I began riding a bike at a very early age - not even three years old. My parents thought they should buy me my own bike because I used to sneak off on the little neighbour's bike from over the road where we lived in Darwin. When they bought me my own bike it had training wheels, much to my disgust and I insisted those 'things'  be taken off. At age three I had an accident on my mum's bike. I was being doubled on the parcel rack and got my foot caught in the back wheel, causing a lot of internal damage and a broken leg requiring substantial surgery and a ten day stay in hospital. I still bear the nasty scar which wraps halfway around my ankle. After getting out of hospital, the first thing I did of course was hop on my bike. The plaster cast did not stop me riding, however the plaster wore out - three times in fact, much to the doctor's disapproval! By that stage my parents had to chain the bike up. No worries - not to be deterred I went back over the road and took another one!

My brother Raymon began BMX racing so I thought that was a good idea, even if I was only three years old. We began racing in Darwin before my parents were transferred to Tasmania. I competed in every State title, winning seven in Tasmania. Then my parents were transferred to Sydney where I continued racing BMX. I competed in 12 consecutive National titles and three World Titles, the last being in France in 1990 where I finished second in the world.

Whilst in Tasmania I tried track racing. You could hire a bike for the night at the velodrome and race, but the season was nearing the end so I didn't get a lot of racing in. Then came the road season, so Dad bought me a Shimano 7 speed bike (with the old down tube shifters) to try road racing. My first race I won. I went on to ride longer races but a medical problem stopped me being bent over for too long and I could not breathe. The doctors suggested I give it a miss while my body matured. So it was back to BMX for a while.

A school friend, Luke McKenzie (Skinny), convinced me to take part in a ride called Sydney to the 'Gong in November 1994 and I enjoyed the ride, even though it was on my original Shimano 7 speed which by that stage was a bit small. It was then that I made the change to cycling.

In January 1995, Dad bought a second hand track bike so as I could ride the 100 lappers at Hurstville oval on Tuesday nights to get in some training. My first 'big road race' was the school boys championships in 1995 which I won. The club secretary asked me to ride and even lent me a club jersey for the occasion. Kevin Standen, a member of St George then took me under his wing and commenced to develop and coach me in accordance with my ambitions. Kevin taught me the basic fundamentals of being a cyclist.

Later that year I competed in the national road championships in Adelaide as a club rider. Then it was track season so I needed a better track bike. Jim Bundy built me a bike tailored to my requirements. Kevin continued to coach me and I went on to represent the state at national level, firstly in Perth in 1996 where I came home with a gold and silver medal after competing in every event they’d let me.

A windfall on New Year's Day 1997, from winning the Shepparton Wheel Race allowed me to then purchase a Trek OCLV 5500, ready for the next road season. Kevin, believing he had done his bit, then handed me over to state coach Gary Sutton. He coached me to the world titles in Capetown, culminating in a junior world championship, the team pursuit.

By 1998, I had made a mark on Australian cycling and I began looking toward the future and what I really wanted to do with my life - ride a bike, fast! From 1998, you can see where my career went in my ‘profile’ and ‘results’ pages. In closing this page I must say, I’ve worked hard to be able to hold my own against the top internationals and I appreciate the support lended to me by the people mentioned here along with so many others, not the least my parents. If you really want to be the best, don’t stop trying..........