My first year on Team Tieni Duro was in 2005. I got into mountain biking when I was 10, and rode with Trevor and his dad Lance on the local trails in Joaquin Miller and the surrounding parks on short fire trail rides. This took my interest swiftly, and the short rides soon developed into long technical ascents and descents on technical trails. Then at 14 years old, for Christmas, Lance gave me his Palleti, and I started to do short road rides. At that point, I was taken by road bikes and wanted to ride when I could.
Very early in 2006 I went on one of the Tieni Duro training rides thanks to my close family friends the LeClair’s, and at the time it was my first long ride, we went up Wildcat. This is when I met Mr. Jason Kent our director sportif. Honestly, I thought he was scary and very strong because I was basically dying and he was just there talking to me. Later on in the season I entered my first race which was the Mount Diablo TT up the North Gate side of the mountain. Eventually, with the help of the team’s coaches such as, Jason and Rick Moale I developed the skills to ride with the team and in a group. For this season I upgraded my bike, and also want to work on developing more strength to sprint, and to hill climb. I plan to race a lot this season and get a sense for the courses and riders in my age group and therefore become a serious contender next year. Outside of the team I still have a great passion for mountain bikes. I mostly downhill and when I can, I dirt jump and occasionally ride XC too.
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