Lance Armstrong's Book

[trekchic]

Have you guys read the 1st one, "It's Not About the Bike"? I listened to it (book on tape) while driving today and was inspired by his story. I've been t hinking all day, "...ok, so I am 38 yrs old and never ridden a bike competitively before........SO? If I want to, I can do it!"

If you haven't read the book or listened to it......it is awe inspiring. And gives you a little insight into what makes Lance "Lance". (Not all good, by the way!)

Just thought I'd pass that along.

Kim in TN

[fultzie]

thanks for the suggestion!

my job is incredibly monotonous, but I can listen to headphones and was looking for books on tape-- i just didn't know where to start! I'll check that one out today! :)

[pedalfaster]

I read "It's Not About the Bike" when it first came out and enjoyed the story. The writing is just "so-so" (don't quit your day job Lance! :D )

"Every Second Counts" has received less-than-stellar reviews. As one friend put it "If every second counts, don't waste your time reading this." :p

[katie stierman]

another good book on tape is also about cycling. its called "miles from nowhere" about a man and wife who quit their day jobs and cycled around the world. as for lance's books, we all know he's the greatest on the bike, but the books are really "written" by someone else. hey, we're all not good at everything, right?

[ChainsOflove]

I'm totally sick of lance and all his yadda yadda stuff constantly.
I think he's extremely self involved.

New faves are Jan Ulrich (who we NEVER hear about), and of course Tyler H, bless his homely little heart, who is a local boy here in Massachusetts.

[ChainsOflove]

Should be " Its all about the BUCK"

[ragbrai40]

I re-read the book again after I saw this post and setting his attitude aside, I have to admire his spirit and tenacity to be able to comeback from such a major illness to win the TdF once, let alone 5 times! I can't imagine the pain and agony of going through chemo, and then undertaking the type of training regime that he described in the book. Amazing, simply amazing. I can't begin to fathom training like that day in day out. Or the race itself. It sounds brutal.

He might be arrogant, egotiscal and money-hungry, but all in all I'd say he's earned it!

Six, Six, Six, Six............

[grannydea]

Arrogant, egotistical, self involved.............
In my opinion one would have to be a bit of all of the mentioned to train and compete on the leval of TdF. Lance may be all of these things but he has earned the right no matter what anyone thinks, after all he has won 5 times and I for one will be cheering him on for a 6th. I have read the first book twice and when I need something to get over a rough spot in life I will read it again.
Am I a Lance fan??? "YES I AM" and proud of it.
Dea

[MM_QFC!]

There's also the 'minor' little detail about Lance being given less than a 40% chance to live when he received his diagnosis. His former team Cofidis assured him that they were 100% supportive of him, then dumped him, so he not only had to fight to live but to get back into world class racing shape to earn his way back to a sponsored team again too.
I've heard that he is fiercely loyal to each sponsor who actually did stick with him and that even though the USPS team may have other product sponsors, there are a few where Lance differs as he's committed to them for good now. I think that Nike even put him on as their employee so he'd have health insurance benefits.

[trekchic]

You guys see it the same way I do! Yeah, he's egotistical...wouldn't we all be? I mean, he's got every sports venue in the nation calling him "ironman" or "the best athlete" or other such accolades.

I am cheering him on! I hope he wins the 6th title and then retires to enjoy his hard won money! I know the "woman-izing" issue gets to everyone. But, "judge not, lest you be judged". We have no idea why they split up, but it seems to be on both parts. It's hard to maintain a private life when you're always in the limelight and never have any time to yourself. We just don't know what happened.

Lance was covered by Oakley's insurance policy after being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing the 1st proceedure and beginning chemo. He found out then that Cofidi's insurance policy didn't cover him due to "pre-existing condition". He said then that Nike, Oakley's, Gatorade and Milton Bradley stood by him and he would always be loyal to them. Great companies! It made me proud of them as well.

I AM, TOO, A LANCE-FAN! HE'S A STUD!

[fultzie]

I'd have to agree with the majority here... I admire Lance as a cyclist, but i'm not a big fan of him personality-wise. I listened to the book last week at work, and enjoyed the story. I don't think i'll go for the second book, but Miles from Nowhere sounds good! I almost bought that in paperback :)

I had NO idea that Lance and his wife split, until i saw a commercial for HGTV last night advertising a show with Lance and his girlfriend- Sheryl Crow (!)- showing off their new house. WOAH! that kinda brought him down a few notches on the list of people who impress me... seemed very egotistical and $$$-oriented.

I'd be totally impressed if he won number 6, but I'm more of a Tyler fan... :) given, i dont' know many other cyclists' names! I'll have to take notes during the coverage of TdF this year :D

[Biking Chick]

I agree with the majority that no matter what your perception of Lance personally he has earned (and deserves) respect as an athlete and a cancer survivor.

IMHO I think anyone who is at the top of their field *has* to be a bit egotistical and self-centered. If you weren't how else could you make the kind of sacrifices that he has and continues to make in order to win TdF five times and begin training for your sixth run at the podium the day after you've captured #5? Someone mentioned Barry Bonds and his ego .. the same can be said about Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods .. anyone who is at the top of their game has to believe they are the best and that swagger can really polarize the public ... you either love 'em or you hate 'em.

If Lance didn't have the discipline, will power and self-centered mental attitude I doubt that he would have been able to push himself as hard as he did when he was first diagnosed with cancer.

I watch the Lance Chronicles on OLN and, yes, saw the tour of his house in Spain. But who's not to say that he doesn't deserve the money that he earns? When he is sitting in Spain looking out over the tiny courtyard with his 16th century paintings inside his gorgeously rennovated (read expensive) home ... you have to know that he is thinking back to those first few weeks after he started chemo, his odds of beating the cancer were slim to none and he could barely walk let alone get on a bike.

During Lance's training he will ride L'Alpe d'Huez no less than 10 times ... I whine about pedaling up hills here in Wisconsin. What kind of mental attitude does it take to ride up 'the Queen' of the TdF route ... not once but ten times.

Am I a Lance fan? You bet I am. He's taken the sport of cycling and removed it from the European theater and put it on the front pages and in the living rooms of the United States. He has used his name and his bike to help raise millions of dollars for cancer research ... while he's p*ssesd a lot of people off with his attitude, his commercials and his books ... he has brought hope to a lot of children and adults who look to him as a role model. They get p*ssed off at cancer (dubbing it the 'wee c') and get on a bike and ride .. for themselves and for other people who want to be survivors and not statistics.