Biography

It all started back in the early days of bike racing in the United States, when my uncle Scott was battling the top riders on the East Coast every weekend. I was a chubby, wide-eyed kid who was mesmerized by the insane speed, the cool euro style, and the camaraderie of the peloton. But more than anything, in cycling I found freedom. Spending the summer with my grandparents way out in rural Hunterdon County, New Jersey, I found myself with nothing much to do: there was no TV reception, and my grandparents' radio was permanently tuned to a country and western music station that I couldn't stand. So each morning I would grab one of my uncle's old racing bikes, a battered Raleigh Super Course with Bar-Con shifters, and head out solo. I would travel down the dirt road through Lockwood Gorge and into the unknown, getting myself lost and finding my way back home hours later.

I can only guess how many miles I traveled that summer, but the effects were everlasting. I had lost about fifty pounds, and I had a newfound confidence that most teenagers don't find until much later. I was fitter, faster, and possessed. Those long days on the road helped me find out who I was, and who I wanted to be. I had discovered the freedom of motion, and I was empowered by it.

In the twenty five years since, I have lived an athletic life informed by my experiences of that summer. I've had a fine career as a professional cyclist, competed as a nationally ranked multi-sport athlete, run sixteen marathons, an Ironman, two ultramarathons, and countless races of various distances. I have worked in the bicycle industry as a sales rep, marketing manager, product development engineer, and retail slave. And my enthusiasm for running has gotten me involved in the organization of some great events, like the Columbus Marathon, where I was Technical Director for three years. I have also helped to develop fundraising programs like Team 20/20, a marathon training group that raised over a quarter million dollars for the non-profit Prevent Blindness America, a terrific organization that funds research on ocular diseases, provides free vision screenings to schoolchildren all over the US, and promotes vision safety in the workplace.

Endurance athletics are my life. Not only is extreme activity essential to my health, it affects every facet of my existence. Because I ride, because I run, because I am always testing my limits, I know myself very well. I know how to keep perspective. I know how to be patient. I know how to pay attention, to listen, to learn, and to never assume I already know everything. I know that happiness comes from within. I know how to find new energy within myself. And I know how to be strong . . . physically and mentally and emotionally.

These are the things that endurance athletics have taught me. And these are the things I can teach to you.