Kona Endurance Team Manager Barry Wicks has been riding with Kona for 19 years. He enjoys long bike rides in the rain, skinny skiing, and listening to the wind dance through the mountains. At one time a world class athlete, Barry now resides in the heady realm of the “lifestyle athlete,” closely adhering to the 60% effort lifestyle, but still occasionally and totally accidentally standing atop podiums in the off-road cycling disciplines.
RIDER NEWS
MORE FROM THE COG WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
I come from Marjorie and Nathan, my mother and father. They are from New York but moved to Oregon when I was still occupying a different life form. I currently live in Bend, Oregon, home to river surfing and the most per capita Sprinter Van ownership level in the United States.
DO YOUR BIKES REQUIRE ANY SPECIAL SETUP TRICKS TO MAKE THEM “JUST RIGHT”?
I like to tilt my brake levers up higher than average, and I like side entry water bottle cages.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS SEASON?
Seeing my friends
WHO IS THE PERSON YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY?
I admire people who successfully do what they feel deeply in their being as the right thing to do.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TRACK OF 2020 AND WHY?
19 Dolla Lap dance by E-40, Suga Free off the ‘Curb Commentator Channel 1’ album. Sick beats, epic flow, ingenious lyrics, hilarious premise.
WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU GAVE SOMEONE?
I mailed my ex-wife some Buddhist prayer flags for her birthday that I had carried up a mountain to energize them.
WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH THE MOST AND WHY?
I’ve been watching The Queens Gambit recently on Netflix. Elizabeth Harmon is an interesting character. I am impressed and simultaneously concerned with her ability to pursue a singular focus like chess while the world around her is in total shambles. It seems all humans exist in this dilemma to a certain extent.
HOW WOULD SPENCER PAXSON DESCRIBE YOU IN JUST THREE WORDS?
tall. dark. handsome.
2020 WAS A CRAZY YEAR, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US ONE HIGHLIGHT AND LOWLIGHT?
Last Thing You Lost?
My truck keys
Last Video Part That Got You Hyped?
JP Auclair’s street segment in "Into the Mind"
Last Person you followed on Instagram?
I don’t follow anyone on the Gram
Last TV show you watched?
Queens Gambit
Last song you listened to?
Mad World (Feat. Michael Andrews) by Gary Jules
Last poster pinned to your bedroom wall?
A comic drawn by a local artist that says "The Mountains are Calling" and then the mountain is saying "Fuuuck Yooouuu!"
Last Meal?
Chicken Potstickers (homemade)
Last time you got a flat tire on a bike?
1987
Last book you read?
"Touching My Fathers Soul" by Jamling Tensing Norgay
Last thing you gave up for good?
Self-pity