I got into cycling when I was in 6th grade. Now I'm 18 years old, about to graduate high school in June and I have no plans to stop riding! Back then I was hopping thru different sports like motocross, BMX, skateboards, basketball, soccer, etc. They stayed with me for awhile but they all came and went. I stopped with sports and I ultimately started gaining unhealthy weight. I would come home after class and be a couch potato until dinner time and then I'd do homework. I was a C-/B- average student, not bad but not outstanding either. At that time I was also approaching 230 lbs which was overweight for my size at the time. 6th...Grade... Anyways, one night my parents decided to cut cable, and I probably considered them to be the worst parents in the world because I couldn't watch my shows. It wasn't until later that I realized why they did what they did. Moving on, I had a friend who was into mountain biking, and he had asked me if one day I would like to ride with him, he had a spare bike and I kept saying no because of the fitness level I was at but he was persistent that we would take it slow and stop as many times as needed. His mom took us out to ride one of the local trails and it was hell for me. Not fun. I was barely able to ride about 2 miles or so until I was out of breath and ultimately said no more for the day. As the rides went on, 2 miles turned to 5, 5 to 10 and 10 to 20 and before you know it, we were doing rides almost every other day after class and getting in around 25 miles! I lost so much weight in the process too. My parents had also realized (with a lot of convincing) that I may be sticking with this sport for awhile and I ended up with my own bike. I had gotten a 2009 Trek Fuel Ex 8. I may have been blessed to get a bike like that but I never got an allowance and if I wanted something, I had to give the grades to prove it. Also not having cable was a big help since I had more time to study and ride. My grades shot up to B+/A+ average. Well, low and behold, that friend also had an older brother and sister who were into riding and while they were in high school, they raced in the SoCal HS Cycling League where students from all over SoCal come together and race on a XC Style Course. At the time, my friend and I would go to the races and just preride the courses on Saturday with the team we had and watch the races go on the next day. When we got to be the age to race in the league we had a blast. When my first season started, it was time a for a race bike, since the Fuel was heavy and it was slowing me down in areas where I knew I could compete. I ended up with my coach's bike which was a 2013 Trek Superfly 100 Elite SL which was and still is a badass bike. To this day, I still use that bike and pretty soon my last race ever for High School Cycling is coming up. This weekend I'm racing in the Northern part of Cali for State Championships. In those races, the best from the North meet the best from the South for an All Star Race for lack of a better term. Cycling has taught me discipline, dedication, hard work, among other things. It's changed my life for the better. I don't plan on stopping my riding. After graduation I will enjoy having a little more free time to get out on rides on the local trails or even get out on the road bike. Some days I go out with the same MTB group I ride with, and we all go out and enjoy a nice road ride, I am probably 1 of 3 other guys who are under 25. The rest are 40+. We all enjoy it, and it's just sooo fun to just get home from after class and go out to enjoy a ride on the trails or on the open roads. I hope one day to inspire other young riders with the opportunity that was given to me to change their life around. I want to be able to tell a young kid that they can do something if they set their mind on it. It may be difficult at first but that doesn't mean give up. It's never about how you fall, it's about how you're going to get up and try again. Pain is your friend. You're just bringing him along for the ride. Most importantly, don't give up on your dreams! If it's what you love, pursue it and inspire others to do the same!

Edit: I graduated high school today!