Seb Kemp

"What the hell do I pack for XC camp?" I wondered to myself the night before my flight to Santa Cruz, California, to check out the all-new Blur. "It's all perhaps a little shorter travel than the typical Vital faire," hinted Santa Cruz's Don Palermini in an email leading up to the event, "but I still I think are some angles of interest to your readers." It's no secret that the focus is on the aggressive end of the mountain bike spectrum here at Vital, and the last time I threw a leg over a proper cross-country whip was several years ago. "XC" flats? Haha. Check. Knee pads? Why not. I never...