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.

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Forget the heroes, just ride your bike
Dear Editor,
Since everyone else is jumping in, I figured I’d throw my two-cents in regarding the Heras case, too.I've been riding for 10 years now and until about three years ago the only professional cyclist’s name that I knew with any degree of certainty was Lance Armstrong's. I lived in Austin at the time.

Then I hooked up with a group of cyclists and a local club in Utah where all of the old OLN highlights and World Cycling videos got me through some tough trainer sessions in the dead of winter and I've been hooked on pro cycling ever since. It's my way of keeping my head in a good place while off of my bike and stuck in my cube-farm of an office.

Now with the news of Heras I'm certain of one thing: I am done with anything that deals with cycling professionals and I'm going back to just riding my bike because I like the cool crisp air in the early morning as I go up and down hills.I don't know if the riders are "broke" or the testing system is "broke" and frankly I don't care anymore. Something is out of whack and until the problem is fixed one way or another, I'll focus my attention elsewhere.See you on the road or trails.
Rob Allen
Highlands Ranch, ColoradoWhat about a marker?
Dear editor,
Would it be possible for the manufacturers of EPO to include a distinctive trace element, so that testing for EPO would only need to look for this trace element? Unless unscrupulous, unregulated labs can manufacture EPO, this would seem to be an easy way to resolve the testing issue. If a distinctive trace element could be found that could be easily tested for, would not produce false positives or negatives, and would not be likely to appear in other substances.Perhaps there are some doctors in the VeloNews readership who can comment on this?
Leland Thoburn
Los Angeles California

We asked that same question back in 1996, when the UCI was considering its 50-percent hematocrit limit. At the time, a spokesman for Amgen said that any change to the product would force the company to seek FDA approval for the new formula. That’s a lengthy and expensive procedure and one the company said couldn’t be justified. - EditorConfession is good for the soul
Dear editor,
It is nice to dream that "champions" uphold the ideals connoted in that term. Unfortunately, not all do. The reality is that the testing for EPO, foreign red cells and reticulocytes is based on well-established science. Ideally, I would love to believe no one cheats. The absolute numbers and the trends do not lie, but people do.A gentleman and a sportsman would acknowledge having broken a rule, accept the penalty and move on. Kudos to David Millar.Agreeing with a prior letter, neither I, nor my chimeric twin, believe these cheaters.

Matt Kirkland, MD
Gladwyne, PennsylvaniaAs long as we’re handing out kudos, we will long applaud the decision of Jerome Chiotti, the apparent winner of the 1996 World Mountain Bike Championship. Unlike Millar and a few others who confessed when caught, Chiotti simply couldn’t reconcile the fact that he had cheated and, after four years, came clean without prompting. Rather than wait for a lengthy hearing procedure that would strip him of the title, he simply invited the real winner – Thomas Frischknecht – to dinner to apologize and present the Swiss rider with the medal and jersey. He cheated and in doing so denied Frischy a well-deserved moment of glory at the event. We can all agree that was wrong, but unlike many others, Chiotti had the guts to admit it and didn’t need an arrest or a positive drug test to prompt his confession. – EditorFull transparency
Hi VeloNews,
Invariably, Roberto Heras and other riders who have tested positive for recombinant EPO have questioned the validity of the test while the UCI has stoutly defended it.At this point, I wonder if anyone’s interest is being served by keeping (negative) results of EPO tests confidential. Rather than reporting a rider's test was "negative," wouldn’t it be better for both the Pro Tour riders and the UCI to make public the actual results of all EPO tests, if not during a competition then soon afterward? Certainly, riders who believe they are falsely implicated by a flawed sample would have a stronger case, as would the UCI, in the court of public opinion, when it finally nails a rider who has been micro-dosing just beneath the positive level.
Miles Coburn
Cleveland Heights, OhioKeep the championship on the road
Dear editors,
I am not bashing the love that Philly had for the USPRO championship, but the world's are in a different place every year and I think having a different host for the USPRO every year is a good thing.If done properly in the USA we could eventually end up with several states that are open to having races such as the now-defunct SFGP run in their cities once they host the USPRO race weekend. We can complain about loses or look for opportunities when it comes to cycling in America.
Keith Jackson
Silver Spring, MarylandWhat's good for the bike...
Hey Velo,
I think the Colorado State Patrol might be on to something with this new limit on bike riders. I read that they arrived at the limit of 2500 because they concluded that they could only maintain safety with a ratio of 300 cyclists to one state patrolman.Since cyclists are subject to the same restrictions as cars, cars should be subject to the same restrictions as cyclists. Think about it. This means that Colorado should have to limit the number of vehicles driving on their roads based solely on the number of officers on duty at the time. Rush hour would be a thing of the past! Cars lining up to enter Colorado, as they wait for a new crew of patrolmen to come on duty, could simply park in Kansas. (I always knew there would be a good use for Kansas some day.)
Shawn Garls
Fayetteville, ArkansasOne cyclist sees sense in limits
Dear Velo,
I am an avid cyclist and father of two young children. During the day of 2005 Triple Bypass I was climbing Mt. Evans, training for the Bob Cook hillclimb. I was on my own and had nothing to do with the Bypass. As it turned out that day, I found myself on the same road, but going the direction opposite to route of the Bypass. I was doing tempo at about 15mph at the far right hand side of my lane, just a few inches from shoulder of road, when an out-of-control cyclist hit me head-on at about 35 to 40mph!The rider came from the pack of thousands of TBP riders. He had come across both lanes to nail me head-on. My injuries included a crushed rib cage, a punctured lung, more than 50 stitches to my face, broken teeth, a damaged knee and, of course, road rash. Relatively unhurt, the rider just got up and left! Meanwhile I was at the side of the road in a pool of blood.There was no control of the riders. They were strung out all over the road five and six abreast. This type cycling chaos has to be under control! I could have easily died and I am left paying thousands in medical bills. There was not even a police report done at the scene. So, who is responsible? The rider? The organizer? The police? Or was it my fault?
Sincerely,
Chris Rossow
Colorado Springs, Colorado

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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.