Be There...

A New Dawn...

Thursday night the temps were perfecto for a ride at BURP. The Ethos Racing posse gathered for a quick 'before the sun goes down' lap from the Sandtrap. Andre and I arrived early and zoomed a turn on the Wagon Trail. I love that section of trail with it's technical rock features and finally the fast flowing trail back to the bridge.

We then met up with Travis and Jamie, who were pimping the new Ethos Racing kit. Looking good fellas! We headed out Oxbow to the East side, flew through Middle and High Lines and then called it a night as the rain and sun came down. BURP is a great place to get on some dirt with all flavors of difficulty; sweet climbs, large technical rocks, zoomy downhills and fast sections along the river. Just a grand time in the city with the feeling of being lost in a forest. I love Blue River!

KC Cup Race Photos...

Local Photographer Randy Braley was at the event and has some great photos up for your viewing pleasure HERE.

If you'd like to get prints of any of these photos, contact info is HERE.

KC Cup 2009 - Race Report

Heartland put on another fine festival of events over the weekend at the new Kansas City hot-spot; Swope trails. Saturday things started off with cyclocross. The course was sweet with a mix of dirt single track, some pavement and lots of turns through grassy terrain. I couldn’t tell you how many folks were actually racing but there were just as many kids and wives out watching which was great to see. Chipotle donated 100 burritos for the event, which were sold and profits benefited the local trail building pocket book of the ERTA. The weekend of events was a fundraiser for them so that the 50ish miles of trails that have been planned can become a reality over the next decade. I’m psyched to see this happen!

Out for the race were many locals. A few note worthy mentions are Dave Wilson, Jamie Jeffries and Brian Chasm. These fellas love to have a good time riding bikes! My main man Dave Wilson brought home 3rd in the Single Speeed class, ripping it up 'multi-bike' style on his mountain Bike with skinny tires. Nice riding Dave!

Dave getting ready to dominate...

Brian felxing his single speed muscle power.

Jamie ripping the course.

Sunday was the XC Mountain Bike race. I had long awaited this event! I knew that most of my riding pals would be racing and I was even more psyched that my Wife and Son would be there cheering me on!

I raced the usual Single Speed class. We started off the line 2 minutes behind the Experts. The course started with a series of pavement to dirt single track jaunts, then down a paved road for a ½ mile and finally into the woods on the dusty, technical and rock covered single track. I had a great start considering all the pavement (which can be slow going with only one gear). I was trucking it pretty good and went into the woods in about third position in my class. I was ripping through the trails and feeling great. My knees did not bother me one bit, even after all of the worrying! Knowing that the 8-pins section was coming up, I was able to pass a handful of riders and get in there, without what would be a potential road block. I knew that the 8-pins section was so technical that riders would crash, walk or just go way too slow. I love this section and planned to blaze it on my bike, no walking for me...that would make me feel like a real looser. I made it about ¼ of the way into 8-pins when I lost my chain. I tried to put it back on and keep riding three times. It kept falling back off. I finally realized that I had somehow bent my front chain ring!!! F%&K!!! This is the second chain ring I have taco’d in two weeks! This time it was my White Industries (last time it was a Surly). I laid my bike down and grabbed the nearest rock, then proceeded to beat the ring until it was straight enough to hold the chain and I was back riding. I would guess that 25 riders passed me during that time. Bummer!

I knew there was no hopes for a podium finish now but I was NOT going to get another DNF, so I decided that I would just do as planned and keep riding hard and pick-off as many riders as I could and finish the race. I was feeling solid and riding well when I decided to grab my water bottle for a refresher and it was gone. I guess during my ghetto bike repair I had lost my only water bottle! Bummer again; I was thirsty, but still determined to keep cranking along! Thankfully when I passed My cheering section (Dave, Racer, Timbo, Kelly and Seamus), Kelly had an extra water bottle and she handed it to me and I kept on riding and was so thankful she was able to hook me up! I did at some point along the way find my missing water bottle on the trail, so I grabbed it as I passed and was good to go.

Still feeling solid on my last lap, still passing riders and most of all having a great time, I popped-out onto the final climb to the finish and sprinted to the line. I was feeling great and ready for another lap! I had a great race and if I had not had the mechanical on my first lap, would have made the podium! I don’t care so much about that though, so all was good and off to the ‘free sponsor beer’ cooler I went! I placed 6th and by the looks of the lap times, I was way behind after that first lap but made up a little time on the second! It was great to have Kelly and Seamus there cheering me on and awaiting my finish at the line. It’s cool to be able to hug your kid when you finish a race and feel the love. He was cheering me on the whole time! Thanks Bubs!

My Family at the finsh.

My bros all had great races. Cameron took 2nd to Shad in the Expert race. Garet pulled off a close 3rd and Travis came in not far back in 5th, also in expert. Nice riding fella’s!

Cam enjoying some post race hydration, straight from the case study that beer does rehydrate you better than water!

Cam (2) and Garet (3) on the podium.

Tige (1) and Travis (5) on the podium.

All in all it was a great weekend of racing and a very well put-on event! Special thanks to Heartland, specifically the local boys for all for doing the trail work, making for the best trail in Kansas City hands down . Special Thanks to Travis Stephens for doing most of the man-work building these kick-a$$ trails.

Cowtown Posse in disguise!

Results are HERE

Hope to see you all out at the Swope Trails soon, be it riding OR building! -Burnsey

Buy My Stuff...

For sale:

s o l d White Brothers Magic 29 Suspension Fork, 100mm of travel. Used for less a month. Sold my 29er, so the fork is now for sale. Excellent condition. Disc Brake only. Like New!The perfect fork for those wanting to go from rigid to suspension, especially good for single speed due to the 'magic valve' technology that keeps the fork from 'bobbing' while climbing. I run the same fork on my 26" bike and it kicks major a$$. Highly recommend this baby for your 29er! Photos upon request...Asking $300

Specialized 'Roval traversee CL 26" wheelset, tubless set-up. Super light. Roll true and no hopes, but do have a few dings in the rims (nothing that inhibits performance). Will accept up to a 9-speed cassette. Asking $275

s o l d Chris King Headset, 1 1/8" black, includes 5mm headset race. One piece is annodized gold, so I guess this is a mis-matched set, but it's what I ran to complement some gold hubs in the past. Excellent condition. Asking $75

s o l d Race Face Turbine Crankset, 5 bolt, 94bcd, silver. Excellent condition. Bought these much wanted cranks for one of my SS builds. You can run these with three rings OR like I would, with one and a bash gaurd. Requires square taper BB. I also have a Race Face bash gaurd and a Surly 32t stainless ring. Asking $75 for the cranks, $100 with ring & gaurd.

Truvative team Carbon Riser Bars, 31.8 clamp. Seen a ton of use, scratched and ugly, but beefy and good to keep you from rattling out your teeth. Asking $40

s o l d Surly Track Cogs (thread on)I have at least two. One is a 19t and the other is an 18t. Asking $15 each

s o l d Thomson X4 Stem, 31.8 clamp, 110 x 12, black. Asking $70

s o l d Crank Brothers Candy C pedals, yellow, well used w/o cleats (new cleats are $20 at your LBS). Asking $25

s o l d Oury Lock On Grips, black w/ silver lock rings, like new (no endcaps). Asking $10

s o l d Oury Grips, standard grey, great condition. Asking $5

No Name Drop Bars, silver. FREE

s o l d WTB Rocket V saddle, silver & Black, cromo rails, like new. Asking $25

Prices are OBO.

Serious inquries only, please. Email me at climbing_guides@hotmail.com. I might be able to get photos for you, but I'd rather you just come and see the goods. First come first serve. You come to me, I am a busy man. Thanks for looking!

Best of Luck......

Cam has asked his bros to comment on his blog (HERE) if we think he is or is not ‘the man’ that Specialized is looking for to be a part of an interesting sounding gig; the Specialized trail Crew. I thought I’d comment on my blog and try to let Specialized know that indeed, Cam is above and beyond what they are looking for.

I first met Cameron Chambers when he was working at the Trek Bicycle Store here in Kansas City. I have to admit that I have never had any luck getting any good feedback or information form the Trek Store employees in the past. I had all but given up hope on this shop until the day I met Cam. I was inquiring about local trails and some specific information on building up a single speed mountain bike. Cam was the absolute most helpful guy I had ever met. He casually guided me through beta on the local trails and on some good parts and information to get my single speed build off on the right track. He did so in a calm and very uplifting manner, never once acting like he was better than me, never once with any elitist attitude, never once talking my ideas down; purely an individual psyched to be helping out a fellow rider. I was instantly hooked on this ‘kid’, and his kindness and help put a blindfold over my eyes as to the bad experience I had with the shop in the past, and I would come into the shop and visit Cam each week with more questions and stories of epic rides.

I did not learn that Cam had in the past been a National Champion or a sponsored athlete for some time. He never brought it up; I heard it from some locals. He gave no clue as to his history of, how you say… being a bad ass on two wheels. I had to pry this info from him on our first ride together, which was at one of our local hot spots; Landahl. On the drive to Landahl, Cam told me stories of his riding history and I told him stories of my climbing. It was a fun ride and he made me feel like I was one of the team, for sure. He seemd to be in a sense moving towards a more grass roots cycling lifestyle and glad to be a bit out of the spotlight, more down to earth, and able to get back to a more normal life with friends and family. A fair amount of time has passed since our initial meeting. I no longer see him as the bike shop kid, but as a great guy in general. Cam has moved into different rolls in his career, now working at BikeSource but still being ‘the man’ to talk to at the shop. His calm and cool demeanor and vast experience and knowledge about riding has helped me and at least a handful of our friends become better, faster and more competent riders. Cam can sell a bike, fix a bike, fit you on your bike, lead a group ride, race a bike, build some sick trail and toss back a brew with the best of them. He is also a great writer; his blog is full of colorful and adventurous tales of his riding exploits which always paint a picture in my mind and make me smile. If I had the opportunity to hand pick the crew for Specialized, Cam would be my first choice, and I feel that I speak for a majority of the Kansas City area avid biking crew. Cam IS indeed the man and would be the ultimate advocate for a company like Specialized, period. Who else can tear-it-up on a cyclocross, fixed gear mtn bike, single speed mtn bike, gear mtn bike and road bike and have such a good rap with the community? Specialized, don't let this guy slip from your grasp! Best of luck to you Cameron, you deserve it! See you this weekend at the KC Cup! -Your pal, Burnsey

SMP Weekend (River too)...

Sunday is the KC Cup race at Swope Park. I really want to race in this event as I have been looking forward to a local race since I missed R.I.M., due to being in Leadville. This will be a great time amongst friends and I am psyched to race, ride, hang out and just be in the moment.

The past few days I have been trying to answer the question, "are my knees ready?". I have to say that I have been hiding out under the radar as of late. My knees are not yet fully recovered from the damage I caused due to my desire to keep riding (even when my body says NO). I have taken nearly a month off from any hard rides, albeit I have been riding, but in shorter than normal time frames on less demanding terrain.

I have to admit, after about two hours of riding I am done and I still have not been able to really put the hammer down fully to see what my limits are. Sunday will be a test. I will either be able to mash... or not. Having a second DNF on my record would really suck monkey-balls.

With that all in mind I had two good rides at SMP this weekend. These trails are great becasue I can ride from my house and do a lap and be home in just over an hour. I get plenty of good terrain under my belt without having to suffer and wonder If I am doing more damage to the knees. I plan to get in two more good rides before the race and then just go out and have a grand time.

I did make it out for a few laps at the Lawrence River trails recently with Andre. Had a great time while Kelly and Semus crusied the levee itself, also having a good ol' time.

Taco'd my...

Chain ring...weird huh? Whats even weirder is that I had a friend do the same thing with a Surly ring, not once but twice in the last month (and I thought he was doing something wrong, sorry Funkmeister). I simply started mega-cranking on flat ground to see what kind of off-the-line go juice my new build had in her, and KAZAAM! The ring just bent all crazy-like. Pulled right through two chain ring bolts and left me sitting with my nutz on the top tube...damn!

Plan B left me riding my SS mtn bike around on the paved and gravel trails of Shawnee Mission Park instead of a glorious initiation ride on the Superman Surly...so it goes. But none the less, I did have an enjoyable ride, I did poach some dirt and I did manage to go over my handlebars a total of two times, awe yeah, the painfull bliss of riding bikes.

Totally Tubular...

I just love this photo of John Harter at his local trail (stolen from the ER forum)...Classy man, classic photo! What the hell is that anyway Harter? You run over a boa constrictor?

Rapture in Misery...

They did it again! The dynamic duo, often referred to as Team Ethos Racing or Travis and Cameron, whooped it up at this years Rapture in Misery race at Crowder State Park August 15th. Racing in the 12 hour duo Travis and Cameron ticked off some fast times all the way through a tough race that ended with your classic Midwestern thunderstorm. Heartland put on a great event (as freakin' usual!!!) and here are the official results. Nice riding fellas.

Cross Dressing...

I have to say it, I am not a roadie, not a guy who indulges in the complexity of gears and I refuse to shave my legs; I am but a man. So, with that in mind I set out to disassemble my Surly Cross Check from a geared cyclocross machine and covert her into a blinglespeed commuter. Amen.

First I removed the damn drop bar p.o.s., I don't know how anyone holds onto those weird shaped things anyway...see ya. Then off with the whole Dura Ace group; front and rear derailleurs, crank set and sti shifters/levers...gone. Finally I removed the little girly fork.

To replace the aforementioned garbage (not really garbage, but I don't need it, you're welcome Jesse), I slapped on a pimp old schooly set of Race Face Turbine cranks with a 34 tooth Surly Ring and yes, a bash guard. For the cockpit I chose a sweet Jones Titanium H-Bar with some classic Real canti-levers and an On One 29er fork. I used a spacer kit and went with a Surly 16t cog on the existing Chris King hub. Kept the trusty Thomson stem and post, Paul canti brakes, Salsa clamp and Chris King headset. Finished her up with a new and flashy Sella San Marco Saddle and new cables & housing - shabam! Ready to rock (& roll)

I'll be using the new and improved Superman Surly as my commuter and general urban assault tank, probably hitting a bit of single track along the way. Ahhh, I feel much better now.

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You...

A little teaser for those Leadville fans out there... http://raceacrossthesky.com/

Tour De Shawnee

Sunday was the official Tour De Shawnee, a fun filled family style bike ride in my hood. Kelly, Seamus and I packed up our goods and headed over to the ride start to meet Jeannie, Andre, Erin, Jeff, Jack and Grace. We chose the 11ish mile route, which was great and fairly hill-free. I was pulling Seamus in the Burley trailer and riding my Surly Cross Check while Kelly was on her Surly Instigator. We had a fun ride with friends and proceeded to head over to Andre's casa for a BBQ afterwards. Nothing better than a bike ride followed by a relaxing day in a friends backyard drinking fine malt beverages and eating food fresh off the grill!!

I was told by many folks that Seamus and I are now famous, being seen televised on channel 4 news; me riding with my cow town jersey and pulling him in the trailer during the ride. I'll be signing autographs this weekend in Arkansas, at the one and only Sam's Throne climbing area. Be there or be square!

Andre and Erin enjoying the perfect ride...

On a side note; the weather here in KC has been great! Temps have been in the 60's and 70's, perfect for commuting to work, which I have been trying to do as much as possible - so that I can open a can of whoop-a$$ at the KC Cup race next month at Swope...YAHOO!