Lance, dying with the sword....

We all have specific events that we rememer better than others...I remember when I heard that Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer, I sunk....and then when he won his first--and seventh Tour d' France,  I was so happy/can't describe the feeling....now, I'm back at the bottom with him. It's likely he blood doped, maybe even used EPO; he broke the rules, but he was likely not alone--his team, his competitors were probably doing it, too. It was what 'you had to do' to be competitive. I am not saying now I think it 'makes it OK', but I understand the 'culture'...I thought Lance was Superman. I fought the mindset that 'if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't' in Lance's case....but now, it's probably not true. This makes me more cynical, more dubious of great achievements...this is the sad legacy that Lance leaves me with, and it just sucks, just sucks....but I'm still going to ride my bike, suffer when the hills get too steep, the miles too long...suffering without Lance. Climb ride with me.