Today’s mammoth and grueling Iceman Cometh Challenge bike race in Traverse City boasts riders from Team Local Spins. We have a bike- and race-hued playlist to send them on their way.
Team Local Spins: A group photo from 2023 and they’re back at it again today.
Team Local Spins covers a lot of territory.
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Of course, the core of the “team” is all about covering, exploring and showcasing Michigan’s ever-impressive music scene, something that Local Spins’ crews of writers and photographers have hammered at joyfully for more than a dozen years.
There’s also the “team” of readers and musicians who spread the word about Local Spins’ mission, proudly display T-shirts and stickers, sign up as email subscribers and otherwise embrace our community-building spirit.
But for several years, Team Local Spins also has been spinning in a much different way every November – on the mountain biking trail of the Iceman Cometh Challenge bike race in Traverse City.
Sporting special Local Spins jerseys, the small and intrepid team of bike racers has joined more than 5,000 riders from across the globe to tackle the grueling, 30-miles-plus, cross-country course. The early November, point-to-point competition has taken place in snow, rain, sunshine, freezing temperatures and even 60-degree weather (2022).
Starting Line: Gee, and only 30 rugged miles to go.
Today, just outside Traverse City, the 2024 team features nine riders in several different “waves” as well as a few young competitors getting their wheels spinning on shorter courses as they hone their skills for future Iceman Cometh glory.
The team features Paul Sinkevics, 36; Jordan Shiparski, 31; Ashley Shiparski, 36; Kyle Shiparski, 36; Kara Vigneron, 39; Marlowe Vigneron, 12; Louis Vigneron, 9; Olivia Paulson, 10; Mason Shiparski, 2.
So in honor of Team Local Spins, we’ve compiled a special Iceman Cometh Challenge playlist – not only a soundtrack to mountain biking success but a marriage of music and cycling, spinning tunes and spinning wheels. Get more info about Iceman Cometh online here.
1. “The Ice Man Cometh,” Just-Ice (1990) – What better song to kick off this playlist but a 1990 track from New York rapper Just-Ice that mirrors the name of this iconic November bike race (even though the high temperature – thanks likely to global warming – will be a less-than-icey 59 degrees in Traverse City today).
2. “Only The Strong Survive,” Jerry Butler Jr. (1968) – Indeed, only the strong survive the taxing Iceman Cometh Challenge, so this soulful track by the one-time member of The Impressions not only fits the situation perfectly but also happens to appear on his appropriately titled album, “The Ice Man Cometh.”
3. “Bicycle Race,” Queen (1978) – “I want to ride my bicycle, races are coming your way.” You REALLY, REALLY want to ride a bicycle if you’re willing to cover 30 miles of hills and rugged territory. (But you REALLY don’t want to do it bare-bottomed a la the Queen music video.)
4. “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day,” Jethro Tull (1974) – Change “skating” to “biking” and add about 20 degrees to the temperature for today’s race and you’ve got an Iceman Cometh theme song for 2024.
5. “The Bike Song,” Mark Ronson & The Business Intnl (2010) – This airy, upbeat and poppy track from Mark Ronson delivers an apropos line for the most serious racers today who will be riding “with the pedal to the metal.”
6. “The Pushbike Song,” The Mixtures (1970) – Some riders might find themselves pushing their bikes through the sand or mud today with their “round wheels going round round round” and “down up pedals going down up down.” This light-hearted affair should help ease the pain.
7. “Broken Bicycles,” Tom Waits (1982) – It happens to the best of riders when they least expect it. “Broken bicycles, old busted chains,” and most often, flat tires . . .
8. “Bike Rider,” Mungo’s Hi Fi (2014) – With a robust reggae vibe, this song even proclaims that it’s “dedicated to all the bicycle riders” who “don’t need no gasoline” to “exercise, energize, snaking in and out” as they maneuver their course.
9. “It Ain’t Easy,” David Bowie (1972) – Indeed, “it ain’t easy” to complete the Iceman Cometh Challenge, from “climbing to the top of the mountain” (or a very steep hill) to that tricky pump track near the end of the race.
10. “Good Feeling,” Flo Rida (2011) – Nothing like the “good feeling” of crossing the finish line, so this high-energy, party-styled track from hip hop/pop/rapper Flo Rida is the perfect final soundtrack for “game day” after riding “through the crowd full of melee.”
ICEMAN COMETH CHALLENGE: The Local Spins Playlist on Spotify
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