JAY

AT THE BIKE ZOO

I was born in Knoxville, where I was introduced to mountain biking at the age of 26. I quickly fell in LOVE with my bike and the rush I got from going really, really fast through the woods on sweet singletrack. I got into racing 3 weeks later. I have traveled across the country to several of the BIG west coast mountain biking mecca’s but really feel that the best riding in the US is right here in the Southeast! I took a short break from riding to scale some of the Southeast’s steepest rock walls; as well as, climbing some of the tallest snow and ice covered peaks throughout the US.

I finally graduated from UT with a Bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation. While obtaining my degree, I rediscovered mountain biking in 2002. Since then, I have lived in Brevard, NC where I was the head of a mountain biking school for teens. I also lived in Eugene, OR for a year and caught the road riding bug after doing several 70-100 mile days on the isolated roads of the Cascade mountains in central Oregon.
In January ’06, I moved back to Knoxville to reunite with family, friends and riding buddies. This year has been full of surprises with getting married, having a major road bike accident, and of course, starting my job here at the Bike Zoo! Aside from riding my bike, my other passions in life are GREAT friends, GREAT beer, and I can’t forget GREAT coffee.

I currently own several mountain bikes, an ’06 Specialized Tarmac, and a really cool 1940’s singlespeed cruiser.

My favorite trails are in Flagstaff, AZ!

My favorite bike is any full suspension demo bike that belongs to the shop.