Watch Lee Craigie’s Inspiring ‘Ride Like a Girl’ TED Talk

Lee Craigie gives an inspiring talk at TEDxGlasgow that tells the tale of her ride on the Highland Trail 550 and ultimately makes the point that “maybe there’s a different way to win the race.”

Lee Craigie is 38 years old and lives in the Highlands of Scotland. She competed for 10 years as an elite level mountain bike racer, representing Great Britain in the World Championships and Scotland in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. With her racing career behind her, Lee continues to test herself by riding longer and further than she ever has before. Only these days, she knows herself and her motivations for doing so.

At the recent TEDxGlasgow, Lee tells the story of an epic multi-day, ultra-endurance mountain bike race through some of Scotland’s most wild and remote terrain. The Highland Trail 550 Race provides an interesting narrative to explore the ways people behave differently under stressful conditions and ultimately asks the question “is there a different way to succeed?”.

[Why do I not] just go home and make a nice cup of tea? If I did that, that cup of tea would just be a nice cup of tea. But if I can get to the end of this ride, that cup of tea will taste sublime.”

  • Lee Craigie TEDx Glasgow
  • Lee Craigie TEDx Glasgow
Lee Craigie

About Lee Craigie

Lee Craigie became the British Mountain Bike Champion in 2013 and represented Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but the secret to her sporting success lies in her love of exploring big mountains by bike. With a background in outdoor education and psychotherapy, Lee is fascinated by the places we can take ourselves emotionally by pushing our perceived limits and is passionate about helping people who struggle to manage their own emotional states to get active and absorbed in outdoor, adventurous activity. Find more about Lee at leecraigie.com and The Adventure Syndicate.

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