Category: <span>Affiliate</span>

Ryan LeechI’m pleased to announce that I’m teaming up with pro mountain biker Ryan Leech at his Performance Mountain Biking & Coaching website, RyanLeech.com. As a longtime customer and student of Ryan’s, I’ve seen firsthand how his instructional philosophy mirrors my beliefs that:

  • Online instructional modules should make use of videos, graphics, text, so you can pick your preferred ways to learn.
  • Online instruction should emphasize how you can learn more directly from your experience, guiding your attention to what happens when you do different things so that you become more confident in your ability to learn.

His first two online courses (30-Day Wheelie Challenge; and Baseline Balance Skills) live up to his site’s tagline: “Creating the highest quality, most comprehensive and effective online technical skill training programs for mountain bikers.”  The depth of the instruction (yes, LOTS of drills and exercises) and the superb production quality are impressive.

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Ryan LeechLast spring when I saw that pro mountain biker and coach Ryan Leech was going to offer an online 30-day course on learning to wheelie, I was thrilled because A) I suck at wheelies; and B) he was going to use an online approach to learning a complex skill similar to what I’ve been doing with my Thick Skull Mountain Bike Skills online instructional courses , ie, many small steps, using exercises and drills, with a multimedia delivery platform.

I started the course back in April when it launched but I quit after about ten lessons. I started having low back pain, something I struggled with years ago but eventually solved (or so I thought) with a special regimen of pilates and yoga called Back RX which I described in this 2013 blog post. I thought my subsequent regimen of kettlebells and free weights (more on this in a future newsletter) would be enough to keep my back in good shape for mountain biking so I quit doing Back RX.

That appears to have been a mistake, because like most geezers, the discs in my back are gradually degenerating with age so exercises that work on my flexibility are just as important as those for strength and endurance. I know, duh, right?

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