B.C. man strives to inspire smiles riding penny-farthing bike

Sawatsky Sign-Off: Penny-farthing bike Adam meets a man riding a penny-farthing bike with a remarkable musical past.

DUNCAN, B.C. — Although Mitch Guindon makes climbing up to ride a penny-farthing bicycle look easy now, there was once a time when he would have found it daunting.

“I was a very shy, weak, sick kid,” Mitch says. “I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my ability.”

To appreciate how he eventually got the gumption to stand with one foot balanced on the seat of the precarious penny-farthing, and stretch the other leg straight back in the air, we need to go back to when Mitch was 12.

“We had enough, but not extra,” Mitch says of his childhood. “I needed to come up with my own money.”

So Mitch got his first job at a bike store. It helped give the once-weak kid the strength and confidence to become a competitive and accomplished BMX bike racer in his teens.

“When it came to doing that were scary,” Mitch says, “I decided to take a leap of faith and try anyway.”

So when Mitch developed a passion for music, he decided to study it in university.

“And that turned into a little bit of a serious professional career,” Mitch smiles humbly.

That turned into being hired to drum for Nickelback during the late ‘90s, forcing the shy kid to face his fears.

“I don’t think anybody that’s seen me perform would ever believe that I’m shy,” Mitch says. “Because I put on quite a performance.”

While he and the band split amicably after a few years (and remains friends), Mitch is still making music regularly. After a cycling friend invited him to ride a penny-farthing in a parade, he still rides the unique bike occasionally.

“Wether it’s on the bike or playing music, it’s all about putting a smile on other people’s faces for me,” Mitch says. “And that puts a smile on my face.”

Smiles that wouldn’t be inspired, if young Mitch hadn’t developed the courage to challenge himself.

“Don’t be afraid to stand-out and be different,” Mitch says. “Embrace that and go with it.”

And don’t be afraid to take take the first step towards a goal, and do the work to achieve it.

“Trust in yourself,” Mitch says before balancing on the bike to to make it look like he’s flying forward, a trick he calls The Superman. “Believe in yourself a little more and you’ll accomplish great things.”