Success Story: 5 Lessons Learned On My Journey to the Wheelie (and other skills)

Joe mastered the wheelie and can now stretch them out over 200 metres. Check out his wheelie video below and read all about his journey here.

"I’ve been at it for several months now plugging along with some good days, some not so good, and weeks of feeling like I’m on a plateau and can’t improve. Today I went out and had an audio book playing into my headphones as I was practicing and I really think it helped to do the 'Relinquish control to gain control' by taking my mind off trying to analyze my technique and just letting my body flow and do what all these lessons and practice has led me to. Today it “clicked” and I was able to go from 3-4 parking spaces as my max distance to nailing some in the 8-9+ parking spot range. Such an 'ah-ha' moment where I honestly could feel what a manual was all about and enjoy the ride. I didn’t want to stop practicing!!"
- George

"WOW! Your introduction is really great. It is extremely well thought out, well presented and clearly based on many years of experience. You have inspired me to get back with the program."

- Robert

"I thought the first two drills would be tedious, but I’m determined not to short cut any of this. I was wrong. I felt like a kid 'playing' on my bike. After about 30 mins on lesson one drills I did about 45 mins doing this drill. The time flew by. By the end I really did feel more confident ratcheting on my bike, which I didn’t think was possible after 30 years of riding. But I have never formally practiced anything. I have always just rode. Amazed at how much I learned on such a basic skill and excited to move forward!"

- Johnnie

"Thanks for the opportunity to reflect. I'm a female in my mid 50's, been biking for decades, am a decent blue/black rider that has lots of fun on the trails BUT I've really been wanting to learn to jump and realize my limited technical skills getting in the way. I switched to flats and made it this far. Hasn't really been an issue but haven't yet tried the most technical trails I ride and guessing it may take a little practice with drops to keep my foot/pedal connection. So I'm all in and plan to progress beyond the Flat Pedal Challenge & Bulletproof Basics and onto Jumping. I've been really impressed with this series - instructional videos, step by step, responsiveness to questions, great advice and encouragement!! Thanks so much."

- Mary M.

"After about a month I finished Bulletproof Basics 1-10 and watched the webinar today. I was psyched to ride a trail since I've mostly been practicing around the neighborhood. The ride felt smooth and in control; not fast but intentional. I was very aware of most of the topics covered. Spot shifting got me out of a precarious situation when I didn't make it up an incline and was in jeopardy of falling backward. I confidently locked in the front brake, shifted to lowest gear and was out of there smoothly and efficiently. Tree dodges were automatic. Braking was smooth. I was ratcheting, although my timing was consistently a bit late, and pedal strikes from other riders were obvious. I'm not a total beginner, but have never had any type of training. There was a new feeling of competence that was very satisfying...not sure how to express it. To think that I've barely scratched the surface of the content at RLC has me pumped for what's to come. So thanks for a great instructional course. Well done!"

- Tom J.

"I wish I knew this when I first started a few years ago. I tried to tail every single turn and went over the bars many, many times. I didn’t even consciously consider level pedals until today. Level pedals, body position, and a controlled speed are key to navigating these steep switchbacks."

- Harry M.

"As much as I wanted to leap into an "exciting" course such as Jumps, I knew my lack of balance skills was a fundamental gap that I should work on first. The 2 weeks has been EYE-OPENING and SO exciting to do! And damn hard work on the old knees and thighs! But I am loving it and it makes me feel that I am so much more knowledgeable - even after 2 weeks. It is quite uplifting actually."

- Paul M.

"My understanding regarding cadence makes so much sense, now. Knowing when to engage in what gear. This small bit advice, just completely changed my Sunday ride, best uphill climbing ever (legs are burning a bit) Well done RLC. Your course rocks!"

- Trent G.

Success Story: I Feel Like a Kid Again – Catching Air at 44

When Michelle started RLC, she didn't know what manuals, hopping or any specific skills were. Now she's catching air. Watch her hit some tabletops in the video below and read about her journey here.

"I am 49 and I live in Scotland. I have been mountain biking for many years but certain skills have always eluded me. That was until I took up the wheelie challenge the was offered for free during the lockdown of 2020. I was amazed at how helpful these tutorials are and I can now wheelie like a boss! 😜 Since then, I have purchased the manual course, which is progressing well and now I am hungry for more, more, more."

- Alan B

"On my first off road ride on flats, I was pretty amazed at the result - I managed to achieve much better connection to my bike than I thought possible and it's not been much of a stretch to do so. I'm still working on it, but after relatively little time flats feel almost as natural as clipless to me, and I've ridden clipless for the last 25 years."

- Richard

"I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this day...and at how comfortable I was doing wheelies outside of the mostly empty parking lot I usually go to. There was something about being on public streets that made it easier to get into/stay in the float zone. I rode by my kids' soccer clinic with their friends chanting 'wheelie! wheelie!' and then erupting into cheers after a (not-especially impressive-to-me) 5-stroke wheelie. It put a smile on my face that lasted the whole day. It was a great reminder of a big reason why I embarked on this program: whether you're watching them or popping them, wheelies just make people happy."

- Tim T.

"I don’t know how you’ve done it but the text, video and overall framework just makes me want to learn and practice! Kudos! Good software development + creating behavior change is no small feat!"

- Jill N.

"I never thought that I would manage a wheelie. Thank you. Teaching an old dog new tricks takes some time."

- Einar K.

"Thank you for helping me see that as I didn't realize how all of the issues conspired together to almost cause a nice wipe out. I will go back and do the review and then get out and do the work. Thank you!!!"

- Benjamin D.

"Thanks so much for all the time and effort you've put into this course. I've always wanted to be able to manual but never put in the effort so thought it was about time I gave it a good go, so bought myself the course for my 51st birthday, it's never too late, and I feel i'm making good progress - about 2 meters after a couple of days:-)"

- Darce S.

"A friend of mine asked my why I am not dropping my weight all the way back on descents. Thankfully, I have already went through body position and body leans in Bulletproof Basics, and learned that I need to be fluid with bike and trail. You should have seen his big eyes, and then after couple of of seconds of thinking and analyzing, he said: "You know, you are right."

And what is interesting the whole YouTube will tell you to get and stay in the attack position, which was very misleading when I just started riding 1.5 months ago, and before I have joined this fantastic RLC community. I cannot say enough "thank you" for all the efforts and support RLC Team provides!"

- Andrey C

"I've tried for a long time to learn how to manual from YouTube, but it never clicked. I thought by making a manual machine it would help me understand the movement more, but it didn't, since I was still missing some basics.

The lessons here have been ordered in a way that really helps to illustrate my body movement and mechanics, and I've been able to progress much quicker and understand my movements much more. Since I feel like I'm learning more now than just guessing, I'm very motivated to continue :)."

- Peter H

"I've subtly changed my cornering skills based on lessons 17 to 23 during rides over the last week or so (when it's not raining) and have noticed an increase in speed, control, flow and fun.

One of the things that I've noticed is my body is more dynamic before, during and after a turn than it was a few weeks ago. I'm finding that I'm making small corrections automatically while cornering and with less thought. The feeling is similar to carving downhill ski turns. I've also noticed that the sound of my tires changes while proceeding through turns. This was probably the case before but I notice it more now, I think the sound is of the knobs and chevrons digging in, which is cool. I have found that I have an increased awareness of body position including lean, knees, handle bar pressure, etc and this has lead to improvement. The other thing I noticed today was that I was not thinking as much and smiling more. Looking forward to more practice."

- John

"Thank you so much Jeffrey, I read your message at least 5 times, so that I can apply each word you said.. and the results ( drumroll please...) I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It worked like magic!!!!

Thank you so very much for your guidance and your detailed message... I cannot explain how happy I am :) I finally Graduated from Day 03 :D I have a question - I spare an hour a day just to learn skills.. trying wheelie for an hour straight is tiring. after around 30 minutes the energy level / enthusiasm takes a dip.. so wanted to know what other skill I can start learning along with Wheelie, which does not contradicts (I believe Manual will do)... rather compliments (something like baseline or bunny hop?) Thanks again... i am so happy!!!!! :)"

- Aditya M

"I'm 56 and started riding 2 years ago. I took baseline balance skills course last year and I'm way ahead of my friends already! Thank you for it! So look forward to this course!"

- Valdas D