6,372 indivudual visitors yesterday, with 8,994 page views, 7,084 of those on the Levi Gran Fondo post alone.
seems like people do give a hoot, though montanagirl was particularly irked with herself for reading an article that eschews CAPITAL letters, so much so that she wrote to tell me just that:
“If you’re going to criticize someone so harshly in such a public forum, you should be able to capitalize your sentences. I’m actually bummed I clicked on this and gave you the trafffic [sic].”
apparently if i ‘judged’ less harshly, it’d be ok to use lower case all the time. good to know. i’ll tone it down for you montanagirl – by the way, way to not use capitals in your name, ‘atta girl!
someone else asked why was i picking on Levi, and not the other ‘bad boys’ of the peloton? well, first off, imagine the length of the article if i had to write about every doper every time i wrote abut doping? you know how exhausting this sh*t is already? i’d LOVE to be writing stuff like this every day, or like this, but unfortunately i can’t, because there are far more pressing concerns right now in this sport i love so much.
so for those of you new to crankpunk & company who seem to be sulking at home because i’m ‘only’ picking on Levi, here’s a few links to get your ire a-rising again…
Willett, O’Grady, The Romans, Us and Saul Bellow
Doping In Cycling – Speak Now Or Forever Shut The F*ck Up
there are loads more, if you can be bothered.
to those who say ‘well it was every thus’ – yes, you are right in that, but wrong to be wearied as a result.
i wrote this a long time ago but as i read it now, i still believe it:
“…so, what’s the point of all this? the point is that, unless we find a way to ‘unlearn’ thousands upon thousands of years of human behaviour, or to eliminate the ‘rogue’ genes that allow for cheating and doping from our sportsmen, we will always have people ready to do it. this doesn’t mean the riders have no responsibility – they bear a great deal. but essentially what we need is a system that curtails ingrained behaviour and encourages athletes to perform clean. we need penalties that are sufficient to discourage cheating, and, most critically, an apparatus, an institutional framework of credible managers and coaches and dedicated officials who are free of corruption, to govern the sport.
then perhaps we can consider talk of a ‘Golden Era’ – and instead of it being dead and in the past, it could, if we do it right, be ahead of us. let’s honor those young men who so tragically passed away [in the early 90s from heart attacks in their sleep as a result of abusing EPO] by not f***ing this up anymore. they, you, we, deserve that.”
from ‘It Was Ever Thus: A Brief History of Tripping to Victory‘
finally, this from Terry:
“I’m sure none of my fellow commentors would never watch or buy from a sponsor of ANY sport that is full of dopers, like the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Pro Golf, Pro Tennis, Soccer, Boxing, Swimming, Track and Field. Lets not forget the sex DRUGS and rock n roll, so no music. For that matter, would any of you even deal with someone who drove 1 mph over the speed limit or “fudged” a tax return? Not me, I’m not that perfect. I love riding with Levi, George, watching NFL…..”
and a reply from MythBuster:
“Nice straw man Terry. You even added a hat with that tax return touch…”
keep ’em coming folks, keep ’em coming…!
And please, you do the same.
i shall endeavor to persevere, Ramona!
It’s such a catch-22. That fondo is getting so many people riding, but of course Levi didn’t just voluntarily admit doping(not that anyone really ever has). Should he probably be disassociated, I think so…how many actually do that ride because of him? How many riders that are new to cycling even know his name? Half the time I think it’s sponsored by the jeans company(and I am a cyclist)…then I remember it’s named for Levi O. and I think the same thing every time(“wasn’t he bounced for doping??”). I wonder what he gets out of it financially? Maybe he should be made to do it for free, and donate all his earnings to programs to discourage doping in cycling? Maybe he should just go away.
Nice that you’re keeping the anti-doping torch ever-lit, is there a way to make these rants constructive? I get the points you make, but can it ever be more than complaints, are we helpless to the point where logging complaints is all that can be done?
you can read through my stuff if you want and see my suggestions to make stuff better. and ‘rants’ – as soon as that label comes out, it dismisses, in essence, what is being said. and you ask if we are helpless to the point where logging complaints is all that can be done… isn’t that exactly what happened? isn’t that the state the wider world finds itself in too? if we don’t at least point out what is wrong with the status quo rather than just keeping quiet and joining in – see Levi’s Gran Fondo for 7,500 examples of that – then we may as well not even bother getting out of bed.
In the world of motorcycle roadracing there is a journalist named John Ulrich who started an independent charitable fund to provide “air fencing” to improve safety at racetracks, the fund has been successful and still exists. A big problem that is slowly being chipped away at by people doing something. Is anyone doing anything like this to help cycling? on any level, Am, Masters, etc.? for any topics, doping related or not? just free bikes to Africa? Could there ever be an outside fund to help provide expanded testing? Is there one I don’t know of? Is there a place I can contribute to?
PK, that is a great idea…
Independent Testing Fund, coming to test at a masterrs race near you, :-)!
Keep it coming, Lee! I love the fact that you have the bravery and courage to not stand down! It takes nerves to hang yourself out there for public assassination. I’d like to point out those that hide behind vague names. Had they your bravery, their names would be listed. Then I might bother with a discussion with them, but they don’t have the courage you do, Lee!
cheers Inga! let us endeavor to persevere.