All you have to do is look straight into the teleprompter and read the sports news. Should be easy right? Well it would be until you realize you are broadcasting live on a college TV station, the teleprompter breaks and the your notes are out of order......... I feel for this guy.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Lance Armstrong
There are some things that I just see in black and white.
For example:
Lance Armstrong = Arrogant prick
As Bob said though, the times they are a changin' and I'm happy to admit I'm warming to the guy.
Between 1999 and 2006 I was living in Taipei, Taiwan, teaching at an international school. I loved Taipei. The culture was so different from home, the food was fantastic, I had a great job and I worked with some very cool people. One of the coolest of these was a Bill from Maine. Besides being a truly great guy, Billy is a cycling nut. He just loves it. In fact I think the only thing he loves more than riding himself is to get others to go riding too and enjoy his passion.
When I arrived in Taipei, the last time I ridden a bike I had homework in my backpack. My homework……from my 12th grade English teacher. I’d transport that homework home every day and then transport it back the next day have not opened the bag once overnight. Which of course meant two things: Demerits for incomplete homework and a three ring binder that smelled of sweaty three day old PE shorts and socks.
What the hell were we doing studying DH Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers anyway? Perhaps if we had read Lady Chatterley's Lover at least i would have finished it.
Within a few days of arriving in this Taipei, Billy had taken me down to the local Giant bike shop and I purchased a brand new Katarga hybrid mountain/road bike. Billy tried to convince me of the need for the lycra gear too, but at that stage I was not ready to make the commitment. While I understood that the skin tight stuff would make me more aerodynamic and would be cooler and ultimately more comfortable, I was more concerned that I’d end up looking like this guy.
The city of Taipei is basically in a bowl sounded by a series of medium sized mountains. These geographical features are wonderful for keeping a dirty brown layer of smog city just above the city, but not so wonderful for going for a bike ride to get ‘out of the city’. Getting out of the city meant going up. And up. And up.
I recall my first ride. It was August in Taipei, which meant 35 degrees (95f) and 100% percent humidity. There were a bunch of us and Billy said we’d take it slow. I was good for the first 10 minutes, then we started to climb. After 20 more minutes I could hardly breathe. Then my whole body stated to shake. Then I saw black dots in front of my eyes. Then I couldn’t see anything at all. All I could do was get off and drag my bike to the side of the road and lay down. I felt good for about 24 seconds. Then I had to vomit. I was too tired to move so the best I could do was roll myself into the first aid safety position and let it drain out of me. I was totally shattered. Knowing that someone would drop back looking for me though, I knew I couldn’t stay where I was. I didn’t want any of my new pals to think I was weak, so I got back on the bike, rode for exactly three more feet and fell off onto the road. Luckily there was very little traffic on some of these mountain roads, so I just laid there for a while until the realized the hot bitumen was actually burning my skin. So once again I dragged myself up and back onto the bike and just as I was taking my first pedal, Billy comes spinning around the corner, coming back looking for me. I didn’t mention the previous thee minutes, but I didn’t manage to get out that I had enough and was turning back.
Turning back was always wonderful. As I became a better rider, I could ride for two hours or so basically up hill all the way. When it was time to head home though, it was a 15 minutes straight shot to my front door. Followed by a 3-hour snooze on the couch. And perhaps some KFC as a reward for all my hard work. (These days of course, I reward myself with 4 pieces of the Colonel’s original for the ‘hard work’ not making a mess in the kitchen trying to cook something.)
But I digress. My point is that I got into cycling for a while and became a fan of some of the big pro events like the Giro d'Italia and of course the Tour de France. Billy was a huge Lance Armstrong fan; to the point where he would wear the same US Postal Service cycling outfit as his hero. I must admit I always found this a little weird. Kind of like a kid with their favorite footy player’s number on the back of their team jumper, but he liked it so good luck to him. Me on the other hand, once I was a full member of the cycling cult, and had succumbed to the need for lycra, wore black shorts and a plain black top. No slogans, no advertising, no color, just plain black. Cool… focused…. Non attention seeking ….. and if I’d read my women’s magazines correctly, black is the most slimming color. I must admit, while Billy was correct about coolness and comfort, I did always find the lycra gear a little snug in certain areas. I was actually thinking about this as I was watching the Cardinals V Eagles playoff game on Monday and those big, big linemen were walking around in skin tight gear. I didn’t see anyone quite like this guy though.
Anyway, as Billy was such a huge Lance fan, obviously I couldn’t be. As an Australian I had to find a point of difference to make fun off at his expense. Of course this was a little hard to do when his guy actually won every year.
To try and show me the light, Billy lent me a copy of the Armstrong book “It’s Not About The Bike”. After reading the book I was left with three thoughts. 1. What a great story. 2. What a courageous and talented fellow. 3. What an arrogant prick.
Now though, I am slowly changing my view. Since his retirement, I have great respect for the commitment he has made to help raise money for the fight to cure cancer. It reminds me a little of former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett. A man I could not stand as Premier and rejoiced over when he was booted out of government, but who has won respect as he has since go on to promote and work with the beyondblue organization for finding better ways to deal with depression.
And now that Lance is back on the bike, well I have to say, I’m right behind him. I’m following him in the Tour Down Under and I will throughout this season, and for however long he stays in the peloton.
So now I would have to say:
Lance Armstrong = Probably still an arrogant prick, but one who is putting his reputation and legacy on the line for a cause. Big respect.
For example:
Lance Armstrong = Arrogant prick
As Bob said though, the times they are a changin' and I'm happy to admit I'm warming to the guy.
Between 1999 and 2006 I was living in Taipei, Taiwan, teaching at an international school. I loved Taipei. The culture was so different from home, the food was fantastic, I had a great job and I worked with some very cool people. One of the coolest of these was a Bill from Maine. Besides being a truly great guy, Billy is a cycling nut. He just loves it. In fact I think the only thing he loves more than riding himself is to get others to go riding too and enjoy his passion.
When I arrived in Taipei, the last time I ridden a bike I had homework in my backpack. My homework……from my 12th grade English teacher. I’d transport that homework home every day and then transport it back the next day have not opened the bag once overnight. Which of course meant two things: Demerits for incomplete homework and a three ring binder that smelled of sweaty three day old PE shorts and socks.
What the hell were we doing studying DH Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers anyway? Perhaps if we had read Lady Chatterley's Lover at least i would have finished it.
Within a few days of arriving in this Taipei, Billy had taken me down to the local Giant bike shop and I purchased a brand new Katarga hybrid mountain/road bike. Billy tried to convince me of the need for the lycra gear too, but at that stage I was not ready to make the commitment. While I understood that the skin tight stuff would make me more aerodynamic and would be cooler and ultimately more comfortable, I was more concerned that I’d end up looking like this guy.
The city of Taipei is basically in a bowl sounded by a series of medium sized mountains. These geographical features are wonderful for keeping a dirty brown layer of smog city just above the city, but not so wonderful for going for a bike ride to get ‘out of the city’. Getting out of the city meant going up. And up. And up.
I recall my first ride. It was August in Taipei, which meant 35 degrees (95f) and 100% percent humidity. There were a bunch of us and Billy said we’d take it slow. I was good for the first 10 minutes, then we started to climb. After 20 more minutes I could hardly breathe. Then my whole body stated to shake. Then I saw black dots in front of my eyes. Then I couldn’t see anything at all. All I could do was get off and drag my bike to the side of the road and lay down. I felt good for about 24 seconds. Then I had to vomit. I was too tired to move so the best I could do was roll myself into the first aid safety position and let it drain out of me. I was totally shattered. Knowing that someone would drop back looking for me though, I knew I couldn’t stay where I was. I didn’t want any of my new pals to think I was weak, so I got back on the bike, rode for exactly three more feet and fell off onto the road. Luckily there was very little traffic on some of these mountain roads, so I just laid there for a while until the realized the hot bitumen was actually burning my skin. So once again I dragged myself up and back onto the bike and just as I was taking my first pedal, Billy comes spinning around the corner, coming back looking for me. I didn’t mention the previous thee minutes, but I didn’t manage to get out that I had enough and was turning back.
Turning back was always wonderful. As I became a better rider, I could ride for two hours or so basically up hill all the way. When it was time to head home though, it was a 15 minutes straight shot to my front door. Followed by a 3-hour snooze on the couch. And perhaps some KFC as a reward for all my hard work. (These days of course, I reward myself with 4 pieces of the Colonel’s original for the ‘hard work’ not making a mess in the kitchen trying to cook something.)
But I digress. My point is that I got into cycling for a while and became a fan of some of the big pro events like the Giro d'Italia and of course the Tour de France. Billy was a huge Lance Armstrong fan; to the point where he would wear the same US Postal Service cycling outfit as his hero. I must admit I always found this a little weird. Kind of like a kid with their favorite footy player’s number on the back of their team jumper, but he liked it so good luck to him. Me on the other hand, once I was a full member of the cycling cult, and had succumbed to the need for lycra, wore black shorts and a plain black top. No slogans, no advertising, no color, just plain black. Cool… focused…. Non attention seeking ….. and if I’d read my women’s magazines correctly, black is the most slimming color. I must admit, while Billy was correct about coolness and comfort, I did always find the lycra gear a little snug in certain areas. I was actually thinking about this as I was watching the Cardinals V Eagles playoff game on Monday and those big, big linemen were walking around in skin tight gear. I didn’t see anyone quite like this guy though.
Anyway, as Billy was such a huge Lance fan, obviously I couldn’t be. As an Australian I had to find a point of difference to make fun off at his expense. Of course this was a little hard to do when his guy actually won every year.
To try and show me the light, Billy lent me a copy of the Armstrong book “It’s Not About The Bike”. After reading the book I was left with three thoughts. 1. What a great story. 2. What a courageous and talented fellow. 3. What an arrogant prick.
Now though, I am slowly changing my view. Since his retirement, I have great respect for the commitment he has made to help raise money for the fight to cure cancer. It reminds me a little of former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett. A man I could not stand as Premier and rejoiced over when he was booted out of government, but who has won respect as he has since go on to promote and work with the beyondblue organization for finding better ways to deal with depression.
And now that Lance is back on the bike, well I have to say, I’m right behind him. I’m following him in the Tour Down Under and I will throughout this season, and for however long he stays in the peloton.
So now I would have to say:
Lance Armstrong = Probably still an arrogant prick, but one who is putting his reputation and legacy on the line for a cause. Big respect.
Greetings
Hello,
I watch a lot of sport. I read a lot about sport and I like to talk about sport. I was thinking the other day that if I like it, watch it, and talk about it so much, I might as well write about it as well. Feel free to comment on my views as you see fit. After all, I can't be right all the time........ apparently.
Yours from the couch,
PJC
I watch a lot of sport. I read a lot about sport and I like to talk about sport. I was thinking the other day that if I like it, watch it, and talk about it so much, I might as well write about it as well. Feel free to comment on my views as you see fit. After all, I can't be right all the time........ apparently.
Yours from the couch,
PJC
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