I started following bike racing in 1999. At that time Genesis was getting started in Europe and I was traveling over the pond quite frequently. I also was following formula 1 racing at that time and watching Shumacher (aka, the stig) win everything he entered. Cycling was and is a major sport to Europeans and I became interested to fit in. Well of course that is the year that Lance won and the fact that an American was beating these guys at their own game was cool for me. I tried to follow cycling back in the states but back then it was hard. The Outdoor Life Network showed a 30 minute synopsis of the day's events every night but that was about it. Even that was just an abbreviated showing of the French feed. There was no U.S. coverage or leader of the race. There was only the tete de la course, and it always seemed to be Lance. Subsequently, I started following cycling more feverishly as I struggled to find relevant discussions and coverage back home. People did not even understand what the Tour de France was. The idea of a month long race escaped them.
I have a lot invested in Lance and for a while I feel he let me down. I was hurt and as I wrote earlier I didn't even want to get on the bike. It is a weird feeling. However, as I look over the situation I keep coming to the same conclusion, and I know that a lot of people will not agree with me. Lance is still my hero. I am not going to get into the rights and wrongs of what he has done. I think that is for each person to decide individually including Lance. What he has done for me is beyond measure. He has taught me work ethic (he still put in those long training rides), and he inspired me to get on the bike originally. I still want to get in better shape and ride the same training rides that he did. I want to climb better and go test my skills on Alp dHuez or Hautacam or Sestriere. I know I will never be as fast as him, but I still like to think I can. I have logged over 6000 miles on my trusty synapse and I would not have even ventured into the cycling culture had Lance not beaten the pants of the entire peloton. Did he do it fairly? Were they racing fairly? That is for them to decide. As for me, I saw him win. I was there and there is no governing body that is going to take that away from me. They say there is no winner for those 7 years in the tour. HA HA. Lance won and because he did, so did I.
Many people that meet him, I never have, say that he is an @$$ hole. He has a domineering personality. Wait a minute. The guy who was the boss of the peloton for almost a decade. The guy that spent countless hours alone on the bike and pushed himself beyond his limits and ours just from his own fortitude has a strong personality. No Shit!!! Thats why we liked him. The fact that he backed down from no one got us pumped up as fans. Yes, it appears he went overboard on several occasions, but we can't applaud him for his actions and then turn on him when we see him in action. I am not glad Lance "cheated". I wish he could have all of his accomplishments without any stain on his record, but that was not possible. Simply put, if he had not doped, i fear he would have had no impact on me and many other Americans. I am not glad that he did, but I favor the results that he got. These latest revelations do not detract from his commitment to his sport and his legend. For me, they only add to it. The results are almost secondary. They only brought the man known as Juan Pelota to the forefront of our public conciousness. I am extremely grateful to him for what he has done. I am sad at what he had to do to win and I am sorry for what we are all going through. All things considered.......LANCE IS STILL MY HERO!!!!!
