I began riding bikes in my native Guatemala, following my  road-racing cousins around on a bike that was too big.  I  started mountain bike racing after getting a job as an adventure tour guide, and quickly  began winning races in my home country.

After moving to Wisconsin, I began racing in the Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS), starting in the Comp category and quickly moving up to Expert after less than 4 races.  For the past two years, I have often finished in the top 10-20 spots, in a strong and deep Expert field that has more than 50 racers.