Mountain Bike Racing - How did you get into racing?

Hey all.
I just thought we should have a thread like this. Please add on!

I'm Mike, and I'm 17
I started racing when I was 11. A friend in my boy scout troop took me riding, and I went to a race later on that summer. It was just a midweek xc race, but I had a lot of fun. The next year, I bought a new bike and joined a team. I opted out of joining a junior team, mostly because of the cost. After a year of racing, when I was 13, I decided that this was going to be "what I did." I spent that year getting the dirt thing down, and getting to know the local heros of cycling. When I was 14 and 15, I was racing in sport class, not making any waves, and I was the junior team for the local shop I still ride for. At 15, I picked up my first independent sponsor, Optic Nerve Eyewear, and jumped into expert class. Last season, I picked up Marin Bikes as a sponsor, and I've really enjoyed doing product related stuff with them. Most recently, I've picked up WTB, and am really looking forward to doing product stuff for them.

Some Favorite Things:
-People underestimating my age
-People underestimating my skinny lower legs
-A race last year that I showed up to that had 3 inches of fresh snow, but during the race it was 34 and raining. think cud and standing water.
-Stylin' when racing

Hello my name is ZeCanon and I'm a bikaholic.

19 yrs old
Started mtb racing when I was 13, but had been riding with my dad (an ex-pro roadie) for years and years. Raced sport when I was 14/15 (b-day is in the middle of summer), and won every race all year. Got picked up by an east coast junior development team. Raced junior x the next year (15/16), and got my butt handed to me on a muddy silver platter.
Fast forward one year - learned to train, raced Junior X again and podiumed in 2 out of 3 Norba national races (mt. snow and snowshoe) that I went to.
In my last year as a junior (summer '06), I got mono in early May and that wiped out my season until fall, when I entered my first year of college. Got on the bike 2 weeks before collegiate mtb season started, 2nd in the first B race, 1st in the next 2, moved to A's, got my butt handed to me again. Didn't have the miles for the 2.5+hr races.
This year, moved out of Juniors and into semi-pro. Won nothing big, but placed a few times, including a 7th at one NMBS race. Had a crappy u23 nationals race. Raced collegiate again, ended up 4th in the conference for Mens A. Got bumped out of 3rd in the last race by my own teammate.

Some favorite things:
- coaching and riding with the juniors on my team
- helping people on my collegiate team get into racing. My spare parts are on so many bikes now I can't keep track of it all :)
- racing fast
- that feeling you get when you hit peak form and you feel like you can ride forever, as fast as you can.

I'm John and I'm 18

I think my intrest in biking was 2 years ago when I went to vancouver/whistler. I did downhill for a day, and have been hooked since. I realized there wasn't any downhill in Wisconsin (duh) and I didn't really know where any trails were so I bought a road bike. I raced road a bunch, and consider that my main focus, but I did 4 or 5 WORS races last year. I podiumed my first race after my rear deraileur got bent in a crash 1/2 a mile into the race, leaving me with 3 gears. I decided to move up to sport, and finished the year with mediocre results.

I got into racing at about age 45 - - my first race was a snow dual-slalom at a ski resort. Got me hooked on gravity racing on a bike.

But racing is in my blood; my very first race on two wheels was a 100-mile desert cross country on an 80cc trail bike at age 13.

I raced my first race at 14, winning every weekly Bear Creek race (Colorado). Moved to the sport class mid season and won the first annual State Championship held at Chatfield. Started playing football in high school, then track, so that ate my season.

I moved to Montana when I was 16 and took up racing again. I skipped the sport class and went straight to junior-x, but raced with the senior men when I could. I won two junior-x state championships in Washington, then two more in Montana.

I then discovered fast cars and girls.

One year later, I moved to Bozeman, MT. My mountain bike was stolen, so I took three years off and started racing road. I did two races almost DFL'd both, and gave up. Skipped one more season due to knee surgeries, then started training again. On my return year, I won every race I entered as a cat-4/5. Got my cat-3 designation at the end of the season and got heavy doing MMA over the winter. Had a crap season last year.

Just ordered a new mountain bike (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/08/cusa/model-8FS0S.html), and plan on making an appearance at two local races this summer. There will be blood.

Things I love:

Finally getting to the point to where I don't take racing seriously. It's almost unbearable when you do that.

I know exactly who to blame for getting my boys' (then, 6 & 14) into racing - it was the guy at the LBS who sold me thier 1st "real" bikes back in 1998 - thanks, Clay! Clay urged me to take them to the January, 1999 Sissonville WV MTB Cyclocross Race, and they've been racin' fools ever since.... I think they're both better people because of MTB racing.

They have learned to rely upon themselves and their abilities, they have learned honor and sportsmanship, and have developed a truely wonderful network of MTB'ing friends.

I am Gavin

I got into XC racing 3 years ago. I like the physical challenge

I started racing when I came back from Germany in 1988 at the age of 24. The main reason there was not much to do where I was living in Wichita, KS. I've been cycling all my life but just turned it up a notch for racing and really enjoyed the competition. Raced in the sport and cat 4/5 category to include many cyclo cross races. Moved to Spokane in 96 and raced mostly off road until 2001. Haven't raced since then due to a year in Korea, bought a house, injured my back that required surgery and many deployments over seas.
But in 08 at the age of 44 I plan on racing off raod and cross if all goes well.

I am Crank. I got into 4x racing because dirt jumping was getting boring and XC was even more so.