Beating the winter blahs on a frozen lake!

  For a racetrack rider, nothing could be worse than the frozen exile of a winter without motorcycles.  While you could drive a thousand miles to Florida for a weekend at JenningsGP or Moroso, why not consider something much closer to home?  Where there's cold, there's ice.  Time to bundle up and fire up for a whole new motorcycle experience!

Cross Training

Ice riding is quite possibly the most fun you can have on a motorcycle.  It mixes aspects of many genres of motorcycle riding into one. Imagine a blend of road racing, flat track, supermoto and motocross, taking place on a frozen lake.  Typically, a plow truck or quad will be used to scrape off a multi turn road course.  Given an entire lake to work with, the track changes from week to week and is as wild as the plow driver's imagination can make it.  A single lap might be four miles or more around, with turns too numerous to count.  Ovals are also common.  Along with the road course, you'll usually find an eighth-mile mile short track and/or a half-mile oval where the steel shoe crowd can practice their power slides.  If you want to stay in shape during the long Midwestern winter while cross training to make yourself a faster, smoother and more confident trackday rider this is a good way to do it.

Breaking the ice

So how would you figure out where to go and at least have a look at this frozen lunacy?  In the Midwest, ice riders frequent the www.dieseljo.com and www.wismoto.com websites. On these sites, you will find all the information you'll need to become part of the crowd. During the winter months, once lakes freeze up there are daily postings of people heading out to ride.  As with any motorcycle forum, the bench racing goes on and on.

When you set out to get your first glimpse of ice racing, bring your gear.  There are enough friendly people involved that if you ask lots of questions and show plenty of enthusiasm, somebody is almost sure to let you take their bike for a ride.  The potential for this skyrockets if you've already been chatting with riders local to you on the above mentioned forums.

Frosty etiquette

An undeniable fact of ice racing is that if you want to ride, somebody's going to have to plow first.  This creates an immediate problem.  Since there's no existing course to start with, every rider in attendance will have his own idea about how the track should run.  Guys with big bikes want long straights where they can use their horsepower advantage while those with smaller machines desire tight, twisty courses that reward crisp handling.  What you don't want to do is get rude with the plow drivers.  Remember, these folks are volunteers.  Be nice to your plow crew, tip them a few bucks and thank them for their efforts. Not only do these people create the layout but they also keep the track clean throughout the day as it gets chewed up.  Sometimes a course has to be rerouted during the day because the ruts get too deep. Don’t be alarmed if you are riding and see some water bubbling up out of a corner. The plow driver will typically get the course rerouted around the hole and riding will continue.  (Yes, you may encounter a plow reconstructing the track in the middle of a session!) Typical ice riding etiquette says to be courteous to the plow drivers when they are out on the track. Take it easy as you pass and give the guy or gal a wave to say, "Thanks for helping out."

Getting dressed

The biggest difference between ice riding and anything else you're used to is the gear.  The proper items will make your experience enjoyable, comfortable and safe.  Obviously, you'll want warm clothes.  Most riders layer cold weather gear under and over motocross armor or a set of racing leathers.  Motocross boots are the preferred footwear, however road racing boots or over the ankle leather winter boots can also be used.  (You'll want footwear that won't slide around on your foot and can offer some protection against the sharp studs used in ice tires.)  Warm gloves are a must; however, they can not interfere with your ability to control the bike.  Hippo Hands are highly recommended. These are insulated bags that go around the handle grips, typically kept in place by hand guards or bar busters.  Inside, your gloved hands stay much warmer but don't worry; Hippo Hands won't bind you to the machine in the event of a spill.

Building a buzz saw

If glomming a ride on somebody else's machine isn't your style, setting up an ice bike of your own isn't that difficult a task.  Usually, you'll begin with whatever dirt bike you can scrounge up.  You'll want to shorten the suspension a couple of inches front and rear, mount studded tires and fabricate full coverage front and rear fenders, which will reduce the risk of other riders being injured by your studs.  The idea here is to avoid taking a football-sized chunk of flesh out of the back your buddy’s leg during a spirited battle on a sunny winter afternoon.  AMA rules require that a machine's fenders should extend down over both the front and rear tire treads to a level that is below the bike's axles.  This is important, since each stud-equipped tire is essentially a several-inch-wide circular saw which can be very detrimental to flesh.

Terrifying tires

The hoops used on ice bikes are typically trials type tires which have sheet metal style screws (called Kold Kutters) torqued into in each knobby in a very specific pattern.  These special skins usually run about 200 bucks apiece but are well worth it, since if properly cared for, they'll last for years.  It is important to protect the razor sharp edges of the studs when they are not on the ice.  Mooseracing.com sells ice tire wraps, which look enough like Armageddon-proof tire warmers to put a smile on any asphalt rider's face.  If you're into supporting the addiction of your local racer, Chicken Shite Racing is a Midwest ice team which manufactures tire wraps and a type of hand warmers that they call Chicken Fingers.  Contact Tammy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more info.

There are several individuals who make and sell ice tires; a skill which combines art and magic.  The set on my KX250 is by Fredette Racing.  (FRPoffroad.com)  You can buy a box of Kold Kutters and give it shot yourself but you may be completely disappointed with the results. There is unquestionably a trick to this.  Each screw features a tiny pair of blades that function just like ice skates. The clocking of each screw is vital in relationship to it's placement on the tread.  Depending on how they're oriented, different screws are utilized for acceleration, braking and cornering.  If they're not pointed in the right direction, you'll have exactly zero traction.  If they're right, though, you won't believe how well ice studs grip.  On clean ice, I can ride my KX in slow circles and damn near drag the handlebar on the ice. The front wheel simply will not let go.

Racing

While you can certainly play, ride or practice when there isn't an event going on, there are also chances to line up bar to bar and have yourself a good old fashioned RACE!  For the past several seasons, AMA-sanctioned ice racing events have taken place at Cedar Lake, Indiana.  This is all put together by a club called Moto On Ice. Starting the first Sunday in January, the 2012 ice racing begins on Cedar Lake. Practice starts at 9 and racing commences at noon. There are road course races and ½ mile oval flat track sprints, all of which are AMA sanctioned. These competitions are run moto-style.  When you register for an event, you're actually entering two race heats on the same day.  The second race counts for more points than the first and final standings are figured by each rider's combined points totals.  Podium ceremonies are held and trophies are awarded on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the day's events.  Large crowds of racers and spectators frequent the frozen lake.

Cold comfort

Braving the elements can be a daunting task in the Midwest.  If you think it's miserable in your driveway, wait until you spend some time standing on a racecourse made of ice!  Contrast that with the incredible amount of energy required to ride an ice bike.  Those studs are always biting and it takes more effort than you'd believe to muscle one around.  Regardless of your fitness level, this is an activity that will leave you exhausted and no matter how cold it is, you'll work up a sweat! No doubt, ice is a very alien environment for those used to dragging knee across the blistering asphalt of summer.  Your first experience with this kind of riding may leave you wondering if you've been to another world.  This much is for sure, though; as you drive home in the feeble, fading light of a winter sunset with the heat on high and the feeling just starting to return to your extremities, that warm glow in your soul will be very, very familiar.  It's the satisfaction of a day spent riding motorcycles.