Hometown: Wichita Falls, Texas
Current Residence: Portland, Oregon
Sport: Cyclocross! (track, road and mountain too!)
Pro/Elite since: 2004
Date of Birth: 08/28/1976
Website: www.mollycameron.com

Favorite fruit: Banana
Favorite veggie: Asparagus
Hobbies/Other sports: I'm pretty much a full time mechanic/full time bike racer. Well, watching bad movies, Thai food and chocolate chip cookies, I should consider those sports too.

1.When and why did you choose to stop eating animal products?

When I turned 15 or 16 I realized that I did not have to eat meat, so I stopped. I went Vegan the same year I got in to bike racing: 1999. I was living in San Francisco and started racing on the track and lived with a bunch of vegans. To be honest, I never really liked eating animal products. It was just always in stuff I would eat. Y'know: burritos have cheese, pizza has cheese. But once I was surrounded by people who showed me that there were options, I stopped eating animal products right away. I was really motivated to start taking responsibility for what I put in my body.

2.What has been your experience as a vegan athlete? Have you noticed any performance or health benefits or problems?

Certainly no problems. If anything, eating organic and whole food keeps my energy level and mental focus consistent. It is the logical step when living a super active and conscious lifestyle. Sometimes you have a hard time finding truly healthy vegan food on the road but, you can always hit a grocery store and whip something up.

3.Have teammates and other athletes been supportive or critical?

My teammates are totally supportive, friends and people that race for my shop will show up at races with vegan cookies and will always bring a vegan dish to Veloshop potlucks. My peers, other pro racers and coaches have been critical. 'What do you eat?' 'Where do you get your protein?' I get that stuff a lot.

4.Most memorable results or achievements (top 5)

I've been an Oregon state champ a couple times, I won a couple of cyclocross races last fall (2005) and a XC mountain bike race too! I placed 3rd at the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge points race. That was pretty cool, I was totally the underdog in the race and I hung in to get on the podium. I had a great season last year and now that I am focusing exclusively on Cyclocross I am looking forward to an exciting fall.

5.Why did you join OA's PRO-Activist team?

What better way to represent for the vegans out there? It is pretty exciting that OA exists. There was nothing like this when I began exploring veganism. Plus, I get to look tough in my Organic Athlete t-shirt.