Floyd, Floyd, Floyd...
Many people have asked me what I thought of the Floyd Landis affair. Did I think he did it? Do I support him? Is anyone clean in bike racing? Do you think that Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs as well?
And now comes the sad news that his father-in-law, 57 year-old, David Witt, committed suicide.
I cannot help but pity Landis. Did he cheat?...who really knows? But did he really deserve to have someone close to him die? No way! Even if he did cheat, no one deserves to have this happen to him. Performance enhancing drugs, although wrong, affects so few people. Especially when one holds up the offense relative to "real-life" issues, such as the rampant violence one is exposed to via various media sources every day.
Do I personally know Landis? No, but with everything I have read about him, every interview that I have watched on television, he seems to be a pretty nice guy. Unlike many of the professional cyclists who seem like they are overly arrogant, Landis seems to be down to earth. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that the temptation to utilize synthetic steroids conquered his desire to race cleanly.
Did Landis cheat?...hmmm...not so easy to answer. The initial test, from what I understand, came back with the data that his testosterone to epitestosterone balance was out of whack. Intitially it was
not reported that he had synthetic testosterone in his blood. There could be many reasons why his balance was not within acceptable parameters, not just that he injected himself with testosterone.
Along with this knowledge, the particular labratory that came to these conclusions is the one that leaked that Armstrong had epo issues way back in 1999. However, he has since been exonerated of those claims.
Is Landis guilty? I think only he really knows. Does he deserve our pity? On some level...absolutely...
Of Boxes, Braces & Bikes...
Okay...so I'm not too good at keeping this particular blog updated...I will really try to be better at it...promise...
So we just moved to San Jose. That was a few weeks ago...maybe a month...egads. Yet we still have boxes galour sitting around the house, garage and side yard. There are some of you out there who all of this would be over with in a day or so. That didn't happen in Oda-land. I have really come to the realization that we kept way,
way, too much stuff!
We were seduced by the last house we lived in. It had extra closets that we could store our booty in. Unfortunately, much of our treasure turned into fool's gold. When I uncovered our
third unused dvd player, I knew that we had way too much stuff!
As the boxes pile up...along with the paper to stuff all those boxes...I have resigned myself to the fact that we need to do a little slimming down of the merchandise that we carry from place to place...
...and now the kids are home...and poor Brandon. The first week he is home from his summer vacation in Las Vegas, and what does he get to do? Go to the orthodontist and get braces!...what a lucky little guy. At only eight years of age he is getting braces. But I must admit, he was a sturdy little trooper and rarely complained and did not shed a tear. Now, not that I'm against men or boys crying...but I was proud that he had a stiff upper lip.
By the way, I was elected to take Brandon to his actual installation day (the first visit on Tuesday was more of a prep day) as Andrea tends to get really nervous. Her feelings, apprehensions, go directly to the kids...like osmosis. So no Andrea = calmer Brandon with no tears...
I have included a "photo" of Brandon and his new braces. As you know with all the safety issues in the world these days (Go to the Megan's Law website if you doubt what I'm saying), I could only include an artist's rendition of Brandon. Double click on the image to get a good look at "Brandon".
And that leads to my bikes...you know...the one's piling up with dust in the corner of the garage...I have used the moving and braces as crutches on why I cannot get out on the bikes...road or mountain. But finally, I got my softening tush up and onto my road bike.
Yep...I still shave my legs...why? Because, I want to continually remind myself that I still consider myself to be a cyclist. So those bare legs and soft body squeezed themselves into my formerly loose lycra. 20+ miles later, I must say it was great. Just a little stroll on the bike, through the city of San Jose and many adjacent towns. I realized that I will bike until I die.
I want to ascend an amazing climb, pull over and lie down in the grass one last time. Peer into the clear blue sky and move on. Andrea will scatter my ashes upon the eucalyptus grove in Wilder Ranch overlooking the mighty Pacific Ocean (or do that scattered high above the San Francisco Financial district during lunch hour thing...LOL)
Peace...
