My Essay to Airborne

Here is a copy of the essay that I wrote and entered into the Flight Crew contest:

I have had a passion for mountain biking for the past 16 years. I haven’t travelled a whole lot in my time, but I have ridden all over the east coast. I started out riding my brother’s old road bike on trails that my friends and I built behind my parent’s house. I decided then that I needed a mountain bike. I started out on really cheap, heavy bikes, but I couldn’t have been happier. I mowed a lot of lawns to buy my first “real” mountain bike in 1997: A Klein Pulse Pro. I continued riding and racing from then on until my bike was stolen in 2006. I was heart broken! I didn’t allow this to stop me though. I was on a mission to build another bike. Nothing was going to keep me from doing something that I had such a passion and love for. After finally building another bike, my passion was even greater. I was entering every race I could afford and going on trips to ride whenever I could. I have gained such a large group of great friends and have too many stories to tell. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, and still don’t have much, but that has never been a bother to me at all. I would show up for group rides on a bike I had ridden for thousands of miles and ride with people talking about all their new rides and fancy parts. I was just happy to be part of a group of people with the same passion that I have. That is why I would love to be a part of the Airborne Team. I would enjoy every second that I had to spend time with a team of fellow mountain bikers and spread the word of my experiences with the team. I would love to go out on a new Airborne and share every second I experienced on the bike and all of the stories that would come with shredding all of my favorite trails on it. So that’s me. A long-time, passionate mountain biker that enjoys nothing more than telling anyone I can about my experiences with this incredible sport.

Living the Dream!

I am completely new to this. This is my first blog, first post and first time ever that I will get to represent an actual bike company! I was 1 of 10 people chosen for the new Airborne Bicycle's team called the Flight Crew. I found out about all of this craziness on the cycling forum that I am on the most www.sorba.org And a big "THANKS!" to Robina for posting up the information. Without that post, I probably would have never known about the contest. Airborne Bicycles had a contest to select 10 "Flight Crew" members to help test out their new bikes and spread the word about their comeback. I had to fill out some information: My name and all that normal stuff, my current ride, my years of Mountain Bike experience, a photo of myself and I had to write an essay on why I think I would be a good person for their team. I got everything ready and sent the email. I didn't really think much about it because I've entered countless contests and have never won anything. That all changed on March 23, 2010. I went to check my email like I always do and had an email with an exclamation point next to it that said, "Congratulations, You've Been Selected for the Airborne Flight Crew‏". I was kind of weary at first. It said that I had won a spot and needed to call a phone number within 24 hours to accept it. So I called the number, and it was the real deal! As a winner I get a brand new Airborne bike of my choice, a helmet cam, branded gear and a trip to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California! I'm so excited! I've never been anywhere but the east coast, so I'm ready to show up and show off stuff for Airborne! Stay tuned for more updates!