Max Leonard
@maxleonard.bsky.social
Writer. Mountain Style (Isola 2024), A Cold Spell (Bloomsbury 2023). Previous inc. Higher Calling, Bunker Research, Lanterne Rouge etc. I also run Isola Press.
https://linktr.ee/m_xl
https://linktr.ee/m_xl
4/2026. A re-read, for work, but that’s allowed. Midlife crises collide with post-genocide redemption and the quest to find great African cyclists. Tim Lewis is such a great storyteller.
January 15, 2026 at 6:54 PM
4/2026. A re-read, for work, but that’s allowed. Midlife crises collide with post-genocide redemption and the quest to find great African cyclists. Tim Lewis is such a great storyteller.
3/2026. Stranger-than-fiction account of sociopaths and journalistic ethics… and there’s a murderer in there too. Brilliant writing on human motivations and behaviour.
January 14, 2026 at 1:08 PM
3/2026. Stranger-than-fiction account of sociopaths and journalistic ethics… and there’s a murderer in there too. Brilliant writing on human motivations and behaviour.
America’s secret nuclear base under the ice floe in Greenland (in the 1960s!)
January 8, 2026 at 11:08 AM
America’s secret nuclear base under the ice floe in Greenland (in the 1960s!)
2/2026. I wanted to love this and did more as it went on. Sometimes didactic, but on bears, forests and (occasionally) Zen it was wonderful.
January 3, 2026 at 8:31 AM
2/2026. I wanted to love this and did more as it went on. Sometimes didactic, but on bears, forests and (occasionally) Zen it was wonderful.
1/2026. How the outdoor industry convinced America that buying things was the only way to escape from consumerist society. Super interesting.
January 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM
1/2026. How the outdoor industry convinced America that buying things was the only way to escape from consumerist society. Super interesting.
Rabbit holes, I find ‘em… 🐰
November 20, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Rabbit holes, I find ‘em… 🐰
Got a ticket to see Robert MacFarlane talk on Friday 21 Nov @ 15h45 @kendalmountainfest.bsky.social and can’t go - any offers? (It’s sold out)
November 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Got a ticket to see Robert MacFarlane talk on Friday 21 Nov @ 15h45 @kendalmountainfest.bsky.social and can’t go - any offers? (It’s sold out)
Managed another swim this year! Glorious
November 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Managed another swim this year! Glorious
I continue to be in love with this book.
October 15, 2025 at 9:39 AM
I continue to be in love with this book.
The Cannes vibes are strong today.
October 15, 2025 at 9:11 AM
The Cannes vibes are strong today.
Last swim of the year? 😢
October 15, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Last swim of the year? 😢
Reading a book about extreme sports and the search for transcendent experiences that just keeps uncovering incredible stories.
October 7, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reading a book about extreme sports and the search for transcendent experiences that just keeps uncovering incredible stories.
Had to escape. Sheep be like, WTF, it’s September.
September 28, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Had to escape. Sheep be like, WTF, it’s September.
@carltonreid.com This might take you back… or were you not involved in Crans Montana '88?
August 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
@carltonreid.com This might take you back… or were you not involved in Crans Montana '88?
Been wanting to make it here for years!
June 23, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Been wanting to make it here for years!
I posted the first of these pictures on the other place in October 2024, and I’m back in Cannes eight months later and see the second bike in exactly the same place, and all I can say is this guy has some bike collection and very little regard for its safety.
June 14, 2025 at 9:22 PM
I posted the first of these pictures on the other place in October 2024, and I’m back in Cannes eight months later and see the second bike in exactly the same place, and all I can say is this guy has some bike collection and very little regard for its safety.
Sometimes I wonder if we were being replace by AI years ago…
June 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Sometimes I wonder if we were being replace by AI years ago…
As well as preorder discounts on the standard hardcover book, there's a limited special edition signed by Tom himself and other exclusive Kickstarter-only rewards. Take a look before they go! www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
April 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM
As well as preorder discounts on the standard hardcover book, there's a limited special edition signed by Tom himself and other exclusive Kickstarter-only rewards. Take a look before they go! www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
In ONE RIDE AWAY FROM FIGURING IT OUT, he tells his life story in his own words for the first time. Featuring untold stories, stunning photos and historic bicycles… all packaged in Isola press style… Please support us in bringing this important project to life! www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
April 14, 2025 at 12:57 PM
In ONE RIDE AWAY FROM FIGURING IT OUT, he tells his life story in his own words for the first time. Featuring untold stories, stunning photos and historic bicycles… all packaged in Isola press style… Please support us in bringing this important project to life! www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
Over 50 years later, Tom is still sole product developer at Ritchey Design, the company he founded at 16. He’s seen the highs and lows of a revolutionary era in cycling, and personally helped to change the way we ride bikes today.
April 14, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Over 50 years later, Tom is still sole product developer at Ritchey Design, the company he founded at 16. He’s seen the highs and lows of a revolutionary era in cycling, and personally helped to change the way we ride bikes today.
In the Wild West of early mountain-bike racing, Ritchey bicycles dominated. And when the sport professionalised, Team Ritchey became home to racers like Henrik Djernis, Ruthie Matthes and the legendary Thomas Frischknecht.
April 14, 2025 at 12:47 PM
In the Wild West of early mountain-bike racing, Ritchey bicycles dominated. And when the sport professionalised, Team Ritchey became home to racers like Henrik Djernis, Ruthie Matthes and the legendary Thomas Frischknecht.
At barely twenty-two years old, with more than 1,000 frames already built, Ritchey met Joe Breeze. Their shared enthusiasm for off-road riding, and the chance encounters that flowed from the meeting, would spark a global mountain-biking revolution… we were lucky enough to photograph Ritchey MTB #1!
April 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
At barely twenty-two years old, with more than 1,000 frames already built, Ritchey met Joe Breeze. Their shared enthusiasm for off-road riding, and the chance encounters that flowed from the meeting, would spark a global mountain-biking revolution… we were lucky enough to photograph Ritchey MTB #1!
Tom was nicknamed the "Senior Slayer" as a junior rider because of his habit of entering senior bike races and winning.
As a teenager, he'd already made an electric car and his first bicycle frame in the family garage…
Just the beginning of an amazing story…
www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
As a teenager, he'd already made an electric car and his first bicycle frame in the family garage…
Just the beginning of an amazing story…
www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
April 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Tom was nicknamed the "Senior Slayer" as a junior rider because of his habit of entering senior bike races and winning.
As a teenager, he'd already made an electric car and his first bicycle frame in the family garage…
Just the beginning of an amazing story…
www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
As a teenager, he'd already made an electric car and his first bicycle frame in the family garage…
Just the beginning of an amazing story…
www.kickstarter.com/projects/iso...
I declare rosé season open.
April 4, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I declare rosé season open.