Leigh Donovan's ICHOOSEBIKES Skills Clinics

Path Service Manager Brandon Olson wanted to work on his jumping technique, so he reached out to longtime Path friend and customer, Leigh Donovan for help. Leigh is the 1995 Downhill World Champion, 2001 World Cup Champion, ESPN X-Games gold medalist and a nine-time U.S. National Champion who was also inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2014. 

Leigh retired from racing in 2001 after the World Championships in Vail, Colorado, where she earned a bronze medal. She has made appearances at cycling events over the years, and has raced on occasion, including at Sea Otter, where she won the overall gravity title in 2003, and again in Mt. St. Anne, Canada, in 2010, where earned spots on the podium at all five events. At 39 years old, she qualified for the U.S. National Team that year, and placed 8th at the elite MTB World Downhill championships and was the top-placing American rider. 

With the goal of helping more women learn to mountain bike safely, Leigh launched ICHOOSEBIKES in 2013. She expanded her focus to all riders in 2018, when she began offering co-ed skills clinics. Today, Leigh coaches riders of all levels locally in Southern California, and on a regular basis at Skypark Bike Park, sharing what she's learned in more than three decades of riding and racing to help people improve their riding and bike knowledge.  

After Brandon reached out to Leigh for help with learning how to properly (and safely) jump his bike, Leigh taught an evening clinic for staff in The Path's parking lot. Leigh had plenty of tips to share, and her infectious laugh kept everyone smiling as they worked on body position for manualing, bunny hopping and jumping, and there were definitely some a-ha moments for everyone. Huge thanks to Leigh for taking the time to help our crew out!

To learn more about ICHOOSEBIKES and book a clinic with Leigh, visit her website.