Lance Armstrong - Unbelievable!

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 25 Jul 2004, 21:50

The history of the Tour is filled with tales of toil but Sunday July 25 will be remembered as the day that Armstrong became the first rider to win the race six times.
Most people in the world now know the story of his recovery (from cancer and return to racing). Lance has become the most complete stage race rider of the current generation.

The victory is a confirmation of LanceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s rise and rise in this sport.

Jan Ullrich understands what it takes to win the Tour but since the reign of Armstrong began he has had to settle for second place in each of the three races he contested between 2000 to 2003. This year fourth is all the German challenger could conjure. Armstrong was once a rider who was considered a star but little more than a potential stage winner. Now he has eclipsed the efforts of the greatest riders in the biggest race: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain all worked hard. Each of the five-time champions tried but failed to claim a sixth title.

Unbelievable stuff - I've ridden some of these stage mountains (slowly)and no matter how many drugs I took I couldn't get near what any pro does, let alone Lance Armstrong.

Jan Ullrich disappointed again - Oh no! time for a new Avatar methinks.
(Jan Ullrich a figure of admiration as being only previous Tour winner to be busted ONLY for recreational drugs)

Anyone else up for training for next years event?

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 25 Jul 2004, 22:29

Poo Bah!! Tour de France, so what? Until such times as Lance does Fishwives Causeway, he better not come posting round this neck of the woods.

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 25 Jul 2004, 22:36

Don't think he will be interested in Fishwife Causeway - he's got Cheryl Crow.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 25 Jul 2004, 22:38

Wow, is she as good looking as her sister Sheryl?

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 25 Jul 2004, 22:39

Sorry, I was using la spelling francais

bellybabe · Post by **bellybabe** » 27 Jul 2004, 23:25

Dear Mr Magnolia,
The promenade cycling lessons paid off on Monday when eldest offspring managed to do it all by himself, in front of an audience of encouraging strangers. (At times like that i really love Porty... All these people watching him cycle past, shouting "Hey! You DID it!!!" to him and cheering him on...)
I went straight to the ice cream van to buy celebratory 99s all round, and the ice cream man said "Wow, he's done it! It's the next Lance Armstrong!"...and it was only thanks to you I had any idea of what he was talking about. So thank you for saving me from making a complete fool of myself.

Bellybabe

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 28 Jul 2004, 18:32

Hurrah for the ice cream man! And hurrah for the eldest offspring!

Just for reference can you tell me how old he is? The eldest magnoliette is 3 3/4 and has forsaken all bicycles for the tweenie scooter that she currently whizzes down the meadows at a rate of knots! How long do I wait until she can do 2 wheels?

bellybabe · Post by **bellybabe** » 01 Aug 2004, 22:33

Well, eldest offspring is something of a slow starter, being less physically inclined than youngest offspring. Cool bike was bought for sixth birthday, but seventh birthday has just passed and we've only just convinced him to try again.

I did, however, read an interesting article on teaching children to ride, that had some tips that helped our reluctant pedaller. The bike was bought as the right size for him, but he has refused to learn until he can actually fit both feet on the ground. He also developed a morbid fear of falling off, so this time we beat that by providing skateboarding knee/elbow pads and lending him grown up cycling gloves. Once he felt that falling wouldn't be so terrible, and that at worst he could stop himself by putting both feet on the ground, he just zoomed ahead.

Apparently scooters help by developing the sense of balance needed for cycling, but he did get addicted to scooting rather than trying to learn to cycle. The other big tip was that instead of running along holding the back (or worse, front, but we knew that would be bad!) of the bike, you should have both hands on the outside of their shoulders, because the feedback from your hands encourages their sense of balance too.

I think youngest son will learn much more quickly simply because he's more physically confident, so don't despair over our son's belated success. He fell off, got hurt, and got too scared to try again. Simple padding and growing taller overcame that fear.

I guess they do it when they're ready, just like everything else!

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 02 Aug 2004, 11:38

hmm.. thanks for the feedback, Bellybabe.

I have been told that another good method (needs gentle hills though) is to remove the pedals and concentrate on getting the balance understanding through gentle downhills. Trouble is she doesnt really do gentle anything!
At present there is a wee boy of about 3 who whizzes around on his bike at our local swingpark - I can see her looking at him enviously, so maybe that will also have an effect.

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 02 May 2005, 22:19

A bank holiday result!

Porty Prom brought the eldest magnoliette from cycling zero to hero today - she's gone to bed nursing her cuts and bruises but she is also dreaming (I hope) of dragging her dad up some big hills in the future, having suddenly mastered the noble art of cycling.

(I'm not chuffed, I'm just her dad)

foxy · Post by **foxy** » 02 May 2005, 22:58

Aww that's brilliant Mr M, especially if she's only 4...quite an achievement

You should be chuffed dad

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 02 May 2005, 23:13

Lance is the MAN.

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 04 May 2005, 13:47

Forgot to say that I have Lance Armstrong's book, "It's not About the Bike". If anyone would like to borrow it they would be welcome to do so.

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 04 May 2005, 15:28

Does it tell you whether he does or does not do drugs?

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 05 May 2005, 09:11

mr magnolia wrote:Does it tell you whether he does or does not do drugs?

That's why you read a book!

bellybabe · Post by **bellybabe** » 05 May 2005, 10:16

Well done biggest Magnoliette - fantastic achievement! Ours both cycled home from school/nursery yesterday for the first time (well, littlest does have stabilisers). There's no turning back...

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 05 May 2005, 12:51

My two love cycling to school but we do not do it often enough. From Joppa/Eastfield where we live it is by far the quickest way to Towerbank on a school morning.

Talk Porty ~ Portobello

Lance Armstrong - Unbelievable!

Lance Armstrong - Unbelievable!

Magnoliette now does cycling!