pure flow 25 w ryan leech
Review

Ryan Leech's Pure Flow Course

Photos Hailey Elise
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As a mountain biker, I am constantly seeking to expand my mental toolkit. Riding isn’t just about technical skills and physical strength; it’s also about mindset, self-awareness, and emotional resilience. When an opportunity to take Ryan Leech’s new Scend MTB Pure Flow course came up, I jumped on it. I thought I might learn a lot or even one new tool that changes everything. While I anticipated thought-provoking lessons, what I didn’t expect the course to conjure up a mish-mash of feelings and ultimately, self-discovery.

Pure Flow is designed to help riders explore the deeper connection between their mindset and their experience on the bike, primarily around flow. What’s flow you ask? Flow is the mental state where a person is completely focused on a task. Many of us might recognize it as being ‘in the zone’ - that special place where we are immersed in a ride and at one with our bike, where fear floats away and challenges are easily tackled. Often, we tap into this naturally on a ride when our attention is directed but it can be inconsistent and hard to re-engage.

Ryan’s teachings take a more spiritual approach to channeling flow, diving into the ‘purpose of riding’ for each participant and challenging societal beliefs that may be destructive to flow states. It’s not just about riding better but about understanding why we ride, how we approach challenges, and how our perceptions shape our experiences on the trail. By owning a purpose, you can help direct presence, thus, leading to more ‘flow’ moments.

Over the course of seven weeks, participants have access to seven online workshops and a private cohort space. While the workshop I attended was Ryan’s first, it was already filled with thirty or more participants from all over the world and with different backgrounds. The demographic seemed to trend to recreational riders but there were some formally competitive riders as well. That being said, what united us all was an interest in finding more purpose, joy and peace while on a bike.

The weekly workshops and chat sessions provided an opportunity to openly discuss materials, share individual discoveries, stories, struggles and the assignments that are given each week. The assignments were interesting and easy enough to incorporate into a ride or any other activity for that matter. Ryan encouraged us to apply it where we could and for some that even meant on a run or other non-bike related activity. Most of the assignments asked questions and demanded self-reflection while out engaging in your activity of choice. My favourite was one of the first where he invited us to tune in to our self-talk. It was wild because I didn’t realize that a great deal of my inner chatter wasn’t all the positive at times.

The course certainly delivered on its promise to challenge perspectives. However, I found myself grappling with some of the topics in ways I didn’t anticipate. During one of the live workshops, I began feeling triggered to the point where I questioned if I should continue. The discussion was centred around forced flow and the topic of risk came up. Forced flow often happens when we come up against a challenge and will ourselves to focus on completion. It can be a space where injury occurs and isn’t organic like unconscious flow. Many of us that engage in adrenaline fueled sports navigate a precarious relationship with risk. The perspective I shifted into while listening to the discussion had me feeling defensive and protective of the risks we take. Isn’t that part of why I love the sport? I felt that I was hearing reasons why we shouldn’t engage in mountain biking and it was clouding my carefully crafted sense of self as a rider.

I took this information to Pete who suggested I speak to the man who designed the course. Ryan was very kind and allowed me to spew out my thoughts and feelings, helping me transform what I thought was triggering into something that was actually challenging and defining.

It turns out one of the most thought-provoking part of the course for me was the idea of "forced flow." It challenged me to consider the balance between pushing myself and allowing the flow state to emerge naturally. When we force ourselves into risky situations to chase flow, are we truly in tune with the ride? Or are we bypassing the joy of gradual progression and genuine connection with the trail? I can’t say I have fully internalized this but I will report back if I have more insight and will continue to explore some of the questions Ryan poses in his workshop.

Mountain biking is an inherently personal experience. Courses like this one give us the opportunity to look beyond the physical challenge and dive into the mental one that many of us encounter at one point or another. Ryan Leech’s Pure Flow course is undeniably valuable for riders looking to deepen their connection to the sport, whether recreational or professional. While some topics left me with questions and room for constructive critique, the course as a whole offered perspectives that I’ll carry with me on and off the bike. Most of all, it made me examine aspects of riding that actually extend beyond riding - my commitment to a healthy mental state, continued growth, and finding joy wherever I can.

Find out more info about the course here.

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Comments

mikeferrentino
+4 Pete Roggeman Mark Harris Karl Fitzpatrick BarryW Velocipedestrian mnihiser

Kudos for not only leaning into your own feelings about forced flow but also voicing them and working through them. It's tough, especially when you are good at something, to confront your own paradigms and interrogate your beliefs. It's also not an easy thing at all to confront the knowledge/advice/training you are being given. I'm really looking forward to hearing what ripples out into your riding from this point forward!

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haileyelise
+5 BeesIntheTrap Mike Ferrentino Mark Harris Karl Fitzpatrick BarryW

Aw thank you Mike! It's wild how much more there is to riding a bike than two wheels hitting the dirt!

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Shinook
+2 Pete Roggeman BarryW

I was an early adopter of Ryan's programs many years ago when I was trying to improve. At the time, I was frustrated with a lot of the poor coaching videos and content on YouTube when he announced the program so I jumped on it immediately. 

I found similar, I learned some from him as it applied to skills on the bike, but I was really surprised by his approach to the things that weren't hard riding skills. I'm someone who really has a hard time mentally moving beyond progression alone to the point rides are sometimes a pass/fail for me, severely effecting my mental state and view of riding - Ryan kinda helps push people beyond that and he gave me a new perspective on enjoying all the other aspects and not being hung up on my perceived failures. These are things I picked up on from my in-person coach also and other teachers in my life, but Ryan is one of the few (I'd say Simon Lawton does this also) content creators that I think really helps get that message across while still teaching the skills. IMO one of the best things a mtb coach can do is teach their students that it's ok to need space to learn, to look around and find a more balanced approach to enjoying the ride while still pushing yourself - I think Ryan does a pretty good job at this, at least it helped me find different ways to connect with riding and enjoy it that weren't so wrapped in a sense of progression. 

In contrast, I think a lot of other media formats like YouTube seem to emphasize progression and make riders feel inferior or push them into skills they aren't ready for. It's an easy trap to fall into. Sometimes what new riders need to hear isn't how to manual, jump, etc - they need to hear that it's ok to not ride that feature today, it's ok to take time to learn advanced skills, and that there are other ways of viewing riding than some of these hard skills people focus on.

He does a good job presenting the skills, also, but what I walked away with was more than just how to ride a bike and I think that's evidence of a good teacher. The only real feedback I had at the time was that I think beginner riders need a more guided approach to what skills to focus on, their tendency is to jump straight to things they see on YT like manuals, jumps, etc - but they need to emphasize skills like body position and braking first. Not sure if he's updated this or not, as I was a subscriber probably the first few months he had the program and haven't seen what's there since. The content was always there, I think folks jumping in for the first time needed big red arrows to those things, because they tend to jump to things that seem more romanticized. 

Anyway, all his programs have been great for me - it's not a replacement for an in person coach - but I still walked away with a lot and his approach to the mental aspects of riding are really refreshing and helpful, it's not something you see a lot of in the mtb space.

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haileyelise
+3 Shinook BarryW Velocipedestrian

I wish there was more harbouring on the trails of space to learn and our own pathways to balance. It is so refreshing that Ryan's course does bring this to the forefront but it's still hard to internalize when 'just send it' is so ingrained.

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rolly
+2 Pete Roggeman Mark Harris BarryW Kristian Øvrum

A few years back I took Ryan's jumping course. It helped me so much. As a 50 yr old rider, I used to ride around jumps all the time on our group rides because I wasn't confident in my skill. His course helped me build that and I regularly hit jumps now. This course likely isn't for me, but Ryan's approach to breaking down skills in repeatable and manageable chunks is fantastic.

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haileyelise
+2 Mark Harris BarryW

Stoked to hear you tackled a challenge head on and now reap the benefits.

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BarryW
0

Good stuff here Hailey!

“My favourite was one of the first where he invited us to tune in to our self-talk. It was wild because I didn’t realize that a great deal of my inner chatter wasn’t all the positive at times.”

Self talk and being truly mindful of it is a HUGE part of high level athletic performance. And it’s so awesome you’re engaging with that. I just had this conversation (about a completely mundane part of life) about how our internal dialog sets us up for success or failure and we so often don’t even know we are doing it. For me it’s a lifelong journey to be kind internally, and to engage in truthful, positive, self talk. 

In my experience of kayal coaching, several of the coaching handbooks spend a lot of time talking about developing good internal dialogue and listening to it and having a lot of years of that experience I find it easier on my bike to do the same. 

“When we force ourselves into risky situations to chase flow, are we truly in tune with the ride? Or are we bypassing the joy of gradual progression and genuine connection with the trail?”

It is interesting how some sports really focus on this and some don’t. In kayak surfing (and surfing in general) we talk about that all the time. No one surfs well if they are ‘forcing it’ in too big conditions. Instead the recommendation is to move into a safer place and let the flow come. Unfortunately in MTB we often want to force or prove even to yourselves we can do that one move, clear that jump, whatever. But when you let the flow find you it’s such a better way to ride. Lately I have been spending intentional time riding less demanding tracks just for the easy to find flow feelings. It’s such a better experience than forcing it. 

“I can’t say I have fully internalized this but I will report back if I have more insight and will continue to explore some of the questions Ryan poses in his workshop.”

Looking forward to it.

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