THE TRIPLE TRIPLE !!!

I figured if I made up the Triple Crown I'd let my dad make up the TRIPLE TRIPLE. 3 times Ore to Shore winner. 3 times Chequamegon winner and now 3 times Iceman Champion!!!

First off I have to thank my family. Andrea, Mom, Dad, the Hildebrands.....without a support group like that I'm not sure I could do it....

The weekend started like most...loading up the Hyundai Touring and pulling out of the driveway with bikes on top and the back loaded down. Andrea and I decided to leave Sheboygan a day earlier this year to spend a little time in TC...check out some wineries and not be quite so rushe

d the day before the race. I pre-road the course from Williamsburg Rd (12 miles to go) on Friday afternoon in a blizzard. Luckily Cole House was out there also and we got to practice drafting a little, sliding the bikes in the snow, we played around with our tire pressure, and most importantly dialed in the finish.

Going back to Michigan and the Iceman isn't only about racing for me....its also about going back to the roots. I grew up racing bikes in Michigan and tons of superfans were out there cheering for me.....Each year we go out to dinner with our closest bike racing friends from MI and we did the same thing Thursday and Friday evening. Carbo loading and lots of old school stories....even this one came up a few times from Iceman 1999!

The race: I could get lengthy about this one...but I think the camera work says it all. Tristan and I were smart. The big dogs were watching each other and the locals came home with the prize money! The best part of the race??? Attacking Wells, JHK, Schultz and JB? Winning my 3rd Iceman to match Scotty Q's record? Winning a true Iceman with mud and snow? Seeing Andrea at the finish? Getting tackled by Ton's of Fun during a Cycling Dirt Post Race Interview? Who knows....but it was an awesome weekend!

The bike: Trek Elite 9.9 SSL a last minute switch from the Top Fuel and it was worth it....for sure. I received a new frame in the mail on Tuesday. I ripped apart the Top Fuel as fast as possible only to realize the 2011 Treks have a tapered 1.5" headtube. Ooops its not going to work...stress...what can I do. Luckily Cane Creek makes an adapter and Wednesday it arrived. I finished building the bike by 3:00pm and was on the phone with Tristan heading out to Greenbush 10 minutes later to shake it down and get in my last set of intervals. Home after dark to clean the bike and start packing to leave. Check out the sweet rear brake line routing...when in doubt zip ties, electrical tape, and more electrical tape!

The party: It was on: Bells Beer Sunset on the season. Andrea and I finally left the race course venue at about 6:30pm after Dad took a shuttle to go find his car. Hopefully the defending champ gets a parking pass next year! We had a quiet dinner with Andrea's Aunt and Uncle and the Schouten's in the Grand Traverse Hotel. After dinner we hit the Power Wash at about 10:00pm to clean the bikes. 11:00pm - party time. No party bus this year, but it was still pretty sweet once again mixing it up with all the Pro's.

The aftermath: As tradition goes we met up with everyone at the Omelette Shoppe for breakfast Sunday morning. A standing ovation, a free breakfast, autographing papers. It was pretty cool. Driving out of town people were honking there horns and waving copies of the Record Eagle out the window!

Gotta Love It!

Again thanks to everyone who helped along the way. Rob Boldt for some cold and windy motor pacing sessions. Elicia for a post motor pacing session massage... THE Iceman, cyclingdirt.org, Gear Grinder, Trek, Hyundai.....and many many more.