Leslie Greene possesses a sincere charm that would win over most anyone. Behind Greene's ready smile there is not only a competitive mountain-bike racer and a talented wedding-gown designer, but also an inspiring individual.

Greene only smiles modestly as she reports placing fourth in the World Masters' Championships last year, but she absolutely beams when she reports the successes of her two athletic sisters. Greene's youngest sister, Nancy, is soon to be married, and her wedding dress, of course, will be handmade
by Greene. Sister Andria's gown was too. Greene started her custom bridal business in 1993 from a studio in her home. She makes about 20 wedding dresses a year, ranging from simple and elegant gowns to those that are elaborately flowered, laced, and buttoned, and even including a red one! She cuts and sews the dresses herself after consulting with the client and sketching out a unique design.

Some of Greene's clients are cyclists: Lesley Tomlinson, now married to Andreas Hestler, for example. The initial mock-up (muslin) for her gown was actually made at the World Championships at Mont-Ste-Anne, Que., in the fall of '98, and the first fitting took place at a training camp in Victoria, B.C., that December.

Another race, another gown, this time in Ottawa, ont., for Amy Plinta, bride-to-be of Dave Tomasic. Greene, in her cycling gear, worked on the muslin. Plinta picked up her finished wedding dress at the provincials less than six weeks later.

Cycling brings more than clients to Greene's bridal creations. Hours spent on the bike give her time to think, and often, while riding, she works out a technical detail for a dress she is creating. “My two careers complement one another,” she said. “Sewing can be soothing and relaxing, whereas
training and racing mean long hours out in the elements.” As most wedding gowns are ordered early and are needed between April and September, Greene can be ready to race in the spring. “As long as I get the dresses done,” she said, “I can make my own schedule.”

Her favourite dress? Her own. Not only because it was a chance to make a dress to her own satisfaction, but because it also allowed her some “true artistic expression.”

Her best cycling moment? Greene searches the recesses of memory. Hmmm. one assumes there are many. In her rider profile on treelined.com, Green relates a race early in her career, one in which she was struggling: “One of the spectators yelled out, 'Look up, just look up!' And so I did, and the difference amazed me. I suddenly felt as though the race had just begun and I was on the first lap.” Now, she passes this tip along when she teaches mountain biking. “Where you look is where you will go,” Greene reminds us in her profile. It seems that she knows where to look, and that she has found the stuff of dreams.

Her latest wedding gowns must be nearing completion, as this racing season begins. She added that she and her husband, Bill (owner of Chain Reaction bike shop in Toronto, ont.), manage to get in some morning and evening rides together, but “if the weather is nice in the middle of the day, I'll go riding!”