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Monday's Mailbag: Photo galleries rule; why he rides; needled by O'Grady
The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Pictures worth a thousand words (or more)
Editor:
Thanks for continuing with the "Photo Gallery" pictures that you guys run. In an age where the majority of headlines focus on doping-related issues, your photo gallery captures the essence and excitement of this beautiful sport and is a welcome breath of fresh air. Keep up the great work!
Steve DeMoss
Atlanta, Georgia
Why he rides
Editor:
I'm so tired of all the drama and exhaustion related to the doping question. Let's get back to the basics. Here's my take.
Why I ride:
I ride to remember my youth and the freedom that a bike afforded me.
I ride for pure enjoyment; I get up early to ride lonely farm roads, through the fog, in the cool morning air. I ride for a reason to get up and participate in the sunrise.
I ride among the thoroughbred farms and get chills as young colts run with me along the fence line, the week after the Kentucky Derby.
I ride to toughen myself mentally. I ride to climb for 20 miles up to Clingmans Dome in Smoky Mountains National Park. And cash in my pain deposit on the 20-mile decent with an incredible smile all the way down at 45 mph.
I think to myself, if I can finish a century ride in less than six hours, why should I worry about that upcoming business meeting that nobody will remember in three months? Riding puts me at ease.
I ride to get away. I ride for three hours of solitude to figure out life, to take out a few frustrations on the pedals. I ride for the privacy to plan my goals. My family goals. My career goals. My riding goals.
I ride so I can look on a map and know I traveled via self-propulsion from here to there and back again.
Above all, I ride to be a part of the outdoors and of the sport. I ride clean, which also keeps my conscience clean. Cleaner than any pro I’ve ever followed.
I ride for nobody but myself. And ride with others doing the same. Enjoying the camaraderie that comes with cycling. It’s never a race, but you always must stretch your legs just to see how much you can.
I ride to sport my own jersey. The one I bought at the ride that I completed.
I ride because running sucks.
So, let the pros sort out their own mess. Just never forget why you ride.
Douglas O'Donnell
Louisville, Kentucky
What's O'Grady's point with needle gag?
Editor:
What's with that termagant of an editor Patrick O'Grady and the Las Vegas hypodermic-needle-disposal issue?
(T)he inside of the bathroom door sports a gentle warning about the too-casual disposal of hypodermic needles. Must've had the ProTour crowd through here recently.
Hasn't he ever seen a diabetic in Spandex at a rest stop, checking blood sugar with a miniature meter pulled out of a seat bag, prior to figuring out how much supplemental regular insulin will balance out sports drink and energy bar versus the next two hours of the ride? VeloNews needs to make him ride one of the 80 Tour de Cure events being held this year across the country, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association:
There's still time to send him to ride one of the year-ending TdC's, like the 85km Honolulu version on November 19. It would be a tough job, but maybe he's up for it.
Alan Birnbaum
Editor, "The Rough Draft"
Fresno (California) Cycling Club
Um, yeah, believe it or not, our foaming rantist does possess a soupçon of awareness (regarding diabetes, at least). O’Grady’s father-in-law is diabetic, as is a riding buddy, who felt comfortable enough with the ignoramus to check his sugar levels and take an insulin injection in the scribe’s truck while he drove the two home from a race some years back. It was a joke, and the pointy end was aimed at dopers, not diabetics. Jeez, we gotta start including an operator's manual with these things or what? — Editor
The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
