August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 196

On The Pegs 196
How did you get started in trials?
I got started riding because my dad grew up and started riding at about
twelve years old. He grew up in Nor Cal also and the neighbors had Yamaha
TY’s. So my dad grew up as a trials rider. He kind of had the same aspirations
for me, obviously. My first bike was a PW50 then a Honda 50, but I just rode trials
events on it. So I only rode trials forever. My mom said that motocross bikes
were dangerous, so I wasn’t allowed to ride moto bikes. So I just basically rode
trials forever because my dad did it. He finished fourth in the nation I think
four times. He never won a national, but he got second I know behind Ryan
Young in Kentucky. It was like a mud event. My dad was always known for being
tough. That was the closest I guess he ever got.
My dad always worked full time and just rode for fun. I grew up basically just
riding with him and it got to the point where he wouldn’t even go ride anymore.
He would just cut out sections for us to work on. That was before minders
were allowed to help riders at events. Now, we have our mechanics, our
minders in the pro level, but it was only for pros back then. So he would sign
up in the Expert class and he would just barely walk the section. Just go as
fast as he could and get around and catch me when I would start in the High
School class, which was support only back then. So at the time when I started
riding nationals I was ten. I was the youngest person at the time.
At what point did you start really getting serious about trials?
I’d say when I was ten. We started doing all the nationals. We had really no
idea where I was. That first year we were just riding a Beta 200 or 125 or something.
Then the next year GasGas and Geoff Aaron had that team ERE deal. So
it was me, Keith Wienland, I think Wilson Craig was on it. So I was on basically
my first year riding. Then I got gear out of it, too. For a kid who I didn’t even
know who Geoff Aaron was when I started riding the nationals, because I
grew up watching the same two VHS tapes from 1990. It was the Arizona and
the Vancouver world trials championships. Jordi Tarres and Doug Lampkin.
Doug Lampkin was young at that time for those videos. I watched some of
those. I grew up with all the old school trials guys. I was on ERE for a while, and
then I think I won the High School championship before I went to high school.
Then I moved up to expert that next year and won that championship. Then
at the end of that year I moved up to Pro. I still couldn’t even really hop. I just
had such strong fundamentals and basics from what my dad taught me.