Personal History
I am 41 yrs old started racing at the age of 10, and man was it a ruff beginning, but i wouldn't give up that time for anything. I worked my way up to racing 125 and 250 mod B. doing amateur nationals and our local P.R.O. northwest national series as well as many other here and there races. Unfortunately three years ago I was in a serious street bike accident that nearly cost me my life. I was coming into the apex of a corner when I noticed a shinny strip going across the road and tried to pull out of my turn but wasn't able to get it up enough and went down. I warped my back and side around a post that holds up a guardrail and pulled the nerves that control movement and feeling in the arm from my spinal cord, and collapsed the main artery in my arm filling my chest with blood. At the first hospital I was sent to they tried to cut off my arm but my family's reaction was absolutely not. So i got sent to a trauma one hospital in Seattle were I spent the next week in a coma. When I woke I noticed all the tubes coming in and out of my body and wasn't too worried. It wasn't until i tried to move and my arm wouldn't do anything is when it all hit me. My life was over, or so I thought. Every doctor that had worked on me came and mentioned how lucky i am to be alive, and that they are sorry I will never be able to use my arm again. My heart sank even further then when i tried moving. So I spent the next year with my hand in slings, ropes, in my pocket, just dangling there. But never gave up hope to one day move freely again. My family and i found a doctor at the University of Washington that specializes in neurosurgery that would help try and make me whole again. In July of 09 I had my surgery done, It is the second time this procedure has been done in the U.S. so I am pretty exited to tell people my story. And now a year after my surgery I am planing my come back to motocross. I have begun training again and getting ready to ride for the first time this Sunday June 10th. My arm is still numb and my hand well doesn't quite work like it should but I'm not going to let that hold me back. Not after I have come this far. Now at the ripe age of 41 I have 3 sons and a wife that race, and a 4th son that when at our Arizona house takes his sxs out on the track and offroad course we have. It is amazing to be able to share my passion with my family even my two oldest son's who have moved out still come home every weekend for the races.
Riding Goals
With the transition starting with moving to Arizona from Washington state we look forward to having more seat time all year round. I will be racing day in the dirt (2024) and hitting selective rounds of the so cal and Arizona old timers races. My goal is to be prepared and ready to qualify for lorettas in the 40+ class as well as hopefully putting in a good showing at Mammoth. I will be racing the international old tymers vet mx series again this year and hopefully be able do do every round minus the Canada round. I was able to do 4 rounds this year and taking second at all 4 most with at least 3 moto wins out of the 5 on the weekend.
Competitive Highlights
This is not a competitive highlight but I feel this is much better. My biggest accomplishment is hands down preparing my self to get back on the bike. I took 3 yrs off of work to do my own style of rehab on my arm to get where I am today. I believe without my drive to prove the doctors wrong I wouldn't be able to do half of the things I can with my arm.