Leadership

“Every moment is a fresh beginning.”- T. S. ELIOT

Who is Leigh Donovan?

Leigh is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a friend, a bike racer, an entrepreneur, a coach, a business owner, a passionate bike enthusiast, and possibly a few other things, but we will stop there. With her love of dancing and singing and a voice that can carry through a football stadium, Leigh has been known to be the life of the party with a memorable laugh, known to make someone’s day or totally annoy them :-).

Brownie Ad for Rocket Parts

At age 11, Leigh fell in love with the bicycle. Back then it was a BMX bike, today it is a mountain bike. As a youth, in addition to being a BMX national champion, she was a competitive runner, roller-skater and dabbled in softball and soccer. She loved being outside and being active!

By age 20, during her 2nd year of college, she found mountain biking and felt like she was “home”. By 1995, she was winning many races, championships and traveling around the world for almost a decade. Bikes gave Leigh the ability to chase her dreams and create new ones too. 

After her racing career, Leigh proved she could be successful off the bike as well, opening a retail ‘Contemporary Fashion’ clothing boutique (her other passion is shopping and fashion) with friend Jennifer Gabrielli; naming it Tangerine. The store was a space where Leigh learned to be an adult (or at least tried).  Tangerine was a place where both women and men were welcomed (and their children) and they came for great conversation, fabulous clothes and some of the best customer service you’d ever find. The store closed in June of 2011, and Leigh decided bikes was were she belonged. 

In 2014, ichoosebikes was born. It is an educational approach to helping riders from all walks of life become more confident and safe mountain bikers out on the trails. Leigh has been working with riders from beginner to advanced all over the world and applauds the industry for making Mountain Bike education a priority.   

 

photoenjoy the ride!

Career Leadership Achievements 

  • 2020 – Inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame
  • 2014 – Inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
  • 2014-Launched ichoosebikes with a goal to get more women riding bikes.
  • 2013 – Inducted into the USABMX Hall of Fame
  • 2010-2020: Women’s Event organizer for Ray’s MTB bike park
  • 2004-2021: Camp Del Corazon sponsor and volunteer for the DAVI golf tournament
  • 1997-2002: NORBA (USA Cycling) Board member “Athlete Representative”
  • Nominated in 2001 for Richard Long Sportsmanship award
  • 1996 Grand Marshall “Tour de Cure”, Charity ride in L.A. for Diabetes
  • 1996 Grand Marshall of “American Heart Association” Ride in L.A. to benefit Heart disease studies
  • 1995 Nominated as “Female Cyclist of The Year” for Korbel Night of Champions