John Burns

MTB the West

2011-08-02T13:34:00.004-04:00

Alien ID

2011-07-26T12:13:00.007-04:00

Mars Ridge outside Ketchum, ID. Burnsays "Alien ride." The "moondust" was wicked.

Oregon Gulch, Ketchm, ID

How sad is this. Finally had to retire the old adi-slides. Don't worry, I got a new pair in park City.

Son of a Middle Creek

2011-07-14T21:16:00.002-04:00

CO Living

2011-07-14T01:44:00.004-04:00

West trip is in full swing. CO living at 8200' isn't so bad. New rubber on the mtb for Saturday's Breckenridge 100.

Canada Cup Baie St. Paul, UCI Cat. 1 Elite

2011-06-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

Canada was a mud fest shit show. I ran at least as much as I road. I could run uphill faster than ride. Especially if you slipped out or crashed. 25k race. 1/2 running?? This is was not really a mtb race. What can you do. It has been raining for 3 weeks, and it was raining for the race. 34th out of 68? Finish where you start. Right smack in the middle. Rear brakes to the bar(metal on metal). Many people had the same problem. XTR 2011 brake pads do not exist. Which is messed up. Fortunately they are so close to the Elixirs that I used those pads Monday riding at Kingdom Trails. I think it will work until can get some XTR pads. I might have to swap the brakes off the Van Dessel for this weekends NUE Mohican 100.
It took me the entire day Tuesday to clean everything up.
Good times Hanging out with the Quebec Crew, Katrina, Tommy, and Chris in St. Anne. Thanks again to Marie and her Mom for putting us up.
We put in a mtb ride at Kingdom on Monday, and I got the new bike sorted out(handle bars lowered) since I basically just ran next to it on Sunday. Yeah, we ate at Miss Lynndonville Diner post Kingdom ride.
Lots of compliments on the new Burns Racing Kit.
Heading out to Ohio today for the NUE Mohican 100.
I think my shoes finally dried out.
Stay tuned

Kit

2011-05-26T11:00:00.003-04:00

Ski Withdrawal

2011-05-11T09:29:00.001-04:00

I'm having a hard time with the fact that I hung all my skis up yesterday. I think I need another hit.

AK Teaser

2011-05-08T17:44:00.003-04:00

John on Turnagain

2011-04-29T18:18:00.000-04:00

Last Call for Burns Racing Clothing

2011-04-08T09:14:00.007-04:00

This is the last call for Burns Racing Clothing. Please let me know what you want ASAP. I want to have every thing so I can place the order Monday morning 4/11. Sizing info at Champ-sys.

Below is the design in case you missed it last time.

Dumping in April

2011-04-04T08:46:00.003-04:00

Ask and you shall receive. They were blasting Bad Religion again at the base of the Zoomer lift yesterday. Also Social D, & Rise Against. Killer day ripping with the Cannon Crew. Hit Paulie's just right for a couple laps of sun softened big buttery Bumps. 3 days is a row charging sweet snow in April with good people is pretty special. Extra special coming straight off the monster Cape Cod training camp. I actually slept in my own bed last night. Crazy, but I wouldn't trade it.
The downside. I missed the 497 "Hair Cut Night." Don't worry. I'm working on an appointment. Yeah, it's rough when your "downside" is missing a haircut opportunity.

Cape Training

2011-03-29T08:59:00.004-04:00

I'm now 3 days into a Cape Cod training camp with the Quebec crew. Lots of good hours on the bike. A lot more hours with good people. The Otis trails are pretty sweet right now. If you are feeling the mountain bike pull, but your backyard is buried in snow, it's worth the drive. Hit up Wompatuck on your way down for an epic MA dirt session. If you usually put milk in your oatmeal, try a spoonful of ice cream. Vanilla of course. You might not go back the straight up cow. Those Quebec guys know all kinds of tricks.

This week...

2011-03-20T21:14:00.004-04:00

Sweet spring skiing at Wildcat Thursday with a jump across the street to capped it with a quick skin up Tuckerman Ravine trail to HoJo's and down the Sherbourne. Oh, Check the twitter feed for Monday. "Sun shiny" road ride, 60 degrees, and Turkey Burgers on the BBQ for Friday. Yeah, as Pete said, I "spanked" my own burgers. None of that preformed crap. Maybe I give out the recipe. Probably not. Skinned a whole bunch of laps at Mt. Abram Saturday. Big mountain bike ride at Wompatuck today. Took the boys around my old stumping grounds. Lots of small, and a few large, blowdowns, but hey, it's March. The trails will be cleaned up in no time. Unfortunately there is some new graffiti. Almost ruined my ride, but I managed to pull it together. Throw in a bunch of hanging out with the right people, more rides, and general things coming together, and you have a killer week. So what if I'm finishing it off with a stay over at the lab tonight so I can jump right into my station first thing Monday morning. Missed Novare Res this week, but it looks like it's possibly on tap for thursday.
Get outside. It's fun.

Burns Racing Kits

2011-03-13T20:36:00.007-04:00

Do you want an extra training kit, jersey, bibs, or base layer? Let me know. Order is in the works. Sizing and other details are at www.Champ-sys.com.
The greys are the same. They just look slightly different from the PDF grabs.

ice

2011-03-03T17:41:00.006-05:00

How much ice was on your bike when you got home?

Stud Ride

2011-02-20T19:33:00.005-05:00

Sweet ride this morning with Freye, Cyr, and Magoon out on the snowmobile trails. 1spds, studded tires, and a whole lot of low rpm power riding.

Pics from Cog ski

2011-02-17T09:40:00.003-05:00

Cog Railway

2011-02-03T22:27:00.004-05:00

I skied the Cog Railway on Mt. Washington today. So good. Fresh tracks in a foot of fresh yesterday was pretty good too. 2 Days in a row on the big sticks. I'll expand later???

The Long Way Back

2011-01-27T12:29:00.003-05:00

I just read "The Long Way back" by Tim Zimmerman in Outside Magazine. I haven't been that enthralled and inspired by a story in a while.

"You shouldn't spend your entire life trying to fit into the system. You shouldn't just take your place in society and do nothing. The world is huge. The world is awesome. The world is to go out and explore."

Check it out

Quebec Crew

2011-01-25T10:30:00.003-05:00

Hey, what do you know it is snowing again. Skiing and more skiing going on. "Trees" day in VT with the Quebec Crew. 3 degrees F at the bottom, but toasty in the woods.

Charging snow, again.

2011-01-19T21:03:00.005-05:00

Powder Day at Sugarloaf. Busted out the big sticks today. "Justice" was served BD + JB style!

ski

2011-01-18T18:58:00.003-05:00

Lots of skiing going on. 3 Day ski block. Backcountry touring in the White Mountains on Saturday and Sunday. Skate skiing Monday.
Road the "nowhere" bike today, though.
Looks like powder day tomorrow for the Sugarloaf Maine residence day.

Power Day

2011-01-13T22:03:00.002-05:00

Powder day at Saddleback mountain. Very nice.

Real Men Shovel

2011-01-12T15:14:00.001-05:00

John Henry for EVA

Donuts*

2011-01-08T19:22:00.007-05:00

Ice ride today with Freye and Pete. Studded mtb tires on snowmobile trails and a little bit at Bradbury mountain. Awesome. I rocked Pete's Rip 9 while he was on the Trek. The thing is plush. Post ride homemade donuts, hot chocolate, tea, and scones at Edna and Lucy's.

We bought the whole box, 6. Freye and I put down 2 each. Saved the other 2 for later.

*official D and D tribe spelling.

Blizzard Christmas NY/NJ

2010-12-31T21:23:00.004-05:00

Sprinting across 30th to Penn station, at night, in blizzard remnants, wearing hiking boots, with a backpack, in sub 10 minutes, is SKETCHY. I took some chances. 7:24 express train is beautiful. 8:02 local train is suicide.

I did get a few good mountain bike rides in before the white hit.

comin to get cha

2010-12-20T21:27:00.002-05:00

OFF season=bored

2010-12-09T13:14:00.003-05:00

I am official 4 days into my end off season break. I am bored out of my brain. So, I have resumed Four 9 Seven pro mechanic duties. Freye says, "Burns, can you check out the hubs on my winter bike? They are whack." Alright, no problem. A front axle swap, bearing repack, bearing adjustments, and overall hub shining later, Freye has the sweetest spinning set of XT hubs around.
Couple other wrenching projects are lined up.
Maybe I should have gone out to Bend for CX nationals.

2011

2010-12-06T11:32:00.005-05:00

"Burns Racing" 2011 is coming together nicely.

New Sponsors Welcome.

Let me know if you want in.

Facebook coming soon as well

Twitter

2010-12-04T21:13:00.003-05:00

I am now on twitter as well.

@BURNSsays

Ghost Bike

2010-11-13T09:08:00.001-05:00

Watch more free documentaries

Wilderness 101

2010-08-12T10:15:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the Video links only. The embed html is jacked up somehow. Just click the pretty red words.

7th place for the day.

Me, Burns, Chasing hard solo.

Pre Race

There are some more videos on Cyclingdirt from the 101. Check them out

Shenandoah Mountain Touring has more as well.

Cyclingnews Report. Not quite accurate as I got back on for a bit after it says I popped, but otherwise it's a very good article.

Am I back at this blog thing? Maybe.

Follow Me

2010-04-28T16:46:00.007-04:00

One Longfellow Square, Portland Maine for the "Follow Me" screening. Meet me there tonight!

Sea Otter

2010-04-22T12:38:00.002-04:00

Super D was the racing highlight. STXC and XC were far from my best. More later???? maybe.

TMNT

2010-03-27T09:34:00.001-04:00

Burns, the next hero in a half shell???????????

Who do you pray to?

2010-03-11T10:30:00.009-05:00

No snow in Maine, go to Utah. Unfortunately not that much great snow there either. Some steep tight lines in the woods salvaged the West trip.

Freye and I had planned a training camp in VA after I got back from Utah. Massive amounts of snow blanketing the Mid-Atlantic put that on hold. I decided to hit the old NJ neighborhood anyway and log some big warmish hours. Talk about a plan backfiring.

So instead of hitting the pavement, I wound up riding 6 hours inside in 2 days while I waited for the snow to clear off the roads. I do not recommend this. (Side note: 497 was/is completely devoid of snow. )

I am happy to say the temperatures rebounded quickly allowing for a quick snow removal and implementation of my desired road biking adventures.
Every time I am back in NJ all I seem to do is crisscross paths with the Colivita/ Jamis road guy/guys out riding. It's kind of funny. They are probably thinking the same thing. "Who is this guy with the stealth Craft kit I keep running into?"
Besides riding I have been working a bunch of hours in the NY City Lab while I am down this way.
Looks like some MTB on tap for this weekend.
I'm playing everything by ear right now. No decision on where I will be in the next weeks. NJ? ME? VA?
Stay tuned

No Mo Snow

2010-01-30T15:05:00.001-05:00

Rains came and washed the spider, eerr snow out! SUCKS.

Mt. Washinton via Lions Head Winter

2010-01-24T11:34:00.005-05:00

Powdah wednesday +

2010-01-23T20:00:00.006-05:00

Quick blurb today.
Powder day up at Sugarloaf Wednesday. So what if the visibility at the summit was about 3 feet. The snow was mint. The snow on the o'natural trails was more like mint chocolate chip, but both are good.
Skied with Rumsey at Pineland in the snowstorm Tuesday afternoon.
Like I said the early focus has turned to skiing. DH and XC.
The Winter also means picking up heavy things. Gym time.

Spent today at Mt. Washington. Awesome day. Stay tuned for more on that.

Listen to Mikey. He knows stuff.

2010-01-17T20:29:00.010-05:00

The Verge New England Cyclocross Series wrapped up in Warwick with some rain, snow, and cold weather. I know that was a ways back. I made a poor glove choice Saturday. 35 degrees and raining with lightweight gloves equals Burns' hands not functioning. I could not physically move my left hand enough to push the shifter and get into my big ring. My right hand was marginally better, which lead me to reach across the handlebar and use it to operate the front shifter.
Sunday was just plain cold, no precipitation. The one mud puddle on the course would flash freeze your feet every lap. The picture of Snyder and I post race is pretty telling. After crossing the finish line, everyone put on tights and jackets and made a bee line for the heated enclosed gazebo asap. Picture 30 or so elite riders split into packs of 5 or 6 sitting huddled around portable heaters stripping shoes and socks trying to regain feeling in their feet. Grimaces mix strangely with post race euphoria, but it created a truly awesome scene.

Once Cyclocross ended I shut everything down. I put a quick video together to sort out everything else. Check it out. I am hoping to get some more/better video going soon.

Monday update. Skiing on Oak Hill yesterday was very good. Did I say Pineland was gettting thin on snow??? Well, it is dumping today, looks like about 10 inches or so. Nice.

How much time have you spent hanging out at Pineland.

Fishing

2009-12-12T15:45:00.005-05:00

Here are some photos from the mid season break summer 09 fishing trip. A little video too. It will have to hold you over while I decided how to recap the final '09 cyclocross stretch. I'm off to watch the U23 CX Nats on Cyclingdirt. Hope Jerome and Keough put the hurt to Summerhill and Mac Donald.

cyclocross updates

2009-11-12T19:55:00.006-05:00

Three weeks, 3 more cyclocross double headers. The Verge New England races up at Pineland turned out to be mud bogs. I help set up the course friday afternoon and put in some nice fast dusty laps. Then the rains came. Saturday was cold and wet. By the end of the race, my hands weren't working, and I could barely hold onto the handlebars.Since it was still raining the mud was flowing and not too thick. I had an alright ride placing 18th. The Sun came up for Sunday and thickened everything up nicely. I was struggling once again but still managed to finish in the money.

Mid Atlantic double header in Bridgeton and Jamesburg NJ.
The bees were out Saturday in Bridgeton. I was parked next to Broderick, and we both got stung getting ready for the race. The sandy soil was just damp and packed down enough to make the course ultra fast this year. I was ok off the start, but I made a couple of mistakes early on and wound up riding most of the race solo. This was definitely a big disadvantage compared to the packs. The "Amphitheater of Pain" was, as always, tall kid approved, and I had some fun double jumping up the steps. I grabbed some money in 22nd.
Sunday in Jamesburg was another mudfest. Thick mud has been my nemesis this year, and I was not that psyched to trudge around in it again. I was taking a fresh bike just about every lap, thanks Dad, and I had pretty unmemorable ride placing 23rd.

Verge New England Cyclocross Series Northampton
What do you need to know? Start loop CRASHES. Big crashes. Both days. Below is the video from Saturday. You can see just how close the cartwheeling bike comes to tomahawking me right before Pete "T bones" it.

Cycle-Smart elite men start (and crash) from Eric Silva on Vimeo.

While I avoided the crash, I broke my rear derailleur clean in half gunning it up the steep ride up and then wedged it in my rear wheel. Now I have broken a lot stuff in my day, but this one I am still trying to figure out. A broken derailleur wedged in my wheel equaled a long run to the pit. By the time I got to the pit, the leaders were only about 20 seconds back. I looked at the leaders, I looked at my second bike, I looked at the race official, and I sadly told him "I'm done." DNF.
As always at the Northampton races, it's dinner with Ryan and Kelly at Pasta E Basta and desert at the Black Sheep in Amherst. I was considering deviating from my Lasagna Bolognese, but I eventually decided not "to defy the laws of tradition." I would say dinner salvaged the day.
Sunday morning a threw on my spare derailleur, trued my rear wheel, or trued it well enough, and put on a new chain. It turned out the chain got seriously twisted in the melee as well. I did my warm up laps on the repaired bike to test it out. No problems.
Like I said above, we started the day with a crash. See bleow.
Maybe 25 meters in, and people are on the pavement. I hit the brakes FULL ON. I didn't get tangled up in the crash, but now I am chasing. I eventually make my way up to Reuter and Wilcox. I yell out to them that we can close some more gaps down and I go straight to the front. Wilcox and I are pulling and we bridged up to Wheels and Bray. That was the group for the last few laps with Wilcox and I driving. Bray attacked going into the sandpit just before the finish, but he buried his front wheel and stacked it. Reuter was smart and played his sand pit card when Bray went down, and he got a gap. I guess I spaced a little, and I didn't close it down right away. Instead, I towed and then lead out Wilcox. So, I finished 19th. Fun day racing. I hope everyone from the crash is ok.
What else has been going on? I've been riding the mountain bike a lot. It's a little bit leaf surfing, a little bit of "where did the trail go," but the trails are finally starting to clear out a bit.
Also a bit in NYC.

Tomorrow I am going to head down and preride the U.S Gran Prix course and stay for the number pick up party. If your at the party look for me.
It is supposed to rain 1-2 inches tomorrow. This weekend looks to be a repeat of last year.
Stay tuned.

ski??

2009-10-28T10:58:00.004-04:00

I got a comment the other day about skiing this year, so I figured I throw up a quick post. I am thinking Black Diamonds new Justice skis. Maybe the new Rossi S7 or Volkl Gotama. I want to try the new rocker stuff. I'll stick with the Fritschi Freerides.
Skiing on ice sucks no matter what skis you have. I've answered my fair share of questions on the chair lift from VT to ME about why I am skiing my Pocket Rockets and it is boiler plate.
Thinking some more trips west this year. SLC is easy, and sweet. NO brainer airport to the mountian. Maybe a big trip way west, JAPAN.

Race Across the Sky

2009-10-22T09:26:00.005-04:00

Race Across the Sky is playing tonight 10/22/09. It is a film about the Leadville 100 Mountian bike race. The Maine viewing location is in Brunswick. Check out the trailer and information below. Should be awesome. See you there.

Theatre:
Brunswick 10
19 GURNET RD
BRUNSWICK, ME 04011
207-798-4505
Time: 8pm

white precip

2009-10-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

It snowed last night. I think I'm ok with it. Summer didn't show up, so I say bring the snow. Skis are ready to go.

The Creeps

2009-10-18T19:47:00.008-04:00

Providence Cyclocross Festival day 2 went pretty similar to day 1, and I landed 32nd place. Somehow I forgot how to corner early on. After I picked myself off the ground twice, I was fine. Things started to come around the second half of the race. Overall I felt much better racing this weekend.
Yesterday was the first annual Casco Bay Cyclocross held just down the road on Portland's Eastern Promenade. Casco Bay Sports and Bikeman were the main sponsors. Since I was not racing, I needed a break after the 5 week stretch of the Wompatuck xc, Bradbury 12 hour, and the 3 consecutive cyclocross double headers, I helped out with the course setup and tear down. I got down to Portland a little after 6am, and we had the course finished by about 8am. The first race went off at 9am. I hung out all day watching the races and fielding numerous "you're not racing?" questions. The tear down was fast. Maybe a little longer than an hour. I made it back to Yarmouth around 4pm, suited up, and headed out for my own ride.
This weeks other big highlight was the Social Distortion show Thursday. Pretty much awesome. Rolled down with Kurt. I was supposed to meet up with Sophetra and his crew, but that didn't quite fall into place. They were stuck on the opposite side of the stage. Next time.
Pineland cyclocross coming up this weekend.
Stay tuned

Providence Cyclocross Festival Day 1

2009-10-10T19:10:00.006-04:00

Day 1 is in the books. Netting me a 31st. Today was the classic 05-06 Nationals course, but it was far from that Blizzard epic. Wicked fast today and just as fun. I didn't get clipped in great off the line, but I charged up the pavement and got a decent position. The smell of brakes was heavy before we banked right and bunny hopped the curb. That will definitely wake you up. Setting up for the first grass turn the two guys next to me tangle and go down. I got bumped, but I kept it upright. I settled into a group with the two Van Dessel guys, Sundt, Gougen, and a couple others I can't really remember. The crowd was amazing. Everyone was screaming. There was plenty "BURNS" ringing clear. Thanks. The racing was tight. There was always someone with me or close, which makes for killer racing. Broderick, he started near the back, came by me near the begining of the second lap. I tried to jump with him, but I couldn't hold. The last 2 laps I started to fade a bit. I tried to jump with Lindine after he came by, but that didn't last either. Rubijuno and Pete were chasing hard and they proceeded to pass me on the big run up. Rubi can run! Eventually I lost them too. I did pick off another rider toward the end. Johnson won and put on a good show riding well off the front. Overall it was a good day. Yeah I faded a bit near the end, but I felt better riding than I had been lately. The fun meter overloaded. I need to blast through a few more spots tomorrow so I can add to my point total. See you out there. Scream loud, SCREAM for BURNS.

Post race I quickly hit up the Interbike demo. Very cool. Everyone was starting to close down, but I managed a quick sit down on the new Giant XTC 29er. It is impressive. I am going to the race early tomorrow so I can try and through a leg over couple other rigs. Mountain and road. Should be cool. If you want to crush some dirt with me before the race, keep your eyes open and give me shout.

XXC Vol. 4

2009-10-09T19:28:00.005-04:00

Mahokey's web mag XXC vol. 4 is now up for viewing. Check it out. I'm digging the Wilderness 101 photos. This is what I meant in my Wilderness 101 post when I said deep fog. Tons of other good stuff too. Click the cover photo below to enter the realm.

Gloucester

2009-10-08T17:03:00.015-04:00

Gloucester is a fabled place. This year will go down as 2 days that are about as opposite as you can get.
Day 1 was a mud fest. Epic. Not quite as insane as 2005 blizzard race, but in the same ball park. I finished my warm up and rolled down the hill to staging. Shit, my front Fango is going flat. There is no time to grab my second bike, so I fly back up the hill and grab a spare front wheel from Big Al. I make it to staging exactly 5 seconds before they call my name. What do you know, I got a good, mechanical fueled adrenaline kick, start. Amazing. Then I hit the mud, and I had no power. I felt sluggish the entire race. It wasn't a good ride, and I finished 35th. I really hope it is only from the easy week, and not becasuse I am wiped out from all the mountainbike races and the 12 hour race a couple weeks ago. Page was way off the front riding stellar. I'm all smiles below, so you know it wasn't a drag. I crashed with my buddy Zach Saturday night and we got to hangout a bunch. Cool.

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

Day 2 the sun came out turning big mud into bigring blasting. The gurus up in Gloucester setting perhaps the sweetest course ever to grace Stage Fort Park. Today I got a horrible start. Like I said, opposites. People went by me off the gun like I was standing still. Everyone going right around me. I literally got shot out the back going up the pavement. Maybe my worst start ever. I felt better riding, it just took half the race to come around. I used a lot of juice trying to get back spots I lost at the start. I was closing especially well in some of the tight chicanes, and I got back a lot of spots. 33rd on the Day. I don't feel accelaration, pop, and high end are 100% there again. I think it's going in the right direction now that I have some easy weeks in the bank following the big mountain bike season. This week has been solid and I'm fired up to race in Providence Saturday and Sunday. It is also the east coast interbike. There will be a ton new bikes to demo and ogle. Come on out and demo a new ride, watch some skinny guys in tight clothing riding really fast, feel the energy, and SCREAM for BURNS. Maybe I can figure out how to crush the start.
Stay tuned

Place holder

2009-10-08T11:37:00.001-04:00

MTB/Cross + Verge New England Cyclocross VT

2009-10-02T21:11:00.009-04:00

"Indecision clouds my vision."** I mentioned yesterday I was not very happy with the mtb hanging in the garage collecting dust. So today, I looked sideways.** That means I road the mtb over to Tryon, hit a couple laps, and booked it home. I grabbed a quick snack, switched to the cross bike, and then I put down a few more efforts. Hopefully I can light it up and let it burn at Gloucester tomorrow and Sunday.
Today's switch.

Last weekend was the opening 2 rounds of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series. I'll expand a little more on the 19th and 23rd placings I posted the other day.
Saturday went ok aside from the start, which I still can't seemed to do. I settled into a group with Favata, Myerson, a quebec guy, and one other. The pace felt a little slow after the second pit until start/finish line. I wanted to go to the front, but I didn't. I made some mistakes and lost the group on the last lap. I wasn't very far back, but I don't think I tried hard enough bridge back. At dinner with Wheels, my roommate for the weekend, I started getting more and more pissed that I didn't at least try and go to the front of the group and attack. I don't feel I really let it all hang out.

Sunday was wet and slick, and I road timid. The start was a mess. The guy right in front of me went sideways with 1 foot on the pedals. Add to that more chaos on the start stretch from the slick ground and ruts and it was an even worse start than yesterday. I was way back. I managed to stay upright and that may have been the key for at least placing in the top 25. Similarly to Saturday, I don't really feel like I went hard enough.
I'm glad to get the first cyclocross weekend under my belt. My 1 hour pacing seems a bit off, but that should come around. There is plenty more action on deck.

See you in Gloucester

**Mike Patton is the man

Take a Kid MTB Day

2009-10-02T10:24:00.006-04:00

Saturday Oct. 3rd is Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. This got me thinking about my day with the Kent Hill School gang, 15 riders strong, a couple weeks back. Wheels drops me a line asking for some help leading the Kents Hilll School Mountain Bike Team around Bradbury Mountain. No problem. Turned out to be great day. We put in a morning session with the full crew, and then took a turkey sandwich lunch break. Freye met up with us during lunch so we could split into smaller groups for an afternoon session. We worked on some skills but spent most of the day just touring the park. These guys definitely pushed their comfort zones, and I was impressed. They seemed to come away from the day with smiles and a good sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, I will be racing cross down in Gloucester Saturday and won't be able to go mountain biking. I guess the Bradbury day will have to cover the Take a Kid Mountain biking for 09. Maybe I could work a "dirt" ride in Gloucester after the race. If you are down there for the cross race just ask me.

US CUP Mt. Snow and Windham

2009-10-01T15:14:00.009-04:00

How does Burns keep the fat tire madness rolling? He points it four days after the Wilderness 101 to the legendary dirt playground, Mt. Snow. Welcome to the Big Show. Packing in the PRO Rental house with me was Freye, Joos, Macky, Kat, Jaimie, and Hattie who was pulling some very important work and feed duties. I love the PRO house vibe here in Yarmouth, so when you more the double the output, things really start to shake. Nice.
The course was shortened quite a bit this year and a new steep climb was added. The racing was plain awesome. The Olympians and World Cup heavy hitters set the stage right and bring out the best in everyone. I had an OK ride placing a mid pack 38th.
The Short Track XC the next day wasn't that great. I missed a pedal off the start placing me exactly last going into the climb. At least I wasn't alone. Sneddon was with me and I followed him wide, punching up the right side. I got by a few people and picked off a few more as the race continued on. 31st on the day.
Hot on the tails of Mt. Snow was more US Cup action. Windham, NY will host a World Cup round next year so we got to play on course early. One of the best xc courses out there. Right on par with Mt. Snow. East Coast showcases. PRO Rental House Windham was slightly different with Brent and minus Macky, Kat, and Jaimie, but non less cool. A sweet non race course onetrack warm up with Freye, Adam Craig, and Brian Astell flowed into a Windham that played out similar to Mt. Snow. I grabbed another mid pack finish in 39th.
I know I'm capable of a top 25 National finish. I just need a little more. That group is not too far off. I can get there.
Since I already posted the Dark Horse 40 Report, you know I skipped the Windham Short Track for Stewart.
Windham side note. Brent's buddy Ben, who also stayed with us up there, was doing some filming. After the race, Joos, Brent, and I went down to hang out at the river and cool off. Pretty standard for us. However, Ben was filming. It was a cycling culture type project. Long story short, our white torsos(farmers tan/cyclist tan) reflecting the sunlight, overloaded the cameras white/light sensor. It was a funny scene, but maybe not quite the same effect for you the reader.

Todays anecdotes powered by The Royal Bean, Sevendust, Helmet, and Dinosaur Jr.

More Summer

2009-10-01T13:39:00.010-04:00

"New England Worlds" is this weekend and all I can think about is riding onetrack. I think the mountainbike is going to make an appearance tomorrow. I'm thinking a quick 1 or 2 lap rip up at Tryon Mountain is the ticket. Maybe 1 lap each direction, and then a hard opener on the cross bikes since I have been laying low this week.
I promised more Summer stories, so settle in for some Wilderness 101 action. Here is what you need to know. Rains meant deep fog fire road bombing early on, "icy" bridges, long climbs, and slick rocky singletrack descents. I was in the front group off the start and up the initial big climb. I backed it off at the top. It's a 101 mile race, its 7 o'clock am, and were riding pretty fast. This put me in "no mans land" for a bit with another guy. We swapped some pulls but eventual settled into a large group. The climb after the first aid station splintered the group. A few of us pulled away and really charged the first rough, but high speed descent, and other singletrack.
The maturing day was drying out open sections of the course. I started to make up time on the first technical descent. The last "real" descent is gnarly. You ride basically only on wicked big rocks. There really isn't dirt. Oh yeah, it's off camber to riders left with a significant drop. It is ultra sketchy when it's wet, and I backed it off slightly. You're going to need to produce some serious magic here if you start to lose it.
Towards the bottom I picked off another rider, "maybe I'm dropping faster than I think," managed to save a double drift over a wooden bridge, and finally popped out on another fire road. Here, going into the 4th aid station, I picked off a couple other riders.
I pulled into the last aid station seconds behind Pete(see previous Bradbury post). He leaves just in front of me, but now I'm chasing hard. I caught him on a flat old railroad bed and went by. Held my gap up the climb and then sets sights towards the finish. I managed to catch and pass a rider on the last short section of singletrack, only to get passed by him on the run into the finish. I guess he was just trying to recover a bit. Where does this leave me, 12th.
I think backing it off slightly early on paid off. I think a few of those guys blew up riding the fast pace, allowing me to pick them off. Monster fun day. Yes, at more than one point, I was hating the "there's no way this can last much longer" fire road climbs, but the killer descents are excellent memory erasers.
I'm thinking about hitting up more of the NUE Series next year. Definitely the Shenandoah 100.

Bradbury 12 hour Basecamp

2009-09-30T12:08:00.002-04:00

Summer Highlights

2009-09-30T10:11:00.011-04:00

I fed my serious singletrack addition this Summer. I don't feel that great about the Van Dessel hanging up in the garage staying shiny. So to ease my mind, I am putting together a little Summer recap. It might take a few posts, but I'll get it out.
Back to BC. Almost 2 weeks with my buddy Freye partaking in west coast adventure . One word. UNBELIEVABLE! All the hype is true. The race, the trails, the people, and the cities are all off the charts. Quit your job, buy a RV, park it in Nanaimo or Squamish, and feed your need. The 2 days on Vancouver Island were my favorite. Squamish may have nipped the top step if I wasn't "sleep riding." More on that in a minute.
Other BC highlights.
1. Vancouver. Concrete and glass architecture and killer food pop most easily into mind. Is it bad if you want to stay in Vancouver gulping Hot and Sour soup at Authentic Noodle and not line up for the race. How does Burns judge Hot and Sour soup? Sweat Factor. If you're not sweating, it's not any good. Lets just say I went through more than a few napkins at Authentic Noodle.
2. Turning a 7 day stage race into 8. Andrew and I headed out with our new friend Craig from Deadgoat Racing the day after the race ended in Whistler for a 4 hour tour. This ride would include the famous Whistler trail "Comfortably Numb." Basically this trail is like 26k of the "O" trail at Bradbury Mountain on steriods with sustained descents. It pretty much bridges the line between a cross country and freeride trail. This translates as wicked fun in case you have misplaced your mountainbike to english dictionary.
So you want to know about this sleep riding thing. The downside of BC for me was an inability to sleep and the very early mornings. The transfers on day 4 starting at 4:30 am hammered my coffin shut. The result is "Sleep riding," and I was struggling to read the terrain. This is not a good thing when it is steep and technical. Case in point was my day 7 rear rim destruction. I probably wouldn't have smashed it descending Whistler if I was at least half awake and riding smooth. We got it going, but it cost us time. Sleep was the only major bummer, and I feel it did cost us a couple of spots in the overall. 10th is good, but I think we were better than some of the other teams. I take nothing away from those other teams, it is all part of racing. There is more involved in a top placing than just smashing the pedals as hard as you can.
Since it is almost October and I'm still thinking about BC it isn't too hard to surmise that it was plain awesome.
PS Keep and eye out for 29ers popping up in BC. Currently, up there, they seem to be a bit mythic. "Man, these guys are ripping on the 29er hardtails. I've never seen one of them before." Everyone was keen on talking to us about them.

PPS Now I am really feeling bad about garaging the MTB and being a cross bike slave the past weeks. So what if the Verge New England Cyclocross season has just started. Oh Yeah, cyclocross. I came in 19th on Saturday and 23rd on Sunday in VT. More on that coming up too.
I think this post is long enough. More Summer highlights soon.
Stay tuned.

Will Race For Food

2009-09-27T09:18:00.006-04:00

Summer is over, not that it really came this year. Freye and I capped off the season extending our reign at 12 Hours of Bradbury Mountain. The Four 9 Seven doesn't let anyone come into town and take our crown. Some how Freye managed to best me in the fastest lap of the day, but it was tight. We both botched a lap along the way, and one mental error cost us 15 laps. We wanted the mansion, not just "Housin." A win is a win though. We hung out at Gritty's post race with the Quebec guys and put in a good meatloaf session. That's the culinary variety. No one should Ever put in a musical "Meatloaf" session. I really don't care if you found "paradise by the dashboard lights."
Congratulations to our buddies Rick Is and Pete who won the solo 1 speed and solo geared races respectively.

Hopefully some Bradbury pics soon.
I'm calling for running the course in reverse next year.
Stay Tuned

Pics

2009-09-11T09:24:00.004-04:00

Mini Recaps coming. BC, Pro XC Tour, Wilderness 101, Xterra Lake Placid.

Darkhorse 40

2009-08-20T10:26:00.007-04:00

I haven't been in one place for more the 5 days since before BC, which is actually pretty cool. Unfortunately, this site has suffered as a consequence. Updates are on the way. Sometimes I'm fired up on computers, sometimes I am not. I decided to do the Darkhorse 40 instead of the Short Track this past Sunday. Pretty easy decision really. So I figured while it is fresh, I would start off with a quick Darkhorse 40 recap.
Dark horse 40 on Sunday was awesome as always at Stewart. Sager, Mike, Jesse, and I led it out from the start. No problems. It was where I wanted to be as I knew we were some of the best guys there. Early on in the singletrack, some guy decides to go around me in the train, then proceeds to stuff it on the punchy steep tech uphill. I have to slam the brakes, stop, get off my bike, and run. A few people got around me,and then someone else messes up the next uphill. Again forcing to dismount and run. Afterwards, I am riding with a guy in front of me who is not quite riding as fast as I would like. I say to him "we need to close this gap to Sager, Mike and Jesse right now, ASAP." He says, "fine you lead." I pulled away immediately, but it was too late, and I am dangling alone behind the lead group. I tried to close, but can't quite get there. I guess Mike blows up, not 100% sure what was going on with him, a bit trying to stay with Sager and Jesse and I pass him. Then Jesse's fork breaks, and I go by him. This put me into 2nd place. Linnea, who was in the feed zone, said I was 4 minutes down on Sager to start lap 4. The heat was insane by the way, and I couldn't close it down on the last lap. I finished both full bottles I picked up at the start of lap 4 by mile 5. The heat was slowing me down big time, and I was worried about someone coming up from behind. I was looking over my shoulder a lot that last 5 miles. Sucks that didn't get the chance to really throw down against Sager, but second place is OK.

What else do you need to know from Sunday or in general?
1. Darkhorse Cycles puts on great races with even better payouts.
2. Stewart State Forest has primo one track. High speed, steep puchy climbs, rocky, twisty, flowy, and you never go in a straight line for very long. I've been riding there since '97 and always leave there on a high.
3. The maybe the best Stewart course yet. 4 x10 mile dry and in very good condition laps instead of 2 x 20 miles laps because the monsoon has left its mark elsewhere in the park. All the punchy climbs added up to 900+ feet per lap.
4. Ton of people out there racing. Seemed like more people here than up in Windham for the US Pro XC Tour event that was on Saturday.
5. Post race Chicken BBQ. Hung out with Parsons and a few others.

There are some great photos up. I'll post one when I get around to purchasing it.
The Fun Factor has been through roof this Summer.

BC Bike Race

2009-06-28T18:40:00.001-04:00

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

BC Bike Race

2009-06-28T18:35:00.000-04:00

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

extra wet

2009-06-23T09:04:00.002-04:00

I hope you didn't want to ride your mountain bike at Bradbury Mountain any time soon. The weather sucks. Here it is, straight from the park Rangers.

Updated Trail Conditions

June 23, 2009

All singletrack trails remain closed due to the rain and saturated soils. We will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates as conditions change. Thank you for your patience during this soggy time. Maine is on track to have it's wettest June on record.

2009-06-20T09:13:00.003-04:00

I picked up my big BC order from Bikeman yesterday. Everything was in, including the Avid brake lever warranty parts. The new lever and pivot is 100%. I retired a whole bunch of cycling clothing yesterday. All items with either holes, tears, stitching issues, or general deterioration have been put straight into the garbage. Final BC Bike Race preparations are wrapping up. Only one week to go.
The sump pump has been working hard the past couple days. I hope it ate it's wheaties this morning, because it's looking like another grim day or two.
I'm still up in the air for the Dark Horse tomorrow. Driving 10 hours round trip in the rain is not sounding that fun.

2009-06-17T11:47:00.005-04:00

Well, Annie was correct. The sun did come out yesterday, and I put in a good ride with Zach. He rolled up from Portland, and we hit a loop out around Pownal. I won't say it was hot, but blue skies are a big mood booster.

Vol. VIII of the BC Blog on Cyclingdirt is up. Click the BC logo below to check it out. If you can handle looking at our mugs for 11 minutes, you'll probably get at least a small laugh. If you need any insider Raisin Bran tips, this is the video for you.

2009-06-15T10:55:00.000-04:00

Annie says "the sun will come out tomorrow." I'm not betting my bottom dollar.

ROTN

2009-06-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

"Revenge of the Nerds" was on "E" last night. I ALMOST turned it off. Almost. They really butchered it.

2009-06-12T10:19:00.008-04:00

Andrew and I have our BC blog Volume VI and Volume VII up on the Cyclingdirt site. It will give you highlights from the last couple of weeks. Click the BC Blog Picture below and Check them out.
What did you break this weekend? Here are a couple from the Burns front.

Why does my chain keep dropping off the Big ring into the middle ring? See below.

No brake! The pivot blew out of my front brake. I taped it back into place and continued on. Avid has the replacement parts on the way.

This crazy photo of Joos isn't edited. It sums up Sunday at Kingdom very well.

the Who?

2009-06-04T21:36:00.003-04:00

Meet the new kicks, same as the old kicks.

2009-06-02T22:02:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when you jump off the top of the deck railing, and then get extra snow shoveled onto you. It's pretty fun jumping off the deck though. NO it didn't snow today.

More Canada Cup

2009-05-28T13:11:00.004-04:00

Time has been flying by lately. The second round of the Canada Cup in Mt. Tremblant didn't go very well for me. Hey, that's mountain biking though. It sure isn't Golf.

I've been working the Cyclingdirt BC blog the past couple of weeks and you will find updates there.

BC Blog Vol.4

BC Blog Vol.5

Canada Cup #1 Baie St. Paul, Quebec

2009-05-20T09:19:00.005-04:00

The post race interview covers the race happenings. I've got some helmet cam video that I need to edit, and also a few pictures. Check back for those coming soon.

Bradbury + More Bradbury + BC Blog 3

2009-05-13T11:25:00.004-04:00

Man I've been spending a lot time in Bradbury State Park lately. That is a good thing. Sunday, Andrew, Cyr, and I put in a couple rainy hours. We shot some video that Andrew and I used for this weeks Cyclingdirt BC Blog. Check it out below or on the Cycling dirt page. Andrew is leading, Cyr is second, and I am filming. Make sure your audio is on.

I got this email Monday from Kurt "Burns, Wheels and KP…Bradbury!" Sweet! Then I get this email in the am."Just an fyi…my “cold” is moving a bit and I feel it in my chest this AM. I will evaluate @ 9am and if I feel ok, see you guys there, if not…ill miss you-KP." So yesterday, the sun finally decided to show up, and I was back at Bradbury ripping with Wheels. Unfortunately, minus Kurt. An awesome morning which turned into early afternoon. Yes, we missed you KP. Next time.

Camden Snow Bowl

2009-05-10T09:47:00.002-04:00

Andrew and I put in a big ride yesterday at Camden Snow Bowl. Thanks to the guy on the rigid Jamis, we hit a new to us trail called Nasty Bitch. Or if you prefer the non PG-13 name, Jason's Trail. We shot a bunch of video. We didn't, however, have the camera angle set correctly, and the video kind of sucks. Also, being the smart guys we are, we didn't have the camera set right later in the day and all this great video we thought we were getting turned out to be about 10 seconds and a face. Even though the footage we got sucked, I couldn't not use it. So Here is what I edited down form yesterday.

Bradbury on tap today. Hopefully we can get some good film.
Stay tuned

BC Blog Vol. 2

2009-05-07T22:07:00.001-04:00

Vol. 2 of the BC Blog Andrew and I are writing is now up on Cycling Dirt.

Joos + Burns Bradbury Video

2009-05-06T12:40:00.004-04:00

Here is a short video Joos and I shot last summer at Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine. It is a little shaky, but it's still a fun clip. Hopefully this sun-shiny day of a video will usher in some good weather, and we'll once again be rolling some Bradbury one track.
Maybe my shoes will actually dry out this week.

Stay tuned

BC Blog

2009-04-30T12:51:00.006-04:00

Andrew and I will be writing a Blog on Cyclingdirt for the BC Bike Race. The first volume is now up!

Root 66 Fat Tire Classic

2009-04-27T22:18:00.011-04:00

Here we go.
I'm just going to try and put it down in short, to the point sentences.
The heat was on. 90 degrees.
Warmed up wearing the Camelbak.
"London Calling" is blasting through the speakers as we lined up for the start. You know The Clash = Awesome.
Pro Field around 30 guys strong.
The course: Fast twisting singletrack. Fast open fire road sections. Loose sand.
First lap played out with the Cannodale guys, O'Keefe and Jesse, and the New England newcomer wearing the Rochester Velo kit, taking the lead and pushing it at the front.
Seamus, Freye, and myself were in 4th-6th leading the chase.
Fairly early in the second lap I threw down an attack and opened a gap.
Some guys came along. Parsons, Seamus, a couple of others??
Parsons decides to go by me shortly after I attack.
I yell " Yeah Thommy" and jump in behind.
I was hoping to stick with him and we could work together and try to bring back the 3 up front.
Parsons pulled away on a singletrack section.
I wound up in "no mans land" for a bit.
I had planned 5 bottles for the 5 lap race.
Since I had already gone through 3 bottles after the second lap, I decided to back off and play it conservative to make sure I wouldn't melt down and be able to hold it all together for the finish.
This opened the door for the Cycleloft guy, Seamus, and one other guy to get around me.
I caught O'Keefe whom seemed to be having some problems. I asked him if he was ok. He says "yeah."
At the start of lap five I took some water from the netrual feed and set off for the final lap with about 20ml of Cytomax.
Freye catches up to me at the beginning of lap five and we set off together trying to reel in whomever we can. We trade some pulls( good BC Bike Race practice) and catch Seamus.
Seamus isn't about to just let us bye. He gets some new inspiration as he sees us come up from behind, ups the pace, and the 3 of us charge through the last singletrack section.
The 3 off us are basically wheel to wheel coming out of the singletrack into the fireroad finish.
Freye washes out in the loose, sandy corner and crashes.
I hit the brakes hard and basically come to a stop to avoid a pile up.
Freye and I get going again, but the incident is enough to give Seamus a clear, uncontested shot to the finish.
Freye leads out the sprint, but I get stuffed by the Cannondale banner bowing from the wind. Video and Photos may or may not show Freye holding or not holding his line in the sprint.
The Jury is still out. I'm not upset either way.
I finished 8th.
Joos rolls in a little bit after us putting the Maine boys all in the top 10.
Wicked fun day Racing.
I think I played it too conservative mid race trying to maintain my position.
Rolled a good cool down with Joos.
Post race was all about the lake and Slices in Farmington with Freye, Joos, and Hattie.

Here is the video of the leaders at the end of the firt lap. I'm in sixth.

The new Van Dessel Jersey Devil is flawless.

Hattie took a boat load of photos so they should load soon.
More to follow.
I just wanted to get most of the story down.

gell

2009-04-23T10:48:00.008-04:00

I rolled mountain bikes with Rumsey and Anders yesterday. It was a little wet from all the rain, but not bad. The singletrack was still super fast and flowy. You just needed to reigned it in a bit on some of the icy corners. Some trees have started to bloom, but there isn't much color out in the woods.

We grabbed some burritos post session in downtown Morristown. We "chillaxed" outside at the coffeeshop and then called it a day.
Stay Tuned

2009-04-19T13:10:00.006-04:00

I road the Jersey Devil up at Lewis Morris Park yesterday.

Here is a quick video from yesterday at Lewis Morris Park.

Quick new bike update: I've now put 5 hours on the Jersey Devil. Half dirt. Half pavement. The bike rips. I'm super happy with it. More on it later

The big Earth Day extravaganza at Sunrise Lake was going on as well. There were a ton of people out strolling through the booths and tents, but not too many people riding the trails.

Stay tuned

Van Dessel Jersey Devil 29er

2009-04-17T21:01:00.006-04:00

Turn on your sound for Audio commentary.
Hit play. Then Click the "HQ" for High quality viewing.
Click the square to the right of "HQ" to view the video in Full Screen.

Root 66 Hop Brook Dam

2009-04-16T09:55:00.008-04:00

So Burns, " How did your Race go?" In a word, Horrible. I think I'll leave it at that. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me. Lately all I seem to be doing is trying to calm myself down. I know my training numbers are OK and everything will come around. Everyone has bad days.
Cheers to my crony, housemate, and BC Bike Race teammate, Andrew Freye, for killing it and taking the win.
Here is the video of the Pro Race from Cycling Dirt.

A big help in the "calming" department is pictured below.

No more borrowed bikes thanks to the guys at Van Dessel.
I should have it on dirt tomorrow. I just have to run the cables.
The guy from Jersey riding a Jersey Devil. Sounds like a good match to me.
Stay tuned.

So long Rival

2009-04-05T10:27:00.009-04:00

I'm super happy to see the new Ultegra shifters. I was not pleased with the 09 Sram Rival shifters on my cyclocross bikes. I currently ride and have ridden Shimano exclusively on my road bikes for the last 10 years. I took a chance, or "leap" as they say, running Sram last season. When cyclocross season starts, I spend most of my training time on my cyclocross bike. I spent September 08-December 08 riding and racing only Sram Rival. I thought I would get inured to them, but my frustration actually grew. Functionally they work fine, I just hate the WAY they work. Yes, I said hate. The Sram road shifting mechanism straight up feels wrong to me. Now, I'm excited to say, I don't have to pony up mad money for Dura-Ace to get the under-the-bar tape cable routing, the only good Sram feature. If you ask nice, maybe I'll give you my Rival shifters and derailleurs for free. Ok, maybe not free, but cheap.

2009-04-04T12:40:00.002-04:00

Here is the Four 9 Seven logo design that BuZz came up with. I figured I would just post it up and get comments. It's evil and I like evil.
Stay tuned.

2009-03-29T21:07:00.004-04:00

I struggled just to get out the door riding this weekend. I think I was a little premature in stating "the weather seems to have spun around." I'm starting to get sick and tired of riding the "Paris Roubaix" everyday.
Cold, check
Dark, check.
Wind, check.
I can't keep my bike rolling in a straight line wind, check.
Crap, I just got tossed from the shoulder right into traffic. I hope there are no cars coming wind, check.
Rain, check.
Damp, check.
Snow, check.
We might not have very many cobblestones, but the jackhammer they call a road surface around here is about the same.
"Hell of the North?" I thought Hell was supposed to be HOT!
Don't worry, my glass is still half full.
Stay tuned

Longer rides

2009-03-26T11:02:00.005-04:00

The weather seems to have finally spun around, and the longer rides have been flowing. Fifty degrees yesterday. Joos has been coming up north to ride a bit. We put in a good ride yesterday criss-crossing out around Brunswick and back. We even fired up the grill for Turkey burgers a la Burns. It's always good hanging out with Joos.
I have a lot of artist friends. Joos, Kirk, Zach, Buzz. Since I've been spending tons of time talking, riding, or skiing with them lately, I seem to be a little inspired. I'm looking more closely at everything, thinking about its presentation. This is all bringing me back to T-shirt, sticker, and logo ideas I started to put together during cyclocross season. My fan base seemed to be growing, and I was really starting to hear my named yelled. I am also trying out designs for the Four 9 Seven, our dwelling here in Yarmouth, since Andrew and I are flying it for the BC Bike Race. Lately I've been thinking about expanding Four 9 Seven to Four 9 Seven Mountain Endurance. Ideas are flowing. If you have ever been inside my homes, you know I like Asian/Chinese art. Specifically watercolor. So far I am leaning towards my favorites. Dragons,I was born in the year of the Dragon, and mountains. Facing dragons enclosing a Script "Burns?" Everything simple, but elegant. Most likely black.
So, keep your eye for "Burns" and Four 9 Seven items.
Weigh in with your thoughts.

Winding Down Winter

2009-03-19T11:54:00.014-04:00

Since Spring officially starts tomorrow, skiing, winter, and general playing in the snow are about over. The winter unfolded about as usual. Lots of skiing, Sugarloaf, Saddleback, Mad River Glen, Utah, and Pineland. I might get in a couple more days. I still want to hit some Spring corn in Gulf of Slides on Mt. Washington. If we get some more snow locally, which is very possible, I will head back over to Pineland.
I am retiring my Salomon Pocket Rockets and Nordica Alpine boots this year. They have seen a lot of action, and they are pretty played out. I'm not going to get rid of them, just push them into a backup role. I've been eying the Icelantic Shaman. It's everything I want. Fat with a big sidecut. The artwork on the topskin isn't too shabby either. Maybe Black Diamond, Nordica Superchargers, or Stick with Salomon and grab of pair of Guns. I would rather not have the twin tips, but flat tails are hard to come by these days. No matter what, I'll be sticking with the Fritchi Freeride A.T. bindings. Maybe some Whippet self arrest poles.
Besides skiing, I spent some good big days out in the White Mtns. and Bigelows.

Here is quick equipment review.
Burns' Top Winter Gear item: Marmot Driclime Jacket. Of course, Solid black for Burns.

The windshirt does it all. Base-layer to mid-layer to outer-layer. I basically live in this thing. I have worn this almost every fall and winter day for the past 3 years. From in house lounging to layering under a puffy in down time at cross races to skiing. The only wear is in the fleece lining at the chin and a little fading. Get one.

Time to ride, more to follow.
Stay tuned

More Kessler photos and Tanner Photos

2009-03-14T11:47:00.006-04:00

Here are a final couple of photos from Kirk and I on Kessler.

Below are photos from Tanners in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.
The hot weather in the Wasatch had created a big melt. Subsequent freezing solidified all the ski terrain making for some icy, hard packed conditions. Kirk and I decided we would try and hit Tanners, a south facing slide. We were chancing the partly cloudy skies would open enough to allow the sun to blast the slide into corn, or at least soften it. Well, that didn't quite play out, and we wound up sitting at 10000 feet watching the clouds with our fingers crossed for and hour. We finally just gave in, passed on summiting and just skied down on the ice, gingerly. It was not a great day of skiing, but it was an awesome day spent climbing in the mountains. One of those days you look back on and say "remember that day we waited an hour for the sun to corn up Tanners..."

More Utah Photos

2009-03-11T14:00:00.007-04:00

Kessler, Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The drop in is about 2-3feet almost straight down and not quite 185cm wide, my 185 Pocket Rockets were scraping the sides. We side slipped the very upper section until it widens to the point where you can actually swing your skis around and make turns. The Chute is tight and steep down to the choker. Then it opens out out into the apron. We finished the run out ripping some sweet GS turns down the rollers.

Photos from Tanners in Little Cottonwood Canyon and more Kessler photos loading soon

Utah Teaser

2009-03-08T13:58:00.006-04:00

Kessler.

Big Cottonwood Canyon.

This should hold you over for a little bit.

BC Bike Race

2009-02-24T20:59:00.008-05:00

Hermit mode has been switched off. My wallflower membership is still valid though. They gave me a lifetime membership. You really have to do something extraordinary to get expelled.
The HUGE news is:
Freye and I are in for the BC Bike Race! Seek and Destroy

More updates to follow.......

Sterling +

2008-12-05T19:55:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday was the Verge New England Cylcocross Series Sterling race. I almost didn't make it. I got a late start Saturday morning, and I ran into some congestion issues en route. I literally sprinted from where I parked the car to registration. The packet pickup closes at 2pm for the 2:30pm race. I made it with only a couple minutes to spare. This is not the best way to get ready for a race. By the time I got my number pinned, dressed and equipment sorted out, I had time for exactly a five minute warm up on the course with Wheels. I Like I said, this is not a good way to get ready for race.
The course was basically the same as always. Lots of off camber, the track, and the run up. There was still ice on the run up, and I was slip sliding all over the place trying to get up it.

If the foreshadowing doesn't make it obvious to you, the race did not go very well . I was pretty dissapointed with my race. I actually had a pretty good week training going in. I was feeling good with how my intervals went wednesday, and I was glad to be back to normal after being sick there for a while.
I spent a good amount of time on the mountian bike around thanksgiving. There isn't much color out there in the woods these days, so I took a picture of the only color. The trail marker.

Cleaning day back in ME snow. Yeah, Line'em up.

The Verge New England Cyclocross series wraps up this weekend in Rhode Island. Then it is 2 weeks completely off, resting before we ramp it back up again.
If you are at Goddard this weekend give me a shout.
Stay tuned.

No Whitmores

2008-11-21T10:53:00.003-05:00

I decided to pass on Long Island. I'm back to normal but, I'm just going to try and regroup and finish out the Verge New England Cyclocross Series strong.
Looks like I am going to try and put in a big mountain bike ride up at Stewart State Forest this weekend.
Here is the Cyclocross Race Mix I have been promising to post. Basically I just shuffle it on race day and during warm up.

Bad Religion: Sinister Rouge; Atheist Peace; A Walk; Let it Burn; Modern Man; Quality or Qunatity; Change of Ideas; In So many ways; Better of Dead; The Empire Strikes first

Chevelle: The Red; Send the pain below;

Iron Maiden: These colors don't run; The Trooper; 2 Minutes to Midnight; Can I play with Madness

Life of Agony: I regret; Lost at 22

Metallica: Seek and Destroy; The Four Horsemen; Am I Evil

The Misfits: Descending Angel; Die Die My Darling; Skulls

Monster Magnet: Third Eye Landslide

Pantera: Strength Beyond Strength; Fucking Hostile; Revolution is my name

Disturbed: Violence Fetish; Dropping Plates

Rollins Band: Ghost Rider

Social Distortion: Don't take me for granted; Sicks Boys; Prison Bound

Rancid: Olympia, WA; Indestructible; Salvation

Nonpoint: Endure; Orgullo

System of a Down: I-E-A-I-A-I-O

Tool: Parabola

Kiss: Dr. Love

Rise Against: Dancing for Rain; Ready to Fall

I have said it before and I will say it again. Kids, Check with Mom or Dad before dropping your leaf raking coin in Itunes for some of this stuff. You know, Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics and that junk.
I'm taking the mountain bike out today. I'm going to try and remember to take some photos.
Stay Tuned.

More US Gran Prix Mercer Cup

2008-11-18T13:21:00.017-05:00

Obviously Rain=MUD. It rained a lot this week and the course was destroyed. I'm not talking about some slip and slide kind of mud, I'm talking "I can run faster through this stuff than I can ride. Even downhill." kind of mud. This wasn't "Carl Lewis" running either. I definitely ran more than I road this weekend racing. As soon as we left the pavement start/finish lane, it was full on rider pinball. No one could keep their bike anywhere near a straight line. Everyone was just bouncing off off each other.
Racing was personally horrible. I made some bad decisions. I did make it down Friday afternoon and put in my ride on the course. It was slick but holding up ok. Then everything went down to the gutter.
I woke up Saturday with scratchy, sore throat. I debated weather to race, decided to race, road, or I should say ran, like complete shit, and got shelled. Repeat Sunday. I didn't even check the results. My legs hurt so bad both days right from the get go. I had no speed and no power. I was going nowhere, struggling big time in the mud. This is what my bike looked like after a half lap, even running with it shouldered part of that half lap. Lots of bike changes. Luckily my Dad was working the pit for me. He, along with the rest of the pit crews, had a rough day as well. If I wasn't having the throat issue, I would call this weekend an embarrassment. Things had been going so well so far this cross season. Now I am just trying to shake off this weekend and prep for the final few weeks.
I should have pulled the plug Saturday. I should not have even gone back on Sunday. I should not have raced either day. I very rarely get sick. Sometimes I don't take it very well, and I just have a hard time forcing myself to sit out. For some reason I have a hard time learning this lesson. My right trap and fore arm was swollen Monday from all the running with the bike on my shoulder.
I'm going to decide last minute about Whitmores Cup this weekend. I will make the call for this weekend Wednesday night of Thursday morning. I'm feeling better today, but I don't want to push it sick and blow my chances on a good overall finish for Verge New England Cyclocross series.
Quick product review: Challenge Fango Tubular and Grifo Tubular.
I wasn't too impressed with the Fangos in the mud, even though they are supposed to be mud tires. The side knobs pack up and don't shed mud that quickly. They roll slow overall. The Grifos were cutting through the mud much better, they were cornering well, and they roll a lot faster. The Grifos even seem to track straighter. I really like the Grifos. Comment with your thoughts.
Stay tuned

Mercer Cup photo

2008-11-17T12:20:00.005-05:00

Like the Cyclingnews caption says. "The expression on John Burns(Bikeman.com) face says it all."
Images by Todd Leister/leisterimages.com

MAC Weekend NJ

2008-11-13T19:46:00.003-05:00

So how did the races go last weekend Burns? "Tired," pretty much tells the tale. Saturday at the Beacon Cross in Bridgeton was pretty rough. Here is how it played out. I was tired when I woke up, the drive down to south Jersey took forever in the rain, the zipper broke on one of my skinsuits while I was kitting up, stuck racing "kind of fast," and sand coated everything by the end of the first lap. My Dad wound up coming down with me to work the pit. I decided, however, not to take a bike change. Since I was not riding very well, I decided not to destroy 2 drivetrains in the sand and just deal with the single bike. The infamous "Ampitheatre of Pain" I usually "triple junp" up and do well on, was snuffing me to barely a jog. I finished in 14th. Needless to say, I did not stick around to long after the race. Saturday night I basically cleaned things up, ate dinner, and went rigtht to sleep.
Saturday's rains had turned the ground in Jameburg into a spongy mud. While the mud didn't coat your bike up much, it felt grabby and slow. It was like driving with the parking brake on. Sunday's race went a little bit better. It just took me a while to get going. I started to feel better the last 30 minutes and I began to reel people in. Finishing the day 16th. While the placing was slightly lower than Saturday, this was and UCI cat. 2 event and a slightly deeper more talented field. Once again my Dad was working the pit.

I have been trying to lay low this week and get some rest. Tomorrow is Day 1 of the U.S Gran Prix of Cyclocross Mercer Cup at Mercer County Park. I'm going to try and get on course today. Last year they had it opened Friday for inspection, but I don't see anything yet on whether it is this year. The schedule link on the web page says "coming soon." Considering the race is tomorrow, I hope soon means in about 5 minutes. I think I am going to head down anyway as it is not that far from my parents house where I am basing out of through Thanksgiving.
Keep you eye out for me this weekend at the Mercer Cup and give a wave.
Stay tuned.

Verge New England Cyclocross Series Northampton

2008-11-04T22:06:00.008-05:00

Another great weekend of racing is in the books.
Saturday brought the standard railroad track jumping Northampton course. I was in a good group, the six guys that finished in front of me, and I was feeling pretty good. I was riding the sand each lap. With 3 laps to go, I botched the turn in the sand and had to get off and run. At that point, someone in the group attacked out of the sand. I didn't close fast enough. The one time I screw it up, it costs big. So instead of fighting for top 20, finished 23rd. I managed to hold off Jones who had a problem early on. I should have buried myself to get back into the group.
Sunday brought out a new tighter course. The climb and descent were reversed and the steep run up was eliminated. Thankfully the railroad tracks were still in play. I finally managed to get a good start. My decision to take the rutted corner after the pavement start wide, and pass, was rewarded as Spinelli washed out and crashed right next to me on the inside. I was riding well for two laps, but then I started going backwards. I was hurting big time Sunday. My legs were not firing that great. I suffered. I was, however, crushing the steep uphill. I would hit it hard and when people started to slow slightly at the top I would go by on the inside. When Spinelli came back towing a group, I jumped on in the start finish stretch and was comfortable. I was going to move into the front and take a pull, but the fast right hander was coming and I just sat on. I didn't manage to hold the group well, and I fell off by the second pavement section. This put me with Pete Smith fro the last 3 laps or so. He was faster on the pavement, and I was faster on the steep ride up, roots, and corners. I punched it up the hill on the last lap and held the gap through the roots to the barriers. He closed a bunch on the path pavement and then bridged on the final straight. This resulted in me more or less leading him out for the sprint. I didn't have much punch when he jumped around me. I lost the sprint. I just didn't have full speed Sunday. The first 2 laps went well and that is encouraging. If I felt Sunday like I did Saturday, it might have been a really good day since I got off the line well. I scored series points both days and I am far from disapointed with my rides. To sum it all up, Really I just like jumping over the RR tracks.
I hope everyone got out to vote today. Andrew came back from voting and he had a cool " I voted today" sticker. I asked him how he scored it. He said they were giving them out at the polls. Somehow I missed this, but I had to have one. Dave grabbed one for me and now I'm happy.
Race warm up mix posting soon.
Stay tuned

Death Comes Ripping

2008-10-31T22:20:00.007-04:00

Quick update going into the Verge New England Cyclocross double header this weekend in Northampton.
This weeks highlight was the mountain bike ride I put in Saturday with Joos at Bradbury. Some High speed race pace Cat and Mouse on the Lanzo extension, both directions. Tights turns is an understatement.
With so many leaves on the ground, the "O" trial turned into leap frog. The leaves filled in everything providing a very effective camouflage. Every minute or so, whom ever was leading would wind up off in the woods somewhere having missed the bend.
I've been doing some extra running this Fall as part of my cyclocross training, and I put in a good trail run at Pratt's Brook Park, here in Yarmouth Monday. It was a little bit "slip and slide" with the mud, but getting dirty is half the fun anyway.
The Misfits seem to be reigning this October. I had "Death Comes Ripping" playing in my head the entire ride Saturday, hence this entries title. "Descending Angel" was rattling my brain at Gloucester and "Skulls" was providing the soundtrack for Granogue. I'm not complaining, these are great tracks. It's just weird how these things work sometimes. Waaoo.
If you're out in Northampton Saturday or Sunday let me know, I'll keep my eye out for you.
Who else is psyched to jump some Rail Road tracks?

2008-10-23T10:22:00.005-04:00

Here are a few photos from the rides on the front and backside of this past weekends MAC races while staying in NJ.

Pig Loop.
My photos don't seem to be coming out that great lately. I'm working on it. I hope the camera is ok.

MAC Weekend: Granogue & Wissahickon

2008-10-21T11:37:00.014-04:00

The Granogue course is one of the sweetest tracks ever. It is a beautiful place. Make sure you keep your eyes focused on the course and not the scenery. As usual, I spaced on the start. Everyone funnels at the pavement to grass transition, and I end up a little too far back. Ok, I guess I better start riding fast now. I felt good riding the short, steep uphill, on the backside of the barriers, and I managed to get by some guys there. I tried to recovery on the off camber switchback descent down off the tower and then punch it once I was back on the pavement. I wound up settling in with a guy from the Alan team. On the last lap, he backed off a bit, and I got around him for 26th.
Burns fans, while limited, were wicked loud. My old buddie Les, who now lives just a few miles from the event, was head cheerleader. Les was part of the University of Maine mountainbike crew I shredded the woods with during my Orono years. I definitely miss those night rides in the bog. Les and a couple of his Philly cronies had spent the last 3.5 hours ripping the local one track on their mountain bikes and were taking in the race before riding home.
I crashed at Les and Kathleen's place along with Pete and Greg. Pete, Greg, and I got the full rockstar treatment. Plans for the Sunday am mtb ride were being mapped out around the dinner table. Of course I was invited. "John, ride with us in the morning and then hit the race."
Burns inner monologue" maybe I can pull this off. I'll just use the mtb ride as my warmup." At breakfast, with a little arm twisting and declaration that I could indeed use the mtb ride as a warmup, plans were finalized. I really didn't need much arm twisting.
The plan: Ride at Middle Run for an hour, and then drive up to the race, while the rest of the crew soldiered on as three. Les has a large stable with quality rides. So the fact that the one time I'm traveling minus a mountainbike, is no problem. My steed would be a Gary Fisher Paragon 29er, aka "Big Bird." Obviously it was yellow. Gripshift, XO, XT,Reba, Avid mechanical disc, and Stans No tubes wheelset with Panaracer Rampage rubber. Luckily it also has an extra long Thomson seatpost. Since the geometry is on the long side, and with the seatpost jacked up, the smallish frame was a decent fit, although very low and aggressive. This would be my first ride on a 29 inch wheel bike.
The trails at Middle Run are ultra fast and twisty. "Rollah Coastah," "liquid," come to mind. Forget "Six Flags." Drive the extra hour south and play here. Spend your entrance dough on grub afterwards. I felt pretty comfortable on the 29er. It only took me a few minutes to remember how work the grip shift and get the overall feel. I don't think 1 hour is enough time to make me a convert. The front end is hard to lift. The Reba's rebound damping was set pretty slow and my position was very low and aggressive, so this trait might have been improved with some tweaks. The handling on really tight turns didn't feel that great either. Straight line speed feels really stable and smooth. Really smooth. Les's views seem to fall in line with mine. He even says it's not his favorite 29. I was trying to spin gears and save my legs for the race, so I didn't get a great feel on the acceleration of the 29 inch wheel vs. a 26 inch wheel. Overall it is pretty hard to complain about the bike or the mornings ride.
Pete and Greg were both riding steel hard tails by local Philly builder Engin. These bikes are drool worthy. The craftsmanship is out of this world. I especially liked Pete's 953 stainless with baby blue lugs. It even had the matching Engin stem. There is a great picture of it on the Engin site under current work. Riding with these guys was really making me long for my old Tange Prestige Team Marin and itch to get the 853/OX gold Gunnar that's hanging in the basement buillt back up. I was a steel only guy for a long time. This new Reynolds 953 stainless might actually bring me back.
Turns out Engin is even one of the sponsors for Sunday's Wissahickon race. While I was driving up 202, I did start to get a little worried about making the race. Congestion and traffic lights were turning a low mileage trip into a nightmare. As some of you know, I don't do well with traffic, traffic lights, or congestion. I seem to have to fight way too hard to control the fist through the windshield tendencies. Everything worked to plan though, and I made it to the venue in time to get my number and a lap of course recon in before the elite women started.
The only thing you need to know about the Wissahickon course is the death spiral. You just keep going around and around until you reach the center. At which point you make a hard left and exit out, making your way to the barrier run up.
Wissahickon wasn't exactly spectacular for me. I was so satisfied from the mornings mountain bike ride, I got complacent and just settled for where I was after the first couple of laps. I finished 32nd on the day, but I had so much fun on the mtb and just racing for two days, that I didn't care.
There was a lot of traffic around Philly on the way home. I tried to get a little creative with my route, but there wasn't really any avoiding the mayhem. Awesome weekend is an understatement.
Stay tuned.

Dos From Granogue

2008-10-20T14:35:00.004-04:00

John Burns

MTB the West

Alien ID

Son of a Middle Creek

CO Living

Canada Cup Baie St. Paul, UCI Cat. 1 Elite

Kit

Ski Withdrawal

AK Teaser

John on Turnagain

Last Call for Burns Racing Clothing

Dumping in April

Cape Training

This week...

Burns Racing Kits

ice

Stud Ride

Pics from Cog ski

Cog Railway

The Long Way Back

Quebec Crew

Charging snow, again.

ski

Power Day

Real Men Shovel

Donuts*

Blizzard Christmas NY/NJ

comin to get cha

OFF season=bored

2011

Twitter

Ghost Bike

Wilderness 101

Follow Me

Sea Otter

TMNT

Who do you pray to?

No Mo Snow

Mt. Washinton via Lions Head Winter

Powdah wednesday +

Listen to Mikey. He knows stuff.

Fishing

cyclocross updates

ski??

Race Across the Sky

white precip

The Creeps

Providence Cyclocross Festival Day 1

XXC Vol. 4

Gloucester

Place holder

MTB/Cross + Verge New England Cyclocross VT

Take a Kid MTB Day

US CUP Mt. Snow and Windham

More Summer

Bradbury 12 hour Basecamp

Summer Highlights

Will Race For Food

Pics

Darkhorse 40

BC Bike Race

BC Bike Race

extra wet

I hope you didn't want to ride your mountain bike at Bradbury Mountain any time soon. The weather sucks. Here it is, straight from the park Rangers.Updated Trail Conditions

ROTN

the Who?

More Canada Cup

Canada Cup #1 Baie St. Paul, Quebec

Bradbury + More Bradbury + BC Blog 3

Camden Snow Bowl

BC Blog Vol. 2

Joos + Burns Bradbury Video

BC Blog

Root 66 Fat Tire Classic

gell

Van Dessel Jersey Devil 29er

Root 66 Hop Brook Dam

So long Rival

Longer rides

Winding Down Winter

I hope you didn't want to ride your mountain bike at Bradbury Mountain any time soon. The weather sucks. Here it is, straight from the park Rangers.

Updated Trail Conditions