Michael Ryan...Go Mikie Go...

Mike Ryan appears fresh, despite just finishing a spin class that seems to have brought the other participants to their knees. And yet he tells me, “I always add a couple of gears to the instructions, in order to make it a harder workout.” At 58 years old, he was the oldest in the class, and by far the fittest.


At an age where most people are slowing down, Mike is gearing up for the Schwalbe Tour Transalp, a seven-day stage race through the Alps and Dolomites of Europe. The tortuous bike race, referred to as the most difficult of amateur bike races, takes place this June.

Mike initially took up cycling when living in London, as an outlet from city life, while training as an actor at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made the switch to cycling from running, which he found hard on his joints.

He fondly recalls being the only member of the peloton wearing a helmet, thanks to the advice of a friend and neurosurgeon, something that would save his life in his near future.

“A truck hit me, and dragged me some distance before the guys I was riding with were able to pound on the driver’s window and get him to stop the truck. I broke my collarbone, some ribs, and my pelvis.” Without the helmet, it could have been much worse.

Not someone to let a close encounter with death slow him down, Mike got back on his bike and started collecting titles, such as the BC Road Race Champion and the BC Hill Climb Champion.

But when he climbed on a mountain bike for the first time in the Cheakamus Challenge and won a spot in the top ten riders, he turned the heads of sponsor and bike manufacturer, Paul Brody. Mike switched his focus from the road to the trails, which culminated in his win at the National Cross Country Championship in 1994.

While some may attribute his success to seriously good genes, Mike thinks it is more likely due to his healthy habits. “I’ve been a vegetarian since I was sixteen, and nutrition and health have always been an important part of my life.” Aside from working as a carpenter, he is training in his spare time to become a pilates instructor. “Any repetitive sport requires you to have balance. Pilates can be very helpful with this.”

Besides his regular diet of fish, beans, and plenty of vegetables, Mike has been using products from his sponsor, Flora Manufacturing, such as their popular Udo’s Oil. “I’m feeling strong and energetic, my body is responding to the training and I’m recovering well.”

He’s not likely to slow down anytime soon. “Cycling is part of who I am. It’s a part of my life.”

So to the Tour Transalp and beyond, go Mikie go.