Thoughts on Lance Armstrong, from a man who knows cycling and cancer

As you may have seen in my About Me page, my dad has fought through a battle with cancer.  He was beaten down to a level that most people didn't think he'd be able to crawl back from (including being comatose in the ICU for two weeks), and has managed to push through and kick cancer in the ass.  He has been in remission for nearly 5 years, from a type of cancer that most people experience recurrence within 2-3 years, and so far all signs point to cancer-free *knock wood*.  Since his diagnosis, he has become very involved with various cancer charities by combining it with one of the things he likes best - cycling.  He rode in the Ride to Conquer Cancer the year after his diagnosis and treatment (200km ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls), and has continued volunteering with other rides, such as the Coast to Coast ride for kids with cancer, and currently, the Wellspring Peloton riding to Texas.  Of course, being so heavily involved in both cancer stuff and cycling stuff, he's also very interested in what's been going on lately with Lance Armstrong.

Today he is in Texas after the Wellspring ride, and is riding in the Livestrong Challenge.  He sent this email to us and some of his friends with his thoughts, and I wanted to share his thoughts with you.  Regardless of your opinion of Lance Armstrong, whether you think that he did cheat or not, I hope that this email will help to shed some light on the other side of the "scandal", and what it means to the people who have been affected by Armstrong in the years before now.

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I have been in Austin Texas since Friday after following 32 riders from Toronto on the Wellspring Peloton Challenge for the previous 7 days and nights. The Livestong Challenge weekend is under way with the big ride tomorrow. Of course the  buzz under everyones breath is the Lance Armstong news of cheating, sponsors bailing, his resignation as head  of the Livestong Foundation, and his fall from public grace. He had always stood firm that he was the most tested athlete on record, had never had a failed a test ( aka never been caught), and most importantly never doped. He created one of the most credable foundations around, built from his legacy, fame, and dedication to fighting the desease that almost killed him. Ultimately his fame gave him access to decision makers to influence their positions and funding for the benefit of those with Cancer beyond.
Its not so shocking to hear that any athlete has used whatever edge they can get including doping. Armstrong is the face guy for a sport riddled with complicated methods to achive super performance and he will be the poster boy for what is wrong with the sport. The old saying of folks that live in glass houses, should not throw stones, may be appropriate. His list of sporting achievements on and off the bike is long, and hopefully this chapter of his history will be a subnote to what he has given the world OFF the bike.

So, what if there was no Lance Armstrong as we know him?
What if the Livestrong Foundation never existed?
Where would we be?
What I do know is what the foundation he created does, and that we are all better off  because of it. Let's not forget that this is a guy that beat the odds to survive. To win against Cancer takes everything you have. You can't cheat. It is greater than any advisary that faces you on a bike. To come from a place of near death, and even come close to riding in the tour is nothing short of miraculous. With or without doping. I can imagine anything or anyone in the way of a goal looking like the black cloud of Cancer. A beast that must be conquered by whatever means possible. That's the only way to survive what Cancer inflicts. Let me offer a concept: a competetive athlete, survives near death, sees every obstacle in front of him in the same way.  Cancer didn't beat me , and neither will anything else.    I will use anything and everything  to win.  To some this may be arogant, or a stretch to  justifiaction.  I'm not offering an excuse, but I understand it.

I recall reading an article recently of a woman who told Cancer that it had picked the wrong bitch to F%ˆ$# with. Being a weekend warrior type althlete, she drew on her inner "force" to win. Runners have a term, "cross the wall", for moving past a place where you are completely beat but force yourself thru. That's the way it is, that's how we attack our advisary, that's how  Cancer patients focus. Translate this to Armstrong, and I can see him looking at any obsticle, as one that has to be slain, by whatever means available.

In 2009, 12 months after my stem cell transplant, I did the Ride to Conquer Cancer. From being unable and unwilling to walk accross a room, I had to draw on my inner force to move forward by inches every day, and "cross the wall" that Cancer had put in front of me.
I have been witness to incredable spirits of determination, on the Wellspring Challenge, Coast to Coast Ride, Ride to Conquer Cancer and the Livestrong Challenge, all driven by an individual and collective need to face Cancer head on and beat it by whatever means available, including simply riding a bike. It is our inner force that drives us on a bike, on a run, or in a hospital bed. Armstrong's athletic accomplishment will likely be removed from the record books, he may be another public figure that has fallen from grace, he may not even be a guy you would like to sit and have a beer with, but he is also the guy that beat Cancer head on, and has inspired millions to continue the fight. For that he deserves credit. I will continue to wear my yellow wrist band and Livestrong wear for the same reasons I always have .. what it stands for.


Ride on.