March 12, 2008 News & Views » Profile

Pin It
Submit to Reddit
Email
Favorite

Heather Barley 

Opera-singing BMX racer

By
click to enlarge KATIE WILLIAMS

Most women in male-dominated sports try to blend in. BMX racer Heather Barley wears pink, but it's her passion for singing that really separates her from the pack; she spends most of her time preparing for her next opera performance.

Since 2005, she's been performing in Central Piedmont Community College productions like La Boheme. "I think my favorite opera that I did was Carmen," Barley says. "That was my first. We got to have the girls get into a fighting scene and have all of us get torn apart." One day, she hopes to sing in the Metropolitan Opera.

"My heart pulled me towards music and I think that's where God wants me to be," she says. She also teaches voice students and sings in the choir at Huntersville United Methodist Church.

There aren't a lot of girls on the track so she races with the guys, Barley says. "I have a Fatboy specialized frame that I ride," she says. "We all just get kind of crazy and have a good time."

"I like to go fast, it's all a part of me," she says. "I become an evil person on the track." Barley says she knocked over two people in the first turn of a King of the Hill competition shortly before she flipped over the handle bars and suffered a major concussion. Her husband told her the first thing she said when she came to was, "Did we win?"

More Profile »

Pin It
Submit to Reddit
Email
Favorite

Latest in Profile

More by Chey Scott

Calendar

More »

Search Events

all events
concerts
restaurants
movie times

Most Popular
Most Shared
Most Commented

© 2019 Womack Digital, LLC
Powered by Foundation