Shadows on the Road: Life at the Heart of the Peloton, from Us Postal to Team Sky

It was a fun, good read. Most of the book discusses the ups and downs of his career and not the doping which is mainly dealt with in the last chapters of the book.The book is a bit demotivating as it shows a lot of the negative sides of the sport from injuries, through uncaring bicycle teams and up to doping of course. It's another piece in the puzzle of understanding how cycling worked until quite recently.

Great read, so many times I found myself right there with him, even the ride from home to start training at the beginning of the book. The pressure must be tremendous particularly the job pressure playing against the internal moral pressure. This book is the closest I will ever get to being a Pro cyclist.

Fast ship. no problems w/ order but I still think MB is kind of a chump. Yes there was every excuse to dope when he was a Pro & if you didn't you would have been spit out & flushed down. I don't think there is anything new here & ground breaking. Maybe he needed his come to jeevus so he could move along & face his future/family. If the culture is willing to move on than maybe these"tattletale" books will really name names. Seemed like room mates that have not outed themselves were left nameless. I get it though. I read it, what ever. same SH?T different domestique.

MB comes clean after the "kiddie book" On the Postal Bus. I guess it wan't all bliss & glory, nice to get the straight "dope", pun intended. Really a good read, Michael bears his soul with out blame or whining, like a true Canadian!!! Way to go!!

I enjoy Michael's writing style, and feel it gives a good picture of what pro riders were faced with in order to achieve their "dream".

If you are a cyclist this is a definite read. Helps you appreciate the pro's who do most of the work but get little recognition from the outside world.

A very uninspired read. This book simply goes through the motions. It lacks passion, emotion, zest, zeal, depth and detail.There are much better books out there that cover this topic.

great writing. i detect an element of concealed non truths still. will read "inside the postal service from 2005" and then who do you believe?

The book is an account of MBs life as an amateur and professional cyclist depicting various scenes and periods from his professional and personal life in a non-chronological order. The book is not co-authored by a professional writer which has its' advantages and disadvantages.MB writes quite fluently and at times almost poeticly. The book is a good account of the everyday life of a pro cyclist adeptly describing the mindset of the pro athlete. MB doesn't spare himself but he rarely gets close to other athletes so don't expect too many juicy details on doping, other pros or detiled race descriptions. The most 'interesting' disclosurez (the Ronde van Vllandern incident of 2006) have already been leaked.The non-chronological timeline works out most of the time but makes the story stand out a bot unfocused at times.Buy the bolk if you want an account of a non-controversial, well mannered and likeable cyclist, and a Rough Ride light. If you're looking for juicy revelations a la Massacre a la chaine or The Secret Race, look elsewhere.

First off, this is an extremely well written book by an author who enjoys conjuring up evocative and luxuriant passages. I also think we do get a good glimpse into his drives and personality.Now that is all well and good but if her were not an ex-professional cyclist who had raced alongside Armstrong, Cavendish and Wiggins then I doubt any of us would have been interested in his story. And this is where the flaw perhaps lies.He is a very intelligent and reflective individual and I just wish he had turned that focus a little more outward. He does do this at times and it is these parts of the book, the brief glimpse into a once corrupt and currently conflicted world that made me read on, but I was left wanting more.Would I recommend it, yes but I think you get a much better insight into the crazy personal conflicts and battles of the super domestique can be found in the recent book by Charlie Wegelius, that is a really brilliant read. For understanding the peloton and its crazy days, well that’s a book I think is still waiting to be written, though I have yet to read the contribution of the once maligned Christophe Bassons.I

Enjoyed this book very much and read it in 2 days whilst on holiday.Interesting story and a little different to that of some of the other Lance Armstrong Era riders as he was joining Sky and had success with HTC before.Obviously you need to be a cycling fan to enjoy - but Barry comes across very well and you feel for him and the delight he always had when riding a bike - and that his true love was getting on the bike. There were no big wins in his career but you certainly feel he achieved his dream - the Armstrong era is nothing new and you dont get anything you didnt already know from this book but overall a book I enjoyed reading.

A charming and evocatively written book. I'm not sure if Barry had a ghost-writer for the book or is just an articulate writer himself but this book, more than many other cycling biographies, captures the passion and drive to cycle, and race!If you're looking for a book on why some pro's race this is it.

This is a deep and thoughtful book, which is enjoyable and interesting for cyclists and non cyclists alike.The quality of the writing is much more complex and nuanced than most sports books. Michael Barry's pained ambivalence and joy comes through strongly throughout.