When Rich Ryon accepted a job in the field of construction engineering recently, he ended a long stint during which everyone knew he was the fastest and most skilled courier in Denver. With his preference for huge gears and low cadence, Richard was an amazingly smooth rider who could produce blazing speed with what appeared to be very little effort. He won pretty much every race he entered, seemingly at will. In the past year he had taken to riding a fixed gear on occasion. His chosen gearing? 53 x 12. Rich complained of spinning this gear out. In short, Rich was faster than spit goin' East. But his riding downtown was about more than just speed. Rich is also an ultra-smooth trials rider with masterful balance. The ultimate Rich Ryon messenger moments were those that combined his easy speed with some jaw-dropping spectacle of skill. Rich made his stripped down flat-bar GT road bike do some improbable things.

My favorite Rich Ryon memory occurred a year or two ago. We worked together for the same small company, and were often trading packages back and forth for various reasons. One day I was waiting for Richard to bring me a package at 370 17th and knew I wouldn't have to wait very long. I was watching the intersection. Rich emerged as a speeding blur from between lines of cars on the far side of 17th Avenue, riding on his front wheel. He carved a perfect sweeping arc -- an utterly parabolic, majestic line -- in front of the moving cars, all the way across the intersection, then up the curb onto the sidewalk in front of me, effortlessly on the front wheel the whole time. He came to a gentle stop and held it, balanced on his single Mavic Ksyrium. It was a thirty- or forty-yard high speed turning nose wheelie in heavy traffic. As usual, he performed this feat with the perfectly relaxed and content facial expression of someone contemplating pretty flowers on a walk through the park.

As a parting gift to the amazed coworkers and hipster posengers of Denver, Rich has produced another great Rich's-eye-view video. This one takes us from the Denver PD's bike impound to the downtown streets and offices, all the way to the singletrack delights of the mountains (which are actually not the Colorado mountains but those of Tennessee from whence Rich hails originally). Along the way Richard slows down enough (drastically) to capture several other veteran messengers plying their trade: Sam Turner, Jacob Isaacs, maybe even this guy.

http://www.milehighmess.com/vid/mountain_therapy_for_messengers.mov

If the whole engineering thing doesn't work out, Richard could always find work as a video editor. Or circus performer. Or messenger, of course.

Robert