1 Oct 2010

Cycling Dope

Posted by GreenWanderer

Several people sent me articles about Contador and the doping scandal in professional cycling. At first I was aghast at the reports of Contador having cheated and the natural assumption that his denials were empty. After several days it appears that there may be substance to the denials. We live in a world where scientific advances drive increased productivity in every aspect of our lives. So why is that we are skeptical when artificial hormones from our agri-livestock industry show up in athletic drug tests?

The irony of bovine hormones appearing in a world class athlete’s drug test is particularly poignant considering that I’m a pesco-vegeterian.

I watch the Tour de France every year and witnessed Floyd Landis‘ desperate attempt to win after bonking the day before as well as other super-human come backs that later proved to be artificially induced. I also cheered Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire in their own heroes quest for baseball immortality. We live in a world that rewards super-human accomplishments and we assume our heroes will do what ever it takes to reach new levels of achievement. We have become so jaded by scandals and paparzzi that we are too quick to assume the worst and too quick to forget mistakes.

Of course I am one of the hoards that was inspired by Lance Armstrong both on the bike and off and never believed any of the doping accusations.

Recently I was asked how I keep motivated to spend hours in the saddle spinning my wheels. I responded with something about taking motivation a day at a time and over time it becomes easier and eventually fulfilling. I added that you have to be very forgiving and always look forward rather than focusing on past failures. Perhaps this is true for all hero journeys, whether it is riding over 100 miles on a 3 day weekend or achieving Olympic Gold. The key is to Embrace your Journey, for the only true measure of success is how you get there.