USADA a criminal organisation?

Here they go again. Those geniuses at the USADA are proving once again they just do not care about being honest and actually doing the right thing. NOPE they want to try and ruin people whom disagree with them and make their lives hell. After reading the report that an unnamed cyclist is suing them for violating testing rules by testing a B sample after the A sample came up negative. it makes this observer wonder just what kind of organised criminals are running that place.

I had read how they went and had a very clandestine meeting without the Arbiter that was chosen by Floyd Landis when he was fighting them and it made me wonder then what was going on. Now, I see this in the news and wonder if maybe the method to try and stop cheaters is in fact cheating its self? How can anyone of reasonable intelligence not question their motives and their methods with these two cases. How can anyone not see a pattern very much like that of an organised crime group. Maybe we need to begin a RICO law suit against these people. Maybe we need to look at the reason most North American professional leagues wont use WADA or the USADA to try to handle their illegal performance enhancing drug testing and the like.

I have to question why cyclists don't just get out on a high profile race and then halfway through all find a nice cafe and stop for an espresso, or the like together. Why not just park the bikes, all sit down and order and relax for a while. Seriously, with Italy investigating riders who don't even hold licenses in their country, the Iban Mayo witch hunt from the UCI that violated their own rules on dope testing, why not just say enough is enough we are tired of being horse whipped for no reason. The time is now for the riders, who are what make cycling in the first place, to stand up for themselves and say we have taken enough abuse! I suspect that the riders are afraid of the back lash, or they are just too afraid to stand up and say we are tired of vague rule enforcement and being tried in the media before there is ever a case.

I have watch and love the sport since I can remember. I remember watching a kid name Greg LeMond win the The Tour of France. Now I look at it all and wonder just why do these guys want to suffer off the bike as well as on? No, the time is now to end this folly of presumed guilt. Even with out the professional cycling I know many people would be out riding for the pure joy and fun of it! SO think about this, how many of the drug testers are on drugs? How many of the people at USADA, WADA, UCI etc are using performance enhancing drugs? Maybe they are needed for their time in the bedroom, but they are still using them. The riders need to stop the madness and start acting like professionals and get some basic human rights back! Ride ON!!!!!

Why SABA needs to go away

I am amazed at groups who call themselves advocates for cycling, however they never seem to advance anything that will actually do that. They never step to the plate and champion and idea that will make the area better for cyclists and those who want to have an easy time getting around town without a car.They would rather promote ideas like regulating people's fire places and the like. Now when anyone comes up with an idea that is purposeful and measurably able to promote bicycling and safer streets for cyclists they run and say " no no we want to be given bike lanes and only bike lanes." till they kill of they competing idea. I suspect that this maybe a result of their lack of understanding the how and whys of these other methods, or just how they work to promote better cycling. Let's look at a few ideas.

I have seen in Europe how many cities actually change the configuration of streets, provide separate lanes with special markers and guides, and even place cyclist ahead of motor vehicles at intersections. This makes sense for many reasons. This is what should be looked at here in this area, but alas the fine people at SABA want to try and force people to accept bikes in the same vain as cars. Then they figure let's just go worry about peoples fire places and try to say it benefits cycling. I call BULLSHIT!!!!!! Look clean air will come from making bicycle commuting as attractive and viable as possible. Given the choice of driving and paying a premium for parking or suffering with the "mass" transit system here in this town, people will suffer and drive. The way to get people out of their cars is make is a lot more attractive to commute via bicycle. I don't expect everyone to jump on the band wagon, however IF you make it a safe and convent way to get downtown people will try it. The more they do this the more they will like it.

I have ridden a bicycle since I can remember. I used it to get from my dorm room in college to home, work and town for goodies. I used it for just the plain fun of going out riding around! I love being on a bike. Somehow along the way the car culture took hold of me. the far flung need to drive for work over powered my very life. I gain weight got out of shape and well was the typical fat lazy slob that people today have become. I had an reawakening one day of the desire to explore and ride! I think it was the fact people on highway 50 in this town have the brain power of a two year old. They must be some of the worse drivers I have ever seen. Thus the bike called. Safe and reliable and NO TRAFFIC! I have lost weight and I am a happier person. I laugh every May when they have the great bike month. They have all these events, then no one follows through! I know why this is. They find it difficult to have fun and enjoy their commute. They have to rely on bike lanes next to traffic that drive at unreasonable speeds. They never see a cop pull over speeders or those who buzz the bike lanes. I would be willing to bet that IF you took a few of the approaches they have in Europe you would find a lot more converts to cycling as a means of getting to work! I truly believe that if in addition more employers provided the needed facilities to promote this kind of commuting their would be a lot more people doing this.

As Sad as it is people who do nothing but pay lip service to their alleged state goals, such as promoting safe and better bicycling, however never live up to that billing are such a sorry lot. I feel sad for their lack of true vision and better judgment! Maybe someday IF SABA ever got out and actually tried to make improvements and actually push for the needed changes and enforcement of traffic laws, instead of worrying about people's chimneys and worshiping the holy bike lane, maybe then we would develop a cycling culture that this town is capable of! Maybe just maybe we would see cleaner air as less cars would be driven every day! Maybe they will see the error of their ways, however, I for one doubt it. No the time has come SABA MUST GO!!!!!

The only way to stop doping in Cycling

There is a group that sells products with the tag line, "Dopers Suck" and I whole heartily agree. People who use chemicals to cheat should never be allowed to do so and act as if they are just that damn good. Let's look at a few proven dopers. Tyler Hamilton; served a suspension and now is under a cloud of suspicion that during the time he was caught he was doping. (DOH) Robert Heras; also caught cheating with EPO as I recall. Now complaining no one wants to sign him.

But let's look at the other side of the coin. Possibly wrongfully accused and/or convicted riders who may have been victims of lab errors. I know of the best case. That would be Floyd Landis. This man was able to prove, not surmise, prove that the lab had made major mistakes. The springy headed lap dog arbiters even agreed, then said he was guilty anyway. Tough luck there Floyd, you are totally correct, however we can never be wrong, you lose. This sounds like there might be a flaw some place here. The lab is not taken to task in anyway and an athlete is fired. Now think about this in a different perspective. Let say you my reader are brought up on murder charges. These are based totally on an error at a lab. The judge says yes they made a huge error. You are correct, but you will be doing life anyway. This is basically what happens to a wrongfully accused athlete when the lab screws up. The confidence of the system is gone. Now lets look at our dear friends in the UCI. They have a rider who is found to have an inconclusive test. This may mean the material of the test, in this case most likely urine, will not yield a result positive or negative. There just might be some tampering or a flawed sample that is not usable. Hey lets have the lab that did it before just confirm their erroneous result. This is what happened with Spanish rider Mayo and his sample. No we need to have some clarity and confidence in these tests. We need to have riders knowing that the tests and labs are fool proof. I think I have the solution!

The first step in any method of ridding cycling of performance enhancing drugs is to have everyone in the loop tested. I mean from Dick Pound at Wada down to the guy who washes the bikes after the race. This is the only fair way to make sure we have a "clean" sport. This would include lab techs as well. Every drug the riders are band from using the entire drug testing world would be band from using without a note. Some things we would have no Therapeutic Use Exemptions for, like say for E.D meds. (I know this would really be bad for people like Mr. Pound but seriously walk the walk you talk!). The labs would have to have a zero (0) error policy and protocols would have to be uniform; procedures identical and measurable. I suspect that this would serve a dual purpose, the test would be accurate and the lab reliable. Just imagine a drugged lab tech somehow messes up your sample and you wont get that new job. Would suck huh?

I truly hate seeing athletes cheat. Look at Barry, Mark and Sammy their records mean nothing and they are the laughing stock of their sport. Personally I would love to see them wiped from history as the cheaters they are. I would hope the scandal of drugging in baseball will clean that sport up. Maybe people will want to see it again. Me I am just going to go out and ride my bike. Enjoy the time, fresh air, and nice people I meet. Knowing that they aren't doped up to try and do something they couldn't other wise do. Performance enhancing drugs need to be illegal, ALL of them! Think about it, you might just change your opinions on a lot of dopers out there!

So as the Cycling season begins, remember. Dopers Suck and aren't really able to do what they do. Point them out and clean them out! Let's start at the top and clean up all of sport! Then we can all relax and enjoy what should be a healthy under taking. Not a trip to the undertaker! RIDE IT!!!