About Lance Armstrong
I am a cyclist. Not competitive, like Armstrong, just one who loves to ride. My love for bicycles runs deep. During the depression, when the price of a bicycle was far, far beyond my family's reach, I used to run down our long farm driveway. my hands extended in front as though I was holding handlebars, stepping high to imitate pedaling; pretending, dreaming, that I was riding a bicycle.

Eventually, through odd jobs and a little help from my Mom, I amassed eight dollars and bought a used Schwinn. Here, in high-water pants, I sit astride the old Schwinn at age 15.

I've owned other bikes - one I won in an endurance contest. About a dozen years ago my daughter gave me a Trek mountain bike. I put a quality odometer on it and have since logged over 10,000 miles. Hey, that's like across the United States, coast to coast, three times! And that's just since my 70th birthday.

I know something about riding bikes. I know what it means to ride so hard that your legs quit working and when you step off the bike, they collapse and you fall. I know what it's like to take a spill and endure some severe abrasions. Or, how it feels to attain such high speed down a steep hill that it is nearly impossible to control your bike.

I understand that it is almost beyond human ability to win the Tour de France. Day after grueling day, in sprints, up and down mountains, riding in rain, and managing to best a field of the the very best bike riders in the world. To do that seven times is nothing short of a miracle.

Now they are saying Lance Armstrong did it because he was doping? Really! Let me tell you. Anyone who says you can perform that superhuman feat because you took some pills, or injected something or other into your system, is a damn fool. And, to think that some are saying "everyone was doing it"! Now, would that not, in itself, level the playing field?

Lance Armstrong is my hero. He accomplished something no other man has done - no other man will ever do in the future. Then he used his fame to contribute mightily to the battle against cancer. Like Lance, my wife is a cancer survivor. In recognition of her victory in that battle, and in appreciation for all Lance Armstrong has accomplished, I wear a yellow Livestrong bracelet, and will for the rest of my life.