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MARIPOSA CYCLING TOURS

Fifteen years ago we met Michael and Dede Barry soon after they chose Girona as their home. Over the years, we became close friends, sharing wonderful rides and meals together. They both fell in love with Catalonia and always said, “one day we need to share these experiences with other North Americans”.

The Mariposa Cycling Tours are Custom Cycling Tours with Michael and Dede Barry. Over the week-long tour we look forward to sharing some of our favorite cycling routes, restaurants and cultural experiences with you.

Catalonia, and more specifically Girona, has an endless number of places to discover from tiny country roads to idyllic restaurants tucked away in the lush countryside.

The environment is ideal for cycling as the roads are quiet, undulating and scenic. We will thrash up the foothills of the Pyrenees, swoop down them and dip our feet in the sea.

La Ruta Mar i Muntanya

“Each year, I rode tens of thousands of kilometers through the Catalan countryside while training for the professional races. The routes I sought were not only challenging roads into the mountains and along the coast, but also the most picturesque and serene. They were routes where a dozen cars, or fewer, might pass in five hours. Some were gravel roads that wound their way up a mountain, past secluded cork tree farms, orchards, or shepherds as they walked with their flocks.

Up in the hills with a friend, we would stop for a workman’s lunch in a country restaurant where a fire was roaring and the patrons were chattering about the day’s events over pints and steaks, before plowing on down the road and home. Of all the hundreds of thousands of kilometres I’ve ridden in my lifetime, the rides in Girona were some of the finest.

La Ruta is a Mariposa Cycling Tour on many of those roads. It will stretch across the province, from the Mediterranean to the Pyrenees. The experience will be unlike any other: the countryside is idyllic, the riding technically and physically challenging and the cultural experience unparalleled.”

~Michael Barry

Dede Barry

Co-leads the business at Mariposa Bicycles.

A natural athlete, Dede grew up in Milwaukee, WI and was introduced to cycling as a form of cross training for speedskating as a teenager.

Having raced as a National Team Speedskater for three years, she quickly found success on the bike, winning the 1989 Junior World Championship road race. That was the beginning of a 16 year cycling career.

A Silver medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympics and multiple medalist of World, National and Pan-American competitions, she was a member of the United States National and Olympic Cycling Teams as well as the Saturn and T-Mobile professional cycling teams.

In addition to her many successes in professional cycling, she is an international MBA. Her creativity and focus allows others to depend on her lead. Although she no longer competes as a cyclist, she is an active athlete, regularly out running, cycling and skiing the many trails in Toronto.

Along with her husband, Michael, and some friends, she organizes a youth cycling development program and takes part in charity bike events.

Michael Barry

Co-leads the business at Mariposa Bicycles.

Having grown up in a family of cyclists who owned a bicycle store in his hometown of Toronto, Michael has spent most of his life riding bicycles, racing bicycles and working on bicycles. Most recently, Michael has been managing Mariposa bicycles since retiring from professional cycling at the end of 2012.

As a cyclist, Michael represented Canada at the Olympic Games (’96, ’04, ’08), Commonwealth Games (’94, ‘02) and was a World Tour Cyclist (1998-2012). He rode for the most famous teams of his age, including Team Sky, Columbia – High Road, T-Mobile, Discovery Channel, and the US Postal Service team. He competed in the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and Giro d’Italia.

Also, a keen writer, he has authored four books and has written articles for numerous publications including the New York Times, Times of London, Globe and Mail, and Toronto Star