Blah…Blah…Shut this guy up!

In the midst of Brett Favre retiring, this easily became back-page news.  Yet, Tuesday was a sad day.  An important person in American pop culture died.  His name was Ernest Gygax.  Do you know who he is?  Okay, that might have been a bit unfair.  He was better known as E. Gary Gygax.  Does that help?  If not, then you just never played Dungeons & Dragons.

Gary Gygax was the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons.  Even if you never played you heard of it.  I played and loved it.  If you play War Craft or some other game system now, D&D was the War Craft of its day.  Sure it wasn’t played on a computer, but with paper and dice.  Back then the only thing on the computer was pong.  By the time I took up D&D Atari had swept the nation, but nothing video could replace D&D back then.  I would even contend now that no game system can offer what D&D did.

Sure games like  War Craft allow people to play simulated games with others all around the world, but most of the thinking is still done for you.  You don’t need to know 400 pages worth of rules.  You don’t consult manuals.  Most of all, you don’t have to get together as a group to play.

For all the people that knocked D&D.  It forced you to get together with friends.  It forced you to use your imagination and be creative.  It made you think outside of the box.  The rules were extremely complex, yet your only limit of what you could do was within your own head.

Studies years later, about those that played D&D, showed that they have higher incomes, were more likely to graduate from college, more likely to graduate from graduate school, and had lower levels of suicide rates compared to their peers.  On a whole, D&D players were intelligent people.  They recognized a game that allowed their imaginations to roam free and they took advantage.  No video game is ever going to do that.

I have been turned off by sports, especially the traditional ones. Steroids and HGH are the number one topic in baseball. The public knows exists in football. You have “spy gate” (why are we so stupid as a nation that know every scandal has to end in ‘gate’?). Landis is a disgraced champion with his appeal to CAS starting this month. It is estimated that 25 percent of the riders in the Tour de France were doping last year. If 25 percent of cycling is doping what percentage of pro football and baseball players are doping where the money is much bigger? You have fighting between the UCI and the new organization running the tours and top European races. Two of the top three cycling contenders won’t be at the Tour.

The Illini (notice I know longer call them my Illini), have gotten rid of the Chief and allowed a person that nearly killed a teammate back on the team. Okay, we did go to the Rose Bowl and that was exciting.

In other words, I turned my back on sports, well at least watching them on TV. Then my brother-in-law, Mark, sent me a video. It is a short four-minute video recapping the final nine minutes of the Illinois-Arizona came in 2005. Illinois was trailing and let Arizona build a lead up to 15 points with four minutes left. Then the Illini stormed back. It truly was inspiration to watch the come back. The flood of emotions I felt were just as real as when I watched the game live, despite knowing the outcome. It reminded me that sports can show you that no matter how dire the situation, there is always hope and the impossible can always become possible again.

Sports shows us that all the time. In fact, making the “impossible” possible is part of my life theme. I often tell people, “If I can do it, anyone can do it.” So, going to college, then law school, being admitted to practice law in two states, marathons, being a two-time Ironman finisher, losing 100 lbs (I have since put 30 back on)… none of it seems impossible. In fact, I expect every person should be able to do it.

This attitude my also explain my lack of drive in my fitness. After all, doing Ironman was the challenge. Not to do it faster or more times. Just doing it was the challenge. People thought it was impossible. Now, almost every person I hang around with has done a marathon and most have done Ironmans. So, no wonder things like that don’t seem to be a challenge.

That means finding new challenges… well other than the top one of being a dad. So, for this summer, I have put some goals on the calendar. It isn’t to do anything faster. It is just to do things I haven’t done. I am going to do some mountain biking. Some 12-hour races just to see if they are fun. I think in 2009 I will climb Mount Rainier. Some day, maybe some rock climbing will be in the mix also.

No matter what, we have to remember that sport should inspire us. The emotions you get from watching something spectacular on television need to be remembered and brought to activities in your own life.  You need continue to try new things and have fun doing it.  After all, nothing is impossible.

Marion Jones has come “clean” about her use of the “clear” and the “cream” that is at controversy of the Balco case.  Guess what?  For years she denied using them.   No way!  Those cheaters never lie.  After all, she had 160 drug tests and never tested positive during that time (she did test positive in 2006, but well after her 160 drug tests and her B sample was negative was she was cleared).  She even had the nerve to sue Conti for libel when he called her out on it.

I hope she loses all her medals.  I hope they take every last one of them away.  I hope the athletes that finished behind her for all those medals sue her for their loss of being to accept the gold or bronze medals they earned and she stole from them.  I hope Nike sues to get back any money they paid her for endorsements back in the early part of the decade.  It doesn’t matter though as she is essentially broke.  Once a millionaire, now broke.

This still brings me back to Floyd Landis.  Although I do think it is conceivable he could have been on drugs and not known it, it seems unlikely.  Maybe I should continue to bury my head in the sand like the people at Trust but Verify (which by the way is an excellent resource on the Landis case).  They continue to think he is innocent.  Sure you could argue the lab messed up or all the other arguments about getting it right.  Do they really believe he wasn’t taking anything at this point?

Marion Jones passed 160 drug test with no positives while she was on drugs.  Then Landis actually tests positive and everyone wants to think the guy is innocent.  This is why WADA is so aggressive in its stance.  Cheaters lie.  Cheaters a lot of times get away with it.  So, when you get a cheater, they don’t get the same benefits of the US judicial system.  They get a system that is designed to punish cheats swiftly and severely when caught.  Now, I am no fan of Dick Pound, as the guy violates his own rules, but he is right in that cheaters lie.  Most of the time when somebody is caught… they lie.  He knows that.  It is time the Landis fans realize that too.

Finally, I do still want Landis to appeal.  After all, his case does point out some horrid problems with LNDD.  So, if he wins and appeals, although he will still be a cheat as he will be getting off on a technicality, at least he can do something to force a better system.

It is funny.  Over 15 months of waiting.  Blogs and sites arguing over the procedures used.  A PR campaign waged by Floyd Landis, an entire website, Trust but Verify, dedicated to searching for the truth about the case, although heavily weighted towards Floyd’s innocence, and nobody wants to look at the simple facts.

No, why argue the simple facts when you can convince yourself this procedure wasn’t followed or that wasn’t a true positive.  You might as well get more technical since you are on the losing side.  Argue peaks and valleys.  Argue documentation flaws.  Say the majority is illogical, yet the dissent is crystal clear.

Here is the simple facts.  In a 2-1 decision, Landis was found to have been a doper.  Two of the three arbitrator found there to be enough evidence to suspend Floyd Landis.  The one arbitrator Floyd supporters hang their hat on as having a “logical” analysis is the same guy that wanted us to believe Tyler Hamilton didn’t dope (if you believe that, I have some land I would like to sell you in the swamp).   Everyone can keep arguing values, testing procedures, ect.  The problem is we are all amateurs at one of the two phases.  Either we don’t understand the science or we don’t understand how to read the reasoning of the opinion.  It doesn’t matter, the vote is still 2-1.  The majority believe not only did the IRMS proved a positive on the original samples, but also that the subsequent “B” samples from other stages found testosterone to be high.

Floyd supporters want to cite that there is no way that only some of the “B” samples could have been positive.  After all, an expert stated as much.  Keep hanging onto that shred.  After all, the other experts didn’t have a problem with it.  People may be experts in what tests are “supposed” to find, but did the expert stating the tests defied all science state that he knows about all forms of masking agents, synthetic drugs, ect.  Of course not.  After all, the cheats are always ahead of the testing.  So, of course there will be times when some results turn out positive and others negative when a guy is cheating.

Sorry, I am breaking my own rule.  The only fact that matters is 2-1. Two out of three arbitrators that adjudicate doping procedures for a living think he is guilty.  So, the conspiracy against Floyd continues.  It was the beer the night before.  It is a French conspiracy.  WADA broke its own rules.  Pound is obnoxious.   Sorry, no it was the lab.  The Tour didn’t want another American.  Hey, those weren’t even positive values.  The arbitrators don’t understand the science.

I guess everyone else understand everything and the arbitrators don’t.
Maybe it is our arrogance as Americans that won’t let us believe he is guilty.  After all, the “bad” guys dope.  The East Germans.  The Soviets.  Not people from the USA.  Well, okay, maybe that jerk Barry Bonds.  Not a nice guy like Floyd though.

On a final note, it is entirely possible Floyd was doping and didn’t know it.  After all, Floyd is an elite athlete.  Elite athletes do as they are told.  Train at power X.  Ride for Y hours.  Ride in intensity Z for K minutes.  Move your bars back and up for time trials.  Wear this helmet.  He probably has tons of advisers.  He probably takes tons of supplements and vitamins.  Some of those might even be injected.   He doesn’t question.  He doesn’t know what is really in them.  After all, he isn’t a scientist.  He doesn’t fill the drink or the injection.  He concentrates on becoming the fastest and fittest he can be.  Maybe what is lost in all this sophistication is that Floyd, until all this happened, was a simple guy.  Probably didn’t question all that much.  He just did.  After all, did his team come to his defense?  No.  They let him shake in the wind.  This is the same team where Tyler tested positive.  Maybe the team, its trainers, its director, all knew something Floyd didn’t.  Maybe.

2-1.

After nearly 14 months from when Landis was first accused of cheating, we can now say he was.  Whether you believe it or not, at this point he has been deemed to have doped by an independent group of arbitrators that specialized in hearing cases related to doping in sports.  There will be the outcry from those that still think he is innocent (maybe they think OJ is still innocent too).  As much as I hoped for the panel to find in his favor and renew my faith in athletes, it wasn’t to be.

Landis now goes on the list even ahead of some other well-noted, doping cheats.  He is ahead of Barry Bonds (not a single positive test, let alone a hearing finding him guilty).  He is ahead of Marion Jones who had been accused of doping by implication.  He is ahead of Mark MacGuire and Sammy Sosa, who also have never tested positive.  He joins the ranks of Ben Johnson and Tyler Hamilton.  He has been adjudicated to have taken performance enhancing drugs to win the world’s greatest bike race.

Landis put up a huge fight.  He spent a lot of his own money and convinced others to give to his defense.  I wonder if those people feel betrayed.  After all, although not a United States court of law, there was a process, Landis defended himself, and lost.

Whether he will appeal remains to be seen.  After all, the resources invested in that would have to be huge.  Resources Landis probably doesn’t have.  Also, by the time it would be finished, his ban would be over.  So, even if he doesn’t appeal, he may still plead innocence and use financial stress as the reason he doesn’t move forward.  Who could blame him?

I cannot wait to read the opinion.  It should be interesting.

Well, this weekend, Team ionresistance.com took on Two FIB’s and a Yooper in clash of titans at  the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon.  Two FIB’s handed us a solid defeat, even with great sportsmanship from Marc Grove.  I want to give then all the credit in the world as they soundly defeat us this weekend.

Onto my race report.  It was a wet, wet morning.  I didn’t think we would race, but my wife and I still loaded up in the car.  We drove to Pleasant Prairie and parked.  In the dark, I tried to force some air into my front tire… a Zipp 808, but none would go in.  There was some in there, so I figured I would ride it to transition and then deal with it if we actually raced… which I did not think we would.

I racked my bike and waited for a decision.  After some rain and delays, it was decided we would race.  So, back to my bike to try to force some air in.  None would go in.  I made the mistake of removing the valve extender to try to release some air in case the valve had closed and was not letting air in.  Well, after taking the extender off, I couldn’t find the valve.  Now I am panicked.  I am looking for the mechanic and he had left thinking the race was canceled.  So, I hoped VQ could help and although they tried, they could not.  So, I was in trouble.

I spoke with my teammates and the other team.  The problem was that no air would go in, but there was enough air that we couldn’t take the tire off to remount.  So, we came up with the idea we had to puncture the tube.  We weren’t sure how we were going to do that without ruining the tire.  We came up with the idea that we would take a pin from a race number and puncture it through the sidewall of the tire.  It worked.  Marc Grove worked fast and hard at getting the tire off and remounting with a new tube.  The new tube let out some air, but I thought that was just the natural state of things with the valve.

The race starts and the relays go off.  With about 10 minutes before my teammate, Rick Cook, came in from the swim, I got ready.  I checked the tire and it was flat.  We thought we were done.  Marc, in a great display of sportsmanship, offered me his front wheel and he said he could ride his teammates mountain bike.  I told him that I should ride the mountain bike and he should race as normal.  So, after quickly lowering the seat, I awaited my team.  After all, Jim Rung’s mountain bike was about two sizes too big for me, had some rusted derailers, and knobby tires about 45 mm thick.  It was not ideal for racing.

I got the chip and took off on the relay.  I had to stop to adjust the seat.  It cost me about 30 seconds.  I was working hard, really hard.  I kept thinking I will at least give this my all and try to hold off Marc as long as possible.  The relay wave was the last wave to go off for the international distance.  Thus, that meant very few people would be behind me on the bike.  Just some slower swimmers from later waves and our wave.  The way the course is set up, you only see international distance participants for the first half of the bike.  To my amazement, I was passing people.  Here I am on this mountain bike that is too big for me and I am passing people on $5000 bikes.  So, I am chugging along, but going as hard as I could go, and I switch gears and the chain falls to the right of the big chain ring.  I have to pull off.  I am trying to get the chain loose as it is caught between the derailer and the ring.  I am having no luck.  Marc pulls up and helps me out.  We get it out and off we go.  This is about 5 miles into the ride and it cost about 4-5 minutes.

Marc, once again being a sportsman, paced me the next 10 miles.  We were going along pretty fast at stretches.  I even got that bike up to 23 MPH on some of the flats.  At about mile 16-17, a girl has a flat and Marc stops to help her.  I told him I would keep going and he could catch me when he was done.  So, I am still chugging away, at 100 percent effort mind you, and I am still passing people on really expensive bikes.  No brand was immune, Trek, Kestrel, QR, Cervelo and even Orbea.  I couldn’t believe it.  A woman pulled up along the side of me and commented, “You can really keep that bike moving.”  I was trying my best to do just that.

I made a turn and realized we couldn’t have more than two miles left and I was wondering where Marc was.  I kept riding as fast as I could though.  I figured I would let Rich, our third team member, think we were really winning this thing.  I knew that we had lost by default, but I wanted him to work as hard as I did.  So, I pull into transition, “in the lead” and handed the chip to Rich to start the run.  I then explained to the rest of my team and the other team that they had already won due to Marc’s great sportsmanship.

A few minutes later, Marc pulled in.  Mike Biarnesen was more than fast enough to catch Rich on the run and we lost the relay, even though Marc paced me, stopped to help me with the chain, and helped a woman with her flat.  That was true sportsmanship by him.

I have to say I had a great time chugging along on that mountain bike.  My time was 1:25 for an average of 17.5 MPH.  I am thinking I actually averaged about 18.5 when you take out the time it took to fix the seat and the chain.  How can I be unhappy with that.

Last night, I remounted the tire, tube and valve and pumped up the wheel.  I thought it would hold, but when I checked it this morning, it was flat again.  Tonight I was have to change tubes and see what happens.

My valve woes didn’t end there though.  This morning, I went to ride my cross bike.  As I do every Monday, I pumped up the tires.  On my rear tire, I started to put in air and the valve actually separated from the tube.  I spent about 10 minutes getting bitten by misquitos trying to fix that thing and off I went.

Overall, I had a great time.  I also want everyone to know my wife did the sprint triathlon.  She had a PR at 1:31.  Also, she did that with only swimming 15 minutes in the last three years.  She had a great bike and a great run.  I am very proud of her.

I want to start this off by writing thanks the to Prairie Cycling Club for letting me tag along on their Saturday morning ride. You see, my wife doesn’t just like to sit around the house all that much. It didn’t matter that since Memorial Day, the weekend of August 11th and 12th would have been our only free weekend until after September 9th. So, when my wife and sister-in-law, decided we needed to travel down to Champaign, I reluctantly agreed on the one condition I would still ride Saturday morning.

I searched for bike clubs in Champaign and found the Prairie Cycling Club. I found they had a Saturday ride out of Meadowbrook Park in Urbana at 8 am every Saturday. They had all different levels, so I decided before hand, I would choose the “Fitness” category over the “Advanced.” The description for the “Fitness” Category stated, “For experienced cyclists with substantial group riding experience wishing to concentrate on improving individual and group riding skills as well as physical fitness, with an emphasis on pace lines, some sprinting and intervals, etc. Average speed 15-18 mph. Individuals experiencing mechanical difficulties can expect a few members of the group to stop and lend assistance, including “pulls” to rejoin the main group. Group will stop occasionally to regroup with stragglers. Although physically challenging, emphasis is still on group riding for fun.”

The “Advanced” Category stated, “Semi-competitive rides; average speeds of 18+ mph for extended distances. Riders are expected to be fully competent with pace lines, sprints, intervals, etc. These are physically demanding rides — dropped riders will probably be on their own, although those with mechanical difficulties may find a few members of the
group willing to stop and lend assistance, including “pulls” to rejoin the main group.”

I considered riding with the Advanced group as I was guessing that is what I would be my kind of riding. Knowing that Champaign County is flat, flat, flat, 18+ MPH is still within my capabilities, especially if there is a lot of drafting involved. I chose the middle category though due to the fact I would be riding on roads I was unfamiliar with. Although, if lost, I trust my instincts to get me home, it is always nice to think someone will wait for you in case of an emergency mechanical. Also, the worst thing a visitor can do is ruin a serious ride by not being fast enough to keep up. So, I figured I don’t want to be that guy.

I showed up, unloaded my bike, kissed the wife and kids good-bye, and looked around. It was easy to tell from the start where the Advanced Category was grouping. I specifically was looking for this ride:

“Saturday Fitness Ride – Level 3/4
Leader: Rick Francis (351-7587, rikfrancis@hotmail.com)
Depart: Meadowbrook Park, Windsor Road, Urbana
Time: 8:00 am
This ride will average 16-18 mph with distances of around 40 miles. The ride leader will ride the advertised pace and make sure nobody is dropped. Routes will be country roads in Champaign County, with the emphasis on fitness.”

I asked saw a group. Most were not in kits of any sort. The bikes weren’t the latest and greatest technology. Some of the people, like myself, could have stood to loose a few pounds. So, I asked if that was the 3/4 ride. I was told it was. I introduced myself to some of the members. I have to apologize now, I most likely will get some names wrong, as there were a lot and I was concentrating on riding most of the time.

The Advanced Group rolled out. About three minutes later, we rolled out. I stayed near the back as we rode a double-pace line. I tried to get a feel for the group. Not only the riding strength, but etiquette to be used. It was apparent to me that my legs weren’t as fresh as they could have been. All week, I had been suffering from fatigue due to some rowing and increased weightlifting. There was a slight wind. The weather called for five MPH, yet it felt slightly stronger, but not more than ten MPH. For the Prairie Cycling Club riders that read this, I am going to throw out some power numbers, so to let you know my Functional Threshold Power (one hour time trial power) is approximately 265 watts. On a typical Saturday ride, I will average 195-205 watts for about 2:45 with a normalized power (estimated physiological cost of a ride) of 230 watts.
I continued to introduce myself to other people. I met a nice woman name Stacey who was a professor at the University. I never did find out what she taught. She had traveled around. I think I remember her stating she was in Virginia before Champaign. She taught me the ride etiquette about taking turns pulling and how to let the riders behind you know when you are peeling off. She was very nice, as was everyone on the ride.

The ride continued that way, on my second turn to pull, I was told I probably needed to back off some. It wasn’t anything intentional. After all, it is bad form to ride with a group as a guest and then try to shatter them. I was just trying to push as hard as the person in the pace line next to me was pushing. I guess it was one of those things though the harder I perceived them pushing, the more they pushed to keep up with me. I rarely looked down at my power meter, but when I did it seemed that we were pushing hard. The watts seemed to be upwards of 220, yet any time I checked my average it was right around 155 watts, which means sitting in does help and brings down average power.
On one of the pulls, I was upfront for a decent amount of time when a few people rocketed from behind me. At first I thought they were from a different group. I asked the other line’s puller if they were with us and they were. So, I took off to catch them. I did and latched onto the leader’s wheel who was using aerobars. I sat in and by the time I looked back only one guy was behind me. At some point he swung out and passed and I went with him. I didn’t realize it, but we were supposed to be sprinting into town. Since my group doesn’t do that, I didn’t really understand what was going on. I just knew if people were going to ride hard, I wasn’t going to back off.

In town, we took a break about 27 miles into the ride. It was a longer break than I am used to taking. To me five to ten minutes is enough where this seemed to be about 25-30. On the way back, we took the shortest route as the heat was getting up there and it was predicted to hit about 98 that day. The roads we encountered had a lot of gravel and made for some unsafe conditions. At this time, I started talking to Sheldon. He was nice and the guy that led me into the rest stop. At the rest stop he had talked to me and it was apparent he worked for the university. So, on the ride back I asked what he did. He stated he was Chair of the Math Department. I have to admit, I was impressed. After all, he was brilliant and the head of the math at a major university. I had to wonder how often he was calculating simple numbers about his ride while were were going. Turns out he is an active cycling advocate also. His wife works in City Planning (maybe county) and specializes in transportation, so him being a cycling advocate is a perfect fit.

One of the things about riding in a group, is that there are natural ebbs and flows to the the speed. Unfortunately, during one of the ebbs, Stacey had taken her hands off the bars, rode up on another rider, Alex if I remember correctly, and she took a nasty spill. He shoulder was all cut up. Alex’s rear derailer snapped off the frame, but luckily he didn’t go down. The group was extremely nice in helping the two get everything together, organizing transportation back to town, ect. This is why I chose this group. You need people like that when you are out on unfamiliar roads.

After we were sure nobody was seriously injured, a bunch of us remounted our bikes and headed back for town. The ride did heat up. About four of us split off from the rest of the group and pushed the pace. After a few miles we were down to three. Me, Sheldon and Johnathan. The youngest guy in the ride, Jonathan, took off hard. He was moving fast. I had to struggle to pull back up onto his wheel. Definitely about three minutes of work at VO2 max. He let up and the Urbana sign. Sheldon fell way back. I told Johnathan, I didn’t realize it was a sprint. He said, “Oh… were we sprinting?” I smiled. He was posturing with that comment. After all, we were riding really hard. So, although it wasn’t a sprint per se, it was all out to the sign… which I didn’t know. Either way, it was fun.

As I pulled into the parking lot, my wife happened to be pulling in also. I said good-bye to Sheldon and joined my family at the park. It was a fun ride. I will definitely show up again next time I am in the area.  My final ride numbers were 46 miles in 2:18 for 20 MPH.  The power numbers were low for a Saturday ride with the average being 164 and the normalized being 205.  Either way, that was about a 65-75 percent ride, compared to the normal 80-90 percent ride I would have done at about an average 0f 200 and a normalized of 230.

Thanks again to everybody from the Prairie Cycling Club for making me feel welcome.

As a person that has acquired a love for cycling since taking up triathlon in 2001, I stand at a crossroads.  Today and tomorrow, Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis will be in my area.  I am torn.  In the last six years, I have grown to like the less traditional American sports.  Although I still enjoy basketball, baseball and football, the lemmings that follow those sports pale in comparison the Americans that follow European sports.  The shrug off a Shawn Mariman (sp) suspension in the NFL and put the guy on the Pro Bowl Team.  Bonds is both vilified and celebrated.  Meanwhile, cycling still takes a hit on the drug front.

Here is the dilemma, I probably won’t have another opportunity in my lifetime to take my sons to see and maybe be photographed with a Tour  Champion.  Landis will be in Wheaton, IL tonight.  One of my favorite suburbs.  I spent many high school and law school days riding my bike in Wheaton on the Illinois Prairie Path.  Yet, I think taking them to see Floyd Landis would be a bit hypocritical.  After all, any day we will get a decision on the Landis hearing.  He could be declared a doper.  What would that be teaching my sons?  Does it teach them to have faith in humanity?  Innocent until proven guilty?  Or does it perpetuate the idea that cheaters that win are still worth seeing?  After all, he has tested positive.  I wouldn’t give this type of slack to a football player or baseball player that had tested positive.  I would have written them off.  No way would I take my sons to see somebody in those sports in the same situation as Floyd.  So, why am I even considering giving Landis a pass?

Is it because he is rumored to ride with Robbie Ventura up on the same roads I ride each weekend?  Is it because he is an American in a mainly European sport?  Is it because I just like to stick it to the French press and the Tour whenever possible?  Most likely, it is because I am naive and want to believe he is innocent just like the rest of them on Trust but Verify (who have missed my last two blogs even though I refer to the Tour and doping in each).

The easy answer is to go and if he is found guilty, to just ignore the fact I took them.  After all, they are three and one and would never remember anyway.  That is the cowards way though.  As a father, I need to lead my sons.  Part of that is teaching them to not support the athletes that break the rules.  Part of that is to teach them the values of “innocent until proven guilty.”

If we do go and they get an autograph and a picture, what will they say in 15 years if they are themselves cyclists?  “Dad why did you waste your time taking us to see that doper?”  Or will it be something like, “Thanks for teaching us that people can be innocent even when accused.”  Either way, the clock is ticking and I need to make a decision.    No matter what I choose and what the outcome is of the hearing I will not regret my actions.  After all, in the long run, Floyd is just an athlete in a sport.  The outcome of his hearing and whether my sons see him, really means nothing in the scheme of our life and family.

What more could the Brits ask for in a single weekend? They had two of the greatest sporting events to start a weekend. First, they had the Wimbledon finals for both the ladies and the gentleman. Then they had the Prologue and Stage 1 of the Tour de France. Could it get any better? If I were there, assuming I had Wimbledon tickets, I would have been hard pressed to choose one (actually it would be easy… Prologue Saturday, Gentleman’s finals at Wimbledon on Sunday).

At Wimbledon, Venus became the lowest seeded women’s player to win at a seeding of 23. Really, it is kind of a joke. Kind of like Agassi becoming the second unseeded man to win Wimbledon (at least I believe Becker was unseeded in when he won his first). Both were top players in a difficult time and everyone knew they were better than their rankings. I am happy for Venus. I have always thought she would be better off removing herself from her sister and her father when it comes to tennis. Although, I still laugh at her youthful arrogance when she once said she would be No. 1 in the world and her sister No. 2 and they would have every record in the book. I don’t think that combined her and her sister have as many titles as Steffi Graf nor will either of them ever win a “Golden Slam” as Graf did.

On the men’s side, Nadal pushed Federer into a fifth set. It was an incredible match and Nadal could easily have unseated the now 5-time Wimbledon Champion. Federer has tied Borg’s record for consecutive Wimbledon titles, but to be the “King” of Wimbledon, he will still have to win at least two more and tie Pete Sampras. Federer now has 11 grandslam titles along with Borg and Laver. He need s three more to catch Sampras. What is amazing is that Federer has won 11 grandslams in 19 grandslam tournaments. That is just unreal. Talk moves to whether he is the greatest player ever. Well, that is a tough one. I am going to state this, out of 13 matches, on a variety of surfaces, Federer beats any other player in history at least 9 times. He has a complete game. He may never beat Nadal on clay, but that doesn’t even matter. However, as far as the most dominant player of his era, I still give the nod to the man from down under. Rod Laver. After all, the guy won a grand slam when only amatuers were allowed to play. He then goes pro. Doesn’t get to play in a grand slam event for 8 years, until pros are allowed to play and then wins another grandslam. How can you top that? Think about if he had played in grandslams those 7-8 years. He would have like 25 total titles instead of 11.

Onto the Tour de France which started with the Prologue in London. How cool is that? Despite the coverage being dampened by the drug scandals in cycling how can you not be excited to see Fabian Canellara just destroy the field in the 8k TT. Meanwhile, Andreas Kloden establishes himself as a Tour favorite with an awesome Prologue. Meanwhile, in stage 2, the finish comes down to the sprint and a master, Robbie McEwen, emerges from nowhere to out-sprint everyone. I mean in the television coverage the guy isn’t even on the screen with 1 KM to go. How did he do that? The Tour is already shaping up to be exciting.

My fan loyalty at the Tour is torn. I would like to root for an American and an American team in Discovery and Levi Lempheimer. I will be very happy if he wins. I am even pulling for George Hincapie to somehow come up and end up being the number one guy for Discovery; however, I cannot overlook the management of the team being more of the problem than the cure for doping in cycling. They blindly defended a rider which has pled guilty and accepted a suspension. They did everything they could to spin it, but what it comes down to is they wanted a rider that was a favorite at the Tour and they didn’t care about the doping implications surrounding Basso. As a fan, I cannot accept that attitude from a team. So, I have to say I am cheering for a team at the Tour. It just isn’t the team I thought it would be. I am cheering for T-Mobile. They are the only team that seems truly dedicated to cleaning up cycling. So, even though they may not have someone on the front at any time, I will cheer for them and they are now my team. I just wish you could buy their gear in the USA. What is up with that Stapleton?

Okay… so maybe I did DNF in my last two races… nothing wrong with that…. right?  After all, it was a brutally hot half IM and the IM ran out of water/gatorade.  So, nothing wrong right?  Well, in my own mind there is something wrong.

So, here I am.  Getting back into doing some races.  Nothing long… just some Olympic-distance.  Should be easy… right?  Why am I so nervous then?

This weekend, I will go through the ritual of packet pick up, waking up at 4:30 to get to transition and waiting for the race to start.  Something I haven’t done in two years.  Hopefully, I will come across the line… something I haven’t done in three years.