Do you remember what you were doing in September 1995?
Some of you may have been having your diaper changed;
well at least one of you was (Mini Hurt). Others may
have been into riding by then, and still some of you
were not even aware of the sport yet. Of course,
Chris was already King dirt bag of So Cal, and was
busy hitting up the crazy Riverside scene and putting
the moves on our finest and classiest ladies at Club
Metro, all while he was wearing his great early
nineties neon spandex cycling attire. But all jokes
about Cap'n Chris aside (there are PLENTY of them) I
clearly remember that month and year, it was my first
race ever. I had just turned 12 years old, and was
racing on a rigid frame Trek with a two inch travel
fork, OG downhill at its very best. I still remember
the start of my first race, when I left the start gate
at the Snow Summit Amateur Cup and proceeded to take a
huge table top way faster than my abilities allowed me
to. Of course, the limited skill I had at the time
sent me flying over the bars in a Superman-esque pose,
and straight into the hard dirt below.
That crash was the start of something big in my life,
something my parents had no concept of yet as they
watched their son walking his broken bike down the
hill, tattered clothing and helmet in hand, and then
almost sobbing telling them; “I need to get this
fixed right away, I have another run in an hour!â€.
My parents were absolutely shocked by this statement;
and it marked the beginning of a life long love of
being on two wheels.
I continued to race through the years, progressing
through the beginner and sport classes, and
continually getting beaten into the ground by older
and faster riders. It took me 3 years to get lucky
and get an offer to join a team that would help me out
at races. Some of you veteran riders may remember the
Team Keebler days of racing in southern California, if
you do, that was me! 3 years of racing paid off for
me, and I finally had a team that offered me discounts
on equipment and even bikes! It wasn't much, maybe
20%-30% off of parts and accessories. But my parents
and I were ecstatic to find out that someone out there
had enough faith in me to represent their company, and
ride one of their bikes at a discounted rate, hoping
that I could in return promote the company and parts
to my friends. I continued to race, and loved every
minute of what I was doing, especially with the team
discounts. The following year, I stepped it up
another notch and won my first race ever, the National
Championships at Mammoth Mountain. The proudest day
of my junior racing years, my first win, and it was at
a National. The following week my family and I moved
on to the Deer Valley National, where I again won the
race by a huge margin, and was almost heckled off the
junior podium for setting the fastest sport/beginner
time of the entire day.
Needless to say, I quickly moved up to Junior-X, and
even picked up a sweet ride from Mountain Cycle. For
my 5th and 6th seasons the discounts increased, and I
had a tent where I could relax at races. Again, I was
thrilled to just have a place to relax, and to receive
the pro-deals through the company. I never had
anything actually given to me, but again the idea that
this company was putting faith in a young rider to
represent them and make an image for the team, just
made me proud to ride and race. I spent a few good
years racing in the Junior-X category for Mountain
Cycle, until I decided to go my own separate way when
I turned 18 and moved to Semi-Pro.
I spent my first couple semi-pro years as a privateer,
after having some disputes with my last team. Nothing
was there anymore, only the occasional deals from my
local bike shop. I continued to race, with some
decent results until 2004, when I decided to take a
year off of racing to refocus my life. I got back
into racing with a passion in 2005, which is also the
year I met an old friend of mine from my junior racing
days, Chris Sharp. Chris introduced me to the
Backbone squad, and immediately invited me to fill a
spot on the downhill team. The following two years
were even more spectacular than any of the seasons I
have ever had from either of my previous teams, the
support at races was incredible, and the amount of
product available to me for support just didn’t seem
to end. For the first time, the team seemed to
actually encourage me to do better, improve, and show
up equipped for anything. It wasn't just discounts
anymore; the team scene had progressed well beyond
anything I was used to.
Now I'm entering my 13th season of racing, and I
have hit another milestone in my career. I have just
earned my first free frame, and a team check to go
with it. It has taken me 13 years of racing, hundreds
of crashes, three broken frames, several fractures,
cracked ribs, tons of jet lag, two concussions (I
think), sprains, and lots of razor burn from
shaving my legs, but I have finally done it. I
reached the point that I dreamed about as a young
rider entering my first races. I reached my goal;
I'm entering Pro races, getting free equipment,
getting a check to cover my costs, and doing well. It
is everything I ever wanted from racing, and I
wouldn't give it up for anything. I still have the
same passion for racing and riding that I did when I
was 12, only now, I am one step closer to being the
guys in the magazine that I idolized growing up.
Backbone is the first team to step up the support to
this level, and while I feel I owe them lots for this
(besides the beer), I know that all I need to do is do
exactly what I love most, and race for another season.
****thanks brotha!, that was mighty nice of ya!
