Bikies & Bikers,
I've been following the Tour since i was sixteen in 1968! I remember when LeMond won his first stage - the final-stage TT (i first saw Greg race in Fairfax when he was 14 y/o). When Lance came along, i was the first person in moab; (btw, the first american to ride the Tour was born in moab) to say "he'll surely win five !! Then came his cancer. Then came the seven years of Lance, ... now, it seems almost certain that he was/is amped up on PED's. I am not sure WHAT to think !!! I must admit, i was glued to the 2010 Tour up to and after he crashed out. I was hopeing he would pull off the win! I have long held the belief the L.A. would be winning the Tour into his forties...or fifties
And NOW ... Contedor's drug case ... geez! .... "i kissed a cow that had just eaten clenbuteral"... ???!!!??? And all the other PED revelations. (i need to add how angry i was with Bijarne Riis who was SO clearly supercharged when he "won" the tour. HOW could ANYone Trust him, now? WHY does he have ANY credibility in cycling??? What light does he shine on Schleck??? I really wonder why schleck doesn't comment on Contedor cheating, ... just like Indurain didn't complain about Riis won (and Kerry allowed Bush to steal the prez). Hmmmmmm???
But, my dilemma now is, ... WHERE do i place my Hopes ?!? What about the furute .... Phinney for example, ... can i belive he is riding clean??? Is it possible???
My solution for the Tour de France is that it should be open to ... ANYone and EVERYone ... a REAL Tour. THOUSands would ride each stage - a real spectacle !!! The emphises would not be on the fastest, but on the Party! Riding for pleasure & fitness. NO more big teams ... NO more big bucks !!!
Lastly, I have placed much of my Hope on events like the Tour of Mumbai and the succes/progress of teams like Team Rwanda (lead by Boyer (aka Moabman). I was SOOO pleased to read O'ragy's comments about riding in India .. yes, it IS another world !!! But, what gives me Hope is, ... Indians use bicycles in REAL LIFE< .. not just for fun, and fitness. I great man (Samuel Lewis) once said, ..."India has every answer to america's problems and america has every answer to India's problems".
In India, I once saw a school bus - filled with children - powered by one rider !!! I tried - unsuccessfully - to explain that toe-clips (nevermind clipless pedals) would make his riding MUCH easier !!! Then again, his spokes were made of broomsticks!!! btw; note my profile pic; at the airport in Delhi)
I Hope that "the west" will use bicycles more and more for utility cycling and that "the east" will follow our enlightened example rather than follow us down the dismal road of automobiles and consumerism.
Live Long and ... perspire,
Witz
I've been following the Tour since i was sixteen in 1968! I remember when LeMond won his first stage - the final-stage TT (i first saw Greg race in Fairfax when he was 14 y/o). When Lance came along, i was the first person in moab; (btw, the first american to ride the Tour was born in moab) to say "he'll surely win five !! Then came his cancer. Then came the seven years of Lance, ... now, it seems almost certain that he was/is amped up on PED's. I am not sure WHAT to think !!! I must admit, i was glued to the 2010 Tour up to and after he crashed out. I was hopeing he would pull off the win! I have long held the belief the L.A. would be winning the Tour into his forties...or fifties
And NOW ... Contedor's drug case ... geez! .... "i kissed a cow that had just eaten clenbuteral"... ???!!!??? And all the other PED revelations. (i need to add how angry i was with Bijarne Riis who was SO clearly supercharged when he "won" the tour. HOW could ANYone Trust him, now? WHY does he have ANY credibility in cycling??? What light does he shine on Schleck??? I really wonder why schleck doesn't comment on Contedor cheating, ... just like Indurain didn't complain about Riis won (and Kerry allowed Bush to steal the prez). Hmmmmmm???
But, my dilemma now is, ... WHERE do i place my Hopes ?!? What about the furute .... Phinney for example, ... can i belive he is riding clean??? Is it possible???
My solution for the Tour de France is that it should be open to ... ANYone and EVERYone ... a REAL Tour. THOUSands would ride each stage - a real spectacle !!! The emphises would not be on the fastest, but on the Party! Riding for pleasure & fitness. NO more big teams ... NO more big bucks !!!
Lastly, I have placed much of my Hope on events like the Tour of Mumbai and the succes/progress of teams like Team Rwanda (lead by Boyer (aka Moabman). I was SOOO pleased to read O'ragy's comments about riding in India .. yes, it IS another world !!! But, what gives me Hope is, ... Indians use bicycles in REAL LIFE< .. not just for fun, and fitness. I great man (Samuel Lewis) once said, ..."India has every answer to america's problems and america has every answer to India's problems".
In India, I once saw a school bus - filled with children - powered by one rider !!! I tried - unsuccessfully - to explain that toe-clips (nevermind clipless pedals) would make his riding MUCH easier !!! Then again, his spokes were made of broomsticks!!! btw; note my profile pic; at the airport in Delhi)
I Hope that "the west" will use bicycles more and more for utility cycling and that "the east" will follow our enlightened example rather than follow us down the dismal road of automobiles and consumerism.
Live Long and ... perspire,
Witz