May 29thHome sweet home, a place that is pretty foreign to me right now. Rip.TV did an excellent job of peeking in to my home with their show called Home Invasion, check it out!!Caryn has been with me for the last couple weeks, so home is on the road right now, and now we’re in Halifax, and are heading for New Brunswick. My buddy Alex Lavigne just flew home this morning, we’ve partnered up to produce a follow up DVD to Manifesto, so we’ve been filming like crazy the last couple weeks. Filming will continue in Europe in July when we meet up with Thomas Ohler, and incredible rider from Austria who will have a segment in the film.I post video blogs every once in a while on Norco’s Website, have a look sometime!Just wanted to recommend a book I just finished reading, it’s called “Let my People go Surfing”, by Yvon Chouinard. Chouinard is the founder of the company Patagonia, and his philosophies about business and life are so important in todays world. Well, gotta hit the road!!!Ryan

Bringing Trials to the trailsRyan Leech has a unique way of riding. He claims to be a trials rider, has made videos on how to ride trials, yet his style of trial riding has a unique appeal. Most trial riding I see does not appeal to me, riders bouncing around on their weird looking bikes, generally looking discombobulated. But Ryan captivates my interest, he always has. There’s an element of his style that lends itself to flow, to a certain purity of aescethetic. His riding is visually pleasing and astounding in nature.As a mountain bike filmmaker, there are certain qualities I’m constantly in search of. These are great locations, spectacular light, and unique riders. The first two are self explanatory, but what constitutes a unique rider? I’m looking for riders that have personality, can express themselves and first and foremost have a riding style and matching ability that separates them from other riders. This might be a little too simplistic, there is something more that only really translates when you see the footage. Some riders simply look good on film, while others don’t. It has to do with style, flow, presence and some other indescribeable qualities.I’m approaching the 10 year mark of mountain bike filmmaking. I’ve seen the sport blossom, witnessed the first 5 freeriders getting their first sponsored bikes and filmed them trashing them with their cowboy like antics back in 1997. Now there are so many sponsored riders that I know just a handful of them. But what hasn’t changed is that to make a great mountain bike film you need to pay attention to what is unique. Like making a fine dining experience, you need the great raw ingredients if you expect to make a culinary delight. Same with a mountain bike film.During the filming of Kranked 5, I really wanted Ryan to bring his trials riding out of the urban environment and into the forest. We ventured into the forest and attempted to translate Ryan’s riding onto the trails. I was stoked, it was all there, it would look fabulous, it was new, fresh and spectacular. But my mind was too far in front of reality. Ryan couldn’t hook it up. He gave it a hell of a shake though. It was apparent that he needed some time to get used to the new environment, get a bike more suitable to the terrain and I think most importantly get his mind working on the translation from urban to mountain.Three years later I showed Ryan a location I had found. A mystical, mid-elevation old growth forest ravine with a beautiful creek running through it. THe place is beautiful and inspiring. Within minutes we had found a natural flow for a trail, utilizing the natural elements that were present. Ryan’s imagination took off like Dodge Viper at a Las Vegas intersection. He started describing the indescribable. “Build this, make it this far apart, I’ll gap that, side hop this,, make some 10 foot posts, here some skinnies - 2 inches wide.” Soon he had it all sketched out. He was psyched, hell I was too. It seemed Ryan was ready to bring trials into the trails.The trail crew began building. Ryan came up and refined the build, making sure everything was perfect. I’ve noticed recently that the riders successfully pushing the boundaries all have two things in common, they are great riders and they are amazing tacticians. They know exactly what they and their bike is going to do. How big the gap needs to be, where the transitions must be placed, what will work and what will not work. Gone are the days of winging it and hoping for the best. The trail was built to fit in with the natural beauty of the forest. It is a piece of art. I’d like to think of it as a homage to the forest and how we humans can interact in a non-destructive way with this pristine ecosystem.But this trail is crazy. It does not appear to be rideable. Ryan designed it, explained what he was going to do on each section, so we built it. But now, I look at it and wonder. Is it rideable? Is Ryan able to pull this off? I have moments of angst. The trail took a lot of work to create, it would be such a drag to have it flop, to have been overzealous in our ambitions. But Ryan is a master tactician of trials riding. I have to trust it will happen.Ryan waits for a new special bike. For the first time I have filmed with him he is going to ride a full suspension bike. It’s necessary to be able to make some of the more ambitous moves. The geometry is all different from his usual bike, a bike he knows intimately. Now it’s new geometry, and rear suspension to add a twist in how the bike handles. Ryan will have to adapt his skill set to the new bike.With anything worthwhile it seems you have to go the distance, put extra effort in to realize the vision. Although we are still not finished filming the trail I ‘m feeling confident that this segment has that special uniqueness to it. An innovative, visually pleasing rider, a spectacular forest location and that indescribable element that puts the sparkle on the screen. Ryan has that special uniqueness about him that has allowed him to once again create something spectacular. In this case he has pioneered bringing trials into the trails and let me tell you, it’s damn cool.To check out what this is all about see PROGRESSION - Kranked 6. Ryan rocks it.

Day 8 of my tour has just come to an end, and it ends in Regina. So far I have presented to 8 schools, and performed at 2 bike shops. I know my journal message is being reposted in various places, so for those that don’t know what my school presentation is all about, check out the new web site, www.trialsoflife.com.After the last post, some people thought I was camping during the whole tour, not quite the case, but when I have a spare chance to visit a nice provincial park, I’ll take it! Check out the picture below for the reason why, ahhhhhhh.  I have used a few different GPS navigation systems, and they just keep getting better. I have a new Garmin that has been nearly 100% so far, just love it. Punch in the school address, and it leads you right there. I was able to sit back and cruise along some nice highways from Alberta to Saskatchewan, here’s a pic that wraps the prairies up nicely. My motto for this tour is “never turn down a home cooked meal”. I’m fortunate to have had one already, and overall just blown away by all the kind, and generous people I have met and dealt with so far. Whether it be a bike shop owner, school student, teacher, bike enthusiast, gas station attendant, principal, or journalist, I have to say, there are some pretty cool people around. So thanks to all those who have been so gracious with me!!Regina is the head office home of my tours title sponsor, The Co-operators. There is lots going on while I’m here, so I’m going to get some rest. Most will read this tomorrow, so Happy Thursday everyone!!Ryan