I was apprehensive about writing anything at all about this, plus I don’t have all day to go over this Lance announcement. I have a couple doctor’s appointments in different cities, and depending on how they go, I would like to try to ride my bike some too.

So, what I have to say right now about this Oprah/Lance confession is that the guy must of lost his mind. I can, sort of, understand Lance’s denials all these years. At least I can conceptually understand his thought process. But, after all these years of denials, law suits, fuck you’s to nearly everyone in the sport, including the fans, I have no idea why he would “come clean” now.

“I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics. I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles. But this is one hell of a race. This is a great sporting event and you should stand around and believe it. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I’ll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets – this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it. Vive Le Tour.” Lance Armstrong after winning his 7th Tour.

There are 100’s of quote like these. No one forced the guy to say them. He could have just went about his business racing his bike and kept his mouth shut. But, no. Lance has no ability to do that. It truly wouldn’t surprise me if the Lance outs everyone involved in this whole thing. That would confirm my believe that he is a complete, selfish, ass. Not that I didn’t have enough information to come to that conclusion already.

I read somewhere that Dick Pound said that cycling might lose its’ Olympic eligibility from this whole mess. That would be a tragedy. But, I wouldn’t blame anyone. The people watching the chicken house seem to have been eating chicken dinners for a long while now, so they might have to go vegan for a bit.

Someone once left a comment on one of my posts that Lance was a sociopath. I didn’t really know what that was, but after looking it up, it fits his actions exactly.

I don’t know if I even get the Oprah channel. I guess I will watch the interview if I do have it. I wish they did it in one shot, instead of dragging it out over two nights. But, after saying that, I realize it will be a complete waste of time. I know that much of what he says, if not all, is going to be warped and half-truths at best. The really sad thing is that I think he is going to believe, as always, what he says is the truth.

Here’s a radio interview with Al Trautwig, longtime commentator of the Tour de France. Al sums up pretty much exactly how I feel.

From Comedy Central.

And here Lance is explaining the tactics involved in screwing your ex-team mates here.

I’m beat. It’s not from riding. I think it is from lack of sleep. Other than last Friday night, I haven’t slept in a week. This obviously isn’t completely true, but it seems like it. I know I’m laying in bed for close to 8 hours a night, but I’ve been waking up dozens of times a night, so I’m feeling exactly like I’m extremely jet lagged.

I’m writing and posting this Wednesday night, then taking an Ambien, (maybe half of one since this is the first time I’ve tried them) and hopefully sleeping until tomorrow afternoon.

I woke up this morning and needed to drive to KC to see Dr. Lance Snyder, an orthopedic surgeon. The problem was a semi trailer truck decided to catch on fire and burn to the ground right after the toll booth on I-70, so we sat not moving for an hour and I missed the appointment. They rescheduled it for the afternoon and I made it.

Dr. Snyder said about the same thing as Stacy. My shoulder is blown up, I can race as long as I feel like I want to, and that it will get better in the next week plus. So, I went back through Lawrence and saw Rob Jones, who does PT and then got back at dark. I’ve tentatively agreed to surgery for the Tuesday after Louisville.

I had to go ride outside, so I put a couple pitiful lights on my bike and went out and rode 1 1/2 hours. I felt okay. Not great, but I’m not complaining. My shoulder felt pretty alright. If I was listing aliments in order, I would list a side ache #1, probably from taking a bunch of ibuprofen for a few days and now Mobic. Then, the knee I hit two days before the race still is achy and sore, and lastly, my shoulder, which is non-fuctional in many positions, but out on my brake levers, it isn’t too bad. This doesn’t take into account general overall, being beat. I’m thinking that will change quickly.

My legs were going around pretty well, so I’m pretty optimistic. That isn’t something that I’d thought I’d be writing this morning, so I can’t complain the least. Tomorrow it is supposed to be nearly 50 degrees out, so I plan to go out and ride for a few hours and get a better read on the form. Until then, nite.

Trying to get stop my muscles from locking up with Rob Jones.

Same thing, but way more painful.

Not a bad thing to be voted.

Lance Synder played for KU also and treated the teams.

Saw these while walking down Mass. Ave in Lawrence today. Man, after this Oprah thing, I hope this all just goes away.

Where the River Road turns gravel. I would have keep going to Lawrence if it was just a little earlier and not quite so cold.