Club: MAD
Bike(s): 08 Custom Specialized S-Works Epic, 08 Specialized Tarmac Expert, 07 Giant XTC Composite
What got you into biking: My brother who lives in California was a roadie and I was over for a summer working for a tech company.
There is a huge biking community there so I decided to buy a mountain bike and be like everyone else in the area.
I rode it for a few months when I was there, then, when I came back home it sat unused for a couple of years.
In the summer of 2005, I decided to start riding – I rode a couple of times a week and then in November I bought a full suspension XC rig, upped the riding to 4 times a week (couldn’t get enough of it) and then another 6 months later when I started to race, started to ride more.
Now, everyday
Best biking music: Trance/Dance type stuff – I listen to Tiesto a lot
Dream bike: My Epic I love the thing, it is super light and fast but still nice and bouncy.
Years biking: 3
Best ever MTB moment: I don’t really have one that stands out above everything else – I love racing, especially in the big races with all the nerves.
On the other hand, my cycling trips abroad have been tons of fun.
Everyone should head to New Zealand at least once
Worst ever MTB moment: Don’t really know either – I had a couple of falls by myself that I barely scrapped myself home from…
Best trail/race & why: Some of the trails in the trail parks in New Zealand, super long and super flowy with lots of different lines (I had a 6inch travel bike so I could take some of the drops ).
Worst trail/race & why: I pretty much like everything but one thing that usually lowers my appreciation of a trail a lack of elevation change…
Lycra or baggies: Lycra – baggies are too hot and unless you have a lowered saddle get stuck on it.
One sentence to describe your bike riding style: Fast and consistant when I’m not going like a donkey ie this year!
‘A friends’ sentence to describe your bike riding style: Likes to climb? I seen myself riding in a video for the first time a few days ago and it looked like I pedal reasonably smoothly – I guess this answer is pretty boring…
Coolest piece of kit you own: Probably my Epic, although another cool thing is my Specialized 2D helmet – it’s crazy light.
Your MTB alias/what you’d like to be called by your biking’ buddies: Errr, ahhhh – Ryan?!?
Can you do DH as well as XC: I have been known to (I own a full face helmet and all the pads) but I’m a bit to much of a chicken for the big jumps – I just don’t want to hurt myself
Anything else you’d like to share? I keep a blog of my ramblings – it is mostly about biking but sometimes about work or travel. I started it because I wanted to write something that I knew other people may read
I would have to write sensible – I wanted to keep/get some writing skills. Now, I like it because it is a bit of a race/travel diary.
I always laugh when I go back and ride about my Vietnam trip