Lessons from Lance....

Today I came across an article written by Thomas Friedman on the Op-Ed page of the NY Times. I agree with the cycling aspect of his article but take exception to other ideas. Here is an excerpt:

"There is no doubt that Lance Armstrong's seventh straight victory in the Tour de France, which has prompted sportswriters to rename the whole race the Tour de Lance, makes him one of the greatest U.S. athletes of all time. What I find most impressive about Armstrong, besides his sheer willpower to triumph over cancer, is the strategic focus he brings to his work, from his prerace training regimen to the meticulous way he and his cycling team plot out every leg of the race. It is a sight to behold. I have been thinking about them lately because their abilities to meld strength and strategy - to thoughtfully plan ahead and to sacrifice today for a big gain tomorrow - seem to be such fading virtues in American life".

Yes its true Lance has done an excellent job in the last seven years. It has not been a secret that the Discovery team has prepared well. They have ridden every mile of the tour and knows the places to hold back and the places to take the lead. He and his team put in the hours of training, testing in the wind tunnel, brought vendors together for the overall benefit of the team not each individual vendor and selected the best team so that winning could be possible.

I do wonder, however, why all of the other teams have not noticed the blueprint for success and have not done their best to follow it. In viewing the coverage of the tour, it appears that many of the teams come not to win the race but to win a stage here or there or to win the green, polka-dot or white jersey. It is my opinion that sponsors deserve more than this. Sponsors deserve each team focusing on a race win. Doing all that it takes would seem to be the only logical approach. The stage and jersey wins pale in comparison to a race win.

Where I begin to take exception is this comment Friedman makes:

"Sadly, those are the virtues we now associate with China, Chinese athletes and Chinese leaders".

Friedman has obviously never been to cycling races around America. On any given night there are those weekend warriors who after putting in a full day at the office or plant stretch themselves to win local road races and crits to prepare themselves for the Saturday/Sunday events without the benefit of sponsorship. These cyclists have the best bikes they can afford, understand their physical abilities and work hard to understand the competition.

Look no further than the last Summer Olympics. Chinese athletes won medals but not nearly as many as did Americans. Heck, there has not been a Chinese team in the Tour de France. Its obvious Mr. Friedman is trying to make a point to American business leaders. But he should refrain from putting down the many American athletes who are the Lance Armstrong of their respective sports and the many American athletes who win local events so we can have other Lance Armstrong's to cheer.

Journalists try to mix the business and sports metaphors and in a few cases get it right. In this case, Thomas Friedman has missed the boat. Mr Friedman should take a lesson from Lance and do all the preparation necessary before dissing America's athletes.

Climbing off my soapbox...
Steelrider2

Why is it so hard????

Two weeks and counting for the computer to be down. At least we have isolated the cause; the hard drive is corrupted. Not that it is fixed, Dell isn't working with us to help reload MS Office. Enough computer talk.

Had an awesome ride Thursday. We did high bridge repeats. I slept well that night. As soon as the computer is back, I've got some great pics to post.

This weekend was the local summer swim league championships for 6 and Unders. My son was crowned 6 and Under champion in breatstroke. How proud can a Dad be???

At last, the fat lady has sung in the tour. Did anyone suspect anything any different??? While it didn't matter to me who wins, I did have think Lance/Discovery would be unbeatable.

Tomorrow night we are having a "Last Day" party, complete with musettes as door prizes. Will try to get some pics and post as well.

That's it for now.
Steelrider2

My love/hate relationship with my home computer...

Two weeks ago my home computer started having problems. After several service calls I finally contacted a local computer expert. His diagnosis was not good. Some component was afoul and he would have test them all to find out which one had the problem. Then the operating system was corrupted and had to be reloaded. Every piece of software had to be reloaded....what a pain.

So blogging has been few and far between. I also am not comfortable blogging from work. Big brother is always watching.

Hopefully my desk top will be up and running by Wednesday.

The Beast is Back...

Totally thrashing your competition is by far the best way to leave the sport....it makes riders appreciate it more that you're gone. Although it's still a long tour with a lot of mountains left...barring anything catastrophic, Lance will make his competition suffer. They have been masters of sandbagging. Each year, Johann and Lance have come up with something new that causes the others to think they have them where they want them. Not so...it's Lance that has the competition where he wants them.

Its my thought that although Lance won't be racing, he'll still be making the competition suffer by having influence with Discovery Channel and preparing Danielson, Popovych and Savoldelli.

WOW!!! what a ride yesterday. I went 40 miles up A1A (Florida's coastal highway). Most of the time I was next to the beach. Few if any cars. Nice and warm (96) but still and awesome day. Great tailwind going north. It doesn't get any better than this.

Steelrider2

Random thoughts

I can't remember the first time I heard about hurricanes. But since then, I knew they were bad things. While hurricane Dennis is in the panhandle of Florida and many miles away from Jacksonville, I feel for those in its path. Living with hurricanes seems to have become an all too frequent occurence for those in the panhandle. Just 10 months ago Ivan ripped through Pensacola with most of the aftermath still evident.

Interesting how Lance's team fell apart in the mountains....still a long two weeks

This week I'm in Daytona Beach vacationing with the family. Interesting place. For every person here, there must be at least 3 shops that sell bathing suits, sunscreen and stupid souvenirs. Trying to get a few rides in but the weather is not being very cooperative .

steelrider2

If you have problems, read this...

I have a friend who has recently been going through some significant challenges in his life. I found this piece a few years ago and it seems to fit.

5 Ways God Uses Problems

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring. Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you
should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something...health, money, a relationship... by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws."

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity.

"We can rejoice when we run into problems... they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady." God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him. "Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in lessons learned, lives touched and moments shared along the way."

WOW!!! What an ending...

I don't think I've ever seen a more exciting ending to a stage race than the one today. It had every emotion. I was really happy for Discovery Team, but felt real sorry for the way CSC lost. Dave Zabriskie gets my vote for facing adversity and getting up and riding in like a man. What a tough break. Once again, Lance Armstrong and his team were perfect. As seen, even a slight mistake by any of the riders can be catastrophic. Although, the outcome was what I would have expected, I would not want the crash to be the determing factor.

Also glad to see all the other teams racing well too. Gotta love those tailwinds!!

Steelrider2

One of those rare rides...

I can't quite put my finger on it, but yesterday was a ride that only seems to happen on special occasions. Some friends, Jim & Diane, and I set off for a nice long ride. We decided to ride north from our home in southern Jacksonville. Most of our rides usually take us south to St. Johns County where the routes are great and the traffic is easy. But today we decided to ride into Jacksonville...into the traffic filled streets dotted with potholes. But on July 4th we found the traffic minimal and the potholes just didn't seem to matter. We covered the 18 miles to downtown fairly quickly, over the Acosta Bridge and then rode the entire north bank River Walk, which I had never done. We took a brief break and started back south again. In riding through San Marco we decided to stop at Starbucks. It was still early so Starbucks wasn't crowded. We hung out for a while and then finished up leisurely. I've heard many people talk about rides like this but I'm usually into those epic rides. So this was a new experience for me. AWESOME!!! I'll be trying to have more experiences like this more often. Stats: 35 miles, 3 1/2 hours.

Random thoughts...

After writing three different versions of this and deciding they were all boring, I've decided I'm boring. Lots of work this week; 55 hours to be exact. If I said more you probably wouldn't read any further. Banking can be pretty mundane.

Way too much rain to have an meaningful ride time this week. We've had enough rain...it can now stop!!! Although I did manage get in a great long (3 1/2 hour) ride today.

I'm beginning to think about the MS 150 this year. I'll be riding with the Cody's Challenge Team. Good group of cyclists with Joe Pelley at the helm. Trying to decide if I want to take it easy and ride with my wife or try to keep up with Cody's Team. Whichever way, it will be an enjoyable time.

I guess I would have expected nothing less from the TT stage of the Tour today. Lance is an absolutely great time trialist. It proves his mental toughness. Those years in triathlon helped. Ony the winners name was different than I suspected. I do enjoy the coverage.

I know...if anyone got this far, you are no doubt bored to tears. I'll try to find something a little more lively for the week.