Wednesday, June 6, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
11
Learning life lessons on two wheels
By Cody Rheault
Correspondent
When Tom Lyons was a
child he couldn’t have cared
less about his bicycle. If you
know him today, you would
find that hard to believe. Then,
it was no more than a mode
of transportation and a way
to hang with his friends. But
today it has become an exten-
sion of himself — one he uses
to encourage and inspire local
kids to be and do more.
As a kid Lyons played a
number of sports including
soccer, basketball, and base-
ball. None held his attention
for long. When he was 10 he
began to explore life on two
wheels. Slowly a passion
started to build in him; his
free time now consisted of rid-
ing to learn. At 12 he received
his first real mountain bike —
a Cannondale M400 — and
it wasn’t long before he dis-
covered jump tracks, grav-
ity trails, and the adrenaline-
inducing sport of downhill
racing.
To m f o u n d h i m s e l f
inspired by mountain biking
legend Hans “No Way” Rey,
a German pioneer in the sport
of free-riding. After school he
would study the sport icon by
watching his films and prac-
ticing maneuvers in his drive-
way. By then, he knew what
he wanted to do.
Lyons’ passion in the sport
led him into the competitive
world of downhill mountain
biking. For six years he com-
peted for his spot among the
pros and placed third in the
Oregon State Downhill cham-
pionship his junior year. But
over time injuries and serious
emergency room visits took
their toll on his body. A broken
pelvis — among many inju-
ries — pushed him to life off
the hill and pursuing another
dream he’d held since he was
young.
From the age of 12, he
knew he wanted to be a
teacher. But the world of
cycling hadn’t taken hold of
him yet. Facing retirement
from downhill racing, Tom
saw a new way to give back
with what he had learned over
many years.
His new direction led him
to a lead instructor position
at the Lumberyard Bike Park
in Portland, and Life Cycles
in Eugene. For the next three
years Tom would focus his
efforts in teaching the new
generation of mountain bike
enthusiasts through private
lessons and classes.
“This was a way to get out
and have fun, but be safe and
still go to work the next day,”
he told The Nugget.
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He would take them out to
trails a couple times a week
to practice skills, and soon
became a personal mentor to
many. He would help prepare
meals, study courses, work on
bikes, and help them recover
from injuries.
“Everything just clicked,”
he said. “It was clear how to
combine these passions, do
what I love, and give back to
the local community.” It also
gave him, “a chance to help
teach some up-and-coming
youth a lot of the lessons I
learned the hard way.”
Former students Rhys
Ewing and Jack Hill are sea-
soned professionals in the
world of downhill racing.
Rhys won the NWCup series
last year, and Jack Hill contin-
ues to be a prominent threat to
the CAT 1 podium.
Lyons says finding two
of his passions and learn-
ing how to integrate them to
work toward a bigger purpose
helped shape who he is today.
“There is nothing more
rewarding than getting to
directly influence and help
local youth who share your
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Mountain bike racer and teacher Tom Lyons has brought his passion for life
on two wheels to classes through Sisters Park & Recreation District.
passion,” he said.
Lyons, 32, is now a resi-
dent of Sisters and has taken
his last 18 years of experience
to the local youth. Teaching
classes out of Sisters Park
& Recreation District, he
recently took over from former
instructor Thomas Wilkonson
and personally wrote the new
seven-week curriculum.
A certified Level 1 instruc-
tor through the Professional
Mountain Bike Instructor
Association, Tom has taken
his role as a local mountain
biking instructor as a service
to the community. He has also
donated two years and over
200 hours of his time to the
construction and maintenance
of the SPRD Bike Park 242.
Classes were held twice
weekly for both beginners
and experienced students this
spring term, with classes held
at the Bike Park or on the
Peterson Ridge Trail system.
For the first few weeks Tom
focused on teaching students
the basics of bike handling,
operations and controls, as
well as incident response and
personal goals.
Each student coming into
the program with expectations
are met with Lyons’ dedica-
tion to see it through. He val-
ues the one-on-one instruction
with his students and prefers
See LYONS on page 20