www.gotgurth.net/veloamore.html

Man, what do you think of the Lance thing? 

I have heard that a lot lately.  I ride my bike to work, for dinner or breakfast, downtown for different events, and recreationally.  Never raced, though I have been known to, in my youth, go for personal land speed records.  Nonetheless, many acquaintances often ask what I think, or if I am upset.  I do, as friends know, have opinions about it.  But so does everyone. 

These range from ‘don’t give a care’, ‘all pros do/did it’, ‘I knew it, he’s a liar and cheat’, to ‘I can’t believe it!’  I think it’s a lot deeper. 

I love bicycling, and that includes all its forms, including racing.  I love the spectacle of it, the color, the personalities, the drama, the fun!  The beauty includes the athleticism of the participants.  Watching Greg LeMond's focus and smooth ride to win the 1989 Tour in the final time trial was fantastic!  Rooting for Mark Cavendish in the sprints is a blast! No less so was seeing Lance control the races he was in, whether spinning up Alpe d’Huez or modulating the peloton with his team.  There were great moments in the Tour de France during his reign. 

Come on, Gurth! You had to know he was doping!  I was skeptical, but generally I wanted to take him at his word, along with the passed tests.  I said many times, that if anyone could pull off taking PEDs and get away with it, it would be LA.  On the other hand, he came to the race better trained, educated about the routes, and more prepared in every way than the competition.  If Jan Ulrich had come to the race as fit as LA, he just may have won one or two of their battles. 

So it was plausible that he was racing clean.  I am not shocked that this is not the case.  Somewhat disappointed, I’d say, but not surprised.  I have seen for years that the man was an ass.  He was undoubtedly self-centered, arrogant, and set on a win at all cost agenda.  Still I admired what he did on the bike. 

What resonates with me most, what I most admired, was the survival story, the comeback from near death and what that story became: the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Reading It’s Not About the Bike moved me.  My Mom died of cancer when she was just 48.  Learning more about cancer from the book, coming to understand the suffering of that disease, affected me.  Seeing what the LAF could do, what the symbol of LA meant to people that have been so affected, is a legacy that should not and cannot be dismissed. 

LA’s confession on the Oprah interview will do little to soften the view of many.  Confessions after getting caught have the air of insincerity and to some degree, that is just about always true.  Certainly his hope with this is that he can regain some standing with the public and in sport.  But I think he is being honest with himself that this may never happen. 

I’d like to think that I would have been a better person than that.  Like to think I would not have gotten so caught up with the winning and money and fame that I would reject the aid the PEDs offered.  Don’t really know.  I am not justifying his actions.  Not only the use of PEDs but the viscous attacks on his accusers for so long reveal a sociopath.  I reckon he is face to face with that part of himself now.  So are we. 

I hope we remember that we are all human, we all have a dark side, we all have made mistakes and bad choices.  Some of those mistakes have hurt others, some hurt ourselves.  Bet we are all hiding something too, keeping a tightly locked door on something we would deny if presented with it.   Doesn’t make us all monsters, nor do we consider ourselves liars and cheats.  So let the person without sin cast the first stones. 

I hope LA has learned and will be a better person.  I believe the sport of cycling is really doing what it can to clean up.  I am still a fan of the sport and will continue to watch the TdF and when I retire Sallie and I will attend racing, like the Tour of California. Can’t wait!

My other big problem with this whole sordid episode is this:  The UCI pretty much had to be complicit in this.  There was a chance for them to start cleaning the sport in 1997, but decided to ignore it as it always had.  Yet no apology from them or even its top official. 

The USADA has become a police organization and has greatly overstepped its charter to do this investigation and prosecute one athlete.  When this happens, cycling in general has become the ‘poster sport’ for drug use.  Does anyone really believe that the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NCAA  are squeaky clean?  Was drug testing conducted on winners of the SuperBowl, World Series, or BCS championship games?  No. 

Well, I am glad the story is out, that LA fessed up, and we can get on with it.  I’ll leave it at this:  For me, LA still won and earned the jerseys.  He was the best on the course.  He is a broken and flawed man.  Both are true. 

Ron 'of the scratched rose colored glasses' Gurth