By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008
BARRY Marks, a self-confessed cycling tragic, spends more on his bike than many would in the family car. He even has a photograph of his prized possession on the wall of his Collins Street office.
His latest Time bike was specially imported from France, weighs 6.45 kilograms and cost a staggering $19,000.
"Everything on the bike is carbon from the wheels to the pedals to the seat to the handlebars. I'm absolutely nuts about carbon fibre," Mr Marks, 55, said. "I know it's a lot of money and it sounds a bit wanky, but what price do you put on your mental and physical health and this is something I absolutely love."
He usually gets in the saddle four times a week and regularly clocks up more than 400 kilometres riding to Kinglake, the Dandenongs and along Beach Road.
For the past five years he has ridden Around the Bay in
a Day, last year entering the 250-kilometre section.
His love affair with bikes began in the early '90s, with the onset of middle age and the realisation that he needed to get fit.
"Like so many businessmen, you suddenly realise that you need to do something and cycling was the perfect solution. It's not aggressive on the body and it's fantastic socially.
"Along with golf, it's one of the few sports where you can talk and negotiate at the same time," he said.
Next year he plans to accompany a stage of the Tour de France and sections of the Tour of Flanders in Holland and Belgium.
He will make the 1000-
kilometre journey to Canberra in March as part of a charity ride to raise money for Monash Medical Centre's neonatal intensive care unit.
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