On the Bike
Throughout the past eight years of competitive cross-country mountain biking I have pushed my physical and mental boundaries countless times. Cycling has provided me a vehicle for travel, exploration, self discovery, and educational experiences. Participating and competing at a high level in cycling may very well be one of the most demanding and challenging projects I have taken on. It has taught me that commitment, a dedicated work ethic, passion, and personal motivation are essential survival tools for both competitive racing and achieving goals. I have been able to apply the experiences, skills and lessons I learn through cycling to many different aspects of my life, and this has been extremely rewarding. I look forward to continuing my quest to attain my goals both on and off the bike. Below is a description of the steps it took me to get to where I am now.
On July 31st 1984 I was born in Vancouver and have since live here for most of my life. Throughout my childhood, I was always very involved and active in sports, perhaps partially due to a strict no TV or videogame policy in our household. In elementary school, I was seriously involved in running and soccer with a constant hunger for more competition and striving to be at my best. At some point during high school, I was introduced to Vancouver's natural playground for bikes, the North Shore Mountains. This peaked my interest in the sport and at the age of 15 I got a job at West Point Cycles, my neighbourhood bike store, to fund my passion for this sport. Being young and fearless, the North Shore Mountains and 'free riding' allowed me to develop solid technical skills on the bike that I still rely on to date when racing. It was a few years later that I was introduced to XC racing through the local high school race series. I was instantly hooked. Somehow my need for competition and love for cycling came together perfectly. It wasn't long before I replaced my big travel downhill bike for a lean mean racing machine and joined the ranks of leg shaving, spandex clad gentlemen!
With the help and guidance of my friend Drew, I began 'training' and started competing at a provincial level. I have my parents' and siblings support to thank here for countless weekend trips throughout the summer to races around the province in the family VW camper van. I found the science of training fascinating, and pushing my physical limits further and further while seeing my results improve. Within the first year of racing Cadet (16 yrs and under), I worked my way up in the categories from Sport to Expert. As the results continually improved, I knew this was a sport I wanted to pursue to my fullest potential. Entering into my Junior years (17-18 yrs old), I began competing at a national level, traveling to races in the Canada Cup Series. My Canada Cup career started turbulently in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, where a broken chain ended my race in the first lap. Subsequent races and a 7th place at Nationals that year encouraged me to strive on and try to bridge the gap to the top competitors in the country.
In 2001 I decided to more fully commit myself to competitive cycling. Dedicated to reach my potential, I started spending as much time as possible on the bike and started working with Victoria based coach Steve Lund. Steve helped me consistently improve my results throughout my Junior and Espoir years. More recently in 2007, I decided to change things up and combined forces with Ron Rocher, a local coach here in Vancouver. In this past racing season I saw some of my best race results to date and will continue to work hard in 2009 towards making my mark on the North American cycling scene!
