Rich Martin has had the pleasure of living and working in the Lakes for the past 17 years. As a fully qualified Outdoor Instructor he has been employed by most of the major Lakeland Outdoor Centres which has given him a wealth of knowledge about the area & all aspects of the outdoor industry. A dedicated outdoor enthusiast and biking geek he contuinues to be involved in the development of the MTB skills & leadership awards.

Rich became an SMBLA Tutor & SMBLA Committee member because he could see how beneficial mountain biking as an activity could & should be both in outdoor centres and commercial organisations. (He also realised that the wife could not complain about the amount of time/money he spent on his bike if it was his job!!)

Although qualified as a Summer / Winter Mountain Leader, Climbing Instructor, BCU Canoe & Kayak Coach, Rich's main passion has always been biking. As a British Cycling Coach & National Standard / Bikeability Instructor, Cytech level 2 mechanic and SMBLA Tutor he is on a mission to get more people biking, more safely, more often and with bigger smiles. Rich has specilaised in all disciplines of cycling and has competed to a high level in both road and mountain bike events.

After 8 years of running Cyclewise with Craig & Sue, he is immensly proud of the difference that Cyclewise is making to the bike industry with the correct standards in skills, leadership and customer care. Now with 18 staff working for Cyclewise, articles being written for magazines and the odd TV appearance (BBC Happy Days!!) he still has lots of enthusiasm and seeks out new challenges for the business. Most of all he just loves riding his bike.simple!