Region/State: Kansas

For the first time, Monuments of Cycling brings its iconic Belgian Waffle Ride format to Lawrence Kansas, an eclectic Mid-west town with a vibrant cycling culture and community.  Billed as “The Hell of the East”, BWR Kansas takes place on Halloween and provides professional and amateur cyclists the opportunity to ride the most coveted roads and off-road sections spanning the northeast region of Kansas.

Monuments of Cycling is a purveyor of classic one day bicycle races in the United States.  They are best known for creating challenging races in the spirit of the great European one-day Spring Classics, all with a Belgique theme.  Their namesake event Belgian Waffle Ride – San Diego started 10 years ago and the producer is rapidly expanding into a BWR series format with events in Utah and North Carolina, in addition to Kansas and the original BWR San Diego.  What makes these events so unique is that they are classic, long bicycle races that feature various off-road sectors emulating the pave or cobblestones of Europe; making the varied terrain a challenge for riders’ technical skills, equipment, endurance, luck and versatility.

The inaugural BWR Kansas route has not been officially announced, however there will be 3 approximate route options:  The Waffle – 111 Miles & 8,000ft elevation gain; The Wafer – 71 Miles & 3100ft elevation gain; The Wanna – 35 Miles & 1200ft elevation gain.    There are also E-Bike and Tandem Category options.  BWR Kansas, like the other BWR events in San Diego (California), BWR Asheville (North Carolina), and BWR Cedar City (Utah) will have a deep field of professional riders including World Tour rider, Peter Stetina, as well as an expansive list of hungry amateur riders.

Lawrence, Kansas is a city happy to be what it is:  a city doing things in its own way, with free thinkers not trying to be anyone else. Lawrence has continually defined itself as an open, energetic and welcoming community. The arts and foodie scene can be enjoyed through Lawrence’s many art galleries and restaurants. You’ll find live music almost every day of the week in Lawrence’s live music venues. The walkable downtown district, known to the locals as “Mass Street” is the top destination in Kansas and offers unique shopping, coffee shops, and entertainment.

Unbound Gravel is arguably the granddaddy of Gravel events and a true bucket list event for gravel aficionado’s.  Formerly known as Dirty Kanza Promotions, was founded in 2006 by Jim Cummins, with the assistance of fellow cycling enthusiast Joel Dyke. At that time, gravel grinding was just beginning to catch the interest of the endurance cycling community and these two gravel junkies had no idea the extent gravel riding and events would grow, nor did they give it any real thought. That wasn’t what motivated them. They both simply felt their lives had been enriched through cycling. And DK200 was their attempt to give back to the cycling community.  Jim had grown up in the Flint Hills of east central Kansas and had been riding gravel for decades. Inspired by some of the early gravel grinder events… and convinced the Flint Hills had the best gravel to be found anywhere in the world, Jim and Joel decided to create Dirty Kanza 200.

Fast forward and gravel grinding has exploded into the fastest growing genre in the cycling industry.  Unbound gravel is now owned by Life Time Fitness, producer of premier gravel, mountain and trail running events including the Leadville Race Series.  The popularity of DK200 has grown too, from 34 participants in 2006, to over 3,400 registered riders in 2019. And while that growth has brought with it a few changes to the format and certain aspects of the event, one thing has remained constant… DK200 is a grass-roots event, organized and managed by folks who are passionate about cycling, and done so for the primary purpose of providing life-enriching cycling experiences for our event participants.