Hi Leigh. I saw the video you did with GMBN on 5 MTB Skills. I really liked your approach to teaching bunny hopping. I’ve seen a ton of videos on bunny hopping in my quest to get off the ground but your approach clicked and I’ve been able to have a measure of success which I’m sure will grow.
Best regards, Jim Ratzlaff May 2019
“Hi Leigh, I just wanted to share with you that since taking your skills clinic with my three friends last Sunday (1/24) I have made some GREAT IMPROVEMENTS in both skill and confidence! I was going up and down switchbacks with ease when last week I was terrified of them. This changes everything! Thank you so much! You have given me soooo much in just those 4 hours. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Sheryl Cherry – February 2016
“Leigh is a rare talent. She is a smart gal and a damn good rider. She has a unique awareness of the big picture, which allows her to better your performance. She is seeking to build a culture of safety and skill for mountain bikers, and in doing so, creates a safe, exciting, and really fun platform for teaching.
This course is demystifying for any level of rider, from beginner to expert. Regardless of what I thought I already knew, and what I was already training for every day, Leigh completely revised my skill-set. From carving corners, vision, rhythm, flow, breathing, pumping, to course inspection. I was looking for a way to continue training in earnest, and I can’t stress enough a coach’s impact on that.
Taking this skills course has been one of the best learning experiences of my life. There are so many applicable techniques to mountain biking that aren’t taught well from the ground up. The clinic content is well organized, logically progressed, and has carefully constructed curriculum. This clinic has a style, it’s insightful, and on top of educational, it’s so motivating, inspiring, and encouraging. You walk away with this energy and freedom to just go out and create yourself, to believe you can make yourself into the rider you want to be”.
Paula Evenson – April 2015
“Look ahead. Two of the most valuable words that I learned from Leigh Donovan back when I first started riding mountain bikes. Leigh solidified my love to keep pushing through obstacles and stick with it! The confidence she provided truly is one of the huge reasons I began my own all women’s mountain biking club…The Trail Angels.”
Jacke Van Woerkom – February 2015
Director of Trail Angels
“I’ve had three one-on-one sessions with Leigh, each time I took away one key skill that significantly improved my riding. Leigh is a great teacher, she’s knows how to describe things in simple terms and motivate you to try things that you didn’t think you could do. Three of us attended one of Leigh’s clinics, her sense of humor, high energy, and excellent teaching techniques made for a fun and very worthwhile experience. Leigh is an amazing person and coach, she’s able to make learning new skills safe and fun.”
Diane Parks – January 2015
“This past October, Leigh made the drive to Malibu to volunteer as a ride leader for our annual GGR Rocktober event that hosts over 100 women. The annual event is aimed towards the beginner and intermediate level XC rider that includes skills clinics, guided rides, guest speakers, goodie bags, raffles and more. For beginning women to see another women doing all the necessary skills and being able to execute them, teach them and still have fun with them is priceless. She even showed one of our veteran male volunteers a new line he never saw before which got him through a creek bed he had to walk before.
Leigh was one of our guest speakers in the afternoon program. She spoke of growing up competing in a man’s sport and what mountain biking has done for her. The speech was inspiring and informative. The girlz loved having her there and she sets the standards so very high still doing so with ease and fun, which rubs off on everyone. We hope she will be back for all of our Rocktober events!”
Most Sincerely,
Wendy Engelberg, GGR – December 2014
“We took a small group clinic from Leigh Donovan back in September of 2011. It was great! I had a lot of fun and learned some new things! Leigh is super nice and is an effective instructor as well. Basically we worked on three different skills; 1, manual, 2, downhill & 3, switchbacks. I am already pretty good at #2 & #3 but her instruction on the proper way to ride steep downhills and narrow switchbacks was great reinforcement. The manual (#1) was the most helpful to me for learning the best way to get up over obstacles. She taught us a new way of shifting our weight that was different from the way I had been doing it and her way is definitely more effective. Now, it’s a matter of practicing and doing what she taught us. Her clinics are definitely worthwhile!”
Sincerely,
Tamara – November 2014