Posted: Tue, Aug 5th
Michael Barry's Diary - The Olympics: From 1996 to 2008Four of us climbed into the back of the borrowed team Saturn truck, picking good spots for our lawn chairs. Once we were settled, the door was pulled shut and locked. We sat in darkness while our team captain, Steve Bauer climbed into the passenger’s seat beside Fernando, our ...
Posted: Fri, Jun 13th
Michael Barry's Diary - A homecoming at the Dauphiné A last wave goodbye, the tears in my parents’ eyes as they waved back, the pit in my stomach at the idea of being gone for months, and I then I was through the gate and walking towards the waiting lounge.
Posted: Tue, Jun 3rd
Michael Barry's Diary - The passing kilometersThe wet cobbles were icy slick from street cleaners that rinse off the grime from the morning delivery trucks, the sticky ice creams from the after school snacking kids and the alcohol from the late night revelers. I rode through the old town of Girona cautiously, my bike ...
Posted: Tue, May 27th
Michael Barry's Diary: All for one and one for allOne by one the team stepped on to the bus, sweat pouring from their faces, their jerseys wide-open, radio earpieces hanging from their salt-encrusted helmet straps, road dirt and carbon brake dust on their faces, veins pulsing on their sweat soaked arms and legs. As helmets were ...
Posted: Wed, Apr 23rd
Michael Barry's Diary - Domestique lifeCycling dynasties are built around one or two leaders and a team of domestiques who are willing to pedal to the death for their leader. Faema, Molteni, Flandria, La Vie Claire, Systeme U, Banesto, ONCE, U.S. Postal all became dynasties, not only because had leaders who ...
Posted: Wed, Apr 2nd
Michael Barry's Diary: Italian iconsFausto Coppi and Gino Bartali are Italy’s two cycling icons. The duo have become legends because of their heroics on the bike, the mystique and contrast of their lives, the intrigue of their rivalries, the beauty evoked in the images taken of them — black and white; sweat ...
Posted: Mon, Mar 17th
Michael Barry's Diary: Back in the BattlefieldsFlanders is hell. Flanders is beautiful.
The terrain and environment are terrible for cycling: the wind howls, the roads are bumpy, cracked or cobbled, the air is damp when it isn’t raining and rarely does the sun shine. But the roads are packed with cyclists. There is a ...
Posted: Thu, Feb 28th
Michael Barry's Diary: Ramping it up in ItalyAfter three solid off-season training camps, the entire High Road team is now racing, having initiated the season on four fronts: in California, in Portugal, in Italy and France. After being away from the races for the longest period since I was thirteen - seven months - I was ...
Posted: Thu, Feb 14th
Michael Barry's Diary: Going SLO at campIn reality, a racing season is a full year as we race in three seasons and train hard in the fourth—and, ever-so-slowly we are beginning to race through the entire year as there are an increasing number of races in late October and early January. Fifteen years ago, training ...
Posted: Tue, Jan 29th
Michael Barry's Diary: Camp in MallorcaHaving a group to head out with each morning at our team training camp in Mallorca last week was a change after having spent six winter weeks either riding alone or with just one other rider.
Posted: Wed, Jan 2nd
Michael Barry's Diary: The champions of '08With six weeks of solid riding and several five-hour rides in my legs, my bike is starting to once again feel part of my body, and it now also seems to be moving more fluidly.
