Dopers Suck

give em a check (the link that is)...

So..

great read on Tyler over at Cyclingnews. And also a new view on Adam Bergman. Sad state of affairs.

Or is it a realistic state of affairs? Adam's admission really opens the book on Tyler. Did Tyler really dope? Just no one 'cept a doc or two know about it? That would be the way he'd have to have done it i think. Would he have told his wife? Nah, i doubt it. And all his supporters? The ones who rally to his side with personal anecdotes about how it would go counter to his personality? I don't really buy it. I had a measure of hope that he'd be found to have chimeria blood, but that was disproven. Was the test flawed? Doesn't appear that way. His appeal, if there was an error, would have been smooth sailing. I personally have to side with the CAS and say there is not enough evidence to overturn the positive results.

And that kinda sucks. 'cause this guy is either #1 not-guilty and carrying that around, or #2 guilty and carrying even more around. I'm leading to #2. If he admits, he gives up all his supporters and says, yeah, thanks for rallying behind me, but i wasn't telling the truth. Its nice to know yall are blind in faith towards my cause, but your infalible beliefs are better left at the cathedral.

I still find it terribly ironic that the Amgen Tour is a bike race. The #1 producer of EPO... being the title sponsor of a bike race? Insane i tell ya, insane.

Is Lance Clean? That is what people want to know, that's what the big question is. Maybe... maybe not... i'd like to think so. Mostly because he DOES have a measurable and documented genetic advantage over most of the other cyclists. And he had a very specific and focused recovery that built his body for one thing and one thing only. And mentally he's one freak of a guy. Tyler? Tyler ain't got much on anyone, other than he's small, and determined. He seems to lack the heart or lungs that Big Mig and Lance have, and the personal hardship to use as a focusing magnet? I dunno, he crumpled when Tug died, how strong can he really be? Succumbing to the pressure to use blood would certainly be a likely step in his progression. I don't know the guy personally, I know lots of people who really believe in him, and all that but, the cloud of doubt. Made worse with the fact that people could really be duped knowingly by the guy. And that is the part I find the hardest. The statement is a bit curious too... and worth linking here:

Statement from Tyler Hamilton:

“Based on my devastating personal experience over the last year and a half, I am committed to fighting for reform within the anti-doping movement. I do support the anti-doping mission and USADA, however the current system has failed an innocent athlete and needs to change.

Out of respect to fairness and the rights of all athletes, there should be clear separation between the agencies that develop new tests and those that adjudicate anti-doping cases.

Credible, independent experts, not those who funded or developed the original methodology, should be charged with properly validating new tests.

I don’t believe any athlete should be subjected to a flawed test or charged with a doping violation through the use of a method that is not fully validated or generates fluctuating results.

I will also continue to support the formation of unions to help protect the rights of athletes. My goal is to keep other athletes from experiencing the enormous pain and horrendous toll of being wrongly accused.”

On more serious matters i have a fucking killer headache today. Not sure why, but it is putting a big old cloud over my thoughts. I'm feeling stronger and better every day on the bike... but that's for all of what? 2 miles eachway? Still, every day on the bike is a day not wasted. I just need to get some good long miles under the legs... or in the legs or something...

so what am i doing to ride me of this headache? Typing and staring at a fucking huge CRT and drinking cup after cup of coffee... is it working? not a freaking chance...

oh well - must push on... muscle through the day... gotta get through... gotta get through