on it.
The girls brought the lightning! 9-14 Junior Women, Sammy (4th), Landree (6th), and Laila (7th) took control early, trading spots through the race and pushing each other every climb. Behind them, Harper (12th) and Hadley (13th) stayed locked in, making sure the Coyotes owned the front half of the field. Five riders in the top thirteen…that’s not racing, that’s domination.
Oh and on Icebreaker, with the crowd roaring and the cold biting, Sammy grabbed the dollar hand up mid-climb…one hand on the bars, one hand in the cash and zero hesitation. Pure Coyote energy.
For 15-16 Junior Women, Ocean (11th) and Kaitlyn (12th) turned a mid race mechanical into a full blown masterclass on what it means to race with heart.
It happened somewhere deep in the woods, miles from the noise and cowbells, where the only sound was wind through the pines and the distant buzz of tires. Ocean flatted…no crowd, no crew, just cold air and that gut drop moment every racer knows.
Enter Coach Chad, appearing from the forest like a one-man pit crew with a fog machine and a toolbelt stocked with exactly the right stuff. No cape, just calm hands and a will to go. He had her back on two tires in record time, but that kind of interruption can rattle even the toughest rider.
Then Kaitlyn appeared. She rolled up, saw the situation and didn’t even hesitate. No talk of time or place. Just a simple, perfect line…“We ride and finish this together.”
So they did. Two Coyotes, rolling side by side through the final miles. Frozen fingers and toes. Mud splattered smiles. Pushing each other up every climb and laughing through the pain.
They came up Icebreaker within seconds of each other…proof that sometimes the best races aren’t the ones you win; they’re the ones you share.
That wasn’t luck. That was loyalty.
That’s the kind of race you remember.
The woods shook when the 9–14 Junior Men hit the course. A full squad of Coyotes sprinted out of Kalkaska like a group ride that got wildly out of hand.
Tristan threw down an all gas, no-doubt ride and landed on the podium in 3rd, carving corners like he had heat seekers for tires (we all know it was the Schwalbe tires!). Will wasn’t far behind in 8th, smooth and fast the entire way. Cruz (12th) and Jakob (15th with the dollar hand up!) hammered through the singletrack in full chase mode and when Sawyer (17th) and Tyler (25th) came through, it was clear…this race belonged to the pack.
Owen (30th), Max (31st) and Ryland (33rd) kept the blue and yellow line alive deep into the field. Ryland even dropped a chain mid race, but another rider stopped to help him get back rolling. Thank you, mysterious awesome Iceman adult racer…you didn’t just fix a bike, you saved a story. James (45th), Calvin (56th) and Gunnar (59th) rolled in and rounded out a massive Coyotes showing in the 9-14 boys category.
And then there was Ryder. Nine. Years. Old. Lined up for the full Iceman. Thirty miles of frozen dirt, sand and soul searching…and the kid just shrugged, smiled and sent it. While most kids his age are arguing over who gets the iPad in the backseat, Ryder was out here pedaling through northern Michigan like a pint-sized Viking. He rode with the big dogs, never backed down and crossed that finish line in 46th place with a grin that could melt permafrost.
You can’t coach that kind of courage. You can’t fake that kind of grit. You just watch, yell and hope your own kid grows up half as fearless. Ryder, please remember us when you sign that pro contract, Coyotes FOREVER!
In 15-16 Junior Men Ray (8th) and Cam (15th) showed exactly what happens when training meets composure. They rode with the calm confidence of riders who’ve seen it all and still want more fast, fearless and perfectly in sync. Every corner, every climb, they looked like they’d been racing Iceman for a decade instead of just growing up in it. Clark (58th) fought through the cold and the chaos, grinding every frozen pedal stroke to the line. You could see it in his face at the finish…the mix of exhaustion and pride that says, I left it all out there. The work showed.
Kaden (10th) up in the 17–18 Junior Men racing like a seasoned vet. Smooth through the tech, powerful on the flats, completely unshakable. He made Iceman look surgical, threading singletrack with ice cold precision while everyone else fought for lines.
For the Slush Cup….the kids call it “Slush,” but don’t let the name fool you. This race is pure bedlam on two wheels. Shorter course, same chaos and zero chill.
Lola (4th) and Anekke (5th) both hit the five wide podium and made it look easy. Dallas (15th), Lucy (16th) and Aspen (17th) stormed the course like synchronized chaos, flying through the singletrack in a blur of blue and yellow. Alida (26th) stayed steady through the slick sections, while Gracelyn (41st) and Emery (45th) finished with smiles!
On the boys’ side, Easton (3rd) dropped the hammer for a podium finish, Camden (14th) stayed sharp through the traffic, Preston (67th) powered through every puddle and Will B (70th) brought the grit and good vibes start to finish.
We hear if you podium Slush, there’s a secret code requirement to race the full Iceman next year. We don’t make the rules…we just break them.
The stats that may have broke the internet.
- Easton Johnson passed 248 riders from Wave 7 and caught Wave 1.
- Lola Clemo passed 263 riders from Wave 8 and caught Wave 1.
- Anekke Willink passed 244 riders from Wave 8 and caught Wave 1.
- That’s not a race. That’s time travel with snacks.
Alexander rolled across the Sno Cone finish line with a grin and half a pantry in his pockets. They don’t time this one, but everyone knows who won the vibe contest.
Lets not forget about the coaches! If there were a medal for keeping it together while everything’s falling apart, the Coyote crew would podium every year. They rode, they wrenched, they yelled and somehow they all finished…mostly smiling. I don’t have much of a voice today because of the screaming and cheering on Icebreaker!
Drew W DNF’d but had a rowdy good time and zero regrets IYKYK. Adam (16th), Alex (24th), Brian (13th), Chris B (25th), Chris V (16th), Courtney (6th), Dan (38th), Michelle (2nd HUGE), Eric (23rd), Frank (55th), Coach Jeffy! (6th), Mark (27th), Justinian (71st), Dan (30th), Matt (47th), Mike (43rd), Paul (75th), Ryan (54th), Tobi (6th), Todd (16th) and Brett, who rode with Ryder and automatically earned Coach of the Year honors.
Even the Slush coaches showed up big: Lena (25th), Yidzza (32nd), and Kevin (2nd)….proof the adults can still send it too.
By the time the last bikes were racked and the fingers started thawing, the Coyotes did what Coyotes do best…WE EAT.
The Timber Ridge campsites turned into a full blown soup and chili explosion. Every table had a crockpot or a pot someone swore was “award-winning,” even though there are no actual awards. Steam mixed with the smell of garlic bread, cowbells, and chain lube (WHAT?).
Kids shoveled down soup straight from paper cups, parents argued over which pot had the best flavor and someone definitely brought a ladle the size of a derailleur hanger. Coach Ryan added sausage to a bean soup and Coach Tobi washed so many spoons he lost count of how many he actually owned. At some point someone yelled, “Chili is hydration!” and no one disagreed.
There were finisher cookies for the riders…word is, Aspen had enough to potentially feed a small Coyotes pack. We don’t know, and we won’t tell either.
It was the perfect ending to the season…laughter, warmth, exhaustion and more food than sense.
And if I somehow missed your kid in this recap, I’m sorry.
The Iceman group text on Band and my memory both froze somewhere around 7:30pm at Timber Ridge. LOL.
PS ICEMAN 2026 is coming….
