My friend Devin Leggett, formerly the Norco web guru, and the fellow who designed my website, passed along a link to a site that his current company, smashLAB, created on the importance of designers to think green in their daily business lives. Whether you design or not, it’s a slick educational presentation on climate change, and worth browsing through.

Also, how cool does Barack Obama look in this photo?! And yah, the link is about the book he is reading, “The Post-American World”, by Fareed Zakaria. Based on reviews, it’s good to see he is reading books that delve in to real world issues. As the link asks, “Anyone know what book John McCain is — or should be — carrying around?”

 

This week is ‘Bike to Work Week’; yesterday, my first day of this event, I did manage to ride my bike at work, does that count? Hmmm, I guess not huh? Well, at the least for the next couple days my commute will be walking from my bedroom to the office, I guess that’s not all bad eh? Well, it’s sure nice to be home for a couple days, that’s for sure. Especially when Caryn makes me the best veggie omelette in the world with avocados on top, hmmmm. Thanks Caryn!

 

 

So yesterdays bike riding at work consisted of me doing a show for over 1400 people having a  catered lunch at round tables; well they were done lunch by the time I started my show, but anyway, it was for the Canadian Tourism Convention which had guests from countries all over the world, and it was Banff Lake Louise that hired me for this private lunch function. The last demo line I had was balancing along my railing, like I always do, but this time I was on a stage that was over three feet high, so the drop off the end was over 7 feet high, a little extra challenge which was nice!

 

Happy bike week everyone!

 

There is a commonality I have noticed between Lamborghini’s and Cigarettes, and no it’s not that I had to look up both words for correct spelling. I was riding from a venue in Toronto to my hotel a couple months ago, and rolled past a Lamborghini dealership where they were having a little party in the parking lot. They were chatting, hanging out, having a good time, and many were smoking. Now, where I live in Vancouver, it has become increasingly out of fashion to smoke, almost to the point where you are looked down upon or cast out, or given demeaning looks. I’d hate to be a smoker just for those reasons, let alone all the health risks. I think this opinion of smokers is becoming quite common in many parts of the world, especially where the habit is now banned from public places, even bars, which I think is fantastic!

It seems I am beginning to feel the same way about Lamborghini’s as I do about cigarettes. Why would you inhale toxic chemicals in to your lungs on purpose, and why would you spew out high doses of carbon from your 650 HP engine. It just doesn’t make sense anymore. Sure cigarettes were a brilliant concoction at one point in history, and there is no doubt that sports cars have brilliant engineering, craftsmanship, and thought behind them; but times change. Take for instance this following excerpt from a fantastic book I am reading right now called The last Hours of Ancient Sunlight (this won’t be the last I speak of this book, it’s fantastic, actually order a copy right now!!):

Increasingly, the stories we’ve been telling ourselves for centuries are now moving from the useful to the not useful category. An example of such a story is the biblical order to have as many children as possible. In the days of Noah and Abraham, the tribe with the largest number of young men to create an army was usually the tribe that survived. Be fruitful and multiply was a formula for cultural survival, even though in nearly all cases it then led to and when you run out of resources and living space, kill off your neighbor and take theirs.

Sure, there was a time when cruising around in a Lamborghini smoking a cigarette would present an image of exclusivity, but the times, they are a-changin’.

I’m sitting on the deck of my hotel room in Salmon Arm, BC, overlooking a bird sanctuary and marsh on the edge of the Shuswap Lake. I have been here for the the last four days, and have enjoyed watching the female osprey warm her eggs. She has no friends to meet, places to go, just a quiet commitment to her babies. The male comes and goes with sticks for the nest and food, although I haven’t seen the food exchange yet. A peaceful sight no doubt. As I also enjoy my Timmies steeped tea in the (finally) warm breeze, I feel my feet aching a bit, my hands feel a bit raw, and there is an general feeling of contentment and satisfaction from the weeks efforts. I visited 7 schools and did 9 presentations in four days, and have one last shop show in the area tomorrow at Skookum Cycle. Whew!

 

I often have students or teachers ask where I came up with the material I present, and I guess it’s a combination of reflection on my experiences combined with the critical thinking that goes along with reading books….yah, I’ve turned in to a bit of a nerd. I have had a few people ask if I have read or seen ‘The Secret’; I have fingered through the book out of curiosity, but am not convinced by some of the offerings, the main one being, and the real basis of the book, is that you create your own reality with your thoughts, or the law of attraction. For instance if you get raped it is because your thought patterns brought it about; now I have to disagree with that because crappy things do happen to good people. Sure there are some great things expressed in the book, but the suggestion that if you can keep only thoughts of being rich, that is what you will become…hmm, so does that go for those living in 3rd world countries? If you have read this book, but have a sort of funny feeling about it, I recommend reading this review by Julian Walker, or listening to the dialogue he had with Ken Wilber about the book.

 

I’m looking forward to spinning a bit on a cross country ride tomorrow before my show, it’ll be nice to mix it up a bit after so many trials shows. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

 

 

 

 

Yesterday afternoon was my last show in Maine, and it was a public show, and it took place in the Camden Opera House. This beautiful venue was perfect for the event which included the showing of Manifesto, Trial and Error, and Crux; then a live demo, and a Q&A session to follow. The whole event was about 2 hours long; that’s a whole lotta Ryan time!

 

The best part of this trip was meeting and hanging out with so many great people. From Chris Christie the owner of Bikesenjava who thought of and organized the whole tour, to Ian who built all the demo obstacles, to Andrew who took care of the bike shop while Chris took me around, to Karl and John who both took a week of holiday to help set up and tear down, and drive the trailer; Chuck, Tanya, Gabe, Andy, Woody, and Steve for also helping with set up, Jeff at the snow bowl for helping with the Opera House venue, and Kaarie and Hayden who hosted us at their house; hopefully I didn’t miss too many names! The capacity of these Mainers to give their time for this tour was incredible; and I think it ultimately says a lot for a community that is willing to put others (in this case the students of the schools and cycling enthusiasts) ahead of their own needs that brings a community together, and ultimately creates a friendly neighborhood where good things can happen. For instance, it was rare that I saw anyone lock their vehicle, even if it had a bike in the back. The pace of life is rather laid back in mid coast Maine, yet everyone certainly knows the value of hard work. No trip to the Maine coast is complete without eating some local lobster, so Chris got the whole crew together for a cook up, very nice!!

 

I arrived home last night, (Caryn and I counted six Starbucks from gate to gate during our layover in the Chicago airport) and now sit in a hotel after a seven hour drive up to Revelstoke, BC, where I start the next week of schools which will consist of nine T.O.L. presentations and one bike shop show, whew!!

 

Go Barak, Peace Y’all,

 

Ryan

I was chatting with one of the teachers today about the general idea that students in Maine lack the ability to think big, and think outside the state; he said they aspire only to a certain level then stop, almost as though Maine’ers are capped at a certain potential level of ‘success’ while others states like New Jersey for instance send loads of students to the best universities and the best sport teams. He said they just need some students to break the mold and show that it is possible to think big and go far. And I agree fully, it is important to dream, and important to set goals, but I think it is a little more complex than that, and I think it is why I have a problem with much of the self help and positive thinking movement. Will every student who dreams of becoming a pro athlete do so; no. Will every student who aspires to become a rock star do so; no. How about become a movie star, or make the cut at a top university; no. So are they unsuccessful? Absolutely not!! So I think we must be careful at how we motivate and pump up our youth.

The real issue is when students become attached, or obsessed with reaching one of these goals, and invests their entire self interest in the achievement of that specific outcome. A common example of that might be American college football. The pressure these young students are put under, and put themselves under is enormous.

Last night I watched the documentary “Ten Questions for the Dalai Lama”, and one of the last things he said applies well to this issue. He said the following words with a lighthearted giggle:

“As a Buddhist monk, so now my real wish is, I wish to remain in a remote area, like a wounded animal, and all the energy, all the time, concentrate on spiritual practice. And use my brain maximum way in spiritual field, without much expectation, if too much expectation, then last day I may regret.” 

So yes, dream, set goals, reach for the stars, the possibilities are endless; so head out on this journey, but do it without much expectation, or in other words, without attachment to a desired outcome.

Hey Folks,

Had a couple fantastic school shows in Maine, so much enthusiasm with all the students and all the volunteers helping make this tour happen. Went out to the beach in Rockland today with Ian, ‘the’ local trials rider, and I was blown away, world class granite rocks with endless lines. A couple blown spokes and a lingering cold ended the session, but I’d love to go back sometime. It was refreshing to get out and ride rocks, especially by the ocean, the Atlantic ocean!!

On a different note, check out my friend Jack Christie’s new website, he is a fantastic media man, whether writing articles on the active west coast lifestyle, or profiling people and athletes who love to play in the outdoors, he does it with charm and sincerity. His new book “Best Weekend Getaways” is worth checking out if you live on the West Coast; Jack, along with his wife Louise, write from experience, so it is sure to be hit.

As Jack always says, “Take it easy, but take it!”.

Ryan

My new friends at Bikesenjava in Maine have gone all out for my demo tour. I put together a little video of the obstacles they made for my visit because they are just amazing, right down to the details. If you live in the Maine area, please do come out to the public show they have organized on Saturday.

I am in Rockland, Maine with my wife Caryn, a bit of a long day to get here. Started at 4am, got to the airport, checked in, paid through the nose for my bike as usual, proceeded to customs, they pulled me aside because my travel plans were suspicious, they questioned me for about 30 minutes, finally got out, and proceeded to get the full security check feel down and bag search, then finally we rushed to our flight that was actually departing 25 minutes sooner than on our original schedule. Starving on the plane we ordered the only food they had which was a dodgy ’snack pack’ and a ‘right pack’ of pre packaged food, along with some tepid tea. With an hour long layover in Chicago that turned in to a 5 hour layover, we finally arrived in Maine and amazingly our patient ride, the owner of BikesenJava, Chris Christie and his son Hayden, were still there waiting for us. A typical travel day!

Yesterday was a blast at John Henry bike shop in North Van. I did a show, but the highlight for me was racing an ‘88 Norco Rampage in Jay Hoots dual speed stunt course, good times! Jay, you put on an awesome event buddy!!

More from Maine soon, should be a fun week of shows!!

It has been a week since I was diagnosed with bronchitis, and I thought I was almost over it, but it seems to be lingering today. I guess I’m a little impatient because I have lots of stuff coming up, like a demo at a local bike shop on Saturday (John Henry in North Vancouver), then I’m flying to Maine on Sunday for a week worth of school and public shows, followed by a school tour when I get home in BC, followed by etc etc!! So yah, I want to be healthy and strong. 

On another note, I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar (as Caryn has), and seeing this young, eleven year old fellow, Sungha Jung, do his thing is just unreal!

And on yet another note, check out this link to my friend Pats flickr page from the Sea Otter Classic.

Later….