Letters to the Editor -- February 13 - 20, 2002
VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something inthe pages of VeloNews, or see something on VeloNews.com that causesyou to want to write us, drop us a line at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mailto this address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.A big Thanks! to those who make North American racing specialDear Editor;I would like to thank - and invite others to thank- in this public forum,a long neglected key player in the world of bike racing: Host Housing Families.It would be nice to hear from other racing cyclists who post regularlyin VeloNews about their positive experiences with host housing-we want to hear your stories, too.I have had the chance, over the last few years to be at some host housingwith some athletes I was coaching. These people in host housing, in mylimited experience, must be the nicest people ever for a cyclist away fromhome. Life on the road constantly is a demanding experience. One I am suredrains the sense of groundedness and stable life from our endurance athletes,bit-by-bit, day by day.Host housing families- beyond providing a place to sleep, maybe somefood, and nice, warm homes to surround us- tend to mother and father usand generally seek to care for us, in their own gentle way. By providinga mental space for athletes to refuge, especially at the end of long andhard races is one selfless service that cannot be underestimated. Theytry to give us back our sense of being grounded and at home.How many of us are surly following a long road race, where we flattedand generally had a bad day? I know I have been, and the hosts surely seeit all- crashes, crabbiness, and as well, delight in a good result. Theyprovide this space for use regardless of our result and I thank them forit. You should too.The families tell me that they simply love helping out, having the cyclistsin their homes, sharing their athletic drive, energy and the overall experience-and it shows. It may be that the elite athletes grow to take the 'hosthouse' for granted a bit over time, but I can tell you the hosts do nottake us for granted. They track our results through the news venues andmagazines, and silently wish well for us and our efforts for the wholeseason, until we see them again.Credit that second wind at the end of a big criterium to the well wishingof the host housing families with whom you have stayed in the past. Nowthat cyclists are on TV more, some of them have the chance to see us there;they delight in it, and their contribution to your efforts.They look forward to seeing us each year- and in opening their homesand hearts to us- a precious gift that cannot go unappreciated. Let's putaside simplistic and ultimately rhetorical silliness about who is betterat what, general complaints about officiating, and give thanks to thosewho help us so much, especially at the elite level.Next time you are at your host house, talk to the people and you mayfind much more than a "good citizen", you may find a friend for life.Regis Chapman
Sacramento, CAGood point! A lot of us here still keep in touch with the familieswe stayed with 10, even 20, years ago. We would welcome letters on thetopic. -- EditorOregon deserves better, VN!Dear Editors;You ran a sidebar to your story last month on six-day races ("Six-dayraces in North America," VeloNews, February 4, 2002), which erroneouslystated none had occurred in this country since 1980.Wrong on several counts.I wrote a letter on this issue as did Alpenrose Velodrome manager MikeMurray. Neither letter was printed. I understand that you can't print everything,but this seems fairly significant. It is especially significant in thatPortland has hosted a six-day, which has even been advertised inVNfor several years! It has even drawn some national level competitors onseveral occasions. There was also a six-day held in the Midwest in 1984I believe (Mike mentions in in the letter you never printed).It would seem appropriate to correct such glaring and misleading errorsin a forum such as Letters to the Editor. Unless of course you want tomake everyone believe there are no 6-days!This is a strange recurrence of last summer when you ran a story ontrack racing being a dying sport in the US and then when Alpenrose hostedthe AVC a month later with record breaking attendance, big money, big riders,and standing room only you wouldn't run a story!Sure would have been the kind of news that would bolster a sport ridingNationals to an empty house! Again, are you reporting real news or creatingyour own! Tell the whole story please!The good with the bad and correct your mistakes like responsible journalists.Our track program out here is alive and well, complete with a six-day!Give us our due!!!Discouraged,
Dave Campbell
Newport, OregonAnd here's something else we missedDear Editor;I read both your magazine and your online site regularly. However Ihave a few comments that have bothered me for some years. This weekendI attended the 24 Hours of the Old Tucson which took place the same weekendof the Valley of the Sun race. However you chose not to publish anythingabout the 24 Hour race. There were 900 racers at the 24 Hours and 560 atthe Valley of the Sun. Tinker Juarez won the 24-Hour event so it also hadtop pros. When I asked the director why there was nothing online abouthis race by you he said they had tried for some time with no results andthat your magazine was not interested.I know this is true for a fact since I was the organizer and directorof the oldest mountain bike race in the world, the Road Apple Rally. In2000 we had celebrated our 20th year. We had over 600 riders and over 20pros, with Marc Gullickson winning. I wrote an article for you to publish,but you chose not to put it online or in your magazine. We contacted youto find out why and was told we had missed the deadline. However that doesnot explain why it was not online or in the next issue. Now I see thatyou have also done the same thing to the 24 Hour race in Tucson.I appreciate what you do publish and enjoy reading about all types ofbike racing. Why do you however choose to write articles about some andnot about others? In this case it cannot be about attendance or who showedup or that no one sent you the information. I am sure many others wouldlike articles that are more broad base and of interest to all.Dan Bradshaw
Farmington, NM...and another thingDear Editor,One again one of your writers has written about Italy ("Train like apro," VeloNews, February 25, 2002, by Julie Walsh) and made mistakes. Inthe article about training camps, Sardinia is referred to as "a small Mediterraneanisland" when it is actually an Italian region of 9,302 square miles, biggerthan New Jersey.Imperia, Liguria, and Piemonte are called "mainland Italian villages,"but Imperia is a provincial capital of over 40,000 inhabitants, and Liguriaand Piemonte are not towns at all, but regions.I also take issue with the statement "Italy is probably the only placein the world where what you wear while cycling is as important as how yourride."It seems that Ms. Walsh is just content to repeat a cliché withoutany factual basis. Quite the opposite is true. There are so many cyclistson the road that no one notices or could care less what anyone is wearing.No one could stand out in a crowd even if he tried (except Americans intheir all-black shorts).Italians may have the latest outfits and gear, but it's only becausethat's what's available in the world's cycling capital.Americans don't seem to realize that cycling in Italy is not consideredcool at all, any more than is basketball in the USA. In fact, it's alwaysbeen a working class sport, not the domain of elitist yuppie wanna-be'swho need to proclaim their coolness with the latest sunglasses and what-not.If you want to know what the everyday cycling scene is really like inItaly, ask me to write an article. My website will give you a good ideaabout the way things are.I really liked "At the Back" essay ("Climbing Back" by Neal Rogers)and I think that a lot of cyclists want to read things that capture theemotion and humanity of our sport.April Pedersen
Treviso, ItalyBasketball's not cool? -- EditorThe straight dope on tentsEditor;In Tuesday's letters, Colin Mullane attempts to justify his oppositionto altitude tents. Personally, I don't ever plan to buy one of the things,but I do think Mr. Mullane's analogies were a bit off base.If someone has a genetic advantage, then, of course, we don't even thingsup by simulating that advantage in others with drugs. But altitude trainingis not a genetic advantage. It's a training advantage available to thosewith the time and resources. In that respect, altitude tents even the playingfield between those fortunate few with the time and resources for realaltitude training and those who have to maintain jobs and families at loweraltitudes.As for the UCI's antiquated equipment specs, it can't be the case thatthey're necessary to equalize things between the haves and have-nots. Thereare just too many haves. Most memorably, UCI specs bit just the sort ofrider that Mr. Mullane exults -- Graham Obree. If racing is truly all aboutdesire (and much of it is), then it should be irrelevant whether the nextguy spends his nights in an altitude tent.Russell Jessee
Alexandria, VAMore on Valley of the SunThere is no excuse for organizers and officials embarrassing a professionalrace. If you can't cut it, don't do itThe riders are not riding for your pleasure and no professional racersshould have to put up with centerline rules. They don't work and to stealthe immortal words of my old director, Ted Ernst, they are "bush league".If we are to ride in the draft of Lance and the other heroes of Americancycling and push our sport to a consistent international level, we can'tmake progress this way.Give us rolling closures, keep the IIs back and don't embarrass yourcountry when your race report shows up in Lausanne.Richard Heisler
Ex cat.1, organizer, and official.
Ongoing fan and masters competitor.
Eureka, CA.LETTERS FOR TUESDAYThere are long-term consequencesEditor;I wanted to bring this to your attention (and VeloNews and thebicycling community at large). In today's New England Journal of Medicinethere was a very interesting article, (PureRed-Cell Aplasia and Antierythropoietin Antibodies in Patients Treatedwith Recombinant Erythropoietin) that anyone interested in doping withEPO should read before making this decision. The risks of steroids andmany other performance enhancing drugs are well known. EPO has always seemed"safe" because it is a natural product. (Except when used in excess, withunnaturally high blood counts occur, causing strokes and heart attacks.Well, maybe not.Basically, the article described thirteen patient with renal failurewho were being treated for the anemia associated with renal failure witherythropoietin (AKA EPO). These 13 patients went on to develop red cellaplasia. In english, they stopped making red blood cells and became dependentupon frequent blood transfusions (not a good thing). Their physicians foundthat these patients had developed antibodies to epo (including their nativeEPO) and just stopped making red cells. While it looks like after a timethe patients improved, this should be really alarming to people abusingEPO. Pure red cell aplasia is not pretty, and there can be lots of problemswith frequent blood transfusions.When the body starts making antibodies against things that belong there,things can get real ugly, real fast.Winning (or just being competitive in) any race isn't worth this sortof risk. Sleep at altitude if you must. Train harder and smarter. Raceless often and more selectively. But don't trash your bodies withdrugs.Ask Lance. There are worlds of non-cycling suffering out there thatyou don't want to experience unless you absolutely have to.Joseph Kozachek MDReference:
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 346:469-475, February14, 2002, Number 7 "Pure Red-Cell Aplasia and Antierythropoietin Antibodiesin Patients Treated with Recombinant Erythropoietin"
No, not Gord FraserI'm not even a huge Gord Fraser fan but if he did curse at anofficial regardless of the circumstances every single thing I've ever readabout him has been a lie.I just don't buy it.I think race organizers and officials have a very tough job but Gordlosing composure is a little hard to swallow.Ken Watson
Historic Montrose ColoA minority opinionAh, you tempt us to write to you on anything we may see in your publication...and to date I've been content to just read and enjoy.Until now.I was intrigued to see your latest pollon the approval/disapproval of altitude tents. I love these polls andtypically find myself in the majority when it comes to voting my opinion.Needless to say I was somewhat taken aback when I found myself disapprovingof oxygen tents and being in a vast
minority.So I sat back for a couple of days and thought about the subject periodicallyso I could perhaps jump ship and rejoin the majority. Alas, I found myselfin an ever-deepening hole I could not climb out of and here are the mainreasons why, in no particular order.Using an oxygen tent is an unnatural way of stimulating the body toperform at a greater or higher level as compared to training without one.It is designed to mimic the effects and benefits of training at altitudeas so many top athletes do. The key word here is mimic. Tents arenot the same as the actual thing. So how do we level the playing fieldwhen competing against athletes who do train at altitude? This is not somethingI have a solution for however the reasons for not trying to simulate theeffects are clear to me. Take for example an athlete who produces highlevels of testosterone or who's body more readily rids itself of the dreadedlactic acid, or in the case of Eddy Merckx has an unusually large heart...allbenefiting the athlete over their competitors. Do we then justify the useof stimulants that mimic these benefits? Not in the eyes of the UCI orany other conscionable person.The fact is that some people have a greater disposition towards certainactivities, it's the human aspect of who we are.But just how can I compare the use of altitude tents to that of thehorrid stimulant issues so prevalent in our sport. Well the same way theUCI restricts bicycles to having two main triangles or a minimum weightrestriction, and more recently restrictions on higher profiled wheels andtheir composite counterparts. The underlying reason is to keep things asfair and equal as possible. The bottom line is that we all need to usebetter judgment when it comes to how we train and what we use to trainwith. A more dedicated cyclist with a hunger for winning should almostalways beat someone not motivated to the same level. If that hunger isreplaced by finding alternative ways to maintain results other than trainingthen the line has been crossed and you've lost.Is the use of better more expensive equipment fair? Well the key hereis changes to the bike not the rider. Just yesterday in the first raceof my season I was beaten into 45th place or somewhere thereabouts by awoolly socked hairy legged 6'6" individual with a rusted steel frame, fendersand equipment as old as Henri Desgrange while I was on my state of theart carbon fiber Dura-ace equipped stealth machine.I Love cycling and I love bicycles but I also know that no lightweightbike or it's stupidly light components will ever beat the more determinedrider. I get a separate joy from the beauty of bicycles and their mechanicsthan from riding and maybe unfairly can justify the technological edgethat such may provide but it's truly miniscule compared with tweaking trainingtechniques by artificial or illegal means.Go to Colorado and train in the mountains, meet Jenny Craig and loosea few pounds, Get lightweight wheels and feel the zip, do ten sprint intervalsand get faster, save the tents for camping and I'll see you at the nextrace.Colin Mullane
Ashland, ORCan anyone help this man?Guys,I've been giving my search engines a real workout trying to find oneparticular race picture. It's famous, and someone (either you or CycleSport)did a feature on the subject some years back. The photo depicts some oldItalian or French hardman riding along some road in, I think, a Classic,sometime back in the fifties.Unremarkable. But what I remember about the photo is that the riderhad just broken his collarbone, and had unwound some of his handlebar tape.He had taken a good bit of it and crammed it into his mouth, the betterto ignore the pain and keep hammering. The photo shows him, in absoluteanguish, with the tape making a straight line from mouth to bars.Is that arbitrary enough for you? I'd appreciate it if anyone remembersthe photo and could, perhaps, let me know where I might find it.Mark Dixon
Boston, MAWhy the trash?Why is an image of trash in the desert associated with the Valley ofthe Sun race?Is this the editor's opinion of the race? Or are you just trying topoint out the finer points of Arizona? There are those in every state thatseem compelled to keep the guys in orange jumpsuits busy...surely it doesn'tbelong on your website.David Harris
Durango, ColoradoProbably not a Mountain Bike UK subscriber, eitherAt one time I loved VeloNews.But now with the mountain-bikes on the cover and the mostly mountain-bikenews (actually we average about 60 percent road per issue -- Editor).I for one cannot understand why a person would want to tear but thebeautiful hills and forest areas with bike tracks. Just try backpacking,enjoy nature and don't destroy it.I'll get CycleSport instead.Kathryn Graves
Roadie, Backpacker.LETTERS FOR MONDAYLieswyn comments on Valley of the Sun troublesHello,This message is just to try and clarify the report on the disqualificationsin the men's event at the Valleyof the Sun. The most important point was missed: the disqualificationswere completely and totally arbitrary. The way the report was written makesit sound like the 30 plus riders DQ'd were more guilty than those not penalized.I for one never advanced position over the centerline but was forced overby the overlapping of wheels. When the guy to your right and ahead of youswerves left you don't hit your brakes and cause a crash, you also swerve.There isn't a rider who was in that race who can truthfully say he didn'tcross the centerline at least once. This is why the penalty was arbitraryand the wrong way for the officials to handle the problem. Also the writerof the report insinuates that Gord swore at the officials. I was there,at the front, when we were warned that we were about to be caught by theII's. At the most he may have been justifiably snide when asked to "pickup the pace." A professional such as Gord is too cool and even temperedto resort to profanity as alleged.The only thing to do was to neutralize the Cat II field until the gaphad widened again. The officials started the two packs too close together.I was embarrassed for American cycling when riders just brought over fromthe Euro' peloton like Jay Sweet (Saturn) were introduced to racing inthis country with such hokey officiating.I urge all riders who are considering doing Valley of the Sun 2003:Think about whether your life is worth doing this race. Even if a seriousaccident doesn't happen in the future, keep in mind that the probabilityof finishing this stage race is greatly diminished by the fact that ifa crash doesn't claim you, the officials might. And being pushed over thecenterline into the path of a 65 mph semi truck is not unlikely, just sucha mishap tragically took the life of a junior rider in the Bele Chere StageRace, Asheville NC a few years ago. The race never happened again. If theroads can't be closed, then a rolling enclosure is necessary. If that can'tbe provided, don't have a road race.Sincerely,
John LieswynAnother view from the pelotonThank you for covering the Valley of the Sun race. As you stated therace was terrific with terrific weather. This is the second year I haveraced the event and will continue to go as long as it is put on. The Bookspansdid the right thing DQing so many riders for the center line violation.We were well warned before the race started. I am amazed at your coverageof the women's pro criterium. I spent my 36 minutes chasing Jeanson andher teammates and had a great time doing it. Rob Coppolillo managed tomiss the fact that Jennifer Franklin (Velo Allegro) had been lapped bythe field and the Rona girls. She was told to withdraw from the race butcontinued to sit on the leaders off the front. She then sat up and soft-pedaledthrough the last corner completely messing up the sprint for third. Pleasewatch more carefully and give credit where it is due. Jennifer Franklinis a good rider, a Cat 3 and moving up. However, she did not make the brilliantmove with Jeanson and company. Thank you for your publicationsSincerely,
Katie Safford
PAA/ERB Women's Cycling Team
Pasadena, CaliforniaSupply, demand and those pesky entry feesEditor;As a 12 time entrant in the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in New Hampshire,I feel concerned for the future of this event.Last year I went on line to register and found that the 600 rider fieldhad been filled the first day! Now the event organizers have instigateda tiered entry policy. If you register in February the cost is $300. Ifyou wait until May the cost is $150. Last year the entry fee was $100.A 300% raise in the fee seems ridiculous and beyond reason. As of today,Sunday, February 17, 2002, the race has 379 entrants. People are passionateof their interest in this ride... even if they are not racing caliber cyclists.This policy threatens to limit the number of racers that can't affordthe costs of travel, food, lodging and a $150-$300 fee to enter. The racewill fill up it's 600 rider limit, but at what cost in public relations?Thanks for listening,Fred Stedtler
Mahwah, New JerseyIn praise of ChopperThe latest story (see Chopper's Lounge "Satori in the Snow," VeloNews,February 25, 2002) is one of the best I have read in cycling. There isthe classic goober cyclist who can afford to use a watt-measuring deviceon his bike that cost big bucks, but can't spring for a new tire.Then there is the ill advised crazy tough ride that we have all doneone time or another, biting off way more than we can chew. These ridescome complete with lots of snot, suffering, and regret, tinged with selfrecrimination, ending with supreme joy over the end of the ordeal. Butthen the gentle reader is brought back to reality with the buddy in thewheelchair.This guy who would have given anything to go through what was originallythought of as an ordeal, now is suddenly revealed to be a blessing. Itslike we are giving a chance to see life through someone else's eyes. Itssobering, but at the same time makes us further resolved enjoy the giftwe sometime take for granted.Jim Woulfe,
Bristol Rhode IslandMore on the good Doctor FerrariThe cyclist that took the drugs is just as guilty as the doctor, or,as the saying goes Dimi con chi vai e ti diro chi sei.Rafaelle PernaCycling has doping scandals because we catch peopleIn the season to come, it's a safe bet there will be some kind of dopingscandal involving our sport. Accusations will fly, careers will be ruined,and the mainstream press will again hold up cycling as a dirty, corruptsport not worthy of respect.Unfortunately, in the midst of all this most of us will forget a veryimportant fact: The reason these 'scandals' occur is because unlike everyother sport in the world, cycling is actually trying to stop doping. Oursport should be lauded for it's courage in trying to end this problem whenother sports are content to ignore it.Chris FarrellMarco could just shut up and rideI'm from the Philippines and the reason Marco Pantani is yapping aboutLance not a great champion or whatever is that he want's to get his teamto the TdF. But if his big mouth does all the turning of the pedals, thenhe should concentrate on the Giro and the Vuelta (no offense to those twogreat races) and hope that JM Leblanc can hear with his un-Pantalni likeears!Jose Vicente Araneta
Philippines
FRIDAY LETTERSJust tell us it ain't soEditor;Very interesting story (see "Cyclistbreaks code of silence in Ferrari trial") and it adds fuel to the flameof accusations centering around the USPS team including Lance.My faith in the USPS team and their leader has never been stronger,but the average cyclist like myself can't help but ask the question 'DidLance and his teammates participate in doping under the guidance of Ferrari?'(See "Armstrongsays Ferrari relationship proper")I certainly hope the answer and the evidence continues to shout 'NO!'because Lance has done more for cycling in the United States in the past3 years than has been done in the history of the sport in our country.Road bike sales are skyrocketing, attendance in organized rides has increasedsubstantially, and everyone takes pride in his phenomenal victories ofthe previous Tours.If Lance, his teammates and their coaches take anything away from thiscircus surrounding Ferrari is to realize they have thousands of fans thatcare and stand behind them, but they need to make intelligent decisionsthat don't jeopardize their careers. Stand up and continue to answer theallegations, submit to the blood tests and realign themselves with respectablephysicians.Chris ChamblissBest man wins. Right? Right????Editor;I just wanted to say that it's too bad that cycling, as well as anysport, has taken a turn for the worst when it comes to using drugs to enhanceperformance and potentially create artificial champions. It makes me wonderabout many of the cyclists that I race against during the summers thesepast years. The constant winners that I see really makes me wonder sometimes.Are they really that good due to lots of training or are they pumped upon something?The professional and amateur racers shouldn't do it, but many do. Whathappened to good old-fashioned hard work, training and nutrition? Not tomention developed skill and tactics. Athletic sports are becoming drugenhanced sports. What's next? Bionic enhanced sports?I thought competitive sports was supposed to be about naturalstrength and ability. The best man wins. Right? Now, the best man won'talways win because we have artificial chemically induced winners to beatthe best man.Where will the tie between sports and drugs lead us?Sincerely,Nikola Konsulov
Chicago, ILWhere is our new leader?Editor;I have not seen anything concerning a replacement for Ms. Voight (see"Voight to stepdown as USA Cycling CEO") and am just wondering if you know what isgoing on in that regard.Scott Jenkins
St Charles, MissouriA quick e-mail to USA Cycling and we received the following information:
1) The USA Cycling board of directors has organized a search committee.
2) The search committee is developing a job description.
3) The search committee is currently in the process of selectinga candidate search firm.
4) The search committee currently consists of: Jim Ochowicz (chair),Mick Hellman, Nigel Blair-Johns, Mike Plant (ex-officio), Mari Holden andAnn Trombley.
The search is expected to begin in earnest in early March.
We'll have a news report from the USA Cycling board meeting on March5. -- EditorA list of our shortcomingsDear VeloNews,I don't subscribe and I don't buy VeloNews and haven't for thelast five years, many of my 40-year-old friends feel as I do, because:you have much, too much mountain biking (much less DOWNHILL????!!!); youfocus too much on personalities, and when those personalities are in theirtwenties. Well...as a college professor I can tell you they don't havemuch to say that's interesting, including about bikes and bike culture.In short, VeloNews can play to the bike "consumer" -- and I wishyou luck as you try and do so.But the cyclist, one who races and rides and lives with bikes, wantsbicycling experiences to be conveyed. For instance: when was the last timeyou covered Boston-Montreal-Boston? Or given the hugely popular centuryrides all over the USA any coverage? Or done any sustained articles oncycling advocacy and riding conditions in this country? I could go on.You get the idea...Sincerely,
Mike RossWhy complain?Editor;Hello, I think we'd better call the "Waaaammmmbulance" for all the whinersout there. Read, don't read, who really cares. If you don't like the magazine,go start your own, you damn 'know-it-alls'.Be happy there is any coverage of our fair sport to begin with.Just my passing thought.Mark Landry
New Gloucester, MaineTHURSDAY LETTERSClean-up our sport before it is too lateDear VeloNews;Well it seems like the cat is out of the bag and it is time to skinit.Only a fool would not finally realize that in the world of bike racingand other elite level competitions, doping is going on at a major level.Whether it be banned substances or newly developed products that are noteven on the radar screen yet we must clean-up our sport before it is toolate.Many argue that for athletes to perform at the highest level they needspecial fuel and recovery substances that can also function at this level.The bottom line is that the pressure being placed on these athletes toperform is tremendous as are the rewards for winning and being at the frontof the pack for the media exposure that attracts sponsors.It is up to the businesses who sponsor and financially support elitelevel athletes to establish incredibly strict conditions to their supportto ferret out the bad eggs and ban them from the sport. It is also up tothe athletes to report this type of activity and feel secure that theywill not be cast out or financially sacrificed by the powers that be forspeaking up.I have a good friend of mine who is now in his early 60 's who rodein the peloton with Tom Simpson and was on the road as a domestique onthe fateful day when he died from having more drugs in him than Man o'War. He raced in 6-day events, Giro, TDF and all the classics and was blownaway by the crap that people were putting in their bodies. His proudestmoment of his whole career was when he beat Eddy M in a 6-day and was approachedby various shady characters who wanted to know what he was on and how hebeat the Cannibal. He replied "My Bike, seven hours a day and my Mum'shome cooking."Sincerely.Grant Lamont
Whistler B.C.Altitude tents for the masses!I was very interested by the Velo poll. Should altitude tents be banned?The only way that you can ban tents is if you make all athletes live atsea level. Now do you think that all of those people living in Coloradowill be willing to give up the altitude and live in Florida, to make thingsfair? I don't think so. If anything, tents should be pushed so that allathletes can get the same advantages.Travis Blume
Fort Wayne, INIt's a good point, though the theory behind altitude tents is thatthey actually provide more of an advantage than simply living a mile abovesea level. The proper use of an altitude tent allows a rider to "trainlow and live high," exercising in an oxygen-rich environment and then generatingmore red blood cells in an oxygen-poor environment. The only "natural"way to equal that would be to train in Florida and then move back to Colorado(or its altitude equivalent) to sleep. So, with that in mind, is a tentreally fair? -- Editor.There are reasons that you can't please everyoneEditor;As the publisher of a quarterly magazine I have a fair idea of the competinginterests with which VeloNews must deal with on a semi-monthly basis.Cycling is an all encompassing sport, and yet there is a large elementof interest exclusivity.As a road cyclist, I'm not particularly interested in mountain bikecoverage, and yet mountain bikers are a significant segment of the cyclingpopulation. The same thoughts, in reverse are probably harbored by manymountain bikers regarding road cycling. And track, and cyclo-cross, andBMX and so forth and so on.VeloNews bills itself as "The Journal of Competitive Cycling,"and so it must cover the metaphoric waterfront. In doing so, everyone,depending on his or her interest, no doubt will feel shortchanged. VeloNewssimply can't -- and probably shouldn't -- cater to the specific needs ofindividual segments of the cycling community. If I may be permitted anapt analogy, the proliferation of specialty magazines and cable channels(including Outdoor Life Network) is the result of a fragmented societyand the inability of general interest publications -- such as newspapers-- and the major television networks to satisfy that fragmentation. Andyet, people still buy newspapers and still watch network television, inpart to be connected to a larger American and world community.The answer for people dissatisfied with VeloNews content, I think,is what I consider to be the supplementary monthly publications, such asCycle Sport, to which I also subscribe. They are now the print analog ofcable TV.As for expressed concerns about layout -- larger photographs mean lesstext; more text means smaller photographs. And ads, well, they pay thebills. With increasing postal costs, infinitely variable paper and printingcosts, and the financial black hole that characterizes most Web sites,print advertising keeps VeloNews, the magazine and the Web site going.I'm a 10-year subscriber to VeloNews, and I expect to continuesubscribing as long as my interest in cycling continues. If and when Ibecome dissatisfied with or uninterested in VeloNews's editorialcontent or with the sport of cycling, I will allow my subscription to lapse.As for now, I will continue to look forward to VeloNews fortnightly.Jay Fromkin
Laramie, WYA few suggestionsDear Sir or Madame;I think you folks do a good job.More training and nutrition information would be welcome. Any possibleway to secure the services of Bob Roll should be explored .Respectfully YoursJim HowardLooking for TV reviewsIdea guys,How about doing a poll to see how many people caught the OLN SuperCupCyclocross program. What they thought of it and if they would like to seemore national programming on TVDavid BroganerWell, it may not work on that little poll box we have, but we cancertainly ask here: Who saw the OLN piece on the SuperCup? And what didyou think? - EditorIs this from the director?Last year, I wrote to other e-mail addresses at VeloNews, butI received no response. I hope that this one works better.My reason for writing was that VeloNews totally failed to makeany mention of a great movie called Hardihood.
It is about the lives of the women who do downhill, and you can findout all about it at http://www.hardihood.com
Just click it.Mark Walsh
Livermore, CA
WEDNESDAY LETTERSMore on FerrariNow that riders are testifying as to Dr. Ferrari's doping of them, willLance Armstrong sever histies with the tainted doctor? The ball is in Lance's court.Brian LaffertyJess legalize it , monThis Ferrari debate can go on forever, however, I feel as I'm sure thatmany cyclists like myself will agree that we should not concern ourselveswith what the heck professional cyclists do to improve their performances.Just as people should be allowed to smoke pot. Why not?People smoke regular stuff and it kills them, we chose not to smoke.People drink themselves to death and it is legal. We struggle with ourpersonal bests and at the end of the day our personal bests don't evencompare to what the pros can do in their sleep. And the next day we goto work and brag about our average speeds of 29km/hr. Why do we love thepros? Why do we follow the pros?If the pros were slightly better than us or even much better than usI doubt very much that I would or many like me would spend close to $250.00a year on cycling magazines, or the first 10 minutes of every day on yourweb site and others like it or glued to any television coverage that wecan find. We do this because the pros are astronomically better than us.When Armstrong pulled away in the Tour he flew, I would have needed totie a rope to the back of one of the support vehicles and be hooked upto life support at the top. I can't even begin to image the power and thestress in the final sprint at the Worlds. It is all beyond comprehension.We ride 5 to 7 thousand kilometers on a great year, the pros will havedone this by March.The playing field is not level for them, everyone must be doing somethingand so if you chose not to you are not in the peleton. Any pro who willblatantly try to deny that they are doing something can go and blow somesmoke up someone else's arse. I personally do not care. They better dosomething because I want to see supper human feats regardless of the event.I personally try to avoid pain killers for headaches so I would be terrifiedto subject myself to any other foreign substance in my body that's probablywhy I chose a different career.This all brings me to my main point. Why the hell are these stool pigeonsnow squealing on the man whom they probably pursued and in most cases beggedfor treatment? They wished to become competitive, they chose to cycle fora living. They did not choose to become architects or doctors or rock singers.They chose cycling.You can bring the cyclist to the EPO but you can't always make him drink.The darn camel has to decide to drink. They drank and they drank willingly.Why are they bent on destroying the most innovative "God" of doping. Thisman gave them what they needed/wanted and they in turn give us what wewant.The art of supplements and stimulants is as old as the wheel. As weall search for anything to do with cycling, I have just recently read forthe hundredth winter, detailed accounts of Bartoli and Coppi and some oftheir incredible accomplishments.When you read about the number of flats that they might endure whileclimbing an unpaved road up the side of a mountain only to be confrontedwith snow flurries and as was the case with Coppi, he would quite oftenleave everyone behind by 5 or 10 minutes and arrive at the finish linecrusted over with mud and frost bitten. What the heck was he on? I'm sittingby the fire reading this and off I go to put the kettle on and get a sweater.After testifying at this trial I would be terrified to jump back inthe peloton for fear that some cyclist (grateful for Ferrari's assistance)just may have an elbow waiting for me on a 75km/hr decent.Frank Fortunato
Markham, Ontario
CanadaFerrari story raises one tough questionIf in fact it is possible to take EPO and other drugs and still passdrug tests - let's hope and pray that Lance is as clean as he says. I believehim when he says he is clean, but it would be devastating to the sportif it was every revealed that he or any other Postie took banned drugs.Hoping for four in a row.Chuck Bowes,
CaliforniaBigger type!Can the magazine print the articles in an even smaller font print size?At the current format I can still read them with my reading glasses aidedby a magnifying glass.And more road racing should be added, covering both national and internationalracesGeromin D. Gonzales
San Diego, CANice suggestion - Ed.Smaller price!I like your magazine for it's technical and training articles, but man,I just cannot afford it. If you could cut down the size or make the issuesless frequent to lower the cost I would subscribe. Thanks for listening.Mike BensonShort, sweet and to the pointBring back Bob Roll.Kenny Gilliland
Jamesburg, NJJust gimme moreEditor;I have been reading your magazine for about 15 years and have alwaysenjoyed it.I am 40 and beyond the racing scene, but I still ride and like to stayinformed. I would like to see more technical articles relating to the artof bicycle building and training. I always go straight to Lennard Zinn'sarticles when I get a new issue, but I would be interested in longer articles,and more of them. More articles on metallurgy, frame building, and independentcomponent manufacturers would be interesting.Also more training articles, showing some of the high tech devices likewind tunnel testing would be interesting. Also more training articles forothers like myself that work full time and have a family would be helpful.Regards,
David Brubaker,
Chicago, ILIf you don't like it, don't buy itHello VeloNews:I am one of those bike people that remember what life was like beforethe Internet. I am also one of those bike people who bought WinningMagazine long after it went down the "alternative sports" road. One thingI have noticed is that "bike people" buy bike stuff. If its good we keepit and use it, if its not it clutters our workbench for eternity. Haveyou ever seen a
hard core biker throw anything away?VeloNews has changed a lot over the years. Some things for thebetter and some things for the worse. Instead of the incessant gripingvote with your pocketbook. It works in business and politics (two thingsthe bicycle industry is fraught with) so why shouldn't it work with yourbathroom library? If you don't like it, don't buy it.Its the people you see on the road that you wouldn't want to ride within the first place that complain about how things were "so much betterthe old way." Take you friction shifters, your 8+ hour centuries, and oldwar stories and snuggle up with you old copies of VeloNews.We all know they are still down in your workshop.Russell "Rusty" ElderAnd how would they know to complain!?!?!How would you know?Everyone who is sending their complaints in about how they no longersubscribe leave one question to be asked. How, if you no longer read, didyou know to submit your opinion to the request for letters? If you dislikeVeloNewsso much why are you reading their magazine and surfing their website?Admittedly I can find faults with VeloNews, I don't dispute that.I'm sure if I knew all of you I could find faults in you as well. Noone and nothing is perfect and therefore we must strive to improve andnot ridicule those who have the nerve to try. If you think you can do betterthan why don't you spend your time more productively and start your owncycling publication. You could call it Cycling Utopia, for the Most DiscriminatingCyclist and Generally Bitter People.And to submit the first letter to you, the editor, in keeping with thetheme of your own comments: You suck, you will always suck, and all ofyour children will suck too.They call it constructive criticism for a reason.Timothy BebernissArchived letters:February 8 -12, 2002
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