Features

The Long Winter Ride: How it has changed and what that means.
The Long Winter Ride: How it has changed and what that means.
By Michael Barry  Photography By Camille McMillan  We would meet later in the morning, waiting for the sun to rise high enough to warm the air and melt the frost... Read more...
Are gear restrictions the answer to slowing down professional cycling?
Are gear restrictions the answer to slowing down professional cycling?
Are gear restrictions the answer to slowing down professional cycling? Perhaps not, but it’s past time that safety is more seriously addressed. By Michael Barry. Over the last few years,... Read more...
Podcast: How a Toronto rider became a U.S. national champion
Podcast: How a Toronto rider became a U.S. national champion
Ashlin Barry, son of two pro cyclists, is set for more cycling successes with the stars and stripes SUBSCRIBE TO CANADIAN CYCLING MAGAZINE PODCAST Apple Podcasts | Google Play |... Read more...
Biometric data: Racing towards the future?
Biometric data: Racing towards the future?
The intersection of technology, racing and the implications of cyclists sharing their biometric data with teams, coaches and agents A classic scene sets up the storyline in many movies: a... Read more...
Training: The Importance of Being Open to New Ideas and Methods
Training: The Importance of Being Open to New Ideas and Methods
By Michael Barry Sport science, training techniques, aerodynamics, and our understanding of a multitude of variables in relation to a cyclist’s performance have evolved, or been debunked, yet absolutists remain... Read more...
The Thrill of Velodrome Racing
The Thrill of Velodrome Racing
In the track centre, riders whirl in place on rollers. Balanced on the spinning cylinders, they stare ahead with focussed eyes, finding rhythm with the music that flows out of... Read more...
Supporting Youth Cycling Development in North America
Supporting Youth Cycling Development in North America
Many of the top cyclists in the world are now some of the youngest in the professional peloton. World Tour teams are recruiting from the junior ranks, and many are... Read more...
Fast Talk Femmes Podcast: Inside the Pro Peloton—with Carmen Small
Fast Talk Femmes Podcast: Inside the Pro Peloton—with Carmen Small
In the latest episode of our female-specific podcast, we chat with the director sportif of one of the most successful women's WorldTour teams. Fast Talk Femmes Episode 104 // Feb... Read more...
Switch Off To Switch On: Mindfulness and Focus on the Bike
Switch Off To Switch On: Mindfulness and Focus on the Bike
Minutes from leaving the house, everything starts to flow. My headlight opens the roads as the neighbourhood sleeps. One car passes me before stopping at a house to throw a... Read more...
Next Generation Track Meet. Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Next Generation Track Meet. Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
The surge in talented youth coming through the junior ranks and into the World Tour is unprecedented. North Americans have shown over the last few years, they have the talent... Read more...
Race Days: The Compounding Benefits of Race Experience
Race Days: The Compounding Benefits of Race Experience
The best bike racers aren’t always the strongest or the fittest cyclists on the start line but are often those who have a deep understanding of how to race and... Read more...
Hell Of The North 2022 Fall Edition
Hell Of The North 2022 Fall Edition
The road and gravel season came to end last weekend with the autumn edition of the Hell of the North, a long running gravel event northeast of Toronto. A huge... Read more...
Youth Rising
Youth Rising
By Michael Barry Traditionally, the path to becoming a professional cyclist with a long and successful career followed a structured progression. Skipping steps in that process was thought to be... Read more...
Team Ontario Wins the Road Race at Canada Games 
Team Ontario Wins the Road Race at Canada Games 
Congratulations to Mariposa riders, Hudson Lubbers and Jack Ciotlos for representing Ontario at the Canada Games in Niagara last week. The team rode well as they supported their teammate, David... Read more...
Via Italia Criterium
Via Italia Criterium
Mariposa Team racers Ashlin Barry and Hudson Lubbers finished 3rd and 8th in the Pro 1/2 Via Italia Criterium in Windsor ON. Watch the post race interview with the podium... Read more...
2022 Midweek Criterium Series Finale
2022 Midweek Criterium Series Finale
Criterium season is winding down and we'll soon be on our cyclocross bikes racing through the woods and scurrying up mud slick hills. Midweek Cycling Club hosted their series final... Read more...
Hot Summer Crit Racing
Hot Summer Crit Racing
For many reasons Criterium racing is one of the best development pathways for North American bike racing. Short circuits make for easier road closures, spectators can watch the peloton repeatedly... Read more...
Inspiring The Next Generation
Inspiring The Next Generation
(Photo of Ashlin Barry and current Australian Road Champion and Ineos Pro Luke Plapp) Sporting idols and the events that bring them into town are essential to the growth of... Read more...
A Conversation with Charlie Walsh, gold medallist in the Team Sprint at the Canadian National U-17 Track Cycling Championships
A Conversation with Charlie Walsh, gold medallist in the Team Sprint at the Canadian National U-17 Track Cycling Championships
We visit with Charlie Walsh, who won a gold medal at the 2022 Canadian National U-17 Track Championships on the 1 year anniversary of his Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) diagnosis.... Read more...
Hell of the North 2022
Hell of the North 2022
The Ontario gravel season kicked off on Easter Sunday with the Hell of the North classic, founded by Mike Barry Sr. over 30 years ago, and now organized by Ed... Read more...
Team Mariposa at the U-17/ Junior Canadian Track National Championships
Team Mariposa at the U-17/ Junior Canadian Track National Championships
The Mariposa Team had an fantastic weekend at the Canadian Track National Championships, winning 12 medals and Ashlin Barry set a Canadian Record in the U-17 2km Pursuit 2:16.735. Thank... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Long rides train your heart, sprints train your muscles. Different workout styles can get... Read more...
A conversation with Chris Reid, Director of the National Cycling Institute Milton (NCIM)
A conversation with Chris Reid, Director of the National Cycling Institute Milton (NCIM)
A native of Guelph, Ontario, Chris Reid has over 26 years of experience in the cycling industry. Chris raced bicycles internationally and then was the a director of an Ottawa... Read more...
Track Racing
Track Racing
The NCIM launched a new 12 race track series October 16 and the Canadian Junior National Track Championships will take place this weekend at the Mattamy Velodrome in Milton, Ontario.... Read more...
Cappellino, Cap, Casquette....
Cappellino, Cap, Casquette....
Rain tapped against the Team Sky bus window. The eight of us sat quietly in our chairs, some with their eyes closed and headphones on, others studying the race book... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Trek, one of the world’s biggest bicycle brands, recently released its sustainability report for... Read more...
The Thrill of a Criterium
The Thrill of a Criterium
By Dede Barry Photography by Alan Moore Passing the barriers neatly placed on each corner, I walked with my Father and dog on a humid summer evening to the Lixx... Read more...
How To Become A Better Cyclist
How To Become A Better Cyclist
We visit with Julie Young, a former professional and US National cycling team member who is currently based in Sacramento, California, where she works as a Sports Scientist and coaches... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Success of temporary cycling routes during pandemic has led many cities to plan vastly... Read more...
The Compounding Benefits Of Micro-Commutes
The Compounding Benefits Of Micro-Commutes
As the ​Dutch riders dominated all of the Cyclo Cross World Championships categories​ last weekend, I kept imagining them riding around on their big Dutch city bikes as kids in... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Jason Gay from the Wall Street Journal suggests that that Mathieu Vanderpoel and Wout... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Wahoo Fitness released a great new video on Allied Cycleworks rider, Colin Strickland and... Read more...
Winter Beginnings
Winter Beginnings
In a tight formation, we rolled over the Majorcan countryside. A dozen riders paired up in matching outfits, inches between our wheels while our elbows touched, our legs ticking over... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. It's never too cold to ride outside. (Well, almost never). Eben Weiss of Outside... Read more...
Urban Adventures
Urban Adventures
  We ride because it not only provides transport but is also enriches us physically and mentally. Over the last nine months the benefits have been even greater, as we... Read more...
Made in Toronto: The stylish and iconic Mariposa Bicycles
Made in Toronto: The stylish and iconic Mariposa Bicycles
by Clare Shrybman for TRNTO The staff at Toronto local, Mariposa Bicycles, have been constructing hand-built bicycles since 1969. The company, applying an artisanal process to bicycle construction, crafts each... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. ActiveTO is (mostly) finished, so how will Toronto get residents outdoors this winter?Mayor John... Read more...
Why Riding and Racing Off-Road will make you a better cyclist
Why Riding and Racing Off-Road will make you a better cyclist
In a peloton hurtling down a mountain in the rain, or thrashing over slick muddy cobblestones, or coming into a final turn at 60 km/h, it is evident which riders... Read more...
In the News
In the News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Throughout the year, we have been riding in the Don Valley with our Mariposa... Read more...
These five teens took on the 100 km in the Don challenge
These five teens took on the 100 km in the Don challenge
And they think you should try it too Cycling has been an important physical and mental health outlet for many people throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. With school moving online, extracurriculars... Read more...
Improving lives with each shovel full of dirt.
Improving lives with each shovel full of dirt.
Michael Barry Twenty paces from the concrete sidewalk the land gives away and plunges into a forest ravine. The forest is rapidly coming alive after six months of winter. Dead... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. The World Health Organization says cycling is encourages for both travel and exercise during... Read more...
BMX: Escape, Freedom, Relief...
BMX: Escape, Freedom, Relief...
Three dots in the distance, bounced, swayed, and jumped as I pedaled along the bike path, heading home from work. The park, which follows a ravine and a river that... Read more...
In The News. March 11, 2020
In The News. March 11, 2020
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. To be competitive, athletes must improve their skills, learn to play under pressure, persist... Read more...
Luke, Nestor & A long day in the saddle
Luke, Nestor & A long day in the saddle
In the neighbourhood, snow remained on the lawns in spots where the sun had yet to hit, or where it had been piled high after the last storm. Buds were... Read more...
Maximizing Performance On The Bike
Maximizing Performance On The Bike
By Dede Barry As the ascent began, I looked down at my power-meter, dialing in my cadence and pressure on the pedals to the effort prescribed by my coach. The... Read more...
Growling Beaver Brevet 2019
Growling Beaver Brevet 2019
The 5th Annual Growling Beaver Brevet, a tough gravel event that supports people with Parkinson’s by raising money for Brain Canada and The Davis Phinney Foundation was September 28th. As... Read more...
Team Mariposa News: September 25, 2019
Team Mariposa News: September 25, 2019
Cross is here. Cameron Jette just wrapped up a great weekend of racing at the Trek World Cup in Waterloo, WI. He commented that it was the muddiest race he's... Read more...
Mariposa Feature: A Classic Cyclocross Race Bike
Mariposa Feature: A Classic Cyclocross Race Bike
A classic cyclocross bike with Paul Component Cantilever brakes, FMB tubular tires, built with Columbus tubing and a tri-colour blue fade paint scheme. Specifications: Frame: Columbus tubing Fork: Ritchey WCS... Read more...
Soigneur: Racing The Worlds
Soigneur: Racing The Worlds
As the World Championships unfolds in Yorkshire this week, here is a reflection, by Michael Barry, on the unique aspects of the race and on competing for Canada . Published... Read more...