There has been an endless stream of exciting projects, adventures, and challenges this year; and that’s just what I wanted-to mix it up a bit.

Norco has their 2010 product launch next week. For most riders, this would be a drool fest, having the chance to test ride and learn about all the latest bikes and specs, but it’s reserved for only their top dealers and invited media…and factory team riders! I’ll be doing a show, leading some mountain bike rides and an urban ride, and giving a chat about the Fluid LT (my bike of choice).

I have been brainstorming with another key sponsor of mine, Shimano, about a new project that will involve five of their top team riders and one of the most talented film crews…that’s all I can say though;-)

In a couple weeks I’ll be heading up to the Yukon to film with The Ride Guide TV show. We’ll be hosted by the leading mountain bike adventure company in Whitehorse called Boreale Mountain Biking; they’ll be spoiling us with the best trails and some fine accomadation in their famous yurts…I love yurts, maybe because it’s fun to say out loud, yurt. If you live in those parts, come out to my Trials of Life presentation on July 24^th.

A couple days ago, I teamed up with two Olympic medal holders David Calder (rowing) and Stephanie Dixon (swimming) to launch ProjectBlueSky.ca. Using the internets social networking power, we hope to inspire people to use alternative modes of transportation (walk, ride, transit) instead of their car. The goal is to save 1,000,000,000 kilometers of car driving by the time the 2010 Olympics finishes. Incidentally, One billion km’s is equivalent to the 190,000 tonnes of CO2 which is being emmited indirectly from the games. VANOC has offset their direct emissions which is fantastic news, but Project Blue Sky is all about preventing and reducing emissions. Please sign up at Project Blue Sky today, we need everybody’s participation!!

Twitter twitter twitter twitter, I guess I’m a twitterer twit. Check it out if you like….

The YogaThon is this Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium (UBC). Sign up here to help raise money for children affected by HIV and give them the opportunity to go to Summer Camp. . I actually had the opportunity to visit Camp Moomba, the summer camp these kids go to, to do a trials show and teach some yoga. I had a blast, the kids loved the bike riding of course, and that gave me some cred for the yoga sessions. The kids probably won’t start doing yoga, but perhaps later in life they’ll think back to this camp and consider giving it another try. If you can’t go or don’t live nearby, please consider donating some money to the cause. I’m on a fundraising team captained by Eoin Finn called the Bliss Army, you can donate on our behalf here!

Talking about Eoin, I was only able to teach yoga to these kids because of the teacher training course I’m halfway through. I wrote an article about my experience during the first 100 hours of this course, and reflected on what the ancient practice of yoga looks like in our modern world.

After about four months of volunteer work, the Port Moody Rotary Trials Park is now open with fresh lines and challenges. The highlight is an obstacle my dad and I designed which has now been tagged the Trials of Life platform, and because of it’s four quadrants of varying height, it will appeal to all levels of riders. Fun!

If somebody asks me if I do yoga, I’m going to have to say no, I play yoga! This seemed to be one-of-many emerging themes from my recent ten day, 100 hour, yoga teacher training course.

Eoin Finn, our teacher and mentor, had a mission to turn our group of fourteen students in to “the best freaking yoga teachers in the world.” I hope he gives us a lifetime to complete that task because as he himself states, “To be a good yoga teacher, you need to understand anatomy as well as an orthopedic surgeon, be able to grasp philosophy like a university professor and become aware of the human soul like a priest.” Good thing we have another 100 hours of training coming up in September!

So what’s this yoga thing all about for me, why would I want to teach and share the experience with others? By the time I was twenty-five, and after ten years of bodily abuse on the bike, my back, wrists and shoulders had chronic pains, five years of yoga practice later, my body feels more balanced and better than ever. But I have to acknowledge that yoga can be more dangerous than mountain biking depending on the style you choose and attitude you take. Some yoga postures can torque the joints, even if you’re an expert; Eoin shared stories of older yogis that have completely worn out joints. Not good!  So an important myth to understand is that just because you’re doing yoga doesn’t mean it’s good for you. A clear goal of our teacher training was to structure a class that promotes well-being and longevity.

My wife reminded a friend of ours today that yoga is not about flexibility, saying you’re too stiff to do yoga is like saying you’re too thirsty to have a glass of water. Another concern people have is that yoga is too much like a religion; now I have been to some yoga classes where it feels like you’re taking an oath with some strange chant, maybe those are the fundamentalist yogis; of course they have their place and that’s all good, but the kind of practice that Eoin Finn preaches is an ever-evolving style for the western lifestyle, inviting to all, no new age nonsense.

One of the guest speakers we had, Mark Finch, was an expert in structural integration, that tied in to our required reading of the book Somatics. He quite effectively helped us to visually spot problem areas in body alignment; for example, he said to look not at the over extended low back, but instead at the thorax and pelvis so as to give points of reference. He applied this knowledge to yoga postures giving us a better understanding of common alignment issues.

Over the last few years, I have been on a roller coaster ride trying to educate myself about climate change. My egoic emotions on the topic have stabilized, and I am cautiously optimistic. I was so glad to see that Eoin included a seminar with Bernie Clark (the Al Gore of the yoga world) as part of the curriculum. His presentation, titled “Yoga for Our Planet”, was very well done. He emphasized following the three Big Easy’s:

1. Mindful Consuming (diet, travel, buying)
2. Mindful Voting (incredibly important)
3. Communicating Mindfully (speak up!)

I was particularly glad he acknowledged the important role our democracy can play when we actually exercise its power.

One of Eoin Finn’s hero’s is Joseph Campbell; so he shared a documentary titled “The Power of Myth”. One of the statements Campbell said struck me, especially after listening to Bernie the night before, “What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.” (my italics). But the one reflection I had after this documentary and Bernies speech was the importance of acknowledging all perspectives, and the integral ecology slogan sums that up nicely-”things are getting worse, things are getting better, and everything is already perfect.”

One of my favorite musicians, Xavier Rudd, attempts to describe the experience of playing live as a circular cycle of energy that comes out from the audience in to him and out through his music right back to the audience and out again, a positive feedback loop of sorts. Eoin expressed a similar feeling when teaching a good flow class, and I can relate to a degree during my trials shows. The offering of the musician, or yoga teacher, or bike performer has to be authentic in order to trigger the right kind of energy or state from the group of people involved, otherwise there is no magic.

A challenge our culture faces is that we have a hard time listening to feedback from our bodies. We would much sooner push past our limits to fuel our ego rather than listen to our bodies’ somatic wisdom. This mindset of focus on the external world goes well beyond the origin of yoga injuries, the major challenges our world faces is in part due to the ignorance of this first-person person guidance, this basic wisdom from within. Sure yoga brings incredible fitness, strength, and balance to the body, but those are just side benefits, the entire yoga practice of moving through poses is simply a preparation for savasana, corpse pose, the death of the practice, which is a rare opportunity in our fast lives to just simply be, breaking for just a moment, the identification and attachment to our thoughts, allowing a connection with our true selves to form.

Yoga isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and it is just one key of many toward that leads to a healthy lifestyle.  I’m glad Eoin emphasized that yes, yoga can bring your body in to alignment, but too much of it can make you look stiff, and stiff people are boring, right So yes, go rip it up on your mountain bike, play some yoga, and then go laugh a little with the friends you make along the way.

Big thanks to Eoin and his blissology crew, and all the friends I made during course!

Peace y’All

I’m on Vancouver Island right now staying at a friends house. I have some extra time this morning before my school presentation, so I was reading a little, and enjoying a nice cup of tea. Caryn and I just bought some new loose leaf teas, so I snagged a bag of Irish Breakfast tea (stronger than English Breakfast) to take along; however I forgot to bring a strainer for the loose leaves. Hmmm. Yesterday at the B&B I stayed at I carefully tore the top off of a red rose tea bag, emptied it, then filled it with the Irish Breakfast tea; I then scewered the opening of the bag and hung it in the boiling water off the top edge of my ‘to-go’ mug. That was a good cuppa! I repeated that process this morning. As I said, I’m a tea freak. But for good reason, they fill those red rose bags with the sweepings off the floor! Well, perhaps that’s exaggerating, but there is just no comparrison! Okay, I’m a tea freak slash tea snob. Anyway….

I’m not a vegetarian, but I have vegetarian tendencies. There are many reasons to eat a vegetarian diet, but my main reason is environmental. When I have a really busy string of demos, I tend to add a little extra meat to my diet, usually in the form of chicken or fish, not so much in the red meat department (although I did have an In&Out burger while I was in California). I have slowly been collecting stats and stories on the impact of our western cultures mass meat consumption habits; the video below is an excellent summery of some of those points.

Like most environmental videos, it is quite one sided—so take it with a grain of salt. I don’t agree with the overall scare-tactic-tone of the presentation, but the stats are pretty spot on. It’s incredible how powerful a worldcentric perspective can be for change, and it is only in todays day and age that we have access to the knowledge that is needed to create a worldcentric vision. So if some of the stats resonate with you in some deeper way, perhaps order something vegetarian next time you eat out or cook. If not, that’s all good too! 

RL

It would be easy to bog yourself down with all the environmental malaise spreading the globe, but Earth Day needs to be a celebration and an appreciation for all things manifest. That can be a tree in the backyard, a beautiful piece of architecture, a friend, a pet, your computer, your bike, or the food that is on your plate—simply put, anything that is. When you start the day with such deep gratitude, it becomes easy to spread good vibes and positive feelings about the Earth, and thus, all the decisions you have to make throughout the day will more likely be net positive for this incredible planet which we are all a part of.

Happy Earth Day to Everything!

Just finished building up a new trials bike yesterday, and am looking forward to giving it a go at a local rock riding area today.

It should be a little lighter this year. The Saint rear hub I use is much sleeker and lighter, I’m trying out an FSA carbon fibre handlebar, and I’m using a lighter front tire. I have a fresh grind on my rear rim too, perfect brakes make a trials rider smile.

It’s that time of year when sponsors send their new gear along. I basically ask for enough stuff to build two identical trials bikes, and a mountain bike for both Caryn and I (Norco Fluid LT’s). So my basement bike room turns in to a bit of a mess, a good mess albeit!

I’ll be leaving for the Sea Otter Classic in Monteray, CA, in one week today. It’s a two day drive, and we (Norco and I) like to arrive early so it’s easy to maneuver our trailers in to position at the expo area. The event goes from April 16-19.  After my ride today, I think I’ll go pick up some plywood and make a platform on the roof racks on the canopy of my truck so I can jump from my trailer to the top of the truck during my demos. Always nice to add a line option.

Then this afternoon, it should be nice and warm, so perhaps I’ll set the hammock up in the backyard. Nice!

Hope you all have a nice Sunday!

RL

Earth Hour came and went rather quickly. It’s a great initiative though, I think it serves its purpose remarkable well. The media attention generated by this event was enormous, and goes to show how many citizens are welcoming and embracing of such energy responsibility. Congrats to everyone who took part, and may you remember the experience, and repeat where possible throughout the year!

Caryn and I had a chill evening; we played some speed scrabble, a game that I think Caryn invented with her sister. Good fun!!

Before going to sleep the other night, I read a poem by Rumi from, The Soul of Rumi. This particular poem, below, struck me as very appropriate for our epoch. Rumi was born in the year 1207, and it’s just so striking that his words, as translated by Coleman Barks, could ring so true some 800 years later…

There is a glut of wealth in the City of Saba.Everyone

has more than enough. Even

 

the bath stokers wear gold belts.Huge grape clusters hang

down on every street and

 

brush the faces of the citizens. No one has to do

anything. You can balance

 

a basket on your head and walk through an orchard, and it

will fill by itself with

 

overripe fruit dropping into it. Stray dogs stray in

lanes full of thrown-out

 

scraps with barely a notice. The lean desert wolf gets

indigestion from the rich

 

food. Everyone is fat and satiated with all the

extra. There are no

 

robbers. There is no energy for crime, or for gratitude,

and no one wonders about

 

the unseen world. The people of Saba feel bored with

just the mention of prophecy.

 

They have no desire of any kind.Maybe some idle curiosity

about miracles, but that’s

 

it. This overrichness is a subtle disease. Those

who have it are blind

 

to what’s wrong and deaf to anyone who points it out.

The City of Saba cannot be

 

understood from within itself: But there is a cure, an

individual medicine, not

 

a social remedy: sit quietly, and listen for a voice

within that will say, Be

 

more silent. As that happens, your soul starts to revive.

Give up talking and

 

your positions of power. Give up the excessive money.

Turn toward teachers and

 

prophets who dont live in Saba. They can help you

grow sweet again and fragrant

 

and wild and fresh and thankful for any small event.

The problems humans face today are deep and complex. “The City of Saba connot be understood from within itself”. I am beginning to realize the truth in this. I have read many similar accounts of the same advice, this one more direct from a book I recently read called Flow:

“But no social change can come about until the consciousness of individuals is changed first. When a young man asked  Carlyle how he should go about reforming the world, Carlyle answered, “Reform yourself. That way there will be one less rascal in the world.” The advice is still valid. Those who try to make life better for everyone without having learned to control their own lives first usually end up making things worse all around.”

I feel a great responsibility, combined with a great passion, to orchestrate the next phase of my career, whatever that may be,  from a place of inspiration, based on my time dedicated, as Rumi suggested, to “be more silent.”

Caryn and I had our first hummingbird sighting this morning; though it is wet and cold outside, Spring is here.

We just spent a couple days on the Sunshine Coast, but I wouldn’t say it was a “getaway” as, fortunately, we don’t have anything we really need to get away from. We read (I dived in to a new release called Integral Ecology), ate (the incredible food at the Gumboot in Roberts Creek), did some trail running (I always forget how much fun that is), watched a couple movies (The Darjeerling Limited and Burn After Reading), and Caryn had a massage. For some reason we didn’t get on our mountain bikes, but I think that reason was a low snow line, but nonetheless, it was a nice little trip.

I had my first official outdoor demo yesterday at a local bike shop, just 10 minutes from my home. The shop’s called Sharpey’s and it was season kick off/fundraiser for the BC Childrens Hospital.

Here’s a link to the incredible story of Ryder, the shop owners son, and the reason behind the  fundraising efforts yesterday at the shop, and just one of the many ways in which the family is giving back after all the support they received during the last year. What a beautiful family.

It’s Sunday now, I’m getting ready to go to Toronto. I’ll be visiting some schools as part of my Trials of Life contest. I’ll be performing at the Toronto International Bike show. I’ll also be giving some workshops on the Mind Game of Riding, a topic of much importance. Here’s the little blurb they’re using to promote it at the show:

No matter what kind of cycling you enjoy most, it is always desirable to progress your riding skills. I am frequently asked to describe and break down techniques step by step, but I often feel uncomfortable doing this because it encourages an over active mind resulting in disconnected movements.

My goal for this workshop is to share an approach to riding that will allow your skills to progress naturally, safely, quickly, and ultimately with more enjoyment-I will share my experience on topics such as visualization, fear, and mind/body awareness. The items discussed can be applied to all styles of riding no matter what level you’re at, so please join me!

So I’m just trying to finish some preparation for that workshop (but got distracted writing this blog post), and also get some washing done, go to the farmers market with Caryn, and also go to a family festival with the family, and also go over a proposal with Joan Jones for the reno of the Port Moody Trials Park. Whew! I think the rest of the day is going to go by pretty fast! 

All the best everyone!

Ryan

It’s a glorious morning in Port Moody, BC. I woke up before sunrise and noticed a the thin layer of frost on the adjacent roofs, and just above, noticed the wispy clouds in the distance starting to glow orange and yellow. The sun will remain low in the sky through this winter day, but high enough to bring warmth to Caryn’s sprouting garden. It’s a beautiful day. And what does the day hold? Some tea no doubt, perhaps in a sunbeam; I’ll sink in to a new book I started called Flow, and then maybe go outside for a walk or run, or perhaps I’ll go for a jaunt on the trials bike. We’ll see, the day is unplanned and open. A little ashtanga yoga is calling, maybe in the afternoon sun? There are many woodworking projects on the go, I need to build a retractable clothes hanger and some vegetable planters for our sundeck, plus I have to build a platform on the top of my truck canopy as an addition to my trials demo set up, and the list goes on. I will have to spend some time on writing a speech on the mental game of riding for the Toronto Bike Show coming up in three weeks, I have so many thoughts and ideas and experiences I want to share on my mind, just have to organize them. Caryn said she’d help me choose a winner for the Trials of Life school contest that just came to a close, tough decision. Well, it’s a beautiful day, I wonder how you will use it, spend it, enjoy it, or pass it? Perhaps it’s already over depending on where you are in the world, and so I hope it was a good one. 

I’m going to go put the kettle on now….