R
Ryan Cousineau
Guest
Fat Cyclist's rather remarkable post today deserves to be noted here:
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2007/05/25/why-i-am-not-writing-a-fake-news-pie
ce-about-doping-today/
"If I were going to write a fake news piece today, it would be about how
scientists discovered a parallel universe today that is identical to
ours in every single way except that in this parallel universe, Lance
Armstrong was a doper, just like ‹ as it increasingly seems, with the
admission of Bjarne Riis today ‹ all the other top cyclists in recent
memory."
....
"Here¹s the thing. A couple of weeks ago, I went over to the LiveStrong
site. In the Cancer Support section, I filled out a form detailing
what¹s up with Susan and the kind of help we would like.
I expected maybe a form letter back in a couple weeks, maybe a list of
local resources I could contact on my own.
Instead, the next day, I got a call from a lady who stayed on the phone
with me for 90 minutes, heaping practical help."
It's worth reading the rest.
And that's just the thing. Maybe other people have other experiences
with the LAF, or can show me that it's one of those top-heavy charities
where 80% of the cash goes into fundraising and administrative expenses,
but this seems like a pretty good vote of confidence.
I'm probably like a lot of you: friends and family always ask me "they
were talking about [insert cycling dope scandal here] on the news today
.. . . so did Lance dope too?"
Of all the people in cycling, there's a lot of circumstantial evidence
that Lance might be among those with the weirdest, least-likeable
personalities possible. He dumped his wife for an ugly rock star. He
tends to have explosive personal and professional relationships, and
when you cross him, you're instantly on the enemies list, and that lasts
for at least a decade. His biographers have their share of these stories
to pick from. He wants to "win the handshake." He Blackberry-stalked Jan
Ullrich. He seems to feed on the emnity of others.
And yet. The most fiercely competitive guy in cycling has always made a
point of putting huge amounts of time and energy into his good cause,
and the post above suggests that it has done a lot of good. A great many
smiling and affable men in this world have done far less.
Okay, enough kindness. My pick for the last doped year is 1999. After
that I think he had to race clean because he was afraid of getting
caught.
--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2007/05/25/why-i-am-not-writing-a-fake-news-pie
ce-about-doping-today/
"If I were going to write a fake news piece today, it would be about how
scientists discovered a parallel universe today that is identical to
ours in every single way except that in this parallel universe, Lance
Armstrong was a doper, just like ‹ as it increasingly seems, with the
admission of Bjarne Riis today ‹ all the other top cyclists in recent
memory."
....
"Here¹s the thing. A couple of weeks ago, I went over to the LiveStrong
site. In the Cancer Support section, I filled out a form detailing
what¹s up with Susan and the kind of help we would like.
I expected maybe a form letter back in a couple weeks, maybe a list of
local resources I could contact on my own.
Instead, the next day, I got a call from a lady who stayed on the phone
with me for 90 minutes, heaping practical help."
It's worth reading the rest.
And that's just the thing. Maybe other people have other experiences
with the LAF, or can show me that it's one of those top-heavy charities
where 80% of the cash goes into fundraising and administrative expenses,
but this seems like a pretty good vote of confidence.
I'm probably like a lot of you: friends and family always ask me "they
were talking about [insert cycling dope scandal here] on the news today
.. . . so did Lance dope too?"
Of all the people in cycling, there's a lot of circumstantial evidence
that Lance might be among those with the weirdest, least-likeable
personalities possible. He dumped his wife for an ugly rock star. He
tends to have explosive personal and professional relationships, and
when you cross him, you're instantly on the enemies list, and that lasts
for at least a decade. His biographers have their share of these stories
to pick from. He wants to "win the handshake." He Blackberry-stalked Jan
Ullrich. He seems to feed on the emnity of others.
And yet. The most fiercely competitive guy in cycling has always made a
point of putting huge amounts of time and energy into his good cause,
and the post above suggests that it has done a lot of good. A great many
smiling and affable men in this world have done far less.
Okay, enough kindness. My pick for the last doped year is 1999. After
that I think he had to race clean because he was afraid of getting
caught.
--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
<http://blog.reippuert.dk>
