I am a sophomore at Cal High. I have always liked bikes; I took the training wheels off my bike when I was three, and I rode my bike around a lot as a kid. I like sports and competition. I swim and play water polo for Cal. I played ice hockey until last year, when cycling and water polo took up all of my time.
I started road cycling in the summer of 2005 when a friend, Greg Wong, let me borrow an extra road bike of his. A little while after, I got my first road bike, a Giant TCR Elite 1, for my birthday in February of 2006. I started riding with my dad, who was also just starting road cycling also. I entered a couple of triathlons, and came in first in my age group, and not too bad overall. I liked the biking part, so I decided to start racing.
In the summer of 2006, I entered two criteriums, the Crocket Criterium, and the Carrera de San Rafael. The Crocket crit was a rather bad experience. I didn't know how to set up junior gears, so I only had one chainring in the front, and my chain kept falling off. The Carrera was much better; I had a top ten finish, and had a lot of fun. During the Carrera I raced with Tieni Duro, and talked with the team. I was invited out for one of their Sunday rides, and although it was freaking hard, it was fun. I have been riding with Tieni Duro for a couple of months now. I recently bought a new Scott Speedster in October of 2006 with money I earned working at my summer lifeguard job. The Sunday rides have gotten easier, and I am looking forward to the 2007 racing year as a 16.
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