I am sure that like me you will not have missed the Lance Armstrong story that has or is going to lead to his disqualification from cycling. Here we have a man who has overcome cancer, won the Tour de France 7 times, and has protested his innonence consistently in the face of doping allegations. It seems strange that a man with such determination no longer has the motivation to defend himself in the face of such allegations.
Now I’m not going to spend too much dwelling in these events, like me you can find significant commentary on the matter in your regular daily read. But it has got me thinking. As ever what follows is based on no research whatsoever, and whilst it may purport to be fact, it may not be.
War is a tragic event, history is littered with it, and despite the modern age continues in lots of places around the globe. I don’t wish to diminish in anyway the horrors, but it could be argued that the side effects have advanced human development at a rate that would not have happened otherwise.
The second world war and the subsequent cold war has created an era of flight that has shrunk the planet and ensures that you get to your holiday destination in a matter of hours and not days. The development of rockets made the space shuttle possible, and has put vehicles on Mars.
Not far from us, up at Bletchley, world war 2 boffins cracked thousands of codes, and created the early computers that have in turn enabled me to comminicate with you via the wibbly wobbly web this morning.
So what’s this got to do with Lance? This is where the lack of research may start to show.
As I understand, young Lance liked to train at altitude, where the body has to work on a reduced oxygen level. Once the body has become acclimatised to this, it is able to perform at normal levels. A prompt return to normal altitude and the subsequent increase in oxygen gives a significant improvement in physical performance.
Of course the modern cyclist cannot spend enough time at altitude, and so the allegations are that after such training, blood is removed and then stored in readiness to be re-introduced at key sporting events.
So how might this benefit the aspiring Fatlete? Well many of us like to enjoy an evening sampling some isotonic beers or wines, but sometimes we don’t get the opportunity, or we simply need to save a few pounds towards our new shiny machine. But now all you need to do is to simply drain of a few pints of the red stuff after your night out and stick it in the fridge. The next time your short of pounds or hours just reinject for that instant slightly intoxicated feeling.
More sound consumer advise from the Vinghoe Velos. Now to the more important stuff, tomorrows ride;
Andy Beezer has agreed again to lead a steady paced group to ensure that anyone, as long as you’ve got a bicycle, gets to enjoy the ride whatever your fitness or speed. So no excuses.