The weekly rider - Kevin Barry
Today we are talking to Kevin Barry. You'll find him out on his bike early most days of the week, riding out of Melbourne's inner north-west with the 'Napier Park Riders' club. He's got a true passion for riding along with a taste for top end Pinarellos. One thing that is clear from our talk with Kevin is that he loves to ride!
Name - Kevin Barry
Lives - Strathmore, Victoria
Dream Bike - I guess I have one in the Pinarello Dogma, but otherwise a Baum Corretto with Super Record in its new EPS format...with ENVE wheels.
Favourite local ride - Three to four laps of Yarra Boulevard or otherwise a cruise to Williamstown and back.
My current cycling goal is - To climb more mountains. I don't get a chance to do them as I am limited by time. I want to drop another 10kg and climb hills and hopefully mountains better. I just want to get fitter, to live longer, and show my kids and others that it is important to keep active doing something you love.
When I'm on the bike I - feel an enormous amount of euphoria, even in the rain, but possibly not so in a head or cross wind greater than 35km/hr. I just live and love it! I also feel a great sense of achievement after!
“I live and breathe it. I just love bikes and everything to do with them.”
How did your love for bikes come about - I rode a lot as a kid, I had occasional spikes in riding activity as a teenager and young adult. In the last couple of years, I have reignited my passion for it more than ever, as I simply needed to lose weight and get fitter. Now, I live and breathe it. I just love bikes and everything to do with them.
Share a cycling memory - I remember riding up several undulations with my uncle in Malta (a large rock if you know Malta). This was probably about 18 years ago. The bike I used was so out of tune that the gears would change up to a harder gear the moment you started up an incline...AUTOMATICALLY!! I had to hold the old style lever on the down tube in place instead of the handlebars whilst I was going up the hills. Although I made it up several hills that day, I vowed never to ride again as I was in sufferlandria!
I love to ride because - riding a bike gives me freedom, is competitive, but social, and, one must have a certain amount of skill and fitness to do it. The main reason why I love to ride however, is that riding has indirectly improved most other aspects of my life, and I love it!
