Grew up riding BMX bikes at young age in rural Maine which followed me all the way through high school and beyond.  After moving to Colorado after graduating high school I soon fell in love with motocross. A bit of a late bloomer in the MX world I had found my passion winning races every weekend up into the amateur ranks until a practice crash, breaking my cervical 4 vertebrae bruising my spinal cord that caused insant paralysis from the neck down.  All this right after my birthday and just a month short of turning professional in 2004, had me staring at not only the uncertainty of paralysis but a forced career change as well.   

 

Originally diagnosed as a C 5-6 incomplete quadriplegic and given only a 3% chance to walk again I started down the long, endless road of spinal cord injury recovery before winter later that year.  Fast forward eight years into my journey I had recovered enough to walk, somewhat slow, finished getting my business degree and started riding a recumbent as a means to gain leg strength that I desperately needed.  The recumbent did its job, my legs were getting stronger and it was a fantastic way to ease some of the mind numbing nerve pain that incomplete spinal cord injuries get.  A couple of years had passed and as I started looking at competing again however, the recumbent wasn’t and still isn’t allowed in UCI sanctioned Para-cycling events.  

 

In 2017 I’ll be coming up on the 4th year of racing and the trike has enabled me to race all over the U.S. and Europe earning 4 U.S. National Championships and one World Cup title ending 2016 ranked 3rd in the world.  Never in my wildest dreams laying in a hospital bed some 13 years ago did I expect any of this to happen.  I’m beyond grateful that all the hard work has paid off not only in recovery from a spinal cord injury but racing as a Challenged Athlete.  Moving forward I would like to help build the sport of Para-cycling, continue training from my new home in Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada, race wherever and whenever I can, all while hoping “Lady Luck” will be smiling on me to be selected for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.