Toronto Bike Show
Just at the hotel room resting after the first day of the Toronto Bike Show. I rode to and from the event with an extra long seatpost in my bike, it’s only takes about 20 minutes in a granny geared fat tired bike, so it’s pretty close. For some reason it makes me happy to be able to ride the same bike to the show as I perform on.
The performing went quite well. I am always a little nervous that after at least ten years of performing at this show that my riding isn’t go to keep up with expectations. But I have to remind myself that I can only do my best and that will have to be good enough—today it seemed like it was. Perhaps having a challenge in my demo set up beyond the routine moves and obstacles makes it more interesting to me and hence the audience. There is an old pick-up truck that I’m riding on, and my challenge is to ride from the roof to the edge of the bed and balance down it. I got on it today, but not off the end. I’ll have to work on that through the weekend. Fun.
I also had a seminar today on the Mind Game of Riding. Quite a few curious folks listened to my 30 minute speech on a topic that is both deep but simple at the same time. It went well from my point of view, but will need some fine tuning to make my points as clear as they are in my mind.
A few days I visited a school in Mississauga as one of the winners of my Trials of Life contest. Here’s a little article from that.
Here are a couple photos from the school I visited in Burlington. The first is Matthew’s family-the other winner of my Trials of Life contest. The second is him and I being interviewed before my presentation by Matt Hayes, a popular host of the local news.
Tags: chch news, matt hayes, mind game of riding, Ryan Leech, seminar, Toronto Bike Show, trials, trials of life contest
March 13th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Ryan,
It was a pleasure to meet you and to listen to your words. You are a great ambassador to our sport and you hold this position of influencing kids very close to your heart, and it shows!!
You (and all your sponsors you represent) should be very proud of your accomplishments and your path you chose for yourself.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Heh. This reminds me that the first time I saw you do your show live was at the Toronto bike show, back when I lived there in 2004. I was just starting to get into riding back then, and was really only commuting to and from work in Toronto – no mountain biking yet, just watching a lot of mountain bike movies…
March 15th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Sweet show any one that missed this should have been there and that is crazy how much you can do on that bike of yours. Keep up the great work.I have never met a pro as nice you . Thanks
March 28th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Hey Ryan. Impressed with your riding style and watching your videos keeps me motivated and I love riding. I just want to ask you quickly about which gear should you be in for doing a lot of trials riding, such as pedal kicks and rear wheel hops? Or does it not matter? I find a really easy gear harder to punch the drive train. What do you recommend?
March 29th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Glad you enjoy the videos Marc. I use a 22t on the front, and a 19t on the rear for riding trials. With a hart-tail bike, well adjusted brakes, and a low saddle, you can learn most trials moves with a bit of practice. Keep it up and have fun!
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 am
Hey Ryan Leech,
I’m your really fan and I stay in Malaysia.
I’m so happy to make u as my friend. And…
May I ask you a question?..
How heavy is you bike that you using now?..