tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70154648850608328572024-03-19T02:46:58.270-06:00Velo VortmaxAnti-doping issues in cycling velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-21575117533864521012021-04-29T17:02:00.014-06:002021-05-10T13:40:56.070-06:00Cateye Strada Slim (CC-RD310W) Fits A Retrospec Harper Coaster Break BicycleCateye says the Strada Slim cycling computer (CC-RD310W) is designed for road type bikes and is not compatible with other bicycle designs. The Harper Retrospec is a single speed coaster hub break bike, and the Cateye Strada Slim works perfectly on this bike.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tQgbV8yhPf9Mw10HGhSN-BykSRgYeFj3isxIa-nqJewE7WPy07JM8mu5fZOd1iYXFEJGgb68kBl94olKOwhey1IfPuR1pe5o7XDpDJRlBZpZ3E6xUvxGsJuiUnz_bOzKR4JLakofXSo/s4032/20210429_134653-01.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tQgbV8yhPf9Mw10HGhSN-BykSRgYeFj3isxIa-nqJewE7WPy07JM8mu5fZOd1iYXFEJGgb68kBl94olKOwhey1IfPuR1pe5o7XDpDJRlBZpZ3E6xUvxGsJuiUnz_bOzKR4JLakofXSo/s4032/20210429_134653-01.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tQgbV8yhPf9Mw10HGhSN-BykSRgYeFj3isxIa-nqJewE7WPy07JM8mu5fZOd1iYXFEJGgb68kBl94olKOwhey1IfPuR1pe5o7XDpDJRlBZpZ3E6xUvxGsJuiUnz_bOzKR4JLakofXSo/s4032/20210429_134653-01.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tQgbV8yhPf9Mw10HGhSN-BykSRgYeFj3isxIa-nqJewE7WPy07JM8mu5fZOd1iYXFEJGgb68kBl94olKOwhey1IfPuR1pe5o7XDpDJRlBZpZ3E6xUvxGsJuiUnz_bOzKR4JLakofXSo/s320/20210429_134653-01.jpeg" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>The Retrospec Harper has a conventional saftey bicycle design. There are no factory disc or side-pull breaks included with this bicycle. However, after market breaks can be purchased and added for safety reasons. Here is my bicycle equipped with a front break in case I drop the chain somewhere along the road. This side-pull break has no effect on the computer sensor or any effect upon computer output.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCa0yinQ-fPuO_xNrVZpr3-wqXpeZVNBZDQQ9gPT2-fPMBVp6VLhf7WxAZzufocmqZdYBXaZHbbwWC2T3Dt2-64p2o03id31jrfLNDhu7eU4xDcJ_UgAt8K7Gz5xZFMTrwk7BTfTpcsc/s4032/20210429_134535-02.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCa0yinQ-fPuO_xNrVZpr3-wqXpeZVNBZDQQ9gPT2-fPMBVp6VLhf7WxAZzufocmqZdYBXaZHbbwWC2T3Dt2-64p2o03id31jrfLNDhu7eU4xDcJ_UgAt8K7Gz5xZFMTrwk7BTfTpcsc/w240-h320/20210429_134535-02.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have read scathing reviews of the Cateye Strada Slim online. Maybe these negative reviews are written by cycling computer competitors, or by idiots who are functionally illiterate as to the proper set up and maintenance of cycling computers.</div>
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Regular road rides tend to knock things out of adjustment. Strange behavior exhibited by your Cateye Strada Slim is most likely caused by weak batteries or by the wheel magnet becomming misaligned with the sensor unit. Check the batteries and wheel magnet first. The wheel magnet should have a gap of no more than 5mm from the sensor. If the gap is too large the computer will record either intermittent data or no data. If the batteries are weak the computer will show strange unexpected displays of data, or intermittent data, or no data. <br />
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Securing the computer and sensor to resist road imperfections is extremely important for excellent error free data streams. Here are some methods.<br />
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Double Up. The Strada Slim comes with three heavy duty elastic bands. Two for the head set and one for the front fork. If you use the stem and not the handle bars to mount the computer use both elastic bands, and the small zip tie provided in the kit. This will greatly stabilize the computer against road imperfection and if one band breaks, the other will survive long enough to hold the computer in place to ride home. Replace both bands if one breaks. Fatigue failure in one one band usually indicates imminent fatigue failure in both bands.<div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDsr2mI_0iVTu75HZz_OZmqaoyfi38Lq3l-YuJnSO21sRO7GaUIPRBklrf-Fq5n0Wbv1hb69ovpyffjkfehBOKa9DE8iRzUk2OK9dBqbxYpmbEgDegsno7XbmwwPAI4-0vy6CAEyKvsw/s4032/20210510_113136.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDsr2mI_0iVTu75HZz_OZmqaoyfi38Lq3l-YuJnSO21sRO7GaUIPRBklrf-Fq5n0Wbv1hb69ovpyffjkfehBOKa9DE8iRzUk2OK9dBqbxYpmbEgDegsno7XbmwwPAI4-0vy6CAEyKvsw/s320/20210510_113136.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><p>The same thing applies to the sensor. Double large heavy duty all weather zip ties. If one zip tie breaks the other should hold the sensor long enough for the ride home and you won't lose your sensor somewhere on the road. Double zip ties also hold the sensor firmly in place to avoid sensor wheel magnet misalignment issues.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEdnaOnHqAzJLLqWYZejwJ32Pc8i0E78eNtKfK6LdrTTVtrSeBOlnJVWOMV73cxNUf3CWxPpAJf3cjZvo08JsEce9xao-pN2fTtjHosYva3RZEqsfCiF44NTNWN3WWMOwAwRQZyt46No/s4032/20210510_113303.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEdnaOnHqAzJLLqWYZejwJ32Pc8i0E78eNtKfK6LdrTTVtrSeBOlnJVWOMV73cxNUf3CWxPpAJf3cjZvo08JsEce9xao-pN2fTtjHosYva3RZEqsfCiF44NTNWN3WWMOwAwRQZyt46No/s320/20210510_113303.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYfKtr_M3Wue4E4ggRVaA2QsOaNygX73WOtDy5uhhad0n62NH6QVSil4IoSw47Pkrfw2ofltBjLVtChof2xtp1hDsexeAS_G0UxEdvVQq4dmgEkSdYKAV1k62gPu5VGtVlc2Pz5w5LQg/s4032/20210429_134835-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYfKtr_M3Wue4E4ggRVaA2QsOaNygX73WOtDy5uhhad0n62NH6QVSil4IoSw47Pkrfw2ofltBjLVtChof2xtp1hDsexeAS_G0UxEdvVQq4dmgEkSdYKAV1k62gPu5VGtVlc2Pz5w5LQg/s320/20210429_134835-01.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The wheel magnet has caused some mighty complaints among Cateye Strada Slim users. Some complain that the forks and spokes are too far apart on some bicycles to meet the 5mm wheel magnet to sensor tolerance. The problem can be fixed by adding rare earth magnets, perhaps secured by hose clamps to the existing wheel magnet provided in the kit, or perhaps constructing shims out of old tubes to fill in the gap. I was lucky enough to own a old style wheel magnet that is chrome and is secured with a screw. This magnet is a perfect fit and does not slide up and down the spoke.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL48p9Q8furyhicrZjcyfiQ25fJBjaB5e4G96siveOkTQQw2GBff5IxmIjm7MpYkzbvHMnNMuU1E9IHFYEBg4mA0mlIJDUEhzpXLJRFOcf-kBjoazDjH5DT72qPUL0SxltXOnP7WbVeoM/s4032/20210429_134840-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL48p9Q8furyhicrZjcyfiQ25fJBjaB5e4G96siveOkTQQw2GBff5IxmIjm7MpYkzbvHMnNMuU1E9IHFYEBg4mA0mlIJDUEhzpXLJRFOcf-kBjoazDjH5DT72qPUL0SxltXOnP7WbVeoM/s320/20210429_134840-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a photograph if my slightly modified Retrospect Harper coaster break bicycle. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF8h-MgOfEshQ9HjM0G_Ypk29Mm7oTp28N507hTNcqSlKRAL-mufVlmNDnAOcdbVkA0O1W8jwJutnMMEMJMaDRd8RV6isMGw2C0OzSGfKQ_WBBrMtxOCng3qeJwpCRxxox-EYK3CqhJk/s2969/20210510_113106-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1950" data-original-width="2969" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF8h-MgOfEshQ9HjM0G_Ypk29Mm7oTp28N507hTNcqSlKRAL-mufVlmNDnAOcdbVkA0O1W8jwJutnMMEMJMaDRd8RV6isMGw2C0OzSGfKQ_WBBrMtxOCng3qeJwpCRxxox-EYK3CqhJk/s320/20210510_113106-01.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Have a great ride today!</p></div></div>velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-3604408828094670692020-07-14T22:30:00.002-06:002020-07-15T19:59:31.983-06:00Fatal Rage. Mutha Records 004. 1983 Classic Hard Core Punk Rock.Fatal Rage. Mutha Records 004. 1983 classic hard core punk rock.<br />
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Lyrics insert.<br />
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The vinyl.<br />
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Some bozo listed this record for $8,000. Hell I will sell my mint condition copy for $7,500. My e-mail address is available in "about me", if you are interested.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-62461814163577398752020-04-20T21:18:00.002-06:002020-05-13T08:23:39.097-06:00USADA: The Reasoned Decision: A Review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Reasoned Decision</i> is the United States Anti-Doping Agency, (USADA) summary of testimony from former teammates of disgraced seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Other testimonies from involved persons connected to the U.S. Postal Service Professional Cycling Team, Astana, and the Discovery Channel Cycling Team doping scandals are also included. Along with a large volume of doping-related financial records. Of utmost importance to USADA was the financial arrangements between Lance Armstrong and the convicted doping doctor Michele Ferrari. USADA contends that Lance Armstrong paid Michele Ferrari money in exchange for dope and medical expertise. This arrangement between Lance Armstrong and Michele Ferrari would expand into an organized doping conspiracy involving select cycling team riders, team doctors, and team trainers. The doping conspiracy would extend from 1999-2010, or for most of Lance Armstrong's professional cycling career.*<br />
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<b>Background</b><br />
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Floyd Landis wrote USA cycling president Steve Johnson a letter describing past doping offenses Lance Armstrong had engaged in. Many of these Lance Armstrong doping offenses Floyd Landis had personally witnessed and/or participated in. Jeff Novitsky opened a criminal probe, convened a federal grand jury, subpoenaed witnesses, and began to record testimony to discern whether taxpayer money had been used to fund a doping conspiracy within the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team. But, suddenly the criminal probe ended. Why Jeff Novitsky ended the criminal probe remains a mystery. But due to the serious charges alleged by Floyd Landis, USADA had no choice but to investigate the case.<br />
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<b>Ground Rules: The "Non-Analytical" Positive</b><br />
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In any investigation it is necessary to establish some ground rules. USADA had no laboratory tests to extract evidence from to establish a doping violation. Lance Armstrong never failed a dope test. USADA would have to utilize the "non-analytical" positive. People would be asked or compelled to testify about their participation in, or knowledge of, doping offenses Lance Armstrong had engaged in. The accumulated testimony would prove the "non-analytical" positive case. The response to this appeal for information concerning the Lance Armstrong doping conspiracy produced a bonanza of informants. Former cycling teammates, former team support staff, businessmen, people who Lance Armstrong had abused with accusations and slander, all came forward. Frankie and Betsy Andreu were praised for their courageous whistleblowing. Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton provided devastating eye witness facts. USADA had an open and shut case.<br />
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The one holdout, the man who refused to testify? Lance Armstrong. But USADA had an answer for Mr. Armstrong. <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> states;
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<b><i>Weight to be given to Lance Armstrong's refusal to testify</i></b>
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Article 3.2.4 of the [USADA] Code provides for the adverse inference to be imposed against an individual [if he or she] fails or refuses to testify on any relevant matter on which USADA seeks to question him. Long before Article 3.2.4 was adopted in the 2009 version of the Code, Court of Arbitration for Sport, (CAS) Panels recognized the propriety of imposing an adverse inference against a respondent in an anti-doping case who invoked the <i>Fifth Amendment</i> to avoid testifying or otherwise failed to appear and respond to the charges against the respondent. For instance, in the case of <i>Lazutina v. IOC</i> an athlete failed to appear, and, as a result, the panel drew the adverse inference that she had intentionally ingested the prohibited substance found in her blood. </blockquote>
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The panel held: "Ms. Lazutina did not give evidence and there has been no explanation from her as to how that prohibited substance came to be in her blood. In the light of that failure to explain, the Panel concludes that the prohibited substance was in Ms. Lazutina's blood as a result of the intentional exogenous ingestion by her.<br />
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Lazutina v. IOC, CAS 2002/A/370 Paragraph 9.10.<br />
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In addition to the overwhelming evidence of Lance Armstrong's doping it should not be forgotten that Lance Armstrong refused to confront the evidence against him and in-person appearing in front of neutral arbitrators. Armstrong's refusal to confront the evidence against him in-person in a hearing, leads to a strong inference that Armstrong doped exactly as charged by USADA. PP. 87-88.
</blockquote>
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Well there are several issues here. Apparently, the CAS and USADA have determined that the right not to be compelled to admit a criminal act against one's self in a civil or criminal case, the right against self-incrimination, no longer applies in sport doping arbitration. Federal judge Sam Sparks should have considered Code 3.2.4 before issuing his ruling dismissing Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against USADA. Apparently, the CAS thinks the rights afforded to defendants in the United States do not apply in sports arbitration, and the American Constitution is nothing more than exotic toilet paper. Perhaps the CAS decision against Ms. Lazutina was written in the Republic of North Korea. The second problem here is the definition of exogenous. An exogenous substance is not found naturally in the body. An endogenous substance is found naturally in the body. There is no such thing as "exogenous ingestion". The statement should read, "willful ingestion of an exogenous <i>substance".</i> The third problem here is the endless narrative provided by the prosecutor who wrote this summary. "Armstrong's refusal to confront the evidence against him, in-person, in a hearing, leads to a strong inference that Armstrong doped exactly as charged by USADA". An irrelevant fanciful opinion. A fantasy. No factual evidence to support this assertion. The reader will encounter this narrative many times on "evidence" that amounts to hearsay. "Evidence" that would never be admitted into a court of law.
<br />
<br />
<b>The writing style of <i>The Reasoned Decision</i></b>.<br />
<br />
Complete and utter garbage. <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that cyclists are not doctors. The medical conclusions reached by former teammates of Lance Armstrong are preposterous. Most of the incoherent summary presented in <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> is based on hearsay, conjecture, press releases, innuendo, surmise, everything but hard evidence to prove Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs. The narrator obviously has no concept of cycling history, and the tapestry he weaves of circumstantial evidence is far from convincing; even under the "comfortable satisfaction" standard. Sam Sparks, the judge who castigated Lance Armstrong for "vilifying" the anti-doping process, obviously chose to censure the wrong party. Judge Sam Sparks should have reprimanded USADA for this sleazy character assassination of Lance Armstrong. Travis T. Tygart should have been ashamed to affix his signature to this summary. <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> reads like a blog; full of inaccurate statements and factual errors.<br />
<br />
<b>Mistakes</b><br />
<br />
It would be impossible to list every mistake in <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> without going insane. I will mention a couple of glaring examples. Kristen Armstrong is savaged with libelous accusations when ex-teammates of Lance Armstrong claimed that Kristen Armstrong distributed cortisone tablets to the riders, in brown paper lunch sacks, at the request of Lance Armstrong. Kristen Armstrong was "rolling joints." Inadmissible hearsay. Kristen Armstrong may have distributed harmless placebos or vitamin supplements. Was Kristen Armstrong a chemist? Was Kristen Armstrong a doctor? Did someone chemically analyze the contents of those sacks? Will USADA produce a sample as evidence? Did Kristen Armstrong have any first-hand knowledge of the contents of those sacks? A defense attorney would have a field day cross-examining these idiotic accusers! No court in the world would accept or admit this nonsense as evidence.<br />
<br />
Then Emma O' Reilly makes the preposterous statement that the blood of the 1999 Tour de France Lance Armstrong cortisone "positive" test came from a cortisone injection administered to Lance Armstrong "weeks earlier," during the Route de Sud. The half-life for cortisone is six hours. Total elimination from the body 20-24 hours. A stored blood bag containing cortisone may account for the positive test result, but why would anyone draw oxygen-depleted blood during an exhausting race. Insane conjecture is totally unsupported by scientific facts or common sense reasoning. The cortisone did not come from the Route de Sud. You would think with a budget of 15 million taxpayer-funded dollars a year, USADA could have hired an editor to proofread the document before publishing the damn thing. Yet the narrative drones on about the accumulation of "facts" that support the case. Absurd. Voodoo science does not generate facts.<br />
<br />
<i>The Reasoned Decision</i> reads like an outline of David Walsh's, <i>Seven Deadly Sins</i>. I might suggest <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> is a masterwork of plagiarism, but most of the facts presented in the report are common knowledge. The author engages in infuriating circumlocutions, selectively grasping quotes without providing any context. USADA should have published the witness statements instead of publishing this incoherent rambling mess. I could not believe <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> was written by a legally trained professional writer.
<br />
<br />
<b>David Zabriskie</b><br />
<br />
One gem I found, though. The story of David Zabriskie. David Zabriskie raced to escape a broken home and a drug-addicted parent. David Zabriskie wanted to find solace and sanctuary in cycling. David Zabriskie was reluctant to embrace the doping culture in cycling. David Zabriskie was concerned about the side-effects of EPO. What impact would EPO have on his health, on his body, would EPO cause genetic mutations in his children? David Zabriskie joined the peloton to escape from his own chaotic family situation. Cycling was a cathartic escape, a panacea. Then, according to USADA, Johan Bruyneel sent Jose "Pepe" Marti and Dr. Luis del Moral, under the direct orders of Lance Armstrong, to inject David Zabriskie and teammate Michael Barry with EPO as a part of an illicit team doping program. David Zabriskie was so upset at this misfortune he cried bitter tears. P. 111-112<br />
<br />
<b>Betsy Andreu</b>.<br />
<br />
I made some notations about Betsy Andreu; but suffice to say; Betsy Andreu is a true anti-doping crusader and not a hypocrite, like her husband Frankie Andreu. I was surprised to learn that Frankie Andreu used performance-enhancing drugs in <i>multiple</i> races, not in just <i>one stage</i> of the Tour de France. Frankie Andreu said he "wouldn't put that shit in my body" meaning dope. But when Betsy Andreu saw Frankie Andreu breaking wind for Lance Armstrong up the col, in the lead group, on television, during a stage of the Tour de France, she flipped out! "What is Frankie <i>doing</i>?" "He's juiced!" Besty laid down the law. Besty told Frankie, "choose, EPO or me"! Betsy Andreu told Frankie Andreu she would not marry him unless he stopped doping. Frankie obeyed Betsy and became an outspoken anti-doping crusader himself. The way Lance Armstrong treated Betsy Andreu was disgusting. Betsy Andreu claimed she heard Lance Armstrong confess to a group of doctors that he used a large number of performance-enhancing drugs as a professional cyclist. Betsy and Frankie Andreu, and Lance Armstrong, were all together in a hospital room, in Indiana, where Lance Armstrong was being treated for testicular cancer. This room is where the "drug confession" occurred. Lance Armstrong called Betsy Andreu "a crazy bitch, with a personal vendetta.". The cycling world was split right down the middle about Betsy Andreu. Some people loved Betsy, some people hated Betsy. The haters have probably forgiven her. So, Betsy Andreu, you get a special mention, and many thanks, for helping to expose "cycling's greatest fraud".<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
<i>The Reasoned Decision</i> is a morass of disconnected statements, poorly organized, badly written, seemingly without aim or purpose. "Non-analytical" positives lower the bar so low that a simple smear could destroy the career of an athlete. USADA is so arrogant and smug that they don't even seen to care about the image they are projecting to anti-doping professionals, or to the cycling community. USADA seems to take no pride in their work. Refusal to incriminate yourself is not a doping violation. The fact that Lance Armstrong quit without firing a shot, or contesting your accusations, does not justify your slovenliness USADA! Results are not all that matter! Damn the torpedoes!<br />
<br />
<b>Addendum:</b><br />
<br />
Why did I bother to write this review, you might ask? I was looking for Paul Kimmage's classic book, <i>Rough Ride,</i> but I found this sorry excuse of a report instead. The report is dated, having no real value or interest to anyone today except for cycling doping historians. Without a doubt, USADA created the greatest eyesore in the history of the anti-doping crusade, and USADA should be ashamed of themselves. <i>The Reasoned Decision</i> will forever serve as a model of how not to report a doping violation. Athletes shouldn't need to worry about being humiliated by an anti-doping agency that makes a pretense to unbiased professionalism.<br />
<br />
*These allegations include all seven of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France victories, (1999-2005) plus two comeback years, (2009-2010). The Motorola years are not included even though Lance Armstrong won the World Championship. Doping allegations during the Motorola years were dealt with in other litigation.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-56302584317925946572020-03-08T11:44:00.002-06:002020-05-12T11:57:30.194-06:00James Clavell: Shogun: A Novel of Japan: Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<i>Shogun</i> is James Clavell's best work. The contrast between Japanese and Western culture is masterfully portrayed by Blackthorn in his comic blundering. Blackthorn's buffoonery, although unintentional, does cause a great deal of consternation in the minds of the Japanese people he interacts with. Japanese people who have contact with Blackthorn think his mentality and behavior are unbelievably incomprehensible. But Blackthorn also suffers from these encounters with deep pain within his own tormented psyche. Blackthorn was trained in puritanical religious extremism, and his bigoted opinions cannot be reconciled with Japanese permissiveness. Clearly, Christian virtues do not comport with Buddhism or Shinto Japanese culture, and Western values, in <i>Shogun</i>, are portrayed as barbaric, primitive, and inferior when compared to Japanese standards of conduct. Blackthorn struggles to suppress his hysterical outbursts and the raging anger he feels when Japanese behavior crosses a line that would be considered heinous acts in European society. Murder, suicide, and promiscuous sexuality seem to be praiseworthy endeavors, or ignored as trivialities, under the samurai law of Bushido. In England such abhorrent acts would be considered capital crimes, punishable by sentences of death, demanded by public outcry, and English common law. Mariko, a highly intelligent woman, taught Portuguese and Latin by Jesuit priests, a Catholic convert, devout Christian, and fiercely loyal samurai woman, tries to navigate the complexities of feudal Japan for Blackthorn; as an official interpreter for her liege lord Yoshi Toranaga. But Mariko becomes hopelessly entangled in contradictions between her Christian faith and her Bushido duty of honor to her liege lord Yoshi Toranaga. Nevertheless, in spite of Mariko's great love for Blackthorn, Mariko dies defending her samurai honor, rather than surrendering to her Christian ideals.<br />
<br />
However, it is important to note that Mariko may have feigned her Christian ideals as a method to foist revenge upon the Jesuit priests who, Mariko believed, duped her father into betraying <i>his</i> liege lord, the Taiko. When Mariko dies during the ninja attack, Lord Ishido and the Jesuit priests are greatly weakened, with catastrophic consequences to follow. Lord Ishido dies a humiliating death, his feet firmly planted in the ground, his head removed with a bamboo saw. The Jesuit church will be banned from the interior of Japan for many years.<br />
<br />
Blackthorn never adapts to Japan as his adopted country. After the death of Mariko and the burning of <i>Erasmus</i>, Blackthorn's central role as a dangerous military threat diminishes to a paltry role of petty Lord Toranaga vassal. Blackthorn is assigned to lead a salvage operation to reclaim the burnt skeleton of his lost warship <i>Erasmus</i> from the sea. Lord Toranaga commissions Blackthorn to build a replacement ship. Blackthorn is assigned other mundane shipbuilding tasks. Blackthorn's plan of plundering the Portuguese Black Ship of treasure and returning with accolades to England to be Knighted by the Queen as a peer and historical legend is over. Blackthorn is marooned in Japan forever. Lord Toranaga will tightly control Blackthorn, as a vassal, and burn any future ship Blackthorn may build, on a whim, depending on political expediency. The threat Blackthorn presented to the <i>status quo</i> has passed. The crisis is over. Blackthorn no longer has any influence on Japanese political affairs.<br />
<br />
<i>Shogun</i> follows James Clavell's model of delay, negotiate, repeat. In <i>Shogun</i> the reader waits with bated breath for the attack on Osaka castle, only to realize that the attack will have to wait until the next book is written. Lord Ishido dies as foretold by the soothsayers with his feet firmly planted in the ground, implying that Lord Toranaga has won the war and will be soon named Shogun. Lord Toranaga will quickly enforce the Christian expulsion edicts. But the war is omitted with a single stroke of the pen.<br />
<br />
<b>The Asia Series</b><br />
<br />
All of James Clavell's books in the "Asia" series use the same formula, endless delay, perpetual negotiation, repeat. If you are looking for hard paced decisive action, James Clavell is not the author for you. This endless delay works well in <i>Shogun</i>, (unless you spend 300 pages waiting for the attack on Osaka castle), but if you read <i>Tai-pan</i>, <i>Gai-jin</i>, <i>Noble House</i>, or James Clavell's <i>Whirlwind</i>, the model becomes tiresome and predictable. What I call the James Clavell fatigue factor. The plot summary of these books follows the same trite cumbersome pattern. Avaricious businessmen endlessly plot trade agreements to circumvent impossible odds, destroy a rival competitor, and dominate the market. The goal? Power, gloating, pride, and fabulous profits. <i>King Rat</i>, is a story of an American POW con-artist trading contraband in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II. <i>King Rat</i> is an excellent book written prior to the "Asia" series. <i>King Rat</i> is a straightforward tale of a black market profiteer who manipulates his less affluent comrades with bribes and favors. But the war <i>ends</i> with a rat, who was captured to be served as dinner to some unfortunate person as meat, chewing through the mesh of his cage determined to escape. The manipulative black market profiteer is reduced in status to just another common trooper headed for home. <i>Tai-pan</i> is a good read-only because May-May is such a well developed Asian female fantasy every pre-pubescent boy dreams about. The other two books in the "Asia" series, <i>Gai-jin</i> and <i>Noble House</i> are average in quality and could be passed over without any regrets.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-75241452738766569742019-11-30T14:39:00.000-07:002020-05-12T14:42:00.719-06:00The Velveteen Rabbit <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<i>The Velveteen Rabbit,</i> Margery Williams, (author), William Nicholson, (illustrator), George H. Doran Company, 1922.<br />
<br />
Rummaging through some forgotten keepsakes I found an old velveteen rabbit a woman had purchased for me over forty years ago. She also gave me a book; <i>The Velveteen Rabbit,</i> and some old schoolgirl photographs I returned to her by mail for her family archives years ago. I want to return the velveteen rabbit to her as well. But I am reluctant. Perhaps it would be better to give the toy to a poor local child in need. I wanted to send this letter with the toy, but will probably do neither. So I will publish the letter instead.<br />
<br />
Dear 🐇,<br />
<br />
I think this rabbit belongs to you. I overlooked it somehow. As you can see she is still in pristine condition, ignored, unlike the velveteen rabbit in the story who was loved to excess by a childhood friend. But, perhaps, the poor little neglected rabbit may have a second chance to ponder all of the contradictions of what it means to be real if she acquires a new childhood friend. I am sure there are plenty of poor children who would love to have her.*<br />
<br />
Of course, the velveteen rabbit accepts the skin horse definition of "real" as unconditional love from a child, up until the moment he encounters live rabbits in the garden. The velveteen rabbit was worn out, soiled, his stitches showed through, he looked as worn out from unceasing affection as skin horse. But when the live rabbits invite him to play, the velveteen rabbit looks down upon himself and says, "I would love to play with you, but I have no legs." Thus, the velveteen rabbit faces a dichotomy. Am I real? Are live rabbits real? Am I nothing more than a cheap facsimile?**<br />
<br />
After the little boy acquires a contagious disease, and the doctor orders immediate burning of all his intimate objects, including the velveteen rabbit, only then is the paradox resolved by the nursery fairy. The velveteen rabbit overhears the doctor say his friend must go to the seashore, for the climate, to heal. The velveteen rabbit thinks he is about to embark on a grand adventure to the seashore with his friend, so he ignores the fact that he was placed outdoors in a rubbish pile. The velveteen rabbit notices it is getting dark and cold too, and though the house lights have come on, nobody has come from the house to fetch him. But the velveteen rabbit shrugs off the chill and loneliness, and the fact that he is not in a warm bed and safe with his friend. No matter, in the morning, he and his friend are going to leave the drab city and voyage to sunny warm seashore climes to restore their health. The velveteen rabbit never realizes he is to be burned early next morning.***<br />
<br />
The nursery fairy makes her appearance! Velveteen rabbit asks, "Who are you?" Nursery fairy replies, "I am your nursery fairy." Velveteen rabbit asks, "Why are you here?" Nursery fairy replies, "I am here to make you REAL!"<br />
<br />
Nursery fairy does make the velveteen rabbit a living, breathing, rabbit. Nursery fairy settles the issue at once and ends all doubt. When the boy returns from the seashore all cured and is strolling the garden path with his nurse, the velveteen rabbit looks up at them from a thicket. The boy exclaims, "that rabbit looks just like my old velveteen rabbit!" And the velveteen rabbit is happy, alive, breathing, and REAL! <br />
<br />
Yes, a very simplified summary. <i>The Velveteen Rabbit</i> is rated among the top five of all childhood literature. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read the book. There is <i>no more.</i><br />
<br />
Goodbye,<br />
🐇<br />
<br />
*In the <i>Velveteen Rabbit,</i> the velveteen rabbit is ignored or tormented by the mechanical toys until the nurse throws him to the boy at random; "here take bunny"! Then the boy and bunny become inseparable companions.<br />
<br />
**For reasons not apparent skin horse is not made real by the nursery fairy. I thought skin horse was a stick horse. Skin Horse has a limited mentality and a limited outlook on life, otherwise, he would have been much more pessimistic and cynical. The skin horse never evolves beyond the level of an inanimate object. The velveteen rabbit has a much greater range of experience than skin horse, thus there is always an aura about the velveteen rabbit of conflict, depersonalization, stress, and skepticism. The velveteen rabbit searches for his own identity even when facing his own certain destruction.<br />
<br />
The arrival of the nursery fairy at the critical moment does have strains of <i>dues ex Machina</i>. But most children would probably react to the surprise appearance of the nursery fairy in awe and wonder, not with cheap adult cycnism. Perhaps, Margery Williams thought up the nursery fairy concept on the spur of the moment. With a little more foresight the nursery fairy could have been developed into a powerfully moving character. Nevertheless, overall, <i>The Velveteen Rabbit</i> is a troubling thought-provoking childhood literary classic.<br />
<br />
***The velveteen rabbit is very lucky. The doctor ordered the immediate destruction of the rubbish, but the workmen decided to do it first thing in the morning.<br />
<br />
🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-83007966700827580902019-01-30T01:06:00.000-07:002019-04-18T23:17:11.725-06:00Deep South: A Social Anthropolical Study of Caste and Class: A Brief Summary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
A group of social anthropologists directed by Allison Davis of the University of Chicago went to Old City and Old County Mississippi during the Great Depression to study the amount of racial prejudice existent in the Deep South of the United States. Old County and Old City were selected because the economy is based on the old cotton plantation system. Old City contains a population of roughly 50% black, 50% white, Old County contains a population of 80% black, 20% white. Apparently, two types of social order exists within the Deep South. A class system based on sociological factors, status or income, and a caste system based primarily on race.<br />
<br />
"A caste may be defined as a endogamous and hereditary sub-division of a ethnic unit occupying a position of superior or inferior rank or social esteem in comparison with other sub-divisions."* This clearly does not denote a class system which contains upward or downward social mobility. A caste system allows for no such mobility because members of different castes cannot intermarry. Therefore, competition exists between castes for control of power. One caste will assume a superordinate role, another a subordinate role. In our present discussion the white race is disproportionately dominant and "all social institutions in the South including family, school, association, clique, church, and so on, are formed to fit the dominant caste social situation."**<br />
<br />
In this paper the situation will be viewed as the social order existed during the study and as a afterthought speculate about what kind of conditions might be evident to change the social pattern.<br />
<br />
<b>The White Ideology: Keeping the Black Man in his Place.</b><br />
<br />
It is a prominent belief along whites that blacks are a illiterate group, incapable of learning, child-like in their behavior, unmanageable people. This belief is demonstrated through caste sanctions and behavior. Blacks are expected to pay deference to whites. If a black and white person meet on the street, the black person is expected to give way. When addressing a white man, a black man must use the adjective "Sir," to denote respect, while a white man must never show respect to the black man. Violations of this caste sanction is considered "rebellion." After a series of minor infractions of the caste regulations, "whipping parties," or in some extreme cases "public hangings" are initiated to demonstrate to other would be offenders the "correctness" of the white cast ideology.<br />
<br />
<b>Endogamy and the Caste Sexual Taboos</b>
<br />
<br />
Sexual taboos exist in the caste system to support the law of endogamous marriage but they vary depending upon the sex and color of the person involved. Due to the notion of white female purity, any acts of sexual intercourse between white females and black males violates the strongest sexual taboo and warrants a terrible punishment. If discovered, white females will either be publicly whipped, hanged, or "put on a train.". Sexual intercourse between white men and black women is permitted, if the relationship is conducted covertly. Most sexual encounters of this sort are for profit, the black female is paid a wage. But in some cases white men actually have black mistresses and families they support for life.<br />
<br />
The implications of sexual intermingled castes is clear. If the white man could incorporate his children into the white caste group the caste distinction based upon race would disappear. But caste endogamy extends also to children. Children born miscegenation are always placed into the mothers caste group. The effects of this law are discussed more thoroughly in the section on black social class groups.<br />
<br />
<b>The White Social Class System</b>
<br />
<br />
The white class system is rooted in ideological differences. The white upper-class group pay deference to "old wealth," or the amount of time money has existed in the family. Middle-class groups base their ideology in morals, middle-class people place a high value on wealth, and emphasize the "need to improve." Poor whites distinguish themselves on the basis of "consistency of a job," for a great many lower-class families are either unemployed or are working on work relief programs. Class differences are rooted in antagonisms. A sociological death and re-birth is needed to leave one social class and enter another. This involves severing old ties, abandoning old modes of behavior, and incorporating new ones.<br />
<br />
The base of class, then, is to distinguish who does and who does not belong. A person trying to enter the middle-class may be excluded due to lack of demonstrated middle-class qualities. A person wishing to climb from middle-class to upper-class may be excluded for lack of "old wealth."<br />
<br />
<b>The Effect of Miscegenation on the Black Class System</b><br />
<br />
The black caste base class antagonisms primarily upon three factors; income, occupation, and race. Because black elites have no clearly defined occupation or income guidelines, to identify with, blacks often turn to race as a qualification for higher status. The degree of a persons skin color as a value is the result of two basic problems. Blacks are discriminated against in the labor market, and for psychological reasons. "The effort of black upper and middle-class individuals to maintain or to increase their class status appears to be equated psychologically with a attempt to acquire the traits of the white caste. The distinguishing traits of the white caste are skin color and hair type, so it is to be expected that whiteness of skin and straightness of hair will have value as a class sanction in the black group."*** Black upper-class members designate commonness to lower-class blacks partly on the possession or lack of these white characteristics. Also, a notion exists in black groups that blacks with a more pronounced negroid tint are regarded as unclean. Black nurses with more pronounced white attributes were found to be washing their hands quite frequently and expressing disgust when handling darker black patients. A white doctor exclaimed, "Why they abhor those people worse than I do!"<br />
<br />
<b>The Changing Economy</b><br />
<br />
Old County's economy depends on cotton. Cotton cultivation requires a long growing season, (210+ days) and a large group of skilled and unskilled workers.<br />
<br />
When a tenant rents from a landlord in Old County he or she either pays a fixed cash or lint payment. This is largely dependent upon two factors, The number of people in the tenants "squad," or the number of people in the tenants family, or whether a tenant has his or her own implements or farm stock. This is fundamentally important when viewed in context with uncontrollable changes in Old County's economy. During 1934-35, a large boll weevil infestation destroyed a majority of the crop. That year the harvest was so low as to force a large number of tenants into the newly developed industrial firms in Old City. The entire economy suffered from deflated cotton prices as a result of the Great Depression. The Federal Government began the cotton reduction program.***** This caused a labor shortage. Landlords soon found themselves competing for labor. The tactics landlords used to keep labor on the farm and still maintain profit included economic or physical intimidation, or violence upon the tenants to keep them in a perpetual state of peonage.<br />
<br />
Literate tenants cannot challenge the plantation system for several reasons. (1) Blacks are excluded from holding political office and in most cases are excluded from the polls. (2) Blacks are excluded from buying land. (3) Blacks cannot sue landlords for theft. (4) Black testimony is considered invalid in criminal cases. (5) The police ignore black civil or criminal complaints. Whites exclude black participation in the most fundamental and basic institutions in the United States. Therefore, all law, legislation, political platform, and judicial decisions favor the white caste.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion: Death of the Plantation System</b>
<br />
<br />
The plantation system cannot endure. Old County is no longer isolated from the world of technology and industrialization. When the system of agriculture changes planting more acres of land by share croppers to tractors and fertilizer, a great number of farm workers will no longer be necessary. Migration from Old County into Old Town will change demographics and culture as well. The standard of living will improve. This will prompt educational opportunities and stimulate class awareness. The result is certain, the entire cultural restructure of the Deep South.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Footnotes </b><br />
<br />
*Please refer to page 3 for more details.<br />
**Please refer to Chapter 1.<br />
***Page 235<br />
****The Federal Government placed a limit<br />
on the number of acres a planter could grow in cotton to stabilize cotton prices. Those acres not grown in cotton were compensated for in subsidiary payments.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-87370721535069252412019-01-28T06:09:00.001-07:002020-05-26T14:44:40.908-06:00William S. Burroughs: Drug Dependency Versus Drug Addiction William S. Burroughs in <i>Junkie</i> wrote the best definition of drug dependency versus drug addiction I have ever seen. Burroughs points out that opium derivatives cause physical addiction. Marijuana causes psychological dependency but no addiction because if you run out of the pot and cannot secure more the body does not go through physical opium-based withdrawal symptoms.* William S. Burroughs also noted that even though cocaine increases dopamine levels in the brain, and despite the fact that pigeons will peck a lever for a dopamine reinforcement to the exclusion of all else until they drop dead, these facts have no relevance, if the stimulus is withdrawn and the behavior ceases without the physical distress associated with opium withdrawal syndromes. Thus by strict definition behavior associated with cocaine use is driven by dependency, <i>not</i> addiction.<br />
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I have had discussions with potheads who <i>insist</i> they are addicted to marijuana. But potheads function in a fog of altered perceptual awareness. True some potheads will spend days running around town looking for an elusive lid, waiting around in cars for hours, while friends look for contacts. Most times they come up empty-handed. But this behavior to secure more dope is not driven by physical distress that requires "the cure" at Lexington's Narcotic Farm.<br />
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Marijuana as a gateway drug has never been established.** However, marijuana dependency has some adverse consequences. I knew a woman who would steal items from her family members and run off to a pawn shop. While stoned, she would craft a masterful plan to steal without being caught. This woman had a very reduced mental capacity, an intelligence quotient of 70, but when she was stoned she thought she was an exalted princess of a higher dimension. Of course, when challenged, she resorted to habitual lies and denials a narcissistic psychopath would envy. Her denials were so transparent a three-year-old child could have seen through them, and when confronted with absolute facts as to her culpability, she would explode into childish temper tantrums intended to intimidate you into backing down. The old biker gang momma bitch act. I always thought she was nothing more than a second rate con-artist. If she had been a little smarter, she would have run a Ponzi scheme like Bernard Madoff, living like a queen in a mansion, with high priced cars, a yacht, dining at the finest restaurants, swindling other people like a bloated parasite until she was arrested. Later on, she would act all innocent and friendly like nothing happened. Anti-social personalities have a lack of impulse control, they take things without permission based upon immediate need, rush off to the pawnshop, pocket the money, then congratulate themselves on a job well done. Anti-social personalities have no morality, no conscious, they are indifferent to the damage they do to other people. People exist to be used as pawns. Why does she do these things? She needs to get <i>stoned</i>! Marijuana dependency mixed with anti-social traits is as damaging as a heroin addict committing burglary to support a habit.<br />
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<b>Update</b><br />
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*Police officers, prosecutors, and judges all make the same mistake when classifying marijuana as a "narcotic". Opium based derivatives such as heroin are narcotics. Marijuana is a hallucinogen, <i>not</i> a narcotic. Hunter S. Thompson in <i>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,</i> correctly points out that a "roach is not called a roach because it resembles a cockroach". This idiotic idea was presented to a gullible law enforcement audience by some quack "drug expert" psychiatrist during a "police anti-drug convention". In the same vein a prosecuting attorney who calls marijuana a "addicting narcotic" is doing nothing more than demonstrating his or her ignorance of the facts at hand. Unfortunately, some judges have been brainwashed into believing that marijuana is a "dangerous drug" with no "medicinal value," and that use of marijuana constitutes a "clear and present danger" to society. An argument straight out of 1965. Of course, the cannabis prohibition law was formulated by ignorant legislators who were probably indoctrinated by the clergy, or by anti-drug propaganda films written by Nancy Reagan and shown in high schools, or by watching cheap camp movies like <i>Reefer Madness.</i> Marinol (dronabinol) is a synthetic form of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. THC fits into cannabinoid receptor sites in the brain. Marinol is prescribed to patients as an appetite stimulant, antiemetic, and sleep apnea reliever. Marijuana has medical efficacy for cancer and AIDS patients.<br />
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**Whoever invented the notion that marijuana is a dangerous gateway "narcotic" needs to have his or her brains tested. 52% of Americans over 18 have smoked marijuana at some point in their lives. According to the pot gateway theory logic, there should be 171.6 million deranged "addicted dope fiends" running amok terrorizing suburban neighborhoods. Science calls the weak "correlation" between pot smokers and heroin users a spurious relationship. The appearance of a comet did not cause a plague, even if a plague occurred shortly after the appearance of the comet. People who blamed the comet for the plague reached a spurious conclusion based on superstition, not on scientific facts. Much like the advocates of the theory cannabis is a "gateway" to more destructive drug abuse.<br />
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I am not an advocate of cannabis recreational use. Actually, I think potheads are some of the stupidest people I have ever met.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-57920008480377632142018-10-15T15:50:00.000-06:002019-04-18T08:44:53.053-06:00Dr. Rachel McKinnon: Women's Cycling FraudWomen's cycling has gone off the rails. A Transgender "woman" Dr. Rachel McKinnon, won the women's 35-39 UCI masters track sprint world championship. Dr. McKinnon edged out two biological females, Carolien van Herrikuyzen of the Netherlands, and Jennifer Wagner of the United States.
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Social media went crazy. Comments ranged from gender fluidity to political correctness, to the death of women's sport. I questioned the sanity of the UCI who allowed a biological male to compete with females, apparently with the acquiescence of USA Cycling, when cycling boasted a mantra of "fair play."</div>
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When Chris Froome tested positive for salbutamol no one cared. When Floyd Landis had a 4.1/1 testosterone/ epitestosterone ratio the UCI raced to fire up the carbon isotope ratio test. But, now the newly crowned Transgender women's track sprint master, Dr. Rachel McKinnon, is complaining about a dangerously low
endogenous testosterone level, "below a woman" that is impeding her performance. Dr. McKinnon is demanding an exemption from taking testosterone suppression drugs as a human right. Apparently, her fast twitch fibers were inhibited somehow and she wants to build a little extra muscle mass from the testosterone produced by the gonadal Leydig cells women do not possess. Dr. McKinnon wants total domination of female sport thanks to unnatural biological advantages Transgender athletes have acquired as <i>men</i>. This domination must be embraced by all female cyclists and cycling fanatics. Of course, the fact that biological women will suffer a penalty from this unnatural arrangement is of no concern to Dr. McKinnon. Perhaps, all future female cycling races will evolve into exclusive Transgender "women," athletic events.</div>
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Poor women's cycling. Hanging by a thread. In local criteriums, class 1, 2, and 3 women all raced together in a single race. The men had multiple teams in multiple races. The women's Tour de France has generated marginal interest. Now we have a man winning a woman's masters sprint world championship jersey. I am so sickened by this folly I could almost puke. How do we endear women to our sport if men are allowed to win every women's race? Who wants to watch a group of men masquerading as women in criterium races?</div>
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Women of the cycling world hear my plea: if a man enters your race, strike! Lay down your bicycles and leave the velodrome. Bernard Hinault would not have tolerated this bullshit for one instant! Women! You are being cheated. Refuse to ride! If the UCI doesn't like it tell them to pound sand!</div>
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The UCI should know better than to inflame women's passions. This is a mistake. The women cyclists on social media are angry! There is no reason to train for an important race if a man is going to participate and win. Women are not going to put up with this nonsense for long. Then, beware!</div>
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Carolien Herrikuyzen is the true world champion. Dr. McKinnon is a fraud, she should have never been allowed to participate. The master races are being trivialized, cycling will be mocked and ridiculed. Regain sanity, gender fluidity has <i>no</i> place in cycling!
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UPDATE
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Dr. Jennifer Wagner has tweeted that the UCI was wrong to allow a biological male to compete against women. Dr. McKinnon called Dr. Wagner a "transphobic bigot," a standard cliche and label Transgenders use when anyone is critical of their viewpoints. Carolien Herrikuyzen stated that the race was conducted under UCI rules and if anyone disagreed with the rules they need not race. Therefore, the race was "fair." Dr. Wagner is correct, the race was not fair, the UCI needs to change the rules, and women cyclists need to boycott races until the UCI makes the necessary modifications in the rules. Women's races are to include biological females only. Allowing men to race in women's races is cheating and far worse than doping.
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velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-84448384553129555282018-07-29T21:15:00.000-06:002019-02-21T01:19:01.444-07:002018 Tour de France Bedlam Geraint Thomas and Team SKY wins another Tour de France! Break out the champagne! Whew! The international cycling fanatics were outraged. (An aside to David Brailsford, cycling fanatics attend the Tour de France from all over the world, you dolt! ) Along the course international cycling fanatics pelted team SKY cars with eggs, people attempted to leap over barriers to knock team SKY riders off their bicycles! People spit in the faces of team SKY riders! It has been alleged that people threw urine bombs at team SKY! Totally dangerous bedlam.<br />
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Chris Froome, four time winner of the Tour de France, had to settle for a podium third place. Chris Froome and team SKY were lucky to get invited to race the Tour de France. ASO did not want Chris Froome or SKY, after the UCI mysteriously dropped the salbutamol adverse analytical finding Chris Froome was charged with. Chris Froome tested positive after Stage 18 of the 2017 Tour of Spain for salbutamol, a beta-2 agonist bronchial dilator. The WADA threshold for salbutamol is 1,000 nanograms/milliliter. Chris Froome tested 2,000 nanograms/ milliliter. Since salbutamol is not an endogenous substance produced by the body, the only source is an external application, like an inhaler.<br />
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Never, to my memory, has an adverse analytical finding been so thoroughly debated among the worthies at the UCI and WADA. Dick Pound the former president of WADA, amazed me when he stated that Chris Froome may have <i>innocently</i> snorted <i>too much</i> salbutamol! What turnabout is this? In every other case on record riders were banned for the mere presence of a prohibited substance, regardless of circumstances.<br />
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I am simply astounded at the myriad of excuses WADA and the UCI are dishing out to explain away this <i>innocent</i> snorting of salbutamol. Usually, excuses to explain away positive tests fall under the purview of the riders. Unique physiology, specific gravity, they actually proposed doing a longitudinal study to determine if Chris Froome could keep his values constant. Constantly above threshold? What manner of insanity is this? WADA standards are so variable! WADA standards should be discarded as <i>useless rubbish!</i> The goal posts change either in favor of, or against, athletes depending upon the person being considered. If you are going to use a set of standards as a bludgeon, at least be consistent, or exit the field.<br />
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Unbelievable. Dick Pound says WADA only try cases, or spend money on cases, prosecutors expect to win. Really? Floyd Landis was prosecuted with zeal based upon a single metabolite above threshold, WADA spent millions to support weak evidence, no concern for unique physiology then! At the point of being sarcastic, Mr. Pound, your long drawn out charade proved nothing except WADA laboratory incompetence. However, Chris Froome is an open and shut case. But WADA declines to appeal the UCI decision to drop the case, even though Mr. Froome would likely be banned with overwhelming evidence. Mr. Froome was double the threshold limit on both samples. Mr. Froome has no credible excuse to explain away these test results. Any credible prosecutor would rip Mr. Froome to shreds.<br />
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I remember when Dick Pound wanted to throw the entire peloton in jail, suspecting everyone of doping. Now he is acting as a apologist for the dopers, accepting every half baked spin job in existence. Dick Pound has gone mad. Mr Pound should refrain from adding future senile commentary until he consults with his doctor.<br />
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In 2013, I warned people about SKY and David Brailsford . Nobody listened. Now their biggest star Chris Froome has tested positive for salbutamol. Nobody cares. The indifference by the regulatory agencies almost started a riot at the Tour de France. People may get hurt next time. David Brailsford did not improve relations when he called the people of France xenophobic hillbillies. Next year, David Brailsford may be the spark that blows up the whole Tour.
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velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-62927688625885735622017-11-10T17:06:00.001-07:002020-11-04T15:45:17.995-07:00Finger Frostbite Amputation Photographs I lived on the street for twenty-five years and never had a serious health issue, even though I slept outdoors under a tarp through every imaginable weather. But, I got caught in a canyon downslope wind storm that resembled wind storms recorded in the death zone on K2.* My hands turned blue, but I thought if I warmed them up, they would recover. Next morning I had blisters, I thought I had second-degree frostbite. Instead of recovering from a moderate frostbite, my hands died from blood clots. Apparently, the body will reduce the blood flow to the extremities in order to protect the vital organs in the core during life-threatening wind chill events. I should have gone straight to the hospital. Maybe Dr. Amalia Cochran could have saved my digits. After all, Dr. Amalia Cochran pioneered the use of blood thinners in severe frostbite cases to save fingers and toes with remarkable success rates. I was blessed with one of the best frostbite experts in the country as my doctor, and all she could do was cut off all of my fingers.<br />
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<b>The dynamic duo.</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXj13VlpiEeFwlz9pr78hHSHbiBsaLbH1kqsFGOBIMCd4nFTQChmsX-hks_4RfZJjH1xOcWND_0qm4Dg597wvMl4eVnowFUSujsOeHK4uAeCr5MTzQHVrDmObb0AZDD8uBgjFKT5j1x0/s1600/Cochran-5x7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXj13VlpiEeFwlz9pr78hHSHbiBsaLbH1kqsFGOBIMCd4nFTQChmsX-hks_4RfZJjH1xOcWND_0qm4Dg597wvMl4eVnowFUSujsOeHK4uAeCr5MTzQHVrDmObb0AZDD8uBgjFKT5j1x0/s320/Cochran-5x7.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amalia Cochran MD </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxovZEhOqpze3hrhf2S3ULCjW2VSeNgDo1RJr8KSebNomw7vlpg3CLdsPm1pMyaJpKAkqwJ0e5doOFmDLy1sFw68z0jGwEVjIeeZGkCrYfXQA4IsawtjJaFZ1cgKu2JRo-K1ADvuwfrDQ/s1600/14324-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxovZEhOqpze3hrhf2S3ULCjW2VSeNgDo1RJr8KSebNomw7vlpg3CLdsPm1pMyaJpKAkqwJ0e5doOFmDLy1sFw68z0jGwEVjIeeZGkCrYfXQA4IsawtjJaFZ1cgKu2JRo-K1ADvuwfrDQ/s320/14324-01.jpeg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Elizabeth Smiley MD</td></tr>
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If you need an excellent surgeon, (or two) look no further than this blog post. Fortunately for me, both of these accomplished ladies were working together at the University of Utah hospital intensive care burn unit.<br />
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This is no longer the case, however. Dr. Cochran is now off to Bozeman, Montana! Dr. Smiley has a private practice as an allopathic trauma surgeon in Bloomington, Indiana.<br />
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Ha! Look at your flowery hat, Amalia! But because I am a sixties counterculture guy, you can wear tye-dye day glow in surgery for all I care! I don't place a priority on being a misogynist when facing certain death. I can't understand gifted feminists and their persecution complexes.<br />
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I don't think these ladies are iron maidens who have to maintain a facade of inflexible super-rationality because some idiot invented a notion that women go mad every twenty-eight days. <i>Therefore</i>, women can't be trusted with the nuclear football. But we don't live in the world of Betty Friedan and the <i>Feminine Mystique,</i> or in the world of <i>Father Knows Best</i> anymore. 1950's retro thinking is so cliche. I was so thankful for these women surgeons, and for my free clinic doctor Tanya Williams MD who got me admitted into the hospital. Superior intelligence, skills, and empathy. Who cares what <i>sex</i> they are, or what they <i>wear</i> at work.<br />
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I needed great surgeons, not a militant Gloria Steinem manning the barricades. I was lucky to receive such awesome care at the University of Utah burn center. Amalia Cochran is a universally recognized expert in frostbite, with a slew of medical journal publications. <i>And</i> Dr. Amalia Cochran has published a book on introductory surgery. Dr. Kate Smiley graduated from medical school with honors! and she has a very successful practice that is based upon a diversity of medical experiences!<br />
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I may be thick, but I know good health care professionals when I see them.<br />
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* When the Wasatch mountains experience conditions that generate easterly winds, gravity straight line winds may occur with speeds exceeding 100mph. These straight line winds historically have caused considerable personal and property damage.
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<br />velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-11308269642113291532017-05-14T14:23:00.000-06:002020-05-27T23:44:26.291-06:00Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Random Thoughts Living a life of chronic pain is something I never imagined. One becomes hyper-aware of environmental inputs to the point of morbid intensity. The stress is unendurable. The realization that this condition will never improve inspires fatalistic thoughts and deranged conjectures. For example, when I die will I awake in some religious purgatory with this infernal misery as punishment. I was indoctrinated as a child and have lasting scars.<br />
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I understand the reasoning of our wounded warriors who return from a valorous fight maimed for life and who have been <i>changed</i> forever. I empathize with these brave patriots who after experiencing unimaginable trauma, can no longer maintain their former personalities. Brave soldiers who have become so physically and mentally dysfunctional they no longer fit properly in the context of our society, or in the context of their own families. This may explain the huge number of homeless veterans who sleep on American streets daily, forsaken and cast aside by the most giving of all nations. This abandonment of our veterans is a national disgrace.<br />
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I knew homeless veterans personally, not as a detached social worker, but as a homeless bum. Our group did not drink alcohol or use drugs. We did not fly signs, pester people for handouts, receive food stamps, or receive cash assistance. Some of my old friends were pensioners who actually contributed years of work to society. Yet these gentlemen preferred to dine at soup kitchens and live under tarps under trees through every type of imaginable weather, exposed, harassed, fearful, hungry, dirty, and <i>insane.</i> Why am I telling you this? Stereotypes, as conceived from afar by ivory tower talking heads, don't apply to <i>everyone</i> who lives on the street. They are not all lazy people either. Some take day jobs desperately wanting to escape their plight. The rent-a-bum industry makes a fortune off of down and out hard luck people. Some even gain long term employment through temporary services, but most aimlessly drift from job to job, from town to town, accomplishing nothing.<br />
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When I was in the University of Utah burn unit (costing the taxpayers God knows how many thousands of dollars) I asked to be released before the doctor even considered it. I had nowhere to go except for the shelter medical bed. When I was being discharged from the hospital I had a chance encounter with a homeless liaison social worker. She shamelessly shouted at me in the hallway from afar, that I could not continue to mooch off the hospital forever. I was never so offended in my life. Did she think that I was using the hospital as a sort of vacation retreat and that the hospital staff had to force me from my bed? If that cunt had expended five minutes of her time familiarizing herself with "my case" she would have never been so rude and insulting. Social workers have no business among poor people. Her behavior typifies the prevailing response you can expect from these social justice warriors who claim to have a monopoly on compassion for the sick and injured in this world. Snide condescending jeers and sneers. Mangled veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder probably run the same gauntlet when dealing with professional psychiatrists who consult their diagnostic manuals, and like pontificating gods, espouse factitious disorder or malingering. Meanwhile, people are left to dangle in the wind to deal with a constellation of mental horrors alone and unaided. Have no doubt, people derive a great deal of sadistic satisfaction from the misery of other people. But when the laughter subsides, when fatigue of supporting a chronically debilitated person takes over, people do get bored with the plight of disability and frustrated being around people who cannot control their moods and who involuntarily express discomfort, sometimes irrationally. I have been guilty of irrationality on many occasions. This has lowered my self-esteem, damaged my interpersonal relationships with family members, and has filled me with remorse.<br />
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There is a distinction, however. I am entirely responsible for my folly. I had a choice to behave like a fool. I was not serving my country as a loyal patriot. I was not ordered into battle. I deserve my misery. I understand that some injuries change people <i>forever</i>. I understand why so many people consider suicide. The country can do better to help people who are not at fault and who served with distinction.<br />
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I used to spend days in the library researching depression. I thought I had rewired my neurons, a firm believer in plasticity. That was a voluntary effort, but this chronic pain is beyond conscious control due to the sheer number of damaged pain receptors in my bones and skin. Extinction is impossible. Recently, I have been fighting suicidal ideation. There is a concept in psychology known as learned helplessness. A rat is placed on an electric grid and shocked. No matter what kind of behavior the rat engages in, it cannot escape the shock. There is no avoidance response to learn. So the rat cowers in the corner doing nothing. The rat has an instinct to survive, but the rat has no language skills to communicate the trauma the rat is experiencing. Human beings have the ability to conceptualize uncontrollable suffering, even rate pain intensity on a theoretical scale, but there are limited behavioral strategies available to reduce the perceived stimulus. There are certain pharmaceutical interdiction available, opioid or anticonvulsant remedies, that can be ingested to reduce chronic pain. Drugs could be considered a behavioral strategy, which produces fleeting medical efficacy. The effect of pharmaceutical interventions is temporary and implies negative secondary psychoactive side-effects such as increased suicidal ideation. Pharmaceutical behavior designed to reduce pain is directly contravened with increases in distorted perceptual sensory input; into the association cortex, pre-frontal cortex, and limbic systems; the centers of long term memory assimilation, executive planning, conceptual thought, and emotion. Gabapentin causes mood swings, and has a high suicide incident rate. Opioid derivatives have high overdose rates.<br />
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Pharmaceutical interventions have a transitory effect, high tolerance, and short half-lives. Dependency on pharmaceutical drugs becomes a huge problem. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psycoactive component of cannabis, and similar holistic remedies have theoretical pain relieving medicinal properties. However, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a hallucinogen that fits into the cannabinoid receptor active sites within the brain.* Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) like opioid compounds alter perceptual awareness, creating transitory euphoric effects. Endorphins and enkephalins can be theoretically generated by and reinforce euphoria. Endorphins and enkephalins may be referred to as endogenous opioids. But altered perceptual awareness is no panacea. Chronic pain though suppressed below threshold briefly, always returns to remind you that the situation is hopeless.<br />
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It is inhumane to force people to suffer, but millions do every day without any possible respite. We as a nation can do better to help those who cannot help themselves.<br />
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<b>A physiological experiment worthy of Sigmund Freud</b><br />
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*I have considered experimenting with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) like the intrepid researchers of yore, to find out if medical marijuana is real or a hoax. But I don't want to sit around like a stoned zombie all day long. And I can't stand the stink of Mexican skunk weed. But there are synthetic variations of THC, dronabinol or marinol, that would be very effective research tools sans the stink. I have talked to people who smoke marijuana and have asked for their opinions on the painkiller properties of marijuana. One person said marijuana alters pain awareness, you feel pain, but don't care. This indifference to pain, under the influence of cannabis, intrigues me. Maybe, even though the brain percieves pain, the brain through some unknown mechanism considers the pain a trivial concern. Maybe, the solution to the problem can be found in trait-state pain perceptual thresholds. The pain threshold in the trait mode has value x. Pain threshold in the stoned state mode has value y. This idea is most intriguing as a hypothetical construct and should be explored scientifically in controlled experimentation. However, formulating a measurement tool for threshold would be a daunting task, as all responses to be measured would be subjective opinions of the person being measured. But pain is measured by opinion now. Walk into a clinic or hospital and notice the row of cartoon faces. The faces change from happy to angry, each face is assigned a number. Zero is assigned a happy face with a broad smile, indicating little pain. Ten is assigned to a angry frowning face, indicating severe pain. You ask the person sober to indicate a face that reflects his opinion of his or her pain at the moment. Then after taking a dose of marinol you repeat the question, which face represents your current opinion of the pain you are experiencing at the moment? Then measure the difference. Crude, primitive, unreliable, with very little validity, but what else is there? You might increase the dose of marinol, or reduce the dose of marinol, or vary the time scale, or monkey around with a million other variables until you establish some approximation to scientific truth.<br />
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Controlled medical experimentation is a much better idea than relying upon the hysterical debate of people who are either in favor of, or against, the notion of medical marijuana use.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-62855507371020487942017-03-15T22:52:00.004-06:002020-07-02T22:35:23.946-06:00Eugene Onegin: Alexander Pushkin <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Eugene Onegin</i> is an epic poem written by Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. The poem published in 1833 profoundly depicts Russian culture of that period. <i>Eugene Onegin</i> is considered by Russian literary scholars as the first epic poem written in the Russian language since <i>The Lay of the Host of Igor, </i>(1185).* <i>Eugene Onegin</i> served as a template for future Russian literary works. In 1833 books written in Russian were rare, or of poor quality, or the product of the sentimentalists. Suddenly, Russian genius blossomed. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol wrote, <i>The Inspector General,</i> (1836) a classic Russian comedy and play. The plot of <i>The Inspector General</i> was originally suggested to Nikolai Gogol by Alexander Pushkin. Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, a great Russian poet, wrote the prose classic, <i>A Hero Of Our Time,</i> (1839). Ironically, Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov were both killed in duels, although Mikhail Lermontov was allegedly shot in the back by a solider with a carbine rifle, <i>during the duel</i>, under the direct orders of Czar Nicholas. Czar Nicholas was a particularly spiteful man who crushed the Decembrists, exiled Alexander Pushkin, murdered Mikhail Lermontov, and exiled Fyodor Dostoevsky to Siberia. Nevertheless, in spite of the heavy handed censorship, the 1830 publications would spawn the Russian literary Rennisance, which reigned supreme until the Boleshivek revolution reduced Russian letters to petty partisan formulaic gibberish. After the publication of <i>Eugene Onegin</i>, during the Rennisance, the Russian people would be blessed to read and enjoy literary classics written in Russian. Everything from romance to the seminarists. The years of literature imported from Europe, and read mostly by aristocratic families, had come to an end.<br />
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N.B. French, the universal language, was taught to children by tutors in wealthy Russian homes. Speaking French coveyed aristocratic status upon the speaker. Alexander Pushkin spoke, read, and thought in French, <i>not</i> in Russian. <i>Eugene Onegin</i> changed the Russian literary landscape forever. Simply put, Alexander Pushkin wrote a poetic masterpiece in the neglected Russian language. Alexander Pushkin demolished the idea that Russian language and culture was barbaric and offered no artistic merit. Alexander Pushkin is a genius of the first order. Alexander Pushkin is the greatest Russian poet, and one of the greatest revolutionary thinkers Russia has ever produced.<br />
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<i>Eugene Onegin</i> is a story of a young girl, Tatyana, who is passionately in love with young rake Eugene. Eugene has inherited a country estate from his uncle; a man whom Eugene despised; adjacent to Tatyana's ancestral village. Eugene is a man notable for treading upon theatre patrons feet with crass indifference. Eugene has a remarkable tendency to offend people with a cavalier swagger. Eugene is a misanthrope; a precursor to the <i>superfluous man</i>; a wealthy landowner without any purpose in life, who is imprisoned by social convention, and who is unable to make any meaningful contribution to society. This lack of social graces will prompt Eugene to make callous decisions that will chart the decision-making process of Tatyana after she has matured into a sophisticated societal married woman and is forced to make a choice. Tatyana is stifled in a world of social <i>ennui</i>, but when forced to choose she refuses to abandon her husband for Eugene who is now passionately in love with her.<br />
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Tatyana is a young woman trapped on a landed estate in rural Russia before the emancipation of the serfs. Russia during this time was a highly stratified society with classes of people ranging from landed serfs to aristocratic gentlemen. Social mobility between classes was impossible. However, it was not uncommon for serf girls to become impregnated by landowners. Pushkin fathered a child with a servant girl on his family estate while in exile. Pushkin abandoned this girl, and when she died, he expressed in a poem no regret or interest in her or his child. On rare occasions, a landowner would marry a serf girl. But in most villages, the land owner's illegitimate children would live with the mother in poverty and would run about among the peasant children. However, for women, standards were inflexible and exacting. The slightest indiscretion could ruin the reputation of a young woman forever. A young woman writing a young man an innocent love letter was expressly forbidden. Public shaming of women accused of infidelity was not uncommon. Smearing pitch on a gate post of a home of an accused woman would invite public community ridicule and shame her forever. Even if the accusation had no basis in fact.<br />
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Tatyana faced a second problem. Young Russian women above twenty-five years old were considered by frantic parents as destined spinsters. Plus the availability of desirable suitors was limited by geography and class.<br />
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One fine day, Eugene agreed to accompany Lensky on a visit to the Larina household. Lensky was enamored with Olga Larina, a silly, flighty girl. Instantly, the family and community declared Eugene and older sister Tatyana Larina a perfect match. Tatyana was under tremendous family and social pressure to find a husband. Tatyana was willing to accept Eugene as a suitor. But was Eugene willing to accept Tatyana?<br />
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Occasionally Eugene would accompany Lensky when he visited Olga. Tatyana longed for these visits to see her imagined lover. On one occasion, when Eugene and Lensky left her home, Tatyana spied upon Eugene from her bedroom window. Tatyana passionately drew the initials E.O. in the frost on her windowpane. Tatyana loved Eugene!<br />
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Tatyana was a wholesome Russian girl, superstitious, she would not have refrained from casting salt over her shoulder to ward off the evil eye. She loved the outdoors and rustic life. Tatyana was also an impulsive, impatient, headstrong girl. When Eugene did not respond to her advances, Tatyana made a rash decision to send him a letter declaring her intention to serve as his faithful devoted wife, and she arranged a clandestine meeting with him in her family garden to discuss her proposition.<br />
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The letter and meeting were very dangerous for Tatyana if she were to be discovered.***<br />
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Before the meeting, Tatyana spent time in flights of fantasy, she would visit her favorite grove of trees and pick her favorite flowers. On the night of the engagement, when Eugene arrived, Tatyana raced from her bedroom down the stairs to the garden to speak to her lover before anyone could intervene. Eugene declined to offer Tatyana marriage, but Eugene did assure Tatyana he would extend her respectful "brotherly love." ****<br />
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Tatyana turned away from Eugene "in despair."<br />
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Vladimir Lensky was an idealist and a romantic with poetic aspirations. In contrast to Eugene, Lensky loved social gatherings and life. Lensky persuaded Eugene to attend a name day party for Tatyana, under the pretense there would be few guests. However, when they arrived at Tatyana's residence, every landowner in the district was in attendance at a grand ball. Eugene was extremely irritated by Lensky's ruse and vowed revenge. Losing all restraint, the impetuous Eugene taunted Lensky by forcing Olga to dance with him all evening. Lensky was so incensed he challenged Eugene to a duel. *****<br />
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Some may argue Eugene was a heartless beast who went to the duel with callous indifference as to the consequences of his actions. I disagree. I think Eugene did not care to fight and he would have found a plausible excuse to avoid the whole issue if it were not for the prompting of his second, Monsieur Guillot. Monsieur Gulliot is portrayed poetically as a retired military officer, a confused busybody, incompetent opportunist, drunkard, and mountebank. Eugene overslept, missing the scheduled rendezvous, and he would have probably dismissed the whole duel with <i>ennui</i> had not his second, Monsieur Guillot, arrived reminding him that he was late for the engagement. When Eugene killed Lensky he was horrified at this senseless act.<br />
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The specter of Lensky would haunt Eugene forever.<br />
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Eugene disappeared. He did not wish adieu to Tatyana, he simply ordered his carriage and horses one morning and vanished to parts unknown. Tatyana was abandoned without a thought. Alone and sorrowful Tatyana would take long walks until one day she arrived at Eugene's abandoned estate. There she conversed with the old caretaker who out of sympathy allowed Tatyana to access Eugene's study and to peruse Eugene's books. This was the pivotal moment for Tatyana. Tatyana diligently studied the underlined passages and marginal notes in Eugene's books to discern Eugene's <i>soul</i>. Also, the passage of time heals all wounds in love. Separated from Eugene her ardor cooled. Tatyana's feelings for Eugene had changed. Tatyana now knew the <i>true</i> Eugene. Tatyana saw her naive romantic idealism shatter like a pane of glass.******<br />
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After Eugene departed without a word after he killed Lensky in the duel, Tatyana stubbornly refused numerous proposals for her hand. But for poor Tatyana times were changing. Although Tatyana and Olga made numerous forays to Lensky's lonely grave to mourn Lensky shortly after the duel, over time memory fades and people are replaced. Tatyana's bosom companion Olga soon forgot poetic Lensky. Olga met and married a military man who was on assignment to a distant front. After Olga left with her husband, Tatyana faced terrible loneliness. Determined to do something, Tatyana's desperate mother decided to take Tatyana to Moscow to the matchmakers and marriage market. Tatyana was placed in a sleigh, driven to Moscow, shopped among balls, and eventually, she married a "fat general".** The idyllic lifestyle Tatyana had envisioned as a simple country housewife with Eugene had vanished forever.<br />
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Eugene traveled from one station to the next over countless versts for two years aimlessly wandering all over Russia. But one fine day he appeared at a social ball in Moscow. Victims of Eugene's old pranks were not happy to see him. But who did Eugene see dressed like a queen in her resplendent glory? A woman he had completely forgotten, Tatyana! Worse she was married to a fat general! When Eugene approached Tatyana she greeted him with majestic glacial reserve. <br />
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But instantly, Eugene fell madly in love with Tatyana!<br />
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The roles had been reversed. Tatyana was now indifferent to Eugene. When Eugene and Tatyana met by chance at receptions, Tatyana always met him with the same icy reserve. Eugene was so disconcerted he went into seclusion, a veritable recluse, he retired to his study reading books round the clock as a diversion. Did Eugene think Tatyana would thaw if he improved himself after a wasted youth of slothful dissipation? Eugene even penned two sincerely heartfelt letters to Tatyana. But these letters were never acknowledged by Tatyana with a reply. Nothing Eugene did improved his relationship with Tatyana. Tatyana was as cold and reserved as ever.<br />
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Driven to despair, Eugene was unable to endure another moment without Tatyana. Eugene threw down his book, ordered his coach and horses, and sped to Tatyana's home. Stealthily passing Tatyana's housekeeping staff, Eugene clamored up the stairs and burst into Tatyana's room. Tatyana was sitting on a chair sewing some lace. Eugene fell upon his knees and declared if Tatyana would forgo the "fat general" and renounce her unhappy artificial repugnant social life, he would take her to his country estate, provide for her welfare, and remain loyal to her forever. But Tatyana would not budge. Tatyana woefully explained even though she still loved him, and even though she did honestly prefer the homespun lifestyle she outlined in her letter, nevertheless, she would continue to live her current loveless life no matter how stifling.<br />
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Tatyana was convinced if she separated from her husband Eugene would regard her as a conquest, a trophy, to be bragged about in jest to all his deplorable friends and rivals all over Moscow. Tatyana simply did not trust Eugene. Tatyana thought Eugene's protestations of love poor acting and insincere attempts to manipulate her under false pretenses. Tatyana hated her husband and lifestyle but she would remain faithful all the same. <br />
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The "fat general"** makes an unexpected entry into the room ending the conversation. <br />
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Eugene and Tatyana are destined to live miserable lives forever apart.<br />
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Tatyana was wrong in her reasoning. I believe Eugene had abandoned his nefarious life and he had grown weary of his nomadic wanderings. Eugene did not return to Moscow by accident. I also believe the death of Lensky weighed like an albatross around Eugene's neck. The chance encounter with Tatyana gave Eugene a new sense of purpose in life. Eugene regretted his stupidly squandered years of dissipated youth.<br />
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But the reconciliation was not to be.<br />
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<b>Afterward</b><br />
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Alexander Pushkin had intended a sequel for <i>Eugene Onegin</i>. But Alexander Pushkin was killed in a duel by Georges d'Anthes. Georges d'Anthes allegedly sent Alexander Pushkin an anonymous letter "Certificate of a Cuckold" implying that the court historian, Alexander Pushkin, had been made a cuckold by Czar Nicholas. There was abundant court rumor beautiful Natalia Pushkina and Czar Nicholas was entangled in a torrid affair. The insulting anonymous taunting letter prompted Alexander Pushkin to arrange a duel with Georges d'Anthes on January 27, 1837. The combatants approached each other in waist deep snow. Alexander Pushkin was shot in the hip, but Alexander Pushkin managed to return fire, the slug grazed Georges d'Anthes hand and knocked him off his feet. Despite the heroic effort of Konstantin Danzas, who performed on-site surgery, Alexander Pushkin died of infectious complications two days later. Alexander Pushkin was thirty-seven years old. It was reported that Alexander Pushkin from his sick bed looked at the books in his library and shouted: "goodbye old friends!" Thus, the <i>Eugene Onegin</i> sequel was never written. A great tragedy for Russia and world literature.<br />
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<b>Footnotes</b><br />
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*Lays. Old Russian fables or songs were passed from father to son and recited or sung to audiences. Many lays cited Russian heroes and heroines. Many of these Russian heroes and heroines possessed supernatural powers. The content of the lays would evolve over time with additions and subtractions. For centuries, written language, except for a few clerics, was almost non-existent among the Russian people. <i>The Lay of the Host of Igor</i> was the first lay to be written down on paper in a Slavic language. Illustrations were added to the lay by cleric artists at unknown dates. It is important to note that in 1840, out of a Russian population of ten million souls, only one hundred and fifty thousand people could read. In certain aristocratic homes people could not speak or read Russian. Tatyana, when composing her letter, struggles to master fluent Russian grammar.<br />
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**In Russian literature generals are often lampooned derisively as bombastic, uncouth clowns.<br />
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***This concept was beautifully conveyed in opera when Tatyana began to compose her letter. She would write a line, stop in frustration, crumple up the sheet of paper, and toss it on the floor. A peasant servant enters the room and begins to gather up the discarded drafts of the letter, oblivious of the contents, or of the danger to Tatyana. The Peasant cannot read! To the peasant, the discarded drafts are nothing but useless rubbish to be removed and thrown out. The problem? If Tatyana's mother or nefarious vindictive people who <i>could</i> read discovered these drafts by accident, Tatyana could face hysterical recriminations, blackmail, or tragic social censure.<br />
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****In the poem and opera, Tatyana accuses Eugene of rejecting her in the country because of her rural upbringing and demeanor, but because of her newly acquired social polish and wealth, Eugene changed his mind and is now willing to accept her. Tatyana's bitter feelings are understandable, but her conclusion totally misses the point. Eugene did not care if Olga, Tatyana, or Catherine the Great wrote the letter. Eugene would have reacted to all of these women with the same aloof indifference. Social status meant nothing to Eugene. Eugene was so detached and jaded at the time from social anomie, he would have scoffed at the ardent desires of <i>any</i> woman without a pang of conscience, <i>including</i> the Czarina of Russia. And totally forget her next day. Eugene understood the tremendous pressure Tatyana was undergoing from her family to get married. After all, the community had matched Eugene and Tatyana and a wedding announcement was expected soon. Eugene demurred because he thought after attaining security, the good elements of marriage; love, beauty, would be replaced with self loathing and poisonous recriminations. A harebrained opinion Tatyana would make Eugene dearly pay for. But somewhere on the road, Eugene faced an existential crisis, thinking about the duel and Vladimir Lensky. Eugene wanted some relief from his pointless social malaise. A wife and family life suddenly seemed to be a better option than aimlessly wandering about Russia from one dirty station to the next. Eugene offered to take Tatyana away from her pointless social suffering and he had the means to make her happy. Tatyana refused because of the <i>books</i> she read, she did not understand the metamorphic change in Eugene. Pushkin could have turned <i>Eugene Onegin</i> into <i>Anna Karenina</i>, the general could have refused to give Tatyana a divorce, and the poem could have devolved into a long psychological dissertation of Tatyana and the brutal Russian process of obtaining a divorce for a woman against the wishes of her husband. But for Tatyana one intolerable situation would have been exchanged for another, with no net gain. Or Tatyana could have said "yes" to Eugene, "and they lived happily ever after," which would have destroyed the purpose of the story. Pushkin left the audience in agony over the fate of Eugene and Tatyana. This is why <i>Eugene Onegin</i>, "a novel in verse" will be acted out in operatic plays forever.<br />
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*****Opera, as a time saving device, always has Lensky challenge Eugene to the duel during the ball in front of Tatyana and Olga. But in the poem, Olga and Tatyana have no clue. Lensky pays one last charming visit to Olga, while Tatyana spends a sleepless night jealously angry at Eugene. Unexpected news of the death of Lensky would come as a complete surprise to both Olga and Tatyana.<br />
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******A Russian language professor once told me it is important to note that Tatyana read <i>all</i> of Eugene's books. Tatyana was not satisfied with a casual examination of Eugene's soul. Tatyana wanted to know <i>everything</i> about Eugene. Tatyana was very disappointed with what she found. Tatyana could not forgive Eugene for his amorphous indifference to life or for his callous disregard to her needs and interests. Tatyana was furious Eugene <i>abandoned</i> her. Tatyana wanted a husband who would take care of her, her children, and the village. Tatyana did not want a detached absentee landowner who places the enterprise into the hands of a unscrupulous overseer who would ruthlessly savage the peasants and swindle Eugene out of revenue by under reporting crop yields. Tatyana did not want to live with a dandified <i>Oblomov</i> in Moscow while the village decayed into dust. I think Tatyana developed a psychological aversion to Eugene no amount of begging or pleading could rectify. This may explain why Tatyana was so cold and unfeeling in Moscow, and why she rejected Eugene's entreaties point blank.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-8859994975535016112015-11-10T11:28:00.000-07:002019-04-19T13:48:14.915-06:00Tom Danielson Tests Positive AgainTom Danielson has tested positive on the "B" sample for an "anabolic agent" according to USADA. There is some speculation that the "anabolic agent" is DHEA, a testosterone precursor that can also be used as a masking agent.<br />
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Oddly enough, Mr. Danielson originated this speculation by making an announcement prior to the 2015 Tour of Utah he had received a letter from USADA stating he had tested positive for synthetic testosterone. This is most unusual. Generally, the regulatory agencies are on the phone to <em>L'Equipe</em> long before the ink is dry on the Lab Document Package with breaking news. Amazingly, neither USADA or the UCI leaked the story.<br />
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Perhaps the regulatory agencies have finally learned not to initiate a witch hunt before the athlete has a chance to collect his wits and prepare an adequate defense.<br />
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Mr. Danielson does not appear on the "provisionally suspended" list. Perhaps the secretary is on a coffee break?<br />
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Jonathan Vaughters is backpedaling as fast as he can from the situation by informing the fanatics of some astounding news. Cannondale Garmin informed Mr. Danielson that his contract would not be extended <em>before</em> Mr. Danielson tested positive for an anabolic agent. What Mr. Vaughters omitted was <em>why</em> the contract was not extended. One could speculate Mr. Vaughters is suggesting that Mr. Danielson hired Levi Leipheimer as a personal coach, trainer, consultant, and bulked up with drugs in order to win the Tour of Utah in order to prove to other teams he was still a valuable asset. (A person should avoid contact with such people to avoid impropriety, especially as Levi Leipheimer is an expert on how to dope and avoid detection.) Others might suggest that the contract was terminated because Mr. Danielson is 37 and about to join the masters. Others might suggest that Cannondale Garmin knew Mr. Danielson was using drugs, or Cannondale Garmin was complicit in this behavior. Why would Mr. Vaughters wonder why neither USADA or the UCI has told him what Mr. Danielson tested positive for? True. Mr. Danielson was still employed by Cannondale Garmin when he tested positive, which is suggestive. But since Mr. Danielson has been terminated by Cannondale Garmin, is it any business of Jonathan Vaughters? Perhaps, Mr. Vaughters could hold another press conference and be more forthcoming about the circumstances of <em>why</em> Mr. Danielson's contract was not extended.<br />
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The next step for Tom Danielson is the USADA Anti-Doping Review Board. There he will have an opportunity to argue he was accidentally poisoned by a tainted supplement or he was a victim of sabotage. At considerable expense.<br />
<br />velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-1156399604980635062015-08-04T11:29:00.000-06:002019-04-19T13:40:10.746-06:00Tom Danielson Tests Positive for Synthetic TestosteroneIn cycling nothing is sacrosanct. Tom Danielson, two-time winner of the Tour of Utah, has <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tom-danielson-tests-positive-for-testosterone/">tested positive</a> for synthetic testosterone in an out of competition test. Synthetic testosterone is determined by carbon isotope ratio testing. USADA has informed Mr. Danielson that his A sample has tested above the threshold for synthetic testosterone. However, the confirmation B sample is still under examination.<br />
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It would be premature to jump to conclusions at this point. When the test is confirmed then it may be proper to cast aspersions upon Mr. Danielson. But at this point, it would be more proper to attempt to remain objective and consider his case. Mr. Danielson is mystified by the result, he wants to explore all possibilities. Some would consider this as the standard approach, denial with expostulations on the love of the sport. Indeed, others would point out that Mr. Danielson has tested positive for doping before, and he provided evidence against Lance Armstrong with a deal for a reduced sentence. So, does this provisional second doping offense require a two or four-year ban? Does the USADA golden boy turned pariah get another sweetheart deal?<br />
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Of course, Tom Danielson rides for Slipstream Sports and Jonathan Vaughters, the "no tolerance to doping" team. Right. For two straight years, Garmin dominated the Tour of Utah, "riding clean," much like Team Sky dominates the Tour de France "riding clean." The cleanest teams have the best results. Jonathan Vaughters is pounding his chest bragging that Slipstream has never had a positive doping test, until now. Of course, nobody is accusing Slipstream or Sky of running an organized team doping program. But, knowing USADA, some backroom deals could be arranged, information for a reduced sentence.<br />
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Slipstream fired Tom Danielson point blank, as always. These clean teams can't wait to distance themselves from their accused riders. <br />
<br />
Jonathan Vaughters says if Slipstream is involved, he, Jonathan Vaughters, should be banished from cycling forever. Recall that Mr. Vaughters is another doper who volunteered to make depositions against Lance Armstrong, and instead of being banished from cycling he was rewarded with running a cycling team. So there should be no problem with Mr. Vaughters providing USADA and the public with all pertinent rider medical information that may be requested to prove that Slipstream had no role in Mr. Danielson's provisional positive doping test. Travis Tygart should <i>demand</i> transparency. Of course, USADA could insist that the entire Slipstream staff be required to testify in order to build non-analytical-positive cases, as was done with Lance Armstrong.<br />
<br />
You are laughing, ladies and gentlemen? Truly teams should be severely interrogated when their riders test positive for dope. How many times have team doctors been implicated, but who are never punished? How many times do the regulatory agencies turn a blind eye to team responsibility? Unpunished, the doping programs continue unabated. Riders are collateral damage, thrown out like rubbish to fend for themselves, the system is <i>structured</i>. Teams that have riders who test positive for dope should automatically be <i>sanctioned</i> then <i>investigated</i> under the philosophy that the team is <i>guilty</i> of a doping infraction until proven <i>innocent</i>. This philosophy applies to the riders, does it not?<br />
<br />
I wish Tom Danielson well. I am accusing him of nothing. The evolution of his case will be a fascinating study.
velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-45946530403286781922015-07-28T00:08:00.003-06:002020-06-20T14:03:03.752-06:00Schizophrenia, Neuroleptic Drugs, and Extrapyramidal Movement Disorders<b>Terry D. Holfeltz</b><br />
<br />
Forest water cascades down a precipice with a deafening roar-<i>a jest</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Author note: This paper was written in 1990 when I had a passion for biological psychology, in a manic burst of energy. T.M. was a fellow I worked with at the University of Utah. His end was very tragic, even though I was not there to see it. Apparently, he had a bad habit of eating scraps of food out of garbage cans. One fine day he died after vomiting blood at work. There were earlier reports, in the student newspaper, before his death, when T.M. after switching medications was seen racing around the building where he worked shouting death threats at people. The etiology of that malady would have been an interesting study and might have contributed something to the literature if anyone had cared enough to write a summation. Essentially, this whole paper was written precisely to understand what was happening to T.M., and to learn something about a topic that was of considerable interest to me at the time.</i><br />
<br />
The history of neuroleptic drugs and schizophrenia has been a controversial and interesting one. For instance, it was once thought that dopamine was only a precursor to norepinephrine, and that dopamine did not exist independently as a neurotransmitter within the brain. It was not until 1964 when Dahlstrom and Fuxe discovered a histological technique to distinguish dopamine from norepinephrine that dopaminergic pathways in the brain were considered seriously. Now with the biochemical isolation of dopamine <i>beta-</i>hydroxylase, an enzyme that regulates the production of norepinephrine from dopamine, and from electron microscopy, which has revealed both storage boutons and chemical synaptic membranes, has the existence of a separate and distinct dopamine active neuron been identified.<br />
<br />
The pharmacological action of the neuroleptic drugs was once thought to block dopaminergic post-receptor sites, increasing the release and turnover of dopamine within both the mesolimbic/mesocortical and nigrostriatal pathways of the brain. However, recent research has determined that the biochemical action of these pathways may not be identical, in fact, many theorists have argued that the nigrostriatal and mesolimbic/mesocortical pathways work quite independently. The therapeutic properties of several neuroleptic drug derivatives may, in fact, depend upon specific actions of receptor sites. For example, thioxanthenes are D1 receptor type-specific, some phenothiazines block D1 pre-receptors and D2 post-receptors, and butyrophenones are D2 specific post-receptor blockaders. Therefore, variations in pharmacological action would be expected both in acute immediate reactions and over chronic durations, including rates of dopamine syntheses and turnover, and tolerance effects to the neuroleptic drug in question.<br />
<br />
This paper will briefly review the neuroanatomy of the dopaminergic systems of the brain. Then this paper will attempt a limited discussion of some recent efforts to solve the puzzle of neuroleptic drug action in the fight against certain schizophrenic disorders, and the consequent acute and chronic extrapyramidal side effects of these drugs. This paper will then attempt a limited review of some theories of schizophrenia, including hemisphere disorders, acute positive symptom schizophrenia that is dependent upon excess dopamine in the brain, chronic negative symptom schizophrenia that may be due to organic dopaminergic neuronal damage, and how this condition resembles idiopathic Parkinson disease. Then there will be a brief presentation of two acute Parkinson movement disorders attributed directly to neuroleptic drug action, akinesia, and akathisia. Then we will discuss tardive dyskinesia, a disorder known to directly result from chronic administration of neuroleptic drugs. Next, we will attempt to discuss some current theories of dopamine receptor subtypes, the adenylate cyclase, cAMP theory, the D2 post-receptor supersensitivity theory, and the D3 autoreceptor theory. As will be seen these receptors work in a quite independent fashion, they may have quite different roles to play in schizophrenic management with neuroleptic drug therapy and may contribute quite differently to extrapyramidal movement disorders. Then we will conclude with a case study of a person receiving neuroleptic drugs. Where does his behavior "fit" in this scheme?<br />
<br />
<b>Neuroanatomy: The Dopamine Pathways</b><br />
<br />
The dopamine system has been divided into four major subdivisions: nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, mesocortical, and tuberoinfundibular. The tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic pathways of the brain originate within the hypothalamus and extend to the pituitary gland and govern mainly endocrine functions; inhibition of growth hormone and release of prolactin. There has yet to be any definitive proof that either schizophrenic symptomatology or extrapyramidal side effects are contingent upon the tuberoinfundibular region, however, several receptors have been identified within in vitro experimental techniques, especially with the bovine parathyroid gland (cAMP-dependent) and with prolactin release (non-cAMP-dependent.) More of this research will be discussed under the dopamine receptor segment of this paper.<br />
<br />
The mesolimbic/mesocortical region, or neuron group designated through the histological techniques of Dahlstrom and Fuxe (1964), as A10 dopaminergic neurons, seem to mediate certain positive schizophrenic states, and neuroleptic drugs seem to act by the post-receptor blockade to reduce acute schizophrenic symptoms. The anatomy of the mesolimbic/mesocortical system has been described as follows. "The cells of origin for this pathway are found in the midbrain. They primarily surround the interpeduncular nucleus in the ventral tegmental area. Areas demonstrated to be innervated by these cells include the olfactory tubercles and accumbens nucleus, central nucleus of the amygdala, and lateral septal nucleus. Recent evidence also suggests that A10 cells may project to the lateral basal and posterior-lateral nuclei of the amygdala as well as to the ventral lateral caudate nucleus. It is not known at this time if the A10 cells branch so that one cell innervates both the limbic and cortical areas or if there are separate cells for each system. In terms of responses to drugs, the A10 cells appear relatively homogeneous. In contrast to the diffuse innervation of the cerebral cortex by the norepinephrine (NE) system, the dopamine (DA) innervation was found to be localized to discrete areas of the cortex: the gyrus cinguli, entorhinal cortex, and prefrontal cortex." (Bunney and Aghajanian, 1978).<br />
<br />
The nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway originates within the zona compacta containing over 3000 dopamine endogenous cell bodies with collaterals ascending throughout the extrapyramidal motor system of the brain. The extrapyramidal system is defined as "a functional, rather than anatomical, unit comprising the nuclei and fibers (excluding those of the pyramidal tract) involved in motor activities; they control and coordinate especially the postural, static, supporting, and locomotor mechanisms. It includes the corpus striatum, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and red nucleus, along with their interconnections with the reticular formation, cerebellum, and cerebrum; some authorities include the cerebellum and cerebrum and vestibular nuclei." (Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary, 1977).<br />
<br />
It has been argued that the mesolimbic/mesocortical and nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways work in an independent manner, with separate and distinct pharmacological action. For example, A10 neurons are thought not to contain receptors that are adenylate cyclase-dependent. However, it has been thought that A9 neurons do contain cell bodies that are endogenous to the caudate nucleus that is cAMP-dependent. It is also interesting to note that the site of action of certain neuroleptic drugs on A9 neurons is thought to block both presynaptic and postsynaptic receptor sites, while on A10 neurons the site of action of the same drugs is thought to postsynaptic only. In a related study, it was found that thioridazine, chlorpromazine, and fluphenazine enanthate, in acute and chronic treatment significantly elevated homovanillic acid (HVA) levels in the striatum and limbic areas. However, the caudate nucleus, but <i>not</i> the limbic areas, showed a <i>reduction</i> in HVA following each of the three drugs when acute and chronic treatments were compared. (Bunney and Aghajanian, 1978). This is of extreme importance in explaining why neuroleptic drugs cause motor dystonia after prolonged use and may explain why mesolimbic/mesocortical receptors do not become tolerant to neuroleptic drugs over time.<br />
<br />
<b>Acute Schizophrenia and Hemisphere Dysfunction: Some Possibilities</b><br />
<br />
There have been several theories to account for the etiology of schizophrenia. One theory suggests that acute schizophrenia, composed of auditory and visual hallucinations, delusional states, a flight of ideas, and hyperactive stereotyped behaviors, may be associated with an excess of dopamine in the mesolimbic/mesocortical dopaminergic pathways in the brain.<br />
<br />
In relation to dopamine and hemisphere specificity, it has been hypothesized that dopamine content in the brain is left hemisphere specific and may govern effector responses, mostly motor in origin. This motor effector system is thought to work in conjunction with acetylcholine. Norepinephrine is thought to be right brain-specific and probably mediates orientation responses. This orientation system is thought to work in conjunction with 5HT serotonin. (It is interesting to note that norepinephrine and dopamine are thought to be the excitatory neurotransmitters of arousal and exploratory behavior, while acetylcholine and 5HT serotonin are thought to act as inhibitory transmitters. Thus a homeostatic balance is maintained within the organism with this synergistic neurotransmitter system. Disruptions in the system reasonably can be assumed to cause irrational behavioral/cognitive states).<br />
<br />
It is thought that novel stimuli impinging upon an organism are first processed by the right brain orienting system that works in a holistic fashion. The right brain is thought to process information like an analog computer, while the left brain is thought to process information like a serial computer. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that novel information is first analyzed in large chunks of information, which is right-brain dominant, and this process is thought to continue until selective chunks of information become manageable enough to transfer to left-brain information processing centers. After the left brain association cortex has serially processed the right brain inputs, the emphasis is thought to transfer to effector dopaminergic extrapyramidal (nigrostriatal) centers for proper motor responses. Synergistic imbalances of neurotransmitter substances dopamine and acetylcholine are thought to produce an overload of responsiveness to habituated stimuli resulting in stereotyped behavior. This type of behavioral stereotypy has been observed in rats who have been subjected to toxic doses of amphetamine, a catecholamine agonist. Note: acetylcholine is thought to have two different receptors, nicotinic and muscarinic. The extrapyramidal system is thought to contain endogenous cell bodies that are 90% muscarinic in origin.<br />
<br />
In relation to brain hemispheres and emotions, the evidence is still not conclusive. The right cortex is thought to mediate the afferent input of emotionality, including facial cues, auditory interpretation of other-directed vocalizations, and other significant semantic contextual clues. Right frontal lobe damage is thought to interfere with emotionally specific cues resulting in agnosia and blunted flat or inappropriate affect. (Tucker, 1981)<br />
<br />
One study has directly found excessive dopamine levels in the left amygdala of deceased schizophrenic patients, but dopamine levels within the right amygdala appear to be normal. (Tepper, 1985) In relation to the imbalance of neurotransmitters in left limbic structures such as the amygdala, which is thought to mediate startle responses and rage responses, it may be hypothesized that dysfunction in this structure would result in states of hyperarousal, panic attacks, and inappropriate bursts of anger. It may also be suggested that in theory, a left hemisphere amygdala that is malfunctioning due to an overload of dopamine, would create severe startle responses and severe displays of euphoria, commonly seen with patients suffering from amphetamine toxicity. An overload of dopamine in the left amygdala may also create a condition resembling mania, a condition characterized by expansive ideas, global nonserial reasoning, an over positive self-image, over-enthusiasm of the self, an inability to perceive bodily faults, and an under-responsiveness to criticism. This may happen due to a left amygdala signal override of afferent information that cancels out the normal inhibitory right amygdala inputs, and/or other regulatory neurotransmitters resulting in a scrambled stimulus-response network.<br />
<br />
<b>The Role of Amphetamine Psychosis and Catecholamine Excess</b><br />
<br />
Several studies have determined that amphetamine is a direct catecholamine agonist. Amphetamine acts to release both dopamine and norepinephrine, blocks synaptic re-uptake, and exerts direct action at postsynaptic receptors. Toxic levels of amphetamine produce symptoms that are indistinguishable from acute schizophrenia. These symptoms include well-formed paranoid delusions, various forms of stereotyped compulsive behavior, and either visual or auditory hallucinations. (Angrist and Gershon, 1980) Animal studies utilizing amphetamine have added strength to the excessive brain dopamine theory. One study has suggested that chronic use of amphetamines may produce long-lasting or irreversible depletion of dopamine in the caudate nucleus. This change is associated with the development of exaggerated startle reactions, dyskinesias, and postural abnormalities, possibly resulting from secondary supersensitivity of dopamine receptors in the caudate nucleus. (Jaffe, 1980)<br />
<br />
The implication is obvious. Post-receptor affinity changes have occurred to compensate for a lack of caudal dopamine synthesis encountered in chronic amphetamine use, resulting in new post-receptor set points that are super sensitive to dopamine release. If the natural depletion of dopamine has resulted in post-receptor affinity changes as described above under chronic amphetamine abuse, then the cessation of amphetamine would increase the motor stereotypy<br />
<br />
In a related study, it was found that hyperactivity and stereotypies occurring after administration of amphetamines to rats were blocked by pretreatment with alpha-methyl-tyrosine, which inhibits the synthesis of both norepinephrine and dopamine. Also, blocking dopamine receptors with pimozide or haloperidol before administering amphetamine prevented the appearance of stereotypy and hyperactivity, suggesting that dopamine may be the significant neurotransmitter in these behaviors. Thus, the dopamine-induced psychomimetic effects of amphetamines prompted further investigations into the possibility that excessive dopamine neurotransmission is responsible for schizophrenic symptoms. (Garver, 1975)<br />
<br />
It has been known for several years that neuroleptic drugs such as the phenothiazines and butyrophenones are effective in counteracting amphetamine psychosis, and in reducing symptoms of acute positive symptom schizophrenic states. Neuroleptics have been found to directly block dopamine post-receptor sites, increasing dopamine turnover, at least acutely, as measured by increases in 3H-Dopamine, and central nervous system (CNS) metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and homovanillic acid (HVA), and to block norepinephrine receptors reducing the synthesis and turnover of this transmitter. Norepinephrine over synthesis has been known for years to be a direct cause of manic states in man. So a possible hypothesis to explain the neurotransmitter interaction of reduced schizophrenic/manic states and hypermotility associated with these disorders may be reduced norepinephrine synthesis and increased dopaminergic neuron hyperpolarization working in combination.<br />
<br />
<b>Chronic Schizophrenia and Idiopathic Parkinsonism: DA Neuron Lesions?</b><br />
<br />
Chronic negative symptom schizophrenic disorders seen in catatonic disorders, with rigid muscular posturing, and flat affect, do not respond well to neuroleptic treatment. It has been hypothesized that chronic schizophrenia may be due directly to striatal/caudal/cerebral/endogenous organic brain damage, or to conditions resulting in neuronal atrophy. This may result in dopaminergic under activity. This may also explain why the dopamine precursor L-DOPA is effective with some chronic negative symptom schizophrenic patients.<br />
<br />
L-DOPA is a well-known dopamine agonist and for years has been effective in improving symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson disease. As is known, idiopathic Parkinson disorders are the direct result of the degeneration of neostriatal dopaminergic pathways in the caudate nucleus. Since Parkinson disease is composed of muscular rigidity and lack of spontaneity in movement, it has been hypothesized that L-DOPA may increase dopamine synthesis and turnover in the caudate to compensate for the intrinsic destruction of dopaminergic neurons, and reduce post-receptor site activity. These pharmacodynamics may account for the improvement of chronic schizophrenic patients as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Parkinson Side Effects: Akinesia and Akathisia</b><br />
<br />
An immediate extrapyramidal side effect observed with neuroleptic drug administration beside muscle tonus is the Parkinson like disorders akinesia and akathisia. Akinesia is characterized by rigid posturing, fixed gaze, lack of normal arm movements from side to side when walking, shallow voice, and flat affect. Akinesia disorders have been artificially generated in animals using reserpine. The main action of reserpine is to prevent the storage of dopamine in neuronal granules by blocking dopamine reuptake for packaging. Neuroleptic drugs by blocking postsynaptic dopamine neurons may produce the same effect: producing a shortage of synaptic dopamine-making contact with post-receptor sites. This may occur even though the action of neuroleptic drugs is to initially increase dopamine turnover.<br />
<br />
Reserpine is not thought to have action on post-receptor sites and consequently does not cause chemical denervation of these receptors. However, it has been thought to cause post neuronal damage with long term administration, due to an unnatural depletion of neurotransmitters. Other causes of akinesia may be increased dopamine turnover without compensating an increase in positive post-receptor sensitivity, or an increase in receptor numbers, at least initially. This effect is no doubt time and dose-dependent. This hypothesis has limited behavioral support. Some patients who exhibit akinesia do so for only limited amounts of time, usually under acute neuroleptic treatment. Chronic neuroleptic treatment studied for long amounts of time generally sees motor improvements. (Personal observation; Case #T.M.,1990) Increases in motor responsiveness over time may reflect direct synaptic changes of the neurotransmitter, or dopaminergic neuronal changes, or receptor affinity changes.<br />
<br />
One note of caution concerning patients with akinesia disorders. Under acute treatments when the Parkinson type disorder is observed, many psychiatrists confuse the neuroleptic drug side effects with chronic schizophrenic motor disorders. The problem may be connected with the indifference to environmental stimuli studied in patients with chronic schizophrenic disorders. A study has been initiated to test environmental perception by rats undergoing neuroleptic treatments. The test consists of the classical conditioning of rats to avoid shock (the conditioned avoidance response or CAR). Rats conditioned to avoid shock onset with a visual cue, such as a diminution of light, were later tested under clinical doses of neuroleptic drugs. Even though rats under normal untreated conditions escaped shock onset, rats on neuroleptic drugs no longer did so. This suggests that although rats perceived the conditioned stimuli, they no longer perceived it as important. This indifference to conditioned stimuli was reversed by dopamine agonist drugs.<br />
<br />
In a related study, rats could avoid being shocked by climbing a pole in a certain amount of time, after the onset of a signaling stimulus. The stimulus would continue throughout the period of the shock (such as diminished light) and restored to normal (standard laboratory lighting) after cessation of the shock period. Therefore, the rat could discriminate between cues requiring avoidance versus non-avoidance behavior, could perceive the onset of danger, could determine how long to continue avoidance behavior and when to determine when to discontinue this behavioral response. Under chronic neuroleptic treatment, the rats continued to step down onto the electrical apparatus even after the signaling stimuli were given, suggesting that the aversive stimuli were not perceived correctly. This was thought to be a direct result of the drug efficacy and not due to the sedative effect of the drugs. The normal response pattern of avoidance was resumed with dopamine agonist drugs. The step-down test has been used for years as a measure for testing the efficacy of neuroleptic experimental drugs.<br />
<br />
This indifference to environmental cues may also result from a lack of motivation. Rats with striatal lesions will swim if thrown into a tank cold water even after they have maintained rigid posturing for hours. This has also been discovered in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disorders. People with this condition will leap up and run out of the room when someone shouts "fire!" although they have been immobile for hours. So, in conclusion, reduction in behavior suggesting the side effects of certain schizophrenic disorders should be gauged extremely cautiously to ascertain whether the behavior is due to the disease state or the treatment regimen.<br />
<br />
Akathisia is a Parkinson like disorder characterized by the subjective feeling of restlessness. People suffering from this disorder are unable to sit in one place for any period of time, jog in place, resort to obsessive-compulsive hand wringing among other hyper activities. Given doses dopamine agonist the symptoms increase in frequency and intensity. The direct cause of akathisia is unknown but it may be the result of increased striatal turnover of dopamine bombarding post-receptor sites that have not made setpoint changes to accommodate this increase of neurotransmitter. In conclusion, akathisia, a Parkinson like disorder may be a result of hyperarousal of the mesolimbic/mesocortical dopaminergic pathway. This may partially explain why hyperarousal in this disorder is beyond conscious control.<br />
<br />
<b>Chronic Tardive Dyskinesia</b><br />
<br />
Chronic Tardive dyskinesia is the only extrapyramidal system disorder known to be directly attributed to chronic neuroleptic treatment regimens. Long term schizophrenic patients in countries that do not use neuroleptic drug regimens, lack patients with Tardive symptoms. (See an excellent review by Baldessarini and Tarsy, 1978) Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by orofacial, buccal, lingual dystonia, fly catching, grimacing, and in extreme cases body dystonia, leaning tower of Pisa disorder, and many others. The cause of Tardive disorders is unknown but according to one study, "there are rare reports of neuropathologic changes following prolonged neuroleptic treatment of patients without persistent extrapyramidal syndromes, noting scattered areas of neuronal degeneration and gliosis without convincing localization, and some suggestions that patients with drug-induced Parkinsonism or Tardive dyskinesia have post mortem changes in the basal ganglia and midbrain." The same study concluded that prolonged exposure of animals to a neuroleptic agent leads to a prolonged (weeks) requirement for increased doses of the same agent (tolerance) or a dissimilar neuroleptic agent (cross-tolerance) to block the behavioral effects of apomorphine; a dopamine agonist. (Baldessarini and Tarsy, 1978) This suggests that neuroleptic drugs do long term or irreversible damage to neostriatal dopaminergic pathways. This also suggests that long term chronic neuroleptic drug administration creates both super sensitive dopaminergic post receptors or the absolute number of these receptors within the neostriatum. A study designed to treat this idea was done with long term schizophrenic patients under neuroleptic drug treatment. The hypothesis originally tested the idea of receptor supersensitivity by suggesting that apomorphine, a dopamine agonist drug would intensify Tardive Dystonia. The conclusion of this experiment was correct. However, the suggestion was advanced that perhaps with long term administration of apomorphine receptor sensitivity would change from a state of supersensitivity to a state of hyposensitivity due to the effects of increased dopamine activity. Ironically enough the experiment produced the desired effect, reduced Tardive symptoms to a state of remission for several years! (Baldessari and Tarsy, 1978) Due to the limited follow up of the patients of this study the results should be taken with a grain of salt, however, the prospect looks promising.<br />
<br />
<b>Extrapyramidal Effects: Dopamine and Acetylcholine Imbalance?</b><br />
<br />
It has long been determined that anticholinergic drugs are effective in reducing extrapyramidal movement disorders induced by neuroleptic drugs. According to one study, the interactions of dopamine and acetylcholine neurons are as follows. Acute blockade of dopamine neurotransmission by antipsychotic agents increases the turnover and release of acetylcholine by within the striatum. Dopamine agonists exert the opposite effects. (Tepper, 1985) This contention has many psychiatrists convinced that the efficacy of neuroleptic drugs and the extrapyramidal sedative side effects are interdependent and act pharmacologically at the same site. However, this contention has been recently questioned. It appears that not all neuroleptic drugs work in the same fashion. Piperazine phenothiazines have a high incidence of acute extrapyramidal side effects and are probably the first choice of physicians who deal with violent patients, the sedative effects are obvious. However, neuroleptic drugs do exist that do not produce extreme sedation or high levels of extrapyramidal side effects. Clozapine and thioridazine (Mellaril) are two effective antipsychotics that do not produce extrapyramidal side effects. There have been several theories to account for this phenomenon. Some authors suggest that these drugs work on selective A10 dopaminergic pathways, mesolimbic/mesocortical, but not neostriatal, A9 neurons. According to one author, "Clozapine has a strong action on dopamine turnover in the limbic system and a relatively weak one in the striatum. Coincidentally, clozapine has antipsychotic efficacy but very few extrapyramidal side effects." (Bradley, 1986) It also appears that clozapine has an ability to block dopamine receptors in the nucleus accubens, but not in the caudate nucleus. This might provide an explanation other than it's an anticholinergic activity for clozapine's unusual combination of antipsychotic efficacy and lack of extrapyramidal side effects. (Bunney and Aghajanian, 1978) Of course, the best theory is that clozapine does a partial blockade of dopamine receptors. Thus catatonic patients show marked improvement with increased awareness and behavioral energy.<br />
<br />
However, some authors suggest that a more probable explanation is the interaction of clozapine and thioridazine on dopamine/acetylcholine interactions in the brain. Most studies agree that neuroleptic drugs increase the release and turnover of disinhibited choline. This is one reason why some psychiatrists attempt to control the unwanted motor effects of neuroleptic drugs with anticholinergics. The action of clozapine and thioridazine is thought to work without the increase in choline release by having a selective affinity for muscarine receptors. (Creese and Snyder, 1978)<br />
<br />
In addition, it has been found in relation to the interaction of dopamine and acetylcholine in motor disturbances, "it was found that drugs that blocked the action of norepinephrine and dopamine interfered with avoidance responding, but interestingly, these effects were also blocked by atropine and scopolamine, (an acetylcholine, muscarinic receptor antagonist) indicating that cholinergic neurons are part of an important link in the chain of neurons that maintains avoidance behavior." (Bartholini and Lloyd, 1980)<br />
<br />
To summarize the dopamine/acetylcholine problem one author suggests that "Parkinson disease is a neostriatal dopamine deficiency syndrome. The loss of neostriatal dopamine disrupts the balance between the neostriatal dopaminergic and cholinergic systems that are thought to regulate normal activity in the neostriatum. The dopaminergic agonists presently used may achieve some of their therapeutic effects by directly stimulating dopamine receptors; however, some of their therapeutic effects may be a consequence of stimulating the dopamine receptor upon the cholinergic interneuron and thereby restoring the balance between the dopaminergic systems in the neostriatum. Prior to the advent of L-DOPA therapy for Parkinsonism, cholinergic antagonists were widely used." (Stoof, 1985)<br />
<br />
<b>Receptors</b><br />
<br />
The roles of dopaminergic receptor subtypes have been controversial and confusing. Up to eight receptor subtypes have been proposed. However, three receptors have been theorized to have some part in the reduction of schizophrenia and extrapyramidal side effects due to neuroleptic receptor blockade. A summary of receptor subtypes is given below, from (Kebabian,1983)<br />
<br />
<b>Dopamine D1 Receptors</b>: Adenylate cyclase.<br />
<b>Radioligand</b>: 3H-thioxanthenes.<br />
<b>Dopamine</b>: Agonist m molar potency.<br />
<b>Apomorphine</b>: Partial agonist or antagonist.<br />
<b>DA Ergots</b>: Potent antagonists n molar potency.<br />
<b>Selective Antagonist</b>: Unknown.<br />
<b>Radiolabeled Ligand</b>: cis-flupenthixol.<br />
<br />
<b>Dopamine D2 Receptors</b>: Unassociated.<br />
<b>Radioligand</b>: 3H-butyrophenones.<br />
<b>Dopamine</b>: Agonist n molar potency.<br />
<b>Apomorphine</b>: Agonist n molar potency.<br />
<b>DA Ergots</b>: Agonist n molar potency.<br />
<b>Selective Antagonist</b>: metoclopramide.<br />
<b>Radiolabeled Ligand</b>: dihydroergocryptine.<br />
<br />
<b>Dopamine D3 Receptors</b>: Unassociated.<br />
<b>Radioligand</b>: 3H-Dopamine.<br />
<br />
Note: The classification of D3 receptors was not included in Kebebian's classification beyond the information provided.<br />
<br />
D1 receptors are indigenous to the striatum, have cell bodies within the striatum with collaterals ending within the substantia nigra. This receptor system was originally found in the bovine parathyroid gland. It has been found that dopamine causes a twenty to thirty-fold increase in the content of cAMP in dispersed bovine parathyroid cells. (Brown and Dawson-Hughes, 1983) Increased synthesis of thyroxine has been discovered when these parathyroid cells were subjected to doses of dopamine agonist drugs. Neuroleptics countered this effect.<br />
<br />
Originally dopaminergic receptors were thought to work by a dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase, which in turn regulates a second messenger 3'5' cyclic adenosine monophosphate system. The cAMP synthesis and storage in D1 receptors seem to be mediated by excitatory guanosine triphosphate (GTP) link, which works on the adenylate cyclase to produce neurotransmitter by a process that is still unknown. (Kebabian, 1983) D1 receptors were once thought to be causal in schizophrenic disorders, but this assertion has been seriously questioned.<br />
<br />
According to one study, "only the DA-stimulated adenylate cyclase is effectively inhibited in a competitive manner by the addition of low concentrations of neuroleptic drugs." (Clement-Cormier, 1974) The implication was, of course, that selective dopamine antagonist drugs would reduce dopamine synthesis and turnover by blocking the production of cAMP. However, it was discovered that the destruction of endogenous D1 receptors in the striatum with 6oxyhydrodopamine (6OHDA), a dopaminergic neurotoxin, did not significantly lower striatal dopamine levels identified with [3H]-antagonist binding assays. In addition to this discovery, there was an autopsy done to determine whether chronic schizophrenic brains subjected to chronic neuroleptic drugs showed damage and regeneration of D1 neurons or increased radioligand binding. Neither consequence expected from neuroleptic drug lesions occurred. According to one author, D1 receptor sites are not involved with the dopaminergic transmission in the brain. The <i>in vivo</i> accumulation of cAMP induced by apomorphine in the striatum was not blocked by sulpiride and haloperidol whereas the behavioral effects were blocked by both drugs. When labeled neuroleptics were injected into rats, the radioactive [3H]-antagonist binding was never found on D1 receptor sites." (Laduron, 1983) In conclusion, it may be asserted that in both the neostriatum and the substantia nigra the dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase receptor is in search of a function.<br />
<br />
Recent experiments have determined that a dopamine receptor may exist that is not cAMP-specific. This was discovered in animal studies measuring melatonin secretion. Melatonin is a chemical that has an active process in animal skin colorization. It was found that dopamine inhibits the production of melatonin. But when using dopamine antagonist drugs to increase melatonin synthesis it was found that the increase was not cAMP-dependent, suggesting that some other receptor than D1 is responsible for this process. This receptor has been designated D2. D2 receptors seem to work in the exact opposite fashion as D1 receptors, meaning that guanosine triphosphate (GTP) works to inhibit adenylate cyclase, which in turn inhibits cAMP synthesis. (Kebabian, 1983) D2 receptors have been found to be responsible for several other functions that are not D1 receptor-dependent including inhibition of the chemoreceptor trigger zone. Dopamine agonist drugs such as apomorphine and bromocriptine cause vomiting, while neuroleptics have antiemetic effects.<br />
<br />
In studies using kainic acid microinjections within the striatum, which selectively destroys endogenous D1 cell bodies but spares the dopaminergic nerve terminals, a substantial loss of striatal dopamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase activity was observed, but the procedure did not diminish the content of dopamine as measured with [3H]-antagonist binding assays. (Lee and Seeman, 1980.) Tritiated compounds such as [3H]-Haloperidol and [3H]-Spiroperidol compete with D2 receptor antagonists at post-receptor sites. It has been suggested that "the clinical potency in the schizophrenia of different types of neuroleptics correlates very closely with their D2 receptor antagonistic activity and their affinity for D2 receptors as measured by [3H]-antagonist binding." (Bradley, 1986) An additional study found that "the impressive correlation between the clinical, anti schizophrenic actions of neuroleptics and their blockade of D2 receptors labeled with [3H]-Haloperidol or [3H]-Spiroperidol is more striking than has been observed for any other biochemical effects of these drugs. It, therefore, seems likely that this action is intimately associated with the antischizophrenic effect of these drugs." (Creese, 1976) This study also found in relation to the motor effects of neuroleptics, "potency's of neuroleptics in competing for [3H]-Haloperidol binding correlates extremely closely (r>0.9) with their potency's in blocking apomorphine or amphetamine-induced stereotyped behavior." (Creese, 1976)<br />
<br />
In reference to neuroleptic drugs a persistent question has been raised, if the immediate effect of the drugs is a post-receptor dopaminergic blockade, why is there a delay in the observed behavioral responses? One hypothesis maintains that immediate D2 receptor antagonism is not directly responsible for the antipsychotic effects of these drugs. Neuroleptic drugs may be mediated by secondary processes that are time-dependent. Two such possibilities have been considered. (1) Slow induction of depolarization block of dopamine neurons by neuroleptics. (2) Homeostatic receptor changes involving dopamine autoreceptors. Recent electrophysiological studies in animals indicate that in A10 neurons (the origin of the mesolimbic pathway) antipsychotic drugs produce a slowly developing depolarization block, which has a greater effect in reducing dopaminergic transmission than the initial dopamine receptor antagonism. (Ashton, 1987)<br />
<br />
There has been a monumental effort recently to discover new neuroleptic compounds that are effective as selective receptor blockers that have good anti schizophrenic efficacy but that do not create extrapyramidal side effects. For example, it has recently been found that certain stereoisomers have potent active antipsychotic effects that are isomer specific. For example, recent evidence has shown that for many phenothiazines and thioxanthenes, which inhibit the dopamine stimulated the formation of cAMP, that only the (+) isomer of butaclamol and the <i>alpha</i> isomer of flupenthixol have dopamine antagonist activity, and only these isomers have antipsychotic effects. (Iversen, 1981) Isolating specific isomers in the battle against schizophrenia has produced some exciting new research efforts including computer modeling of hypothetical compounds that may mimic the action of known dopamine agonists and antagonists. The hope of this research is to discover new and better dopamine specific drugs and to reduce as far as possible extrapyramidal motor syndromes.<br />
<br />
<b>The Protest</b><br />
<br />
Actual experimentation has been devised to test hypotheses related to dopamine depletion, receptor changes, and resultant motor behaviors in animals. The procedure, known as the protest, has been devised to test motor actions of rats subjected to dopaminergic agonists or antagonists after specified extrapyramidal system lesions. Hypothesis: if post-receptor Super sensitivity occurs after the destruction of endogenous D2 cell bodies lesioned with neurotoxins such as 6OHDA or kainic acid, will the animal turn contralateral to the lesioned side, ipsilateral to the lesioned side, or neither? The expected result would be that the lesion should cause a depletion of dopamine on the lesioned side resulting in turning that is dependent upon the non lesioned side. Therefore, the animal should turn ipsilateral to the lesion. (Hemisphere-specific.) However, in an attempt to maintain some sort of homeostatic balance, the post receptors on the lesioned side should produce either numerical increases in receptors or affinity changes to compensate for a lack of dopamine content, then over time, the animal should turn ipsilateral to the non lesioned side. This suggests that the turning is a direct result of receptor changes even with a reduced quantitative amount of endogenous dopamine within the lesioned extrapyramidal hemisphere. The results of an experiment conducted to test a similar hypothesis resulted in the following conclusions. (1) Behaviorally super sensitive rats show a 20-120% increase in [3H]-Haloperidol on the lesioned side compared to their own contralateral unlesioned side. (2) Rats that do not turn display essentially any augmentation in binding on the lesioned side. (3) The occurrence of enhanced dopamine receptor binding in association with behavioral supersensitivity indicates that the increased number of receptor sites may, in part, account for the behavioral effect of the lesion. (Creese, 1978)<br />
<br />
Protest procedures testing receptor activities within the extrapyramidal motor system with experimental drugs such as (3-(3-Hydroxyphenyl)-N-n-propyldiperidine, (3-PPP), a drug that is not D2 receptor-specific, or cAMP-dependent, produced turning that could not justify current models of receptor supersensitivity and created serious doubts concerning the excessive dopamine theory. This prompted neurologists to inquire into the <br />
<a name='more'></a>possibility of some other receptor functioning in a way that mediates the release and synaptic turnover of dopamine in the extrapyramidal motor system. This receptor has been designated D3 or the "autoreceptor."<br />
<br />
<b>Auto Receptors Save the Excessive Dopamine Theory?</b><br />
<br />
The solution to this problem stemmed from further research, which resulted in yet a third dopamine receptor designated the "autoreceptor." Autoreceptors seem to regulate impulse flow of neurotransmitters. Tyrosine hydroxylase seems to be inhibited by end-product regulation. Neurotransmitter depletion in the synaptic cleft either by post-receptor utilization or by extrasynaptic degradation triggers the presynaptic production of tyrosine hydroxylase. Autoreceptors seem to have extremely high threshold levels for dopamine, far greater than post-receptor thresholds. One study has found that dopamine receptors in the substantia nigra may have autoreceptors that are six to ten times more sensitive to dopamine than post receptors in the caudate nucleus. The same study also found that the dopamine agonist apomorphine decreased the rate of firing of dopamine neurons. Phenothiazine drugs seemed to counter this effect. (Kehr, 1972)<br />
<br />
The excess neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft results in autoreceptor inhibition of endogenous presynaptic transmitter production. The same effect has been hypothesized for interneurons, which are soma dendritic dopamine specific. These soma dendritic autoreceptors seem to inhibit the production of both tyrosine hydroxylase and to add negative values to the algebraic summation of the axon hillock.<br />
<br />
One study has concluded that stimulation of the presynaptic autoreceptor inhibits tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine synthesis within the dopaminergic nerve terminals in the neostriatum. And (1) blockade of dopaminergic receptors by the administration of neuroleptics has been demonstrated to induce an allosteric activation of tyrosine hydroxylase which is accompanied by an increase in the turnover of dopamine and accumulation of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA). (2) Dopamine agonists produced a decrease in brain DOPAC and HVA concentrations, which can be antagonized by neuroleptic drugs. (3) Cessation of impulse flow in dopamine neurons can be achieved by the administration of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). In the presence of a DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor, this induces an accumulation of DOPA, an effect which can be antagonized by pretreatment with neuroleptic drugs. (Stoof, 1983)<br />
<br />
The role of autoreceptors in chronic neuroleptic bombardment may be summarized as follows. First, it has been hypothesized that autoreceptors may actually become hypo sensitive to dopamine release and turnover, therefore failing to limit presynaptic neurotransmitter receptor-specific release and turnover. If this condition is further augmented with postsynaptic receptor super sensitive sites, the results may well be imagined, severe dystonia, and severe Tardive dyskinesia. It has also been discovered that chronic neuroleptic treatments produce a 28% increase in [3H]-dopamine binding in the rat brain. (Lee and Seeman, 1980) If hypothetically, this increase adds to further autoreceptor rate limiting capacity of the neurotransmitter, this may further augment post-receptor affinity changes or dopaminergic neuronal damage, or both, all leading to enhanced undesirable motor changes.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
This paper has attempted in part to review in a very basic manner some exciting research that has been conducted in association with neuroleptic drug administration both in an acute and a chronic fashion and the extrapyramidal motor consequences of these drugs. The assertion that the sedative effects of neuroleptics are invaluable as a contingency factor in the control of acute positive symptom schizophrenia has been determined to be a short-sighted assumption. If this view was accepted we would run a major risk of mistaking the natural course of the disease process for the extrapyramidal syndromes. And because of so much confusion reigns concerning what to include as a characteristic of schizophrenia, including multiple scales, multiple subtypes of disorders, <i>ad nauseam</i>, why complicate matters?<br />
<br />
Also, stereotyped pharmacological thinking distorts further research efforts designed solely to find drugs that are efficacious in the fight against schizophrenic states without producing unwanted side effects. We have discussed in some depth drugs which have a natural affinity for muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, especially clozapine and thioridazine. Although clozapine has only been used in limited experimental conditions due to the high bone marrow toxicity of the drug, why not continue to explore similar side chains to discover if possible wide range therapeutic benefits?<br />
<br />
Impossibly rigid thinking could distort new research results as artifacts of the experimental design, or of unknown intermediate variables, or as simply anything other than causality. For example, we could discard as preposterous such assertions such as "rats treated with lithium-ion (LI++) one week before and during haloperidol administration failed to develop the behavioral sensitivity response to apomorphine as measured by locomotor and stereotypical behavior." (Feldman and Quenzer, 1984) We could scoff, as professionals, and say, "this merely applies to animal studies, but in my personal behavioral observations, I have proved otherwise. Furthermore, most of these behavioral responses to drug combinations are merely species-specific and therefore cannot be generalized to include <i>homo sapiens</i>."<br />
<br />
In summary, new research techniques would be dismissed by old fashioned pharmacological reasoning and outdated techniques.<br />
<br />
It has been emphasized many times that neuroleptic drug management strategies should be avoided at any possible time due to the unfortunate extrapyramidal side effects of these drugs. The long term consequences of chronic Tardive dyskinesia is in fact caused by neuroleptic drugs, and no cases of Tardive dyskinesia has ever been reported in countries without neuroleptic treatments of schizophrenic patients. Tardive dyskinesia once developed can only be reduced by larger doses of the drugs and the relief patients experience is only short-lived in duration. Other methods have been suggested, for example, drug holidays, or refraining from muscular depot injections of the drug to reduce the incidence of extrapyramidal syndromes. However, we must re-emphasize that these suggestions are not always effective in reducing extrapyramidal effects because often these effects occur spontaneously, even after a single dose, and this propensity to develop side effects may be nothing may bethan a genetic disposition or critical environmental stressors. So, to conclude, in an effort to reduce the complexity of the primary disorder, schizophrenia, plus to reduce the unwanted extrapyramidal side effects and the consequent discomfort of the patient, neuroleptics should be avoided unless no other alternative is available.<br />
<br />
<b>Afterward</b><br />
<br />
I would like to make a few comments concerning case #T.M., a young adult male, aged twenty-one, who was diagnosed as schizophrenic and who was subjected against his will to perphenazine, a piperazine side chain phenothiazine. I would like to state that this individual at the onset of the drug developed motor symptoms that directly mimicked akinesia, i.e., rigid posturing, fixed gaze, lack of normal arm movements from side to side when walking, small voice, and pronounced lack of effect. It has been demonstrated in the clinical literature that perphenazine has a high incidence of extrapyramidal side effects, and a high sedative component. It has also been suggested that young male patients receiving neuroleptic drugs have a higher probability for extrapyramidal side effects, due in part to a higher endogenous content of natural dopamine in their brains. Female patients of the same age do not seem to be as prone to develop extrapyramidal syndromes, the biological differences for this distinction is still a mystery.<br />
<br />
T.M.'s akinesia behavior persisted for several months but has now evolved into a person that might be indistinguishable from a "normal" person of his age group, except perhaps in the early morning hours, where his immobility persists to some degree. The early morning suppression in his behavior may be due to the natural sedative effect of the drug since the patient has explained several times that he takes the drug at bedtime.<br />
<br />
Sedative effect or not, the pronounced behavior change was seen in this individual is worth some conjecture. What are we seeing, tolerance to the drug, or some long-lasting changes in dopamine receptor systems in his brain? Perphenazine has been blamed in the past for increasing the probability of Tardive dyskinesia after prolonged administration due to it's a propensity to create acute extrapyramidal syndromes. The reason for T.M.'s increase in locomotion is unknown, but I can only hope that the drug is not creating extensive dopaminergic neuronal damage.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, in my limited review of the literature, no one has systematically studied an individual subjected to neuroleptic drugs from onset to conclusion, on a day to day basis. Therefore, we must rely upon conjectures of professionals that may not be accurate, or appropriate, in determining what danger signs to be aware of as precursors to chronic dystonic states. Therefore, a real danger exists in patients like T.M. who are evaluated in an indifferent way by physicians who are too busy with other mental health problems. May we hope that in this case, the problem does not become tragic<i>. H</i> November 29,1990.<br />
<br />
<b>Bibliography</b><br />
<br />
<b>Angrist, B</b>., Rotrosen J., and Gershon S. (1980) Differential effects of amphetamine and neuroleptics on negative vs. positive symptoms in schizophrenia. <i>Psychopharmacology</i> 72, 17-19.<br />
<b>Ashton, H.</b> (1987) <i>Brain Systems, Disorders, and Psychotropic Drugs</i>. Oxford University Press.<br />
<b>Baldessarini, R.J.,</b> and Tarsy, D. (1978) Tardive Dyskinesia. <i>Psychopharmacology a Generation of Progress. </i>(eds. M.A. Lipton, A. Dimascio, and K.F. Killian), PP. 993-1004. Raven Press, New York.<br />
<b>Bartholini, G.,</b> and Lloyd K.G. (1980) Biochemical effects of neuroleptic drugs. <i>Psychotropic Drugs, Part One, Antipsychotics, and Antidepressants</i>. (ed. F. Hoffmeister, and G. Stille), PP. 192-212. Singer-Verlag, Berlin.<br />
<b>Bradley, P.B</b>. Pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs. (1986)<i> Psychopharmacology and treatment of schizophrenia</i>. (eds. P.B. Bradley and S.R. Hirsch), PP. 27-65, Oxford University Press, Oxford.<br />
<b>Brown, E.M</b>., and Dawson- Hughes, B. (1983) Commentary: D1 dopamine receptor-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase, cAMP accumulation, and PTH release in dispersed bovine parathyroid cells. <i>Dopamine Receptors</i>. (eds. C. Kaiser, and J.W. Kebabian), PP. 1-21. American Chemical Society., Washington, D.C.<br />
<b>Bunney, B.S</b>., and Aghajanian, G.K. (1978) Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopaminergic Systems: Physiology and Pharmacology. <i>Psychopharmacology a Generation of Progress.</i> (eds. M.A. Lipton, A. Dimascio, and K.F. Killian), PP. 159-169. Raven Press, New York.<br />
<b>Clement-Cormier, Y.C</b>., Kebabian, J.W., Petzold, G.L., and Geengard, P. (1974) Dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase in the mammalian brain: a possible site of action of antipsychotic drugs. <i>Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci</i>. 71, PP. 1113-1117.<br />
<b>Creese, I</b>., Burt, D.R., and Snyder, S. (1976) Dopamine receptor binding predicts clinical and pharmacological potencies of antischizophrenic drugs. Science, 194, PP. 481-483.<br />
<b>Creese, I</b>., and Snyder, S.M. (1978) Behavioral and Biochemical Properties of the Dopamine Receptor. <i>Psychopharmacology a Generation of Progress</i>. (eds. M. A. Lipton, A. Dimascio, and K.F. Killian), PP. 377-388. Raven Press, New York.<br />
<b>Feldman, R.S</b>., and Quenzer, L.F., (1984) <i>Fundamentals of Neuropsychopharmacology.</i> Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland Mass.<br />
<b>Garver, D.L</b>., Schlemmer, R.F., Mass, J.W., and Davis, J.M. (1975) A schizophreniform behavioral psychosis mediated by dopamine. <i>Am. J. Psychiat.</i> 132, PP. 33-38.<br />
<b>Hirsch, S.R</b>. (1986) Clinical treatment of schizophrenia. <i>Psychopharmacology and Treatment of Schizophrenia</i> (eds. P.B. Bradley, and S.R. Hirsch), PP. 286-339. Oxford University Press, Oxford.<br />
<b>Iversen, S.D</b>. (1984) Recent advances in the anatomy and chemistry of the limbic system. <i>Psychopharmacology of the Limbic System</i>. (eds. M.R. Trimble, and E. Zarifian), PP. 1-16. Raven Press, New York.<br />
<b>Jaffe, J.M</b>. (1980) Drug addiction and drug abuse. <i>The pharmacological basis of therapeutics</i> (eds. A.S. Gilman, L.S. Goodman, and A. Gilman), PP. 535-607. Macmillan Company, New York.<br />
<b>Kebabian, J.W</b>., Beaulian, M., Cote, R.L., Eskay, E.A., Frey, M.E., Goldman, M.E., Grene, C.W., Munemura, M., Stoof, J.C., and Tsuruta, K. (1983) The D2 dopamine receptor in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland: physiology, pharmacology, and biochemistry. <i>Dopamine Receptors.</i> (eds. C. Kaiser, and J.W. Kebabian), PP. 33-52. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.<br />
<b>Kehr, W</b>., Carisson, A., Lindqvist, M., Magusson, T., and Atack, C. (1972) Evidence for receptor-mediated feedback control of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity. <i>J. Pharm. Pharmacol</i>. 24, PP.744-747.<br />
<b>Lauduron, P.M. </b>(1983) Commentary: Dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase as a receptor site. <i>Dopamine Receptors</i> (eds. C. Kaiser, and J.W. Kebabian), American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.<br />
<b>Lee, T</b>., and Seeman, F. (1980) Abnormal neuroleptic/dopamine receptors in schizophrenia. <i>Receptors for Neurotransmitters and Peptide Hormones</i>. (eds. G. Pepe, M.J. Kuhar, and S.J. Enna), PP. 435-441. Raven Press, New York.<br />
<b>Marsden, C.D</b>., Mindham, R.H.S., and Mackay, A.V.P. (1986) Extrapyramidal movement disorders produced by antipsychotic drugs. <i>Psychopharmacology and Treatment of Schizophrenia</i> (eds. P.B. Bradley and S.R. Hirsch), PP. 340-402. Oxford University Press, Oxford.<br />
<b>Saunders, W.B.</b> (1977) <i>Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary</i>, W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia.<br />
<b>Stoof, J.C.</b> (1983) Dopamine receptors in the neostriatum; Biochemical and physiological studies. <i>Dopamine Receptors</i>, (eds. C. Kaiser, and J.W. Kebabian), PP. 117-146. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.<br />
<b>Tepper, J.M.,</b> Groves, P. M., and Young S.J. (1985) The neuropharmacology of the autoinhibition of monoamine release. <i>Trends Pharmac. Sci</i>. 6, PP. 251-256.<br />
<b>Tucker, D.M</b>. (1981) Lateral brain function, emotion, and conceptualization. Psychol. Bull. 89. PP. 19-46.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-45321888346029184672015-07-17T23:36:00.000-06:002020-06-09T19:28:12.499-06:00Marco Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist: Film Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
Marco Pantani was one of the greatest pure climbers cycling has ever known, and one of the most emotionally fragile. Marco Pantani could sprint up mountain passes like an angel, with repeated attacks that would drop great Tour de France champions, Miguel Indurain, Lance Armstrong, and Jan Ullrich like hot stones. Marco Pantani was the last rider to win the Giro d' Italia/Tour de France double in 1998. A feat "Lance Armstrong never attempted."<br />
<br />
The film is a biographical masterpiece. Marco Pantani loved his bicycle as a youth, he assembled and disassembled his bicycle repeatedly in order to make it "lighter and faster." Pantani would be heard late at night adjusting his cleats, "backward and forward two centimeters at a time" attempting to find the perfect adjustment; a habit ingrained in all great professional cyclists. His mother scolded him for giving his bicycle washes in the bathtub.<br />
<br />
When Marco Pantani turned professional he wanted to quit because he thought professional cycling was equivalent to "the mafia." A very insightful precept. In the mafia as a <i>made guy,</i> you play by the rules and maintain <i>omerta,</i> or silence about the family.<br />
<br />
In the family of professional cycling, millions of euros are cycled in sponsorship money, and millions more can be earned by a professional rider in commercial endorsements contingent upon <i>performance</i>. Everybody plays by the same rules. Everyone knows if you are successful you will be handsomely rewarded, but if you are caught cheating you will be thrown to the wolves to fend for yourself. The big money players walk free. A dead soldier can be replaced instantly without a qualm, but the <i>family</i> survives unimpeded.<br />
<br />
But Marco Pantani was an impulsive man. Marco Pantani was warned to share the wealth during the 1999 Giro d' Italia, to refrain from attacking the group, to allow other <i>teams</i> to win stages. But Marco Pantani was a driven man who wanted to be immortal, like Fausto Coppi. Marco Pantani wanted to <i>humiliate</i> his opponents, to <i>dominate</i> races with huge time gaps. According to the film, the <i>family</i> sought a way to remove Marco Pantani from contention because he refused to share the wealth with other big money players. There were also suggestions big money gamblers were out to <i>fix</i> the 1999 Giro d' Italia! What better way to guarantee a big payoff than to manufacture a positive dope test that would disqualify the odds on favorite? <br />
<br />
Suppositions, conspiracy theories. There have been reports circulated that Marco Pantani's hematocrit measured above the fifty percent threshold for several stages before he was thrown out of the 1999 Giro d' Italia for "health reasons." There is also the connection between Marco Pantani and Francesco Conconi, the Italian doping doctor who experimented on riders with recombinant EPO under the pretext of developing a test to detect recombinant EPO. Nevertheless, Marco Pantani was convinced he had been framed in a diabolical plot contrived by a group of greedy men who had been "corrupted."<br />
<br />
Was Marco Pantani correct in his supposition? Cycling, at the time, was rife with corruption. Drugs were being abused flagrantly. The highest circle of the UCI could be manipulated with bribes. The teams ran doping programs without sanction. Dark days had descended upon cycling. Marco Pantani denied any wrongdoing, he explained, "he knew the doping test was coming, so he could have taken preventive measures to avoid detection if he had done anything wrong." Of course, Marco Pantani knew as the leader of the Giro d' Italia he would be subjected to mandatory dope tests. The real question is if Marco Pantani knew a mandatory test was required, why did his hematocrit test above the legal limit?<br />
<br />
It is incredibly sad to see a man lose his dignity. Marco Pantani was bludgeoned everywhere he went. Even on simple training rides, he was sneered at by people who were convinced he was champion by means of dope. The press was relentless in their accusations. The former hero of Italy had now become a goat.<br />
<br />
But even downtrodden men recover and Marco Pantani had a will of iron. Marco Pantani was hit head-on by an automobile that somehow entered the course during a race. His leg was broken with a compound fracture that required a metal splint to repair. He had to undergo an extensive period of physical rehabilitation. He was never expected to walk again let alone ride a bicycle. Nevertheless, Marco Pantani did ride again, he rode so well he set the record up L'Alpe d'Huez, and won the Tour de France and Giro d' Italia in the same year. (1998)<br />
<br />
During the 2000 Tour de France Marco Pantani almost did the impossible. He nearly caused Lance Armstrong to lose the race by setting an incredible tempo that made Lance Armstrong miss a feed and bonk! Unfortunately, Marco Pantani became a victim of his own stratagem, he experienced stomach cramps and had to withdraw from the race.<br />
<br />
Marco Pantani was finished as a top world class rider, he was a broken man who was destined to find solace in cocaine. His cocaine dependence would increase until he was found dead alone and abandoned in his hotel room.<br />
<br />
Italy was shocked. The people who had rejected Marco Pantani in life mourned with loud lamentations his death. His casket was carried on the shoulders of his admirers. Eighty thousand people attended his funeral.<br />
<br />
I wrote a comment to the <i>Guardian</i> newspaper online that was published. I said the death of Marco Pantani, "broke my heart." I watched the Mont Ventoux stage of the 2000 Tour de France dozens of times, marveling, entranced, in awe of those supreme climbers. If Lance Armstrong was full to the gills with dope, what about Marco?<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
Nothing disgusts me more than to watch smug Greg LeMond comment like he is an exalted angel without blemish who is qualified to pontificate on the sins of others, while there may be many undiscovered skeletons in his own closet! <i>Sir</i> Bradley Wiggins, most average in his tour performances before he became King and knighted, reminds me of the pre-cancer Lance Armstrong and the <i>post</i>-cancer survivor, <i>money</i> did not improve his performance or the fact that he moved to a more prestigious team. Yet his exaltedness, <i>Sir</i> Bradley Wiggins, wishes to comment for our elucidation, looking down his pointed beak in disapproval upon the unwashed who would dare to question the <i>source</i> of such inexplicable improvements. We rabble who dare to presume are considered conspirators who would dare to spit in the soup of cycling expectations by scenting a pretender in our mists, much like David Walsh, holding his nose while manning the barricades. The tone of the film was spoiled by the presence of such exalted beings, Greg LeMond and <i>Sir</i> Bradley Wiggins!<br />
<br />
The Tour de France is not won on mineral water alone! In my opinion, there has never been, nor will there ever be a dope-free Tour de France champion. Cycling groupthink has evolved in an Orwellian sense to a higher plain of manipulative rhetoric. Cycling wants so desperately to move on from the steroid era that it is fabricating reality by manufacturing new truths. Ignorance is Strength. Doping in cycling <i>must</i> continue unabated, the stakes are too high, but the <i>family</i> wants the problem to vanish under the guise of distorted propaganda. <i>Sir</i> Bradley Wiggins serves as an icon of this distorted propaganda: with his fabricated virtue, and his holy Team <i>Sky</i> who are above reproach with their fabricated philosophy of "ride clean." Yes, we have been spoon fed these assurances before, and we note with disdain that Team <i>Sky</i> has employed doctors who have spotty backgrounds.<br />
<br />
The stench, something is rotting, the air is saturated. Marco Pantani was a pure climber, a great rider with a tortured soul. A man who was spat upon by cycling. A man who was singled out as an example and cruelly punished for playing the game by the <i>family</i> rules. Eighty percent of the pack was using performance-enhancing drugs during the steroid era according to Tyler Hamilton. <i>Most of whom were never punished</i>.<br />
<br />
But cycling has always maintained a double standard. Marco Pantani and Floyd Landis were forced out, in disgrace, mocked, vilified, while Alberto Contador was welcomed back with open arms all forgiven.<br />
<br />
"Never again" is their mantra. Never demean another rider in such a hypocritical fashion is my mantra. Treat people with respect is my mantra. We all make mistakes and deserve to be forgiven. We do not need to drive riders to such desperate extremes that they need to take their own lives alone and forsaken. Shame on us! Equity for all, man the barricades!velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-5874932899566882032015-03-17T14:35:00.000-06:002019-04-28T17:28:26.919-06:00Stationary Bike BluesHammering on the proform stationary bike for hundreds of miles does not have the same ambiance as the open road, in fact sitting prone generates some of the most vivid memories of past rides, my mood has never been direr. I am fighting a losing battle with the most ruthless state this side of the Siberian gulag, I made several trivial miscalculations which may prove fatal. I had the stupid propensity to follow the advice of people who were supposed to be experienced in these horrible social welfare programs. I am almost looking forward to the final decision in order to be done with all of these invasive personal questions that the state seems to want to disseminate to all and sundry. Honestly, if you wanted to paint a portrait of my abnormal personality traits, or my inherent dishonesty, you need to look no further than this blog where finally the blinders have come off.<br />
<br />
I don't have one red cent to my name or a bicycle to ride or a job or any fingers. People have to cut up my food or I would starve to death. I can't fasten my seat belt or open car doors. I can't write with a pen. My hands suffer from chronic pain twenty-four hours a day. I live with people who drink all day and argue all night about getting a divorce. I play solitaire on the computer all night because I can't sleep. I can't wipe my own ass.<br />
<br />
Today is my birthday, I feel like I want to puke. I want to get out of these ugly suburbs and back to the wide open spaces. These giant size homes with puny backyards give me claustrophobia. I could never understand how status is based on material possessions or what neighborhood you reside in.<br />
<br />
I can't believe how I could have screwed everything up so bad. I just wanted to be a good old boy with a steady job. Wealth never interested me very much. Can a person continue to live for long without hope?<br />
<br />
I watched a whole boatload of old Tour films, bored without pleasure, to pass the time, something I thought would never happen. I want some finality, I am tired of being monitored everywhere I go like some caged beast. I want some faceless bastard to make a decision since they seem to be searching everywhere for a pretext to fornicate me.<br />
<br />
Funny, when I was a normal person I didn't have two nickels in my pocket, but I survived years of environmental onslaughts without a qualm. People would classify this behavior as insane, but the streets are full of sick crazy people. Now, I need a shelter to survive or I will die? I think if forced back on the streets that I will survive more environmental onslaughts, but my longevity may not be of long duration. Without a bicycle, I may not last a month.<br />
<br />
But as everyone knows nature punishes her freaks brutally. I am looking forward to the challenge even though it is impossible to be victorious.<br />
<br />
I am sure there are a great number of people who are sickened by the tone of my recent posts, but perhaps I want some detached mental health practitioner to do a clinical study of the aftermath of traumatic injuries, and who is better to document suffering better than a complete moron such as myself? <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-88901882391895146122015-03-09T03:05:00.004-06:002020-06-22T19:35:02.482-06:00Black DaysThe content of this blog has deteriorated. This blog was focused on how dope increased athletic performance in cycling. I never intended to focus on any other topic. But since my frostbite accident, my blog has been more of a journal of my personal spiral into madness than a protest against doping in cycling during the "steroid era." However, I have made small subtle references to a bicycle anti-doping agenda in an attempt to remain on topic.<br />
<br />
The worse thing that could happen to a dysfunctional moron such as myself is to have an accident. The only form of transportation I had was a bicycle or my feet, and the reason I bought a bicycle in the first place was so I could stop walking twenty miles a day. Injured, without the ability to ride my bicycle, I nearly starved to death. Currently, my poor bicycle is sitting in a garage with a rusty chain, I cannot ride the poor old thing, although I love and need that bicycle very much! My hands are healing, the weather is improving, the primal urge is screaming, I need to go for a bicycle ride!<br />
<br />
I can't even wipe my own ass. If I wanted to off myself, I could do so very easily by riding down a large hill, and bang! collide with some rich ass hole's car. Knowing my luck, I would fuck that up too. I would probably awaken to the disapproving frown of some trauma surgeon. "All the king's horses and all the king's men could never put Humpty Dumpty together again." But knowing my luck, some surgeon wizard would put <i>velovortmax</i> back together again, much to my chagrin and endless suffering.<br />
<br />
People in a surge of generosity gave me a large number of personal items, which in the end I will be forced to abandon, like my old bicycle. Parting with a bicycle you love is like parting with a woman you love, the memories never die, good or bad. A thought worthless bicycle thieves should keep in mind, people love and need their bicycles! Bicycle thieves should be pilloried in the public square for depriving people of their precious bicycles, a suitable punishment for human filth.<br />
<br />
I want to walk away. I need a bicycle to survive. Men walk away from their women and die. I walk away from my bicycle and die?<br />
<br />
Read the <i>Old Curiosity Shop.</i> When Nell and her grandfather wander the streets all day in some old sooty industrial town, they decide to bed down in a stairwell of a doorway on the cold rough cobblestones. A furnace tender comes to the rescue, he tells Nell and her grandfather about the bad things creeps do to young helpless girls at night in industrial towns. Charles Dickens was a master of painting stark canvases of his day, the industrial revolution was a tough time, there was little compassion for human life. People tangled their limbs in the machinery, surgeons were busy with the most primitive tools. Injured people were left stranded to fend for themselves without any form of assistance. Modern life, the information age, has an abundance of material possessions, fat bloated people, but disabled people are still left to fend for themselves without assistance. People still live outdoors and are caught in windstorms, their frozen body parts are amputated. People still die of hunger, people go blind from lack of nutrition, people cannot afford medical care, there is very little if any improvement from Charles Dickens' day...<br />
<br />
I am the brunt of insidious jokes, people want to use me as a cheap Halloween prop. They wish to employ me to terrify children because my hands look like something out of a cheap horror show.<br />
<br />
I thought I was an enterprising sort of guy, always living on the edge, pushing my luck, daring fate. Then Mother Nature exacted her revenge, and She is waiting cold and unfeeling for my return to finish me off. To Mother Nature, human life has no value.<br />
<br />
I have a date with destiny. I was convinced that I would die on a bicycle ride, but the fates seem to have something more gruesome in store for me. I am suffering from mental derangement. A jaded social worker would love my anguish and attempt to intensify my angst.<br />
<br />
I have fallen on black days, the Sun refuses to shine in my vacant world.<br />
<br />
<b>Odes to Post Graduate Social Isolation, 1986</b><br />
<br />
<b>An Outside View</b><br />
<br />
I awoke from an enchanting dream where<br />
A vast labyrinth barred my path,<br />
Strewn with broken pillars, cornices, casements.<br />
<br />
A large white balcony stretched over a yawning precipice<br />
Embossed in pure marble!<br />
But this idyllic view was besmirched<br />
By an encircling dank moat.<br />
<br />
Hopelessly lost in a perpetual maze of stupid ironies!<br />
A diminutive candle, if you don't mind, PLEASE!<br />
<br />
Oh, Muse! Where is your guiding beacon?<br />
Somewhere beyond these obstacles lies a solution to the Myth!<br />
Are not all things discernible with the aid of a flickering candle?<br />
<br />
Mixed with a sweet lyrical strain of a cherub's faultless innocence<br />
Came a far distant rumble.<br />
Under a sight of an infantry gun,<br />
Or reports from a darkening sky filled with anvil clouds?<br />
<br />
A moth flies precariously around the open tallow flame.<br />
Agape! A spectral vision, nowhere to implode?<br />
But yet the light quivers!<br />
<br />
<b>Another Boring Tangent</b><br />
<br />
Muse! When I begged you for inspiration you cruelly deceived me! I asked only for an audience, but my lyre was met with deaf ears. My tongue is silenced; a rotting corpse. But my head is inundated with the stinking excrement of our time. I have tried various methods to exclude unpleasant sensory impressions; songs, poetry, rudeness, all to no avail! And my critics have crucified me with exile!<br />
<br />
Terry D. Holfeltz<br />
Salt Lake City, Utah<br />
1986velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-83966829237421119242015-03-04T15:08:00.000-07:002020-05-31T00:57:15.442-06:00Gabapentin Causes Post Traumatic Dementia?I never expected to go through post-traumatic depression from a nasty bilateral four-finger frostbite amputation I experienced recently. I applied for assistance from the government and was told to drop dead twice. I can't pay the medical co-pay for my prescriptions. I think I will fly a sign, help a homeless bum pay for his medical, food, and shelter costs. I wonder how long it would take before some deranged cop tried to arrest me for creating a nuisance. Would the inmate population treat a fingerless person with more respect than the police? But being so vulnerable, perhaps I would be robbed of my nefarious gains by a fellow street person and would require the assistance of the police before I was arrested. Are crippled people targets for thieves? When I run out of medication do I go through delirium tremens, and will this require further hospitalization? Will they control my hallucinations with a good dose of <a href="http://www.drugs.com/cdi/thorazine.html">Thorazine</a>? Do the police assassinate deranged visionary cripples who create a disturbance from sudden medication withdrawal, people who shout at cars, and wave their stumps about in a frenzy while baring their teeth like rabid dogs? If rabid dogs are removed to protect society why not remove indigent unemployable cripples who are nothing more than stinking parasites who siphon money from productive taxpayers? The city could employ squads of angry citizens who would round up undesirable bums much like animal control rounds up stray animals. They put down animals, why not bums? In ancient history when I was a productive person, (not to be labeled a hypocrite), I would have favored a platform that called for the extermination of bums. Now that I am disabled, I am ready to volunteer as an example to others. Civic duty requires worthless people to step aside to create prosperity for others, as there are a finite number of resources... <br />
<br />
There was a nasty social worker who asked me some of the stupidest questions when I was in the hospital. Why do social workers exist and do they serve any useful purpose in this world?<br />
<br />
The family took me to a local bicycle shop, maybe out of some sort of sadistic prompting. When I saw all of the new beautiful bicycles that I could never afford I almost cried. The salesman treated me like a piece of crap. Salesmen are only interested in generating sales of high-end bicycles, I understand this sort of morbid reasoning. People are insisting that with some bicycle engineering modifications I may be able to ride again on a road bike. I doubt that this will ever be possible because the muscle functionality in my hands has not returned to the extent where I can apply enough pressure to the brake handles even to work hydraulic breaks. There may be some future improvement, time will tell, but if not, there is always an ugly cruiser which does not require a hand brake. Wandering around the shop I even found a copy of Tyler Hamilton's book <i>The Secret Race.</i> Seeing that book made me feel violently ill from noxious disgust. Tyler Hamilton was a doper extremist and my favorite target. Tyler Hamilton was so gifted as a rider it was difficult to understand his bipolar depression. But athletic gifts do not absolutely preclude mental instability.<br />
<br />
They gave me something called gabapentin to kill phantom pain. I hate all medications illegal or prescribed. The side effects of gabapentin constitute a virtual syndrome of symptoms, including a lethal mix of depression and dementia. Maybe I should call a doctor. Some strange physical sensations seem to persist in my hands. I attempt to describe these sensations to the bored outpatient clinic workers who tell me these sensations are not uncommon. They doubled my dosage of gabapentin, <i>maybe I am taking too much</i>. I am having weird memory lapses. I should call a doctor. These sensations in my hands are not normal.<br />
<br />
Wired in a hospital bed while in perfect health is a strange experience. I kept trying to convince the staff there was nothing wrong with me and perhaps the bed could be more usefully filled by someone who was really ill. The hospital staff assured me there was plenty of space. Being in a burn center, I saw faces of children fried from burn accidents, beautiful innocent little children scarred for life. How could a compassionate loving God allow innocent children to go through the trauma of being burned? How could a loving God allow frostbite? Have me burned for being a blasphemer, heretic, an infidel. I welcome death. Death would be preferable to these horrors. <br />
<br />
They could have amputated my thumbs, but then again there is voice recognition technology. There is really no excuse, failure to adapt to modern-day technology is not a systemic failure, it is an individualistic failure. I see families who sit around the kitchen table for hours with their noses buried in their cell phones, oblivious of each other and the surrounding environment. The new normal. I had no desire for a cell phone and was happy. The rustic life I loved has been taken away. I am bored cooped up in a house all day. I want to heal and then to vanish into thin air. Demented thinking takes on many colorful hues, as an expanding soap bubble.<br />
<br />
My surgeon, Dr. Amalia Cochran, has a blog herself, <i>Life in the Wild West, the musings of a burn surgeon.</i> I could not refrain from reading some of it. She was complaining that at an academic conference some of her male colleagues commented unfavorably upon her flowery attire as lacking in professional etiquette. I wanted to be an organizational sociologist once, I even read, <i>Men and Women of the Corporation.</i> Have we as a society yet to emerge from the stone age of male/female professional relations and is there still a gender-specific double standard? I hope people are beyond such mundane concerns as to what constitutes proper attire in professional settings, there are more pressing concerns, all this nonsense seems so trivial...<br />
<br />
Demented reasoning again? But, you know, a woman commented, without fingers how do you jerk off? I did not expect an existential question of such probity. How do you respond to such a question without being gender-specific? If I respond I need to hire a prostitute does that make me sexist? Should I fall upon my knees and beg the first woman I see? Would she have me arrested for perversion? Since I have no wife and am not gay, do I risk offending anyone and does anyone care about being offended anymore?<br />
<br />
This is 2015, not the stone age. We regard ourselves as very sophisticated people, at least we enlightened ones do. The unwashed are the same old dullards, unable to grasp the concept of equality for all regardless of circumstance. Thus utopia is foiled once again, nipped in the bud by the same old prejudicial nonsense, the inability to share power between the sexes on a level playing field.<br />
<br />
Anyone care for another gabapentin?<br />
<br />
<b>Addendum:</b><br />
<br />
I was looking at the neurotransmitter, Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) out of scientific interest. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the central and peripheral nervous systems. GABA seems to slow the firing rate of excitatory amino acid-dependent neurons. GABA has been touted as a natural tranquilizer and has been given to patients with anxiety disorders under the hypothesis that over time, increased platelet levels of GABA induces beneficial sedative effects. However, oral administration of GABA may not pass the blood-brain barrier, therefore, GABA taken orally may be nothing more than a high priced placebo.<br />
<br />
Okay, everyone knows my opinion of supplements. Bodybuilders seem to think that GABA increases levels of human growth hormone (HGH) and muscle mass...seriously? GABA is being taken as a performance-enhancing drug?<br />
<br />
Mode of action of gabapentin from the <i>Physicians Desk Reference</i>:<br />
<br />
GABA analog; has not been established. Binds with high-affinity to the α2-delta subunit of voltage-activated Ca<sup>2+</sup> channels. Analgesic Effects: Prevents allodynia and hyperalgesia (animals).<br />
<br />
One of my doctors said that gabapentin blocks excitatory amino acid-dependent receptors. A very generic explanation as no doubt there is a whole constellation of excitatory amino acid receptors. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that gabapentin crosses the blood-brain barrier, the drug is prescribed for seizure disorders. Seizures are postulated to be caused by scar tissue from injury near the <a href="http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/corpus-callosum">corpus callosum</a>, or the area of the brain that contains neurons that connects the hemispheres of the brain.<br />
<br />
In the good old days, scientists experimented upon themselves with unknown drugs and they recorded their own physiological reactions. Nowadays crazed researchers use laboratory rats under stringent ethical rules to establish medical efficacy of drugs. Then there are cumbersome human trials and voluminous recorded medical data sets.<br />
<br />
Good enough, but consider this, how does a rat express his or her mindset without language? If a rat sits all day in the corner of his or her cage with a languorous demeanor does this indicate a depressed state of mind? May an inference be made as to the state of mind of a research animal based upon a downcast expression? Perhaps. But the complexity of human reactions does not generally generalize between species, people can mask depression or anxiety with cheerful expressions. Therefore, human verbal descriptions of changes in psychological health are required to determine how side-effects of drugs can be adequately described, measured, or predicted. Radical invasive measures are forbidden. Living human tissue samples from the brain cannot be extracted for the research purposes except in extreme cases of radical surgery where large tracts of damage exist, but even so; neurons that survive <i>in vitro</i> work beyond the ken of human understanding.<br />
<br />
I would willingly contribute slices of my <a href="http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/limbicsystem.html">limbic system</a> to expand knowledge of affective disorders like the intrepid researchers of old, but that would be considered unethical as long as I am alive. Better would be to dedicate my corpse to science, medical students could spend all day carving up my cadaver marveling at the abnormalities.<br />
<br />
But damn it! gabapentin does not block dead excitatory amino acid-dependent receptors, does it? [Indeed: calcium channels are dependent upon stimulation of receptors to perforate the double membranes of the vesicles that are contained within the presynaptic neuron. The perforated membranes then release neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. So I am uncertain as to what sort of receptor blockade my doctor was referring to.] And my GABA receptors can't report to me what is happening, damn it!<br />
<br />
Another scientific breakthrough squandered by limitations of the human brain!
velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-71918634244522144032015-02-13T16:19:00.000-07:002019-04-29T09:32:28.329-06:00Frostbite Cripples Velo VortmaxFor the few readers who have endured my madness over the years, I have suffered through a personal disaster befitting a person of my insignificant stature. Caught outdoors in a downslope windstorm with gusts of eighty miles an hour, my fingers froze, died on the vine, and all four digits on each hand were amputated at the University of Utah burn center by two very capable surgeons, Dr. Amalia Cochran, and Dr. Kate Smiley. I am typing this missive with my thumbs, which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am capable of doing something of value, and that I have not been rendered completely useless. This is an indispensable lesson for people who have an interest in defining cripples as able-bodied human beings, all in an attempt to deny benefits to said persons, in the interest of saving money for the state.<br />
<br />
I have for many years been an advocate for cyclists who in many instances claimed innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence against them. In reviewing the arguments I made against what I considered a corrupt system, I feel ashamed at some of my logic, which reads like fantastically overblown nonsense. But, perhaps, not in every instance was I mistaken in my assumptions.<br />
<br />
I had a premonition of disaster. One fine day I was asleep thinking of a large wind storm that I survived years ago, wondering if such a storm would happen again. Now, in the aftermath, I feel sick at heart, like a prisoner trapped in a cell helplessly staring through the bars wondering whether I will survive a hideous ordeal. There were only two things I loved in this world: riding my bicycle and maintaining my state of self-independence free from debt or obligation to others. Sadly, there was so much amputated from my fingers that I may never be able to ride my road bike again. It is unfortunate that disasters in life have a tendency to deprive a person of the few things in this world that generate a sense of happiness and well being. Nothing tops the sensation one feels when descending down a ten percent switchback on a good road bike where you are in complete control and confident nothing will go wrong. Then, suddenly you realize those days have passed forever. Then, one fine day you look out the window of an automobile, and see a local team out on a training ride, the tears flow like rain, and you realize there is no one to communicate your thoughts too. Precious cycling memories most people scoff at, lost forever.<br />
<br />
Through my misery, I have to laugh at the thought so many people thought it necessary to save my life. I wandered the streets of Salt Lake City in a frenzy trying to fend off the inevitable like a madman. People gazed at my dead fingers aghast in horror, some mentioned the consequences of gangrene. Finally, the wife of a doctor who is a specialist in infectious diseases, Polly, insisted that I ride in her car to a free clinic, where Dr. Tanya Williams instantly faxed photographs of my hands to the University of Utah burn center. Two burn surgeons, Dr. Amalia Cochran, and Dr. Kate Smiley suggested an immediate admission into the hospital. During the tramp of madness, my weight had dropped from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and twenty-seven pounds.<br />
<br />
I spent three weeks in an intensive care unit. The hospital bill would add another trillion to the national debt. I will never be able to pay for the fine care I received. I have been reduced to the status of a circus cripple with eight fingers amputated, disabled for life, sickened to death, dependent on others, and uncertain of the future. I want to run to some mountain hideaway and vanish forever like some old beaten dog.<br />
<br />
People sneered at some of my stupid conclusions, but all I wanted to do was to generate some discussion about the abysmal levels of dope apparently necessary to ride at the highest level in our sport. The malady did not start with Lance Armstrong or end with Lance Armstrong. People need to realize that if you require men to ride bicycles over successive mountain passes in a single stage that may extend for over a hundred brutal miles, these extreme conditions raced at top speed might provide the riders an incentive to use performance-enhancing drugs. To think otherwise requires a thought process that is not based in reality. Riders will continue to cheat as long as the riders agree a high probability of never being caught exists, or they know methods doctors employ to defeat the detection methods employed by the laboratories exist, or the possibility governing bodies are willing to look the other way exist. Indeed, everybody thinks they are bullet proof until they fuck up and make stupid miscalculations. There is no excuse for these types of stupid miscalculations, and when you face the consequences, you have no one but yourself to blame.<br />
<br />
Ask me, I am a living example of a stupid miscalculation. I knew better and still goofed. I have no one but myself to blame. I was an experienced outdoorsman. I made a foolish blunder and was caught unprepared. Without modern medicine and surgery, I would be dead.<br />
<br />
I will recover. I used to haunt a library all day reading books, forever in search of that quintessential writing style. I was despised by some people who frequented that library, and I am sure that they are rejoicing at my absence. I may be back, still adorned in rags, sans my fingers, to destroy your serenity. So enjoy my hiatus while you can.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-89931308634763149862014-12-20T16:50:00.002-07:002019-04-28T17:35:40.176-06:00The Tour is Won on the Alpe: Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYaIo-gPD0lNBN-e1qJxMz3hwm-YGExsISryVf9Bw3IScOVBA7C93mcd-qUglasOp-M8NDgkthmG2O98qfHQOPB1NlmeytUP9ztBjTaCJyzd8uM1iBCJTieBW_LuOVrfnXbHPF7ZmOUg/s1600/TWA_72dpi_400x600_stroke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYaIo-gPD0lNBN-e1qJxMz3hwm-YGExsISryVf9Bw3IScOVBA7C93mcd-qUglasOp-M8NDgkthmG2O98qfHQOPB1NlmeytUP9ztBjTaCJyzd8uM1iBCJTieBW_LuOVrfnXbHPF7ZmOUg/s320/TWA_72dpi_400x600_stroke.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>The Tour is Won on the Alpe</i>, Jean-Paul Vespini, David V. Herlihy (Translator), Velo Press, 2008.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Tour is Won on the Alpe</i> is the quintessential reference book, required reading for any cycling fanatic. No matter what context, your favorite Tour, your favorite rider, controversies, doping, everything is there is well written, short concise summaries.<br />
<br />
L'Alpe d'Huez, also known as the Wall of L' Oisans, or the Dutch Mountain, is the queen of Tour de France climbs.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What are the key elements that make this such a sacred cycling ritual? For starters, it's the geography. The 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) climb is truly hellish as the elevation rises from 800 meters (2,625 feet) at Bourg d' Oisans to 1,860 meters (6,102 feet) at the summit. The grade averages 8 percent, a rise of about 50 meters (164 feet) from one hairpin to the next. The brutal slope becomes especially taxing after the bridge at Romanche, where some sections reach a 14 percent grade before the hamlet of La Garde. For the uninitiated, it's a voyage into the depths of hell. P.xiv.</blockquote>
The switchbacks of L'Alpe d'Huez are numbered backward from number 21 at the base of the climb to number 1 near the summit. The turns list a past stage winner's name, the elevation, and the nearest distance to an emergency telephone; a fact that is the constant brunt of rider mirth.<br />
<br />
The first climb up L'Alpe d'Huez was run in 1952 and was won by <a href="http://bikeraceinfo.com/kom/europe/kom-france-alpe-d-huez.html">Fausto Coppi</a>, "Campionissimo," who donned the yellow jersey at the summit, which he would retain all the way to Paris. The 1952 Tour de France was raced during a heat wave of 40+ degree Celsius temperatures when people all over Europe were dying from heat exposure. To slow the pace and deter breakaways, the Tour organizers accused the riders of brandishing their bicycle pumps. A cartoon depicted the event with Phoebus wilting the riders while they rode, while hammerman (the symbol of injury) and the witch with green teeth (the symbol of bad luck) looked on appalled.<br />
<br />
Then until the 1976 Tour de France, L'Alpe d'Huez was forgotten. The stage was added almost as an afterthought after a planned stage was dropped from the Tour route due to a dispute between a developer and city government officials. The stage was won by Joop Zoetemelk who nipped Lucien van Impe at the line, winning by a three-second margin. Henceforward, the Alpe would become enshrined as a permanent fixture of the Tour de France forever, attracting over the years millions of delirious fans, who fight for prime viewing areas, and who cheer on their favorite heroes in a bedlam environment that defies description.<br />
<br />
<b>Jacques Goddet Goes Crazy</b> <br />
<br />
Everybody thought that the 1977 Tour de France would be the year of the resurgence of Eddy Merckx, who had won five Tour de France titles, and who was looking forward to a record number six. However, during a rest day, after eating contaminated celery root, Eddy Merckx was visibly suffering from food poisoning, puking his guts out all over the road. Everyone thought that Eddy Merckx would abandon at any moment. Instead, on L' Alpe d'Huez, Eddy Merckx would regain his incredible fluid pedal stroke, and would boast at the summit that he had climbed the Wall of L'Oisans at a faster pace than Hennie Kuiper, who won the stage! There were no objections to this assertion by Eddy Merckx; in fact, people gazed at the greatest cyclist of all time in admiration after he had managed another amazing feat of athletic prowess.<br />
<br />
But other than the amazing feats of Eddy Merckx the rest of the 1977 Tour de France was raced at what Jacques Goddet considered a snail's pace. Jacques Goddet claimed that the fanatics were dying of boredom because there were few, if any, breakaways during the race. In an <i>L' Equipe </i>editorial Jacques Goddet called for "A plea for a new Tour."<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Goddet suggested new attractions, a 100 kilometer (62 miles) team time trial, and a motorcycle paced event, along with increased incentives, such as a greatly enhanced prize for "competitiveness" and stiffer penalties, such as annulling all stage-specific prizes if the average speed fell <i>below</i> a set minimum. P.26; italics added.</blockquote>
<br />
Jacques Goddet's suggestion bordered on lunacy. There were a huge number of big name cyclists who had tested positive for the drug stimuli, an amphetamine-based cocktail in 1977, including Bernard Thevenet, Eddy Merckx, and Freddy Maertens. The riders were furious, insisting that they were racing under inhuman conditions and that they were being denied even rudimentary medications they needed to treat their racing injuries.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Prior to the Tour, on the eve of the Giro in Milan, Eddy Merckx had called the racers to an impromptu meeting in which they demanded that the lists of banned substances be revised to distinguish medicines that cause little or no harm from those that are truly dangerous. The former were to be tolerated and the latter "rigorously forbidden." P.27.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Marc Juneau, a Belgian journalist and Merckx's longtime confidant, called for fewer mountaintop finishes in order to decrease the racers' incentive to use drugs. "Whatever happened to all those promises to humanize the Tour? Instead, the organizers have increased the number of mountaintop finishes. They've shamelessly eliminated the transitional stages and have even hauled the racers from the end of the Alps straight to the foothills of the Pyrenees. It is difficult, even inconceivable, to be a professional cyclist in 1977 and not resort to taking stimulants." P.27</blockquote>
<br />
But, in spite of racer pleas for a more rational selection of banned substances, more transitional stages, and rest stages to help the riders recover: here is Jacques Goddet, demanding that the riders ride above a set <i>minimum</i> time or be penalized. This idiotic logic of increasing the Tour speed would be fully realized in future Tours de France when the tempo set by the riders exceeded what could be reasonably considered physiologically impossible without dope. The Tour organizers preferred to turn a blind eye to what was happening because the later Tours of the steroid era featured long breakaways that were reeled in at the last moment by the sprinter teams, with the aid of race radio, well orchestrated by the <i>directeur</i> <i>sportif</i>, who timed these exploits with a stopwatch; <i>very exciting</i>, people were wide awake marveling at these spectacles. And who can forget the look Lance Armstrong gave Jan Ullrich on L'Alpe d'Huez when Lance Armstrong sprinted up the Dutch Mountain at supersonic speed dropping the hapless German like a hot rock? People were jumping up and down in an excited frenzy over these exploits with admiring expressions of wonder too. <i>Oui?</i> But then again there were people who wondered how every year the average speed of the Tour increased, or how Marco Pantani rode so much faster than Bernard Hinault up L' Alpe d' Huez. Everyone suspected doping: there were too many positive tests during the steroid era from too many top riders, but nobody dropped dead on the hairpin turns of L'Alpe d'Huez as Tommy Simpson did on Mont Ventoux. So what if your blood was a thick as mud, as long as you did not die on the course, nobody cared enough to intervene.<br />
<br />
<b>Dope, Deception, and Detection</b> <br />
<br />
There are plentiful examples of doping referenced in <i>The Tour is Won on the Alpe</i>. In 1978 Michel Pollentier won the stage up L'Alpe d'Huez and the yellow jersey, but he tried to fool the doping control by hiding a bladder of clean urine under his armpit and extending a tube down his back ending behind his penis. The doping doctor on duty caught him because he insisted that Michel Pollentier pull down his pants and lift up his jersey. Plus the tube seemed to be plugged up with something so Michel Pollentier could not provide any substitute urine anyway. Michel Pollentier was stripped of his yellow jersey, relegated to the back of the peloton for the stage, penalized ten minutes in the general classification, and fined $5,000 Swiss francs for this fraud. Michel Pollentier claimed that he used an anti-asthmatic drug during the Tour, and he was afraid if found out, of being expelled from the race. This episode leads to two important lessons. (1) The need for a therapeutic use exemption for legitimate medical concerns, as was suggested by Eddy Merckx, and eventually implemented by the UCI, and (2) the penalties for doping devolved from a reasonable and rational level into a draconian, arbitrary, irrational monstrosity. Relegated to the back of the pack, penalized ten minutes in the general classification, fined, are a far cry from two-year suspensions for a first doping offense, four years for a second offense, the death penalty for a third offense, endless litigation, and expense. These barbaric arbitration "awards" benefit, whom? Certainly not the athlete. The UCI should return to the days where an infraction leads to reasonable punishment. That way cycling could dispense with the legal circus and dispense with outside actors who have no business passing judgment on anyone. Of course, <i>repeat</i> offenders were suspended for up to a year, even in 1978. Nevertheless, the draconian suspensions deter no one, because if this was the case, after the treatment Floyd Landis received, Alberto Contador would have never been stripped of his title for using clenbuterol. But on the other hand, after the Festina Affair in 1998, Richard Virenque would have never have been allowed to exploit a loophole in the UCI regulations to start the 1999 Tour, in spite of the objections of Jean-Marie Leblanc. So where does the happy medium lie, in hypocrisy, persona non grata?<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1989 Tour de France: Greg LeMond Versus Laurent Fignon: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjZt3kleCb8">L'Alpe d'Huez</a></b><br />
<br />
There were many great battles on L'Alpe d'Huez, but perhaps none more significant than the battle that emerged between Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon during the 1989 Tour de France. Simply put Greg LeMond started to self destruct on the climb giving Laurent Fignon an opportunity to bury him.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
7 kilometers from the top, LeMond, began to falter, his shoulders rocking back and forth. It was a sign that Cyrille Guimard, Fignon's <i>directeur sportif</i> recognized: LeMond was out of gas. He threaded his car through the sea of crazed fans and pulled up to Fignon. "You've got to go. Now!" Fignon, his face wreathed in sweat, looked over, "I can't do it," he said, "I can't." P.94</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Guimard dropped back and waited. The three (LeMond, Fignon, Delgado) climbed as a group. And then, at turn 6, just before the hamlet of Huez and only four kilometers (2.4miles) from the summit, Guimard once again pushed his car through the crowds. "Attack!" LeMond is cooked. It's now or never!" Now Fignon made his move, throwing all his aggression and hopes into a painful effort. He had 53 seconds to make up in order to retake the yellow jersey. At turn 3, 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the finish, he had already taken back 52 seconds. P.95. </blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Suddenly, wrote Philippe Bouvet in <i>L' Equipe</i>, LeMond sat back down in the saddle. He reached for his shift lever, he wavered. The narrow corridor that the fans had yielded was not wide enough; LeMond was all over the place. For 500 meters, it was terrible: the yellow jersey was drowning in a sea of spectators. No car or motorcycle could follow him carefully enough to keep the crowd from closing in on him. P.95</blockquote>
<br />
Laurent Fignon took over the yellow jersey from LeMond on L'Alpe d'Huez and wore it all the way to Paris, wherein the final stage time trial he lost the race by 8 seconds. LeMond had used aerodynamic tri bars, disc wheels, aerodynamic helmet, while Laurent Fignon used a standard safety bicycle. Why would Cyrille Guimard allow this discrepancy to happen, aerodynamics versus a standard bicycle? The reason, according to Jean-Paul Vespini, is because Cyrille Guimard thought that Laurent Fignon had squandered his chances on the turns of L'Alpe d'Huez, so Laurent Fignon did not <i>deserve</i> to win the Tour de France!<br />
<br />
<b>The Decline of Greg LeMond </b><br />
<br />
Francesco Conconi predicted that the newly emerging Miguel Indurain would dominate the Tour de France in two years during the 1989 Tour de France. How insightful! Greg LeMond had a penchant to win the Tour at the last second like Zorro! But one insight I gleaned from Jean-Paul Vespini's book that never occurred to me before is the fact that Greg LeMond resembled Jan Ullrich, the offseason slackness, the lack of preparation and work ethic, and the crash course of training to get into Tour de France race shape. Plus Greg LeMond was always a fragile, psychologically unstable man, who was never sure of himself in the face of stress. Greg LeMond also never learned that the top of the cycling world is very short-lived, the young men are always waiting to depose the old men, like Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon did to Bernard Hinault. Greg LeMond always complained that his misfortunes limited the number of his Tour victories, that he could have outdistanced even Eddy Merckx, without the curse of the witch with green teeth! But Fignon and Hinault suffered injuries that made them miss Tour de France races in their primes, so Greg LeMond's excuses are superficial at best. Let us just say that father time caught up with Greg LeMond. His era, though great, had passed, and it wasn't merely a matter of EPO, but perhaps more importantly, a matter of mitochondrial myopathy. The fact that Greg LeMond was forever bitter about his bad luck and the fact that he tried to transfer his bitterness into accusatory expedients of others' behavior is inexcusable and shows that Greg LeMond, even though he was a great cyclist, is not a great person to emulate.<br />
<br />
<br />
Update: This review is unusually truncated. I wrote down pages of notes that I thought were pertinent; but as I have done in some posts, I may add the notes to future discussions. The book begins with Fausto Coppi and ends with the 2006 Tour de France. The 2006 L'Alpe d' Huez stage was won by Frank Schleck, and the 2006 Tour de France was won by Floyd Landis, who tested positive for synthetic testosterone in a highly suspicious test result. Floyd Landis was stripped of his title and was banned from cycling for two and one-half years. If the circumstances were more reasonable, Floyd Landis would have lost his title anyway, if he would have been retroactively penalized ten minutes in the general classification and relegated to the back of the peloton for his doping offense. There would have been no need for USADA, or Travis Tygart, no need to revoke his racing license, no need for Floyd Landis to spend two million dollars in litigation fees, no need for USADA to spend millions in litigation costs, no need for the American Arbitration Association, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, no need to lampoon Floyd Landis in the press or to smear his character. Some people might say, "Ah, come on man, don't do the crime, if you can't do the time, don't do it," or some other trite cliche. I don't agree because people are not infallible, science is not perfect, and people have tendencies to <i>make mistakes</i>. Eliminate the mistakes and I will adopt your philosophy that the best way to avoid punishment is to avoid engaging in behavior that requires punishment. But guess what gang, police arrest the wrong people, witnesses identify the wrong people, people languish in prisons who are innocent! Re-examination of cold case DNA has cleared many a man sentenced to death; the facts were in error! The judgment was in error! The witnesses were in error! The police were in error! And I insist that LNDD was in error! USADA was in error! The Court of Arbitration for Sport was in error! And I insist that Floyd Landis was punished in error!<br />
<br />
Marco Pantani, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOyvswnEBTo">fastest time</a> up L'Alpe d'Huez ever. His record could not be beaten even by Lance Armstrong in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkffZ65TVg">time trial</a> up the Alpe. With all the reforms the record may stand <i>forever</i>.<br />
<br />
If the Alpe is your stage, <i>The Tour is Won on the Alpe</i> is the book for you!velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-57836494753118240782014-10-28T18:26:00.000-06:002019-04-29T13:19:24.083-06:00It's Not About The Bike: Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br i="" />
<i>It's Not About The Bike,</i> Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins, G.P. Putman's Sons, 2000<br />
<br />
Sally Jenkins lists on the cover of the book some amazing attributes of Lance Armstrong: "Winner Tour de France- Cancer Survivor- Husband- Father- Son- Human Being." If I were to edit the attributes I might mention Liar, Cheater, Doper, Scoundrel, and Dissimulator of Noxious Poppycock. But then again somebody would accuse me of being a cynic.<br />
<br />
The book is segmented into three parts, a youthful brash Lance Armstrong who was an impulsive athletic sensation feeling his roots and taking incredible risks, the Texas tornado days; the cancer diagnoses and the realization of mortality; and the aftermath, the astounding recovery and sensational athletic success of winning the Tour de France.<br />
<br />
There are some themes to the book that resemble <i>Every Second Counts</i>,
Lance Armstrong's propensity to launch solo suicide attacks that were
usually reeled in. His brazen, argumentative style prompted other
riders in the peloton to <i>flick</i> him. The term <i>flick</i> is
derived from a German obscenity, and in cycling, it equates to tactics
used by other riders in tandem to prevent one from winning a race.
Lance Armstrong was warned by other riders: "cool it, you are making
enemies," and in cycling races, you do favors for friends, so they will
do favors for <i>you</i> when the need arises. A group of angry riders
will <i>flick</i> you at the most critical moment. Understand? <br />
<br />
Then there are the weight claims, the bad cycling technique, the lack of understanding of team tactics, the lack of commitment, the lack of discipline, all excuses contrived to circumvent the rumors that the vast improvement in Lance Armstrong's performance was founded on dope. Aerodynamics might account for some of the improvement, but how do you explain the fact that during the 1993 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong after winning the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxF86ZfTfII">Chalons-Sur-Marne to Verdun</a> stage, abandoned the race during stage 12; in 97th place? Lance Armstrong claimed that the Alps were "too long and too cold." What an amazing metamorphosis, the man of clay suddenly emerges as the man of steel, dropping the opposition like flies in sensational climbing attacks during the 1999 Tour de France, to the amazement of everyone, who predicted before the race that Lance Armstrong would never finish the race, let alone <i>win</i> the race. The French press was shouting that the improvement must be related to the <a href="http://www.drugs.com/epogen.html">Epogen</a> that Lance Armstrong took during his cancer treatments. Lance Armstrong attempts to quell these rumors in his book; to disarm the accusations with a crafty bit of reasoning:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"There was an odd commonality in the language of cancer and the language of cycling. They were both about blood. In cycling, on way of cheating is to take a drug that boosts your red blood cell count. In fighting cancer, if my hemoglobin fell below a certain level, the doctors would give me the very same drug Epogen. There was a baseline of numbers I had to meet in my blood tests, and the doctors measured my blood for the very same thing they measured in cycling: my threshold for physiological stress." P.92.</blockquote>
<br />
Thus, if there was any use of Epogen, it was a therapeutic practice necessary to promote good health, not a method to increase athletic performance, and any other reasoning by the French press or anyone else was based upon a bit of loony speculation, not science.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this argument could be extended indefinitely, but in certain sense retrospective arguments always have perfect logic. More Germain to the issue is a specific instance in the book where a certain suspect inherent psychopathic tendency of Lance Armstrong becomes manifest, a bit of trickery, that was aided by other professional teams, where <i>all</i> parties made money.<br />
<br />
<b>The Thrift Drug Triple Crown</b><br />
<br />
Thrift Drug offered a million dollar bonus to any rider who could win the 1993 Triple Crown of Cycling: a one day race in Pittsburgh, a six-day stage race in West Virginia, and the U.S. Pro Championships, a one-day road race covering 156 miles through Philadelphia.<br />
<br />
Quoting: <i>Wheelmen</i>, Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell, Gotham Books, 2013 <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"1) Lance Armstrong easily won the Pittsburgh race, which he had also won in 1992.<br />
2) During the West Virginia race, a 493 mile, six-stage race in the hills, Lance Armstrong won the opening Morgantown prologue time trial by just under two seconds.<br />
3) The second day of the West Virginia race featured a 100-mile mountain course in the Monongahela National Forest near Elkins. After Lance Armstrong won again, his lead in the overall standings was 14 seconds, with Michael Engleman of the rival Coors Light team in second place." P.59.</blockquote>
<br />
Then a business deal was struck between Lance Armstrong and the Coors Light team. Quoting: <i>Wheelmen</i>, Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O' Connell, Gotham Books, 2013<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"With the one million dollar prize on the line, Lance Armstrong then turned to an age-old tactic to boost his chance of winning. He sent a Motorola teammate to approach Scott McKinley, one of the captains of the Coors Light squad, with a business proposition. Stephen Swart, another Coors team captain, later recalled, under oath during a lawsuit deposition, the following proposition: Would Michael Engleman and his Coors Light teammates be open to a payoff in exchange for agreeing not to challenge Lance Armstrong in what remained of the Triple Crown?" P.59.<br />
<br />
"Stephen Swart a stocky New Zealander, testified that he met Lance Armstrong in a hotel room to discuss it. In fact, such deals were common in the strange sport of professional cycling, and not seen as entirely unsportsmanlike. The riders quickly came to an agreement. Stephen Swart said if the Coors team riders backed off and didn't challenge Lance Armstrong, and if Lance Armstrong won the $1 million, he would pay the Coors team a total of $50,000. While the payment wasn't a huge amount of money, the Coors riders hadn't won the first leg of the Triple Crown in Pittsburgh, so they weren't in the running for the $1 million anyway. They all agreed to keep it quiet, Stephen Swart said in his testimony, knowing that if the insurance company found out, it might refuse to pay up." P.59.<br />
<br />
"A few months after the race, the Coors Light team was paid in cash for their lack of effort in the races." P.60.</blockquote>
<br />
Lance Armstrong recounts his attack up the Manayunk Wall:<br />
<blockquote>
"Then with about twenty miles left, I went. I attacked the most notoriously steep part of the course- Manayunk- all I know is that I leaped out of the saddle and hammered down on the pedals, and as I did so I screamed for a full five seconds. I opened a huge gap on the field. By the second to the last lap, I had enough of a lead to blow my mother a kiss. I crossed the finish line with the biggest winning margin in race history. I dismounted in a swarm of reporters, but I broke away from them and went straight to my mother, and we put our faces in each other's shoulders and cried." P.61.</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-bought-million-dollar-triple-crown-victory-claims-gaggioli">Roberto Gaggioli</a> of the Coors Light team claims that Lance Armstrong paid him $100,000 to allow Lance Armstrong to escape on the Manayunk Wall, other teams claimed similar payoffs.<br />
<br />
I spent an inordinate amount of time discussing the Thrift Drug Triple Crown because it happened during the Motorola period, and serves as a precursor of behavior that would be exhibited by Lance Armstrong after he recovered from cancer. Like all sociopaths, Lance Armstrong received positive reinforcement from his crime in the form of money and fame. Lance Armstrong would repeat this antisocial pattern of behavior for seven Tour de France victories: until he was outed by his former teammate Floyd Landis. Floyd Landis outed Lance Armstrong out of revenge for being <i>flicked</i> by Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel. Floyd Landis asked Johan Bruyneel for a job on team Radio Shack. Johan Bruyneel said "no" to Floyd Landis because Lance Armstrong said "no." It has been speculated that Lance Armstrong was partly responsible for Floyd Landis having difficulties landing a UCI Pro Tour job after he has served his suspension for testing positive during the 2006 Tour de France. Lance Armstrong forgot the lesson he learned in the early days: don't make enemies. If Floyd Landis hadn't spoken up, Lance Armstrong's crime spree would have probably continued in the form of paid sponsorship deals forever.<br />
<br />
Lance Armstrong also was World Champion before his cancer diagnoses. Lance Armstrong beat "Big Mig" who had just won his third straight Tour de France, at the World Championships in Oslo, Norway. I don't think Lance Armstrong strong-armed Miguel Indurain for the win. I think this may have been one of few legitimate wins Lance Armstrong ever produced in a professional race. Did Lance Armstrong use dope to win? Did Miguel Indurain use dope? Does one suspicion cancel out another and does it really matter anymore?<br />
<br />
<b>Lack of Health Insurance is a Frightening Proposition </b><br />
<br />
Satisfied? Recapitulation of past crimes is important, but <i>It's Not About The Bike, </i>is not all about past crimes. No: the book takes a serious personal turn and is focused with the horror of dealing with a particularly virulent form of cancer that as it metastasized, lowered the probability of survival for the patient, Lance Armstrong. This portion of the book is very well written, and it brings back old memories of my friend Colin who suffered from stage IV of <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/non-hodgkin">non-Hodgkin lymphoma</a>. An account of Colin's symptoms and struggles can be found in my review of <a href="http://velovortmax.blogspot.com/2014/05/every-second-counts-book-review.html"><i>Every Second Counts</i></a>. Lance Armstrong's account of his desire for knowledge about his illness, brings to mind days when I investigated my friend Colin's cancer. Research studies into specific cancer types are coded with a number, on file with the National Cancer Institute; which can be downloaded on request. The National Cancer Institute also provides a cancer dictionary, that can be copied and printed on request. I also downloaded numerous similar research studies that I thought might have been of interest to Colin. Then there is an association between Lance Armstrong and my friend Colin when it came to not having insurance. The hospital informed Lance Armstrong, by letter, that he did not have any health insurance. Lance Armstrong determined that because he was in transition between team Motorola and Cofidis, his insurance with Motorola had been canceled, and his contract with Cofidis was still pending. Another major difference between Lance Armstrong and Colin existed; Lance Armstrong had about $700,000 in liquid assets, Lance Armstrong says he sold his expensive Porsche, but my friend Colin didn't have two nickels to rub together. Lance Armstrong had a team of people assisting him, my friend Colin was told by the University of Utah bone marrow transplant unit that unless he qualified for Medicaid, he would be refused service. Now non-Hodgkin lymphoma has an almost 100% fatality rate and the average life expectancy is five years. But without the bone marrow transplant, Colin would have been dead in six months. Now the obvious question arises: is it worth it to spend $250,000 in hospital expenses to prolong life for five years? Is it ethical for the medical system to keep spooning money from a man who has a zero probability of living after five years, from a man who is living in chronic psychological and physical pain? Lance Armstrong at one time had a twenty percent chance of survival, but he lived, so obviously, the time and money were well invested. But my friend Colin had no chance of survival, and except for being an experimental biped lab rat, he served no useful purpose except to be congratulated by the University of Utah hospital staff for bringing in a huge amount of money for the hospital. Imagine people who are admitted to a hospital with a chronic cancer condition who have no insurance and no money. Should we sentence these people to an early death because they are financially insolvent? Should hospitals and doctors refuse to treat these people? Should unemployed people, people who make minimum wage, or homeless people be turned away because they can't pay cash on demand for services?<br />
<br />
Because, there a great number of people who think that Medicaid people are garbage who do nothing but suck money out of the system, and if they were faced with a catastrophic medical condition they should do nothing but die. The state hates these people so much that they will do anything not to expand the Medicaid roles, preferring to watch people die. But the chronic poor is not the only people who suffer from medical disasters, average middle-class people with inadequate medical insurance are getting squeezed too. The number one financial distress among American families that result in bankruptcy is unexpected medical problems.<br />
<br />
<b>The Utah Alternative: Panacea of Folly </b><br />
<br />
But Utah State Governor Gary Herbert has the solution! It is called the Utah Alternative. Forget Medicaid expansion with all of those excessive regulations! Gary Herbert wants a block grant of money without any federal restrictions at all! The money will not expand the Medicaid roles, God forbid! No Gary Herbert wants Medicaid to be a temporary measure, if the recipient is upright with a pulse, this person will be deemed "able-bodied" and will be required to enroll into a workforce training program. After successful completion of said program, the graduate, Gary Herbert assures us, will be able to land a "good job." I don't disapprove of people of being trained and finding good jobs, and contributing to America. What I object to is the notion that all people who are receiving Medicaid are nothing more than dead beat lazy parasites who would rather live off the government than work. I fear that a great number of people who are receiving Medicaid are doing so because they are functionally illiterate, of limited physical capacity, mentally ill, or all of the above; and that these people have very few if any marketable skills or work history. A person who is educated in America for twelve years who has a reading capacity of an eighth grader, or a student who thinks that 2+2=5, are perfect examples of people who are obviously unprepared to enter the workforce in any meaningful capacity. However, not to worry, as the Gary Herbert training system will rectify this problem with an extensive course of remedial English, and remedial courses in mathematics, that will magically transform the illiterate into a highly educated, highly skilled super producers that any firm would be proud to hire, and promote into positions of even higher responsibility. Sounds like a boring infomercial. The idea is a stupid one, there will be money spent on training courses that should be spent in providing people with health insurance, and most of the people who enroll in the training course will lack the mental capacity to complete the course, these people will fail, and failure is equivalent to expulsion from the Medicaid program. In addition, I will bet you a million dollars to a bucket of warm spit, that people will be required, after completion of the course, to find a job within thirty days, or they will be booted from their Medicaid plans. Of course, the Utah Alternative has not been implemented yet, and Gary Herbert assures us that this is only a pilot program and that the public will have an opportunity to comment. But never fear, the ultimate goal is to forward the plan to the Utah State legislature, a group who cannot resist the urge to be trendsetters in national embarrassment. How many times must the oppressed people of the State of Utah shake their heads in amazement at the stupidity of the laws that these people pass every session? Listen, if you are afflicted with cancer you are not going to care about training and a job, you are going to concern about your life, and survival, period. Worrying about liquidating your assents to pay the medical bills should never be a concern for a sick person. It is time for Gary Herbert and his legions return to sanity, abandon their plan, and expand the Medicaid roles to cover the people who have no health insurance. Stop playing goofy games.<br />
<br />
<b>Oakley Insures Lance Armstrong: </b><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"Next day as [Candide] was taking a walk, he met a beggar, all covered over with sores, his eyes half dead, the tip of his nose eaten off, his mouth turned on one side of his face, his teeth black, speaking through his throat, tormented with a violent cough, with gums so rotten, that his teeth came near falling out every time he spit."</blockquote>
The beggar turned out to be Candide's tutor Dr. Pangloss. After Dr. Pangloss gives Candide a long lecture on the transmission of the communicable disease smallpox, Candide and Dr. Pangloss engage in this memorable discussion:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"'That is admirable,' said Candide; but you must be cured.' 'Ah! how can I?' said Pangloss; 'I have not a penny, my friend; and throughout the whole extent of this globe, we cannot get anyone to bleed us, or give us a glitter, without paying for it, or getting some other person to pay for us.'"<br />
<br />
"This last speech determined Candide, he went and threw himself at the feet of his charitable Anabaptist James, and gave him so touching description of the state his friend was reduced to, that the good man did not hesitate to entertain Dr. Pangloss, and he had him cured at his own expense."<br />
<br />
<b>Voltaire</b><br />
<i><b>Candide</b></i></blockquote>
<br />
Lance Armstrong is one of the lucky people who always seems to find a way out of every difficulty. Mike Parnell, the Chief Executive Officer of Oakley came to the rescue like a knight in shining armor. Mike Parnell said he could get Lance Armstrong health insurance through Oakley. <br />
<blockquote>
"But there the health care provider balked; I [Lance Armstrong] had a preexisting condition and therefore they were not obliged to cover my cancer treatments. Mike Parnell picked up the phone and called the provider, he informed them that if they did not cover my medical treatments, his entire firm would take it's business elsewhere. 'Cover him.' The provider still balked. 'I don't think you understood what I just said,' Mike said. They covered me." P.128</blockquote>
<br />
Well now, Obamacare has taken care of the preexisting condition problem. But probably not for long. There seems to be a number of highly motivated people who think Obamacare the work of Satan; and they are highly motivated to repeal and replace this health care law at any cost, even if millions of Americans are reduced to the previous American health care system of barbarism, unprovided for unless they produce cash on demand for services! The hospitals will be inundated with uninsured patients, will these people be denied care? Will the hospitals face bankruptcy, or be forced out of business? Will insurance rates skyrocket as a side effect to this madness? Will hospital closures will be discounted as collateral damage; as a necessary evil to maintain free-market purity? This callous disregard for human life reminds me of the poetic verses of Edgar Allan Poe:<br />
<br />
"The motley drama-oh be sure<br />
It shall not be forgotten!<br />
With its Phantom chased for evermore,<br />
By a crowd that seize it not,<br />
Through a circle that ever returneth<br />
To the self-same spot,<br />
And much in Madness and more of Sin<br />
And Horror the soul of the plot."<br />
<br />
<b>Edgar Allan Poe</b><br />
<i><b>The Conqueror Worm</b></i><br />
<br />
But, it is nice if we all had a Mike Parnell who would sign us up under their corporate health care plans when we were in need, instead of casting us under the bus like Gary Herbert wants to do.<br />
<br />
<b>Brain Surgery, Mortality, and Philosophical Considerations: </b><br />
<br />
The stress of not facing certain disaster gave Lance Armstrong time to focus on the task at hand, survival. There were certain indications cancer may have spread to his brain. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) found a number of lesions in Lance Armstrong's brain. But according to neurosurgeon Dr. Scott Shapiro, the tumors seemed to be located on the surface of the brain, so surgery would be very simple. But Lance Armstrong was convinced even a simple mistake could lead to catastrophic results, as some of the tumors were located in the occipital lobe, the location of neurons that regulate vision. Call it paranoia, or irrational fear, but the night before the brain surgery Lance Armstrong had an existential moment. He pondered death and made a philosophical resolution: "I believed I had a responsibility to be a good person, and that meant fair, honest, hardworking, and honorable. If I did that, if I was good to my family, true to my friends, if I gave back to my community or to some cause, if I wasn't a liar, a cheat, or a thief, then I believed that would be enough." This personal angst by Lance Armstrong is very curious because it has been said by numerous philosophers good people do not fear, they welcome death. People who fear punishment in the afterlife, [if such a place exists] by some vengeful deity, [if such a person exists] must have some basis for this fear: like engaging in behavior that would be considered contrary to good social norms. Lance Armstrong's philosophical resolutions were laudable; he was facing mortality, he was uncertain as to whether his perceptual reality would be the same after the surgery as it was before the surgery: would he be blind? Would his spacial or cognitive world be subjected to some sort of modification? Facing the prospect of being physically changed, of having your personality modified, to emerge from surgery as a different person with different traits and characteristics, would be terrifying, and these changes might serve as an impetus for sober reflection. As an aside: I knew a woman named Linda who had reoccurring seizures that required brain surgery. When I met her, she already had one surgery, and the seizures abated for a while, but they returned, which required a second surgery. I used to ask her what she was like before her first surgery, she could not exactly define it in words, but she used to say <i>I was different</i>. After the second surgery, her personality changed almost one hundred and eighty degrees in the opposite direction, with a pronounced cognitive decline. She had almost no recall of her previous personality when I used to remind her of her former style, she had no recollection at all. Her brother had the same malady, and he was resisting surgery, but the doctor told him if he waited any longer he was courting death. I was heartbroken for both of them, it was a tragic case.<br />
<br />
But as Lance Armstrong admitted: "Things change, intentions get lost." Lance Armstrong's newly articulated spiritual reformation vanished like a mirage. The laudable sentiments were replaced by a sort of cheap cynicism; win at all costs. Necessity knows no law, and Lance Armstrong had learned from experience that winning in cycling requires a long litany of nefarious behavior, drugs, and bribes, cheating, threats and intimidation of other riders, authority figures, or anyone else who stood in his way. Winning also requires lawsuits: SCA Promotions. Bribes: of UCI President Hein Verbruggen, to cover up an Epogen positive during the 2001 Tour de Suisse. There were even rumblings that Lance Armstrong made a $1 million donation to the Indiana University Medical Center oncology unit in order to buy the silence of Dr. Craig Nichols when Lance Armstrong was accused by Betsy Andreu of making a hospital room admission to doctors of using performance-enhancing drugs during the Motorola days. The old behaviors learned during the Thrift Drug Triple crown had returned in spades. The vengeful deity was forgotten, replaced by a vengeful rider who was fixated on annihilating all and sundry.<br />
<br />
As it turned out Lance Armstrong's brain tumors turned out to be necrotic. They were dead. He had dodged another bullet.<br />
<br />
<b>The Horrifying Side Effects of Chemotherapy: </b><br />
<br />
The book next deals with the trauma of the side effects of chemotherapy.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Doctor Youman explained that the standard treatment protocol for testicular cancer was called BEP, a cocktail of three different drugs, <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682125.html">bleomycin</a>, <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684055.html">etoposide</a>, <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684036.html">cisplatin</a>. The most important ingredient of the three was cisplatin, which is actually <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247863.php">platinum,</a> and its use against testicular cancer had been pioneered by a man named <a href="http://jop.ascopubs.org/content/1/4/167.full">Dr. Lawrence Einhorn,</a> who practiced at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. Prior to Einhorn's discovery, testicular cancer was almost always fatal." P.86</blockquote>
<br />
The chemo drugs were so toxic that nurses handled them with Ebola tested level three bio-hazard gloves. The side effects of the chemo treatments are riveting reading, with every increase in the level of the treatment protocol the suffering intensified. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells, but it also kills healthy normal cells, the problem is that the therapeutic dose is almost identical to the lethal dose. Dr. Craig Nichols told Lance Armstrong, "I assure you that I can kill you." The secret is to configure a schedule that does not kill the patient, because the side effects to the lungs, will kill you! This is a reminder to people: if your prescription says to take two, take two, not three, or four, or you may die on the emergency room table if you make it that far! Lance Armstrong suffered for hours, balled up like a fetus, he could not eat, he could not drink, he could not read the newspaper or watch television. Worse torture could not be devised by man than advanced chemotherapy. Lance Armstrong developed a caregiver-patient relationship with La Trice Haney; that became almost spiritual. This interdependency among patient and caregiver is common; my friend Collin showed me a photograph of himself standing with two nurses of the bone marrow transplant unit; smiling together, at a five-year cancer survivor picnic. Collin always had the highest praise for these women. Finally, one day La Trice told Lance Armstrong, "When you are cured I never want to see you again. I want you to wonder, did I dream her?" Powerful stuff.<br />
<br />
<b>The End of Cofidis: </b><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, during these dark days of suffering business reared its ugly head in the form of an unexpected visit by Alain Bondue, a representative of Cofidis, where Lance Armstrong had a pending two-year contract worth $2.5 million.<br />
<br />
Alain Bondue had a conversation with Lance Armstrong's business agent Bill Stapleton where Bill Sherwin served as an interpreter:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Alain Bondue pointed out that my contract had a clause stating I was required to pass a medical examination. Obviously, I was in no condition to do that. Therefore, Cofidis had the right to cancel the contract. They were offering to renegotiate, which they felt was generous under the circumstances. They wanted to honor part of it, but not all. If I didn't accept the new terms they offered, they would force me to undergo a medical scan, and terminate the contract in its entirety." P.142. </blockquote>
<br />
Alain Bondue would be a good staff member for the Utah Alternative, he is certainly ruthless and cold-blooded enough!<br />
<br />
In the end, after Lance Armstrong was released from the hospital with his cancer in remission, Cofidis chief executive officer Francois Migraine told Bill Stapleton: "We want you to know that we're going to exercise our right to terminate Lance Armstrong's contract." Cofidis was worried that Lance Armstrong would never reach his previous riding level and that he would get sick again.<br />
<br />
But Cofidis did make Lance Armstrong and Bill Stapleton an offer: "Cofidis called and offered Lance Armstrong $180,000, with an incentive to pay more if he earned UCI bonus points based on performance in various races. The base salary was the equivalent of a league minimum." According to David Millar, this was standard practice at Cofidis at the time, incentives based on UCI points, and the practice was roundly criticized in cycling as an incentive to dope.<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. Postal Service: Paris-Nice: An Existential Crises: The End of Professional Cycling For Lance Armstrong? </b><br />
<br />
But Lance Armstrong was finished with Cofidis. Bill Stapleton wanted a better deal than the $180,000 minimum Cofidis was offering. Bill Stapleton finally reached an agreement with Thomas Weisel, the mastermind behind the U. S. Postal Service Team, who offered Lance Armstrong considerably more money and even an incentive based upon UCI points. <br />
<br />
But Lance Armstrong was going through an existential crisis again. Worried that his cancer would return after remission, and guaranteed a disability payment from Lloyds of London, Lance Armstrong wondered if he wanted to face the cold, the cheap European hotels, the rotten food, the injuries, and the stress of professional cycling. Then in the 1998 Paris-Nice race, the crises reached a crescendo: After finishing in 19th place in the prologue and feeling confident in himself, Lance Armstrong collapsed on Stage 1. George Hincapie had been designated as team leader, and Lance Armstrong and the team were riding as <i>domestics</i>. George Hincapie flats:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We all stopped. The peloton sped up the road away from us. By the time we got going again, we were twenty minutes behind the leaders, and in the wind, it would take an hour of brutal effort for us to make up what we had lost. We rode off, heads down in the rain." P.190.</blockquote>
<br />
Then the supreme moment of failure for every professional rider occurred, the lack of will to continue:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The crosswind cut through my clothes and made it hard to steady the bike as I churned along the side of the road. All of a sudden, I lifted my hands to the top of the handlebars. I straightened up in my seat, and I coasted to the curb. I pulled over, I quit. I abandoned the race. I took off my number. I thought <i>this is not how I want to spend my life, freezing and soaked and in the gutter</i>." P.190; italics original text.</blockquote>
<br />
Lance Armstrong skipped the 1998 Tour de France, but he did do some color commentary for the 1998 Tour. The 1998 Tour de France as we all remember was a disaster after Festina Watch <i>soigneur</i> Willy Voet; was caught at a French frontier post with a pharmacy of performance-enhancing drugs concealed in a wheel boot. The reaction by ASO and the French police was nuclear. The police conducted unannounced midnight raids on team hotels looking for contraband. The riders and teams protested what they considered inhumane treatment; the riders laid their bikes down in the course refusing to ride. Further police raids were initiated; teams exited the race <i>en masse</i>. Lance Armstrong made the following comment:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Doping is an unfortunate fact of life in cycling or any other endurance sport for that matter. Inevitably, some teams and riders it's like nuclear weapons, that they have to do it to stay competitive within the peloton. I never felt that way, and certainly, after chemo, the idea of putting anything foreign in my body was especially repulsive." P.205</blockquote>
<br />
This from a man who used Epogen and other performance-enhancing drugs to win the 1999 Tour de France!<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Even more astounding, in context of his existential crises, his laying around the house all day until Kristen had her own near nuclear meltdown, is the fact that Lance Armstrong finished fourth in 1998 Tour of Spain:</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"To place fourth in the Vuelta meant more than just a comeback. In my previous life, I'd been a great one-day racer, but I'd never been competitive in a three-week stage race. The Vuelta meant I was not only back, but I was also <i>better</i>. I was capable of winning any race in the world. I swept up UCI ranking points right and left, and all of a sudden I was the real deal." P.206.</blockquote>
<br />
Whew! A hint! Lance Armstrong had become magically transformed from a one-day racer into a Grand Tour winner. This magical transformation was one of the most mystical, puzzling, and debated improvements in cycling history. The man who abandoned the 1993 Tour de France, on the 12th stage, in 97th place, because the "Alps were too long and too cold," was suddenly placing fourth in 1998 Vuelta an Espana, shortly after withdrawing from Paris-Nice, ready to quit professional racing forever. This was not a comeback, it was a metamorphosis. The Phoenix had arisen from the ashes, not as a winner of classics, but as an eventual winner of seven straight Tours de France in a row, a feat that had never been accomplished even by the legendary Eddy Merckx. Lance Armstrong's sensational improvement was of such mind-blowing proportions that fans and the press began to question its origins.<br />
<br />
<b>In Vitro Fertilization: The Plight of Kristen Armstrong:</b><br />
<br />
The book next transitions into the trials and tribulations of Kristen Armstrong and her in-vitro fertilization, a riveting chapter of the first quality that any couple facing extinction should avidly read. I am amazed about the amount of pain and discomfort that a woman has to endure to produce a child; a man contributes nothing; he has a pleasurable experience; but a woman! A warrior of the finest quality. I have spoken to women who look so young, who promptly informed me that they have four children! When I ask about the discomfort that they may have experienced in confinement, they smile at me like I am a child who should be excused for his stupidity! Kristen Armstrong even had a breech baby, and that is one of the most difficult deliveries imaginable, and before cesarean section killed many a woman. So kudos to the ladies!<br />
<br />
<b>1999 Tour de France: </b><br />
<br />
Misfortune claims some riders at the beginning of the Tour de France, they get caught up behind crashes and are never able to make up the time. This was what happened to Alex Zulle and Michael Boogerd, who were both favored to finish high in the general classification or even win the 1998 Tour de France. Lance Armstrong describes the situation:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In the second stage, we came to a four-kilometer causeway called the Passage du Gois, a scene of almost surreal strangeness. The passage is a long, narrow, blacktop road across a tidal marsh, but the brackish water floods at high tide, covering the road and making it impassable. Even when the road is passable, it's slick and treacherous, and the edges are covered with barnacles and seaweed." P.233</blockquote>
Alex Zulle crashed behind a group of riders and had to wait until the carnage was sorted out so he could continue. Alex Zulle lost over six minutes on the stage because Lance Armstrong and his team attacked, and Alex Zulle complained that he could do nothing because he was "stuck in the middle of the Atlantic ocean!" If you subtract this incident; Alex Zulle until the Sestriere climb would have been only a minute behind Lance Armstrong. Of all the nasty things Lance Armstrong did on a bike, and the attack on Iban Mayo on the cobblestones would rank a close second, this ranks as the most villainous, unsportsmanlike, unfair attacks, and it is unforgivable!<br />
<br />
<b>Sestriere Climb: </b><br />
<br />
This is the point where Lance Armstrong's newly found climbing skill began to raise questions. Lance Armstrong was in a group of riders that were nearly thirty seconds behind a group of leading riders on the course. But suddenly Lance Armstrong attacked his group, caught the group in front, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6jdNsjUtt8">accelerated</a>, dropping the leading group in the process. Looking at the film is better than a thousand words, and this performance looks too good to be real. Lance Armstrong called his effort "effortless." But the French press wasn't buying it. <i>L'Euipe</i> and <i>Le Monde</i> ran articles declaring that Lance Armstrong must be "taking something." There was an additional problem, Lance Armstrong was accused of testing positive for a corticosteroid, that Lance Armstrong claimed was listed on a therapeutic use exemption form filed with the UCI before the depart. Of course, it is now known that the UCI accepted a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cycling/lance-armstrong-accuses-former-uci-president-hein-verbruggen-of-helping-him-cheat-during-1999-tour-de-france-8947389.html">backdated prescription</a> and that Hein Verbruggen knew about the whole thing and allowed it to happen.<br />
<br />
<b>The End.</b><br />
<br />
What the hell, they even put Lance Armstrong on a Wheaties box!velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-18161618133990972142014-09-20T14:34:00.003-06:002019-04-29T11:52:36.802-06:0023 Days in July: Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoSTMKY5zwyu6fv3imzSMwhNZVcqAZTcG6No3K7tCGy4q9bT85kNMqoEdpACYyvqtkwEr9qWhkuJqkS2Ipt_Xkpk7H6y1CM42HEEq6D8y6iEYfTI90Y6ZNiShl2dTglJ6bmJUyjgq2eU/s1600/downloadfile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="195" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoSTMKY5zwyu6fv3imzSMwhNZVcqAZTcG6No3K7tCGy4q9bT85kNMqoEdpACYyvqtkwEr9qWhkuJqkS2Ipt_Xkpk7H6y1CM42HEEq6D8y6iEYfTI90Y6ZNiShl2dTglJ6bmJUyjgq2eU/s320/downloadfile.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>23 Days in July</i>, John Wilcockson, Da Capo Press, 2004.<br />
<br />
The 2004 Tour de France was advertised as a defining moment in the history of cycling. Never before had a rider passed the mythical five Tour de France win threshold, not Eddy Merckx, not Jacques Anquetil, not Miguel Indurain, not Bernard Hinault. There existed with the sport of cycling, a fatalistic superstition that some destiny would intervene to prevent the riders from reaching the magic number <i>six</i>.<br />
<br />
Lance Armstrong entered the five-time Tour de France champion club after barely surviving the epic 2003 Tour de France, which was in question until Jan Ullrich plunged out of control on rain and oil soaked turn in the final individual time trial. In the 2003 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong almost ended his chances when Joseba Beloki crashed on a Pyrenees descent; and Lance Armstrong had to detour across a plowed field expecting every moment to blow one of his tubeless Hutchinson tires. Then there was the child with the souvenir musette bag who hooked Lance Armstrong's bullhorns and dumped him and Iban Mayo on the ground, breaking one of Lance Armstrong's chain stays in the process. Then a few seconds later one of Lance Armstrong's toe clips slipped out of the pedals, nearly doing severe damage to his groin area. Then, of course, there was the mediation by Tyler Hamilton who enforced the rule that when the <i>maillot jaune</i> has an accident you <i>don't</i> attack; a lesson Alberto Contador should have learned before he tested positive for clenbuterol. Nevertheless, if Jan Ullrich had continued to ride he would have won the race, and the 2004 Tour de France would have been nothing but a footnote.<br />
<br />
As it was the 2004 Tour de France turned out to be one the least suspenseful in history. Lance Armstrong won four mountain stages in a row; including the L'Alpe d'Huez time trial; a feat that had never been accomplished in Tour de France history. Several race favorites foundered; Tyler Hamilton after a crash that injured his back bonked on a climb; his favorite dog Tugboat died during the race and Tyler Hamilton was despondent over the death of his best friend. Later during the race iron man Tyler Hamilton; the man who rode through an entire 2002 Giro d' Italia and 2003 Tour de France with broken bones; a man who placed high in the classification in both grand tours; could not continue in 2004. Why? I suspect that he received a tainted blood sample that was intended for another rider. Iban Mayo, a great Basque climber, who was caught behind a crash on the cobblestone course, who in spite of his heroic Euskai-Euskatel teammates, who tried to pace him back to the peloton lost time, while a smiling Lance Armstrong lead the pack hammering away. Later in the race, during a mountain stage in the Pyrenees, fifty thousand rabid Basque fanatics lined the course while waiting for their hero Iban Mayo, greeted Lance Armstrong with catcalls and upraised fingers for his cobblestone antics. Iban Mayo hopelessly behind and exhausted quit the race shortly thereafter. Roberto Heras, (Liberty Seguros) who had a string of successes in the Vuelta a Espana also quit saying that there was "no point in continuing." Gilberto Simoni, (Saeco), a great climber and two-time winner of the Giro d' Italia, did not abandon, but he did complain that Lance Armstrong was hogging all of the mountain stage wins; stages where Gilberto Simoni lead long breakaways. Gilberto Simoni, when asked if Lance Armstrong was the new "cannibal", responded Armstrong is not a "cannibal" he is a piranha! Jan Ullrich, (Telekom) lost time in the Pyrenees, he was at a loss to understand his performance, promising to do better in the Alps. Andreas Kloden, (Telekom) was better placed in the general classification that his team leader Jan Ullrich. Ivan Basso, (CSC) in spite of the "gift" mountain stage win could not keep pace with Lance Armstrong losing time on every stage. Floyd Landis surprised everyone by setting an inhuman pace, and he would have won the stage if not for the obstinacy of Jan Ullrich. After Jan Ullrich chased down Floyd Landis he even tried to barter a deal for help to drop Ivan Basso; an offer which the Posties refused point blank. Of course, in a superhuman sprint, Lance Armstrong won the stage, nipping Andreas Kloden at the line because Lance Armstrong was angry because T-Mobile would not let Floyd Landis go. <br />
<br />
But John Wilcockson does his best to keep us entertained, even if the 2004 Tour de France put us to sleep. John Wilcockson does mix up some old historical tales of roadside fanatics who were around when Le Tour went by eons ago. My favorite story was of Charly Gaul who slid to a stop at the city fountain to cool down by plunging his head into the water and filling up his water bottles. The proprietor of the local sports bar claims that he pushed Charly Gaul back onto the course, to the admiration of his patrons. This proprietor produced photographs to prove, not that he pushed Charly Gaul back onto the course, but that Charly Gaul had actually stopped at the fountain. John Wilcockson says that after this unscheduled pit stop Charly Gaul rode with Louison Bobet, conceding twenty minutes and a probable Tour de France win to legendary Spanish climber Federico Bahamontes. Charly Gaul was known as the "Angel of the Mountains" and in cold weather he was unbeatable. In the 1956 Giro d' Italia, there was a snowstorm on the Monte Bondone stage that was so severe that the Italian Army was mobilized, armed with snow shovels to clear a path for the riders. Charly Gaul arrived almost an hour ahead of the pack and begged the Italian soldiers in French to push him up the pass. The soldiers refused to help Charly Gaul, but they did help push the Italian riders up the pass; nevertheless: Charly Gaul won the stage by eight minutes over his Italian rival Alessandro Fantini, and the entire 1956 Giro d' Italia in the process. Charly Gaul's Achilles heel seemed to be the heat, where his performance declined to average among the great climbers of his day, this would probably explain the unexpected visit to the fountain.<br />
<br />
There is some mention of dope, too, in <i>23 Days in July</i>. David Walsh, <i>L.A. Confidential</i>, Michele Ferrari, EPO, the horse that has been beaten into submission. There is one gem gleaned out of the muck, however, a statement made by Shelley Verses. John Wilcockson asked Shelley Verses, former <i>soigneur</i> of La Vie Claire to respond to statements made by Emma O' Reilly in <i>L. A. Confidential</i> that she purchased drugs for Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team, disposed of syringes, applied cosmetics to hide bruises, etc. Shelley Verses stated:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"It's a part of a soigneur's job to dispose of syringes. And I used to drive all over the Continent getting drugs, <i>legal</i> drugs. And I often lent guys makeup to hide bruises. Riders are so vascular because they have no body fat, and they bruise easily." P. 143.</blockquote>
<br />
This is the first statement I have ever heard of that could possibly implicate Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, and La Vie Claire of using supplements, or possibly performance-enhancing drugs, during the 1985 and 1986 Tours de France. First, Shelley Verses is not a doctor so her assurance that the drugs she did purchase were <i>legal </i>is mere conjecture. Second, drugs that were <i>legal</i> in 1986, may have been added to the prohibited list, so we may assert that <i>legally</i> does not preclude the fact that the <i>legal</i> drugs that she purchased in 1986, did not have performance-enhancing qualities. Nevertheless, this admission by Shelley Verses directly contradicts the Greg LeMond myth that professional cycling was not in search of a magic pill that would aid in their performance in 1985 or 1986. Shelley Verses could be considered the first La Vie Claire "whistle blower" if she would come forward and offer testimony of malfeasance; perhaps she should contact USADA!<br />
<br />
There was one other piece of rubbish. Lance Armstrong mentioned his debacle during the 2003 Time Trial where he was beaten soundly by Jan Ullirch as being caused by "chronic dehydration." Lance Armstrong tries to tell us that he had been suffering from "chronic dehydration" since he received platinum therapy in fighting cancer in 1996. Lance Armstrong then assures us that drinking water filled his bladder without saturating his cells. This is complete and utter nonsense and I can't believe that John Wilcockson published such nonsense. Even stranger is the explanation by Chris Carmichael who claims that the dehydration originated in the 2003 Dauphine Libere, where Lance Armstrong pushed himself to the limit trying to outpace Iban Mayo. I remember Lance Armstrong hanging on to the medical car, having his elbow patched up by the race doctor during the Dauphine Libere, not because of dehydration, but because he hit a sewer lid, because he had some break malfunction in his new Trek Madone bicycle! Never was there a word about the "chronically dehydrated" Lance Armstrong during the Dauphine Libere or even the 2003 Tour de France until the mysterious partial bonk during the time trial where Lance Armstrong assures us that he was "riding in squares." I mean, like, whatever dude!<br />
<br />
Anyway, if you are a hardcore Lance Armstrong fanatic this book certainly would not be amiss in your library as a curiosity, since the impact of the mythical <i>six</i> never existed in reality; and has yet to be attained by <i>anyone</i>. We have the old five-timer club, and Lance Armstrong is not among them. John Wilcockson has written a very good account of a very boring Tour de France, that occurred during a very drug-saturated era where the best drugs win, not the best athletes. <i>23 Days in July</i> would have been regarded as a first class work of reporting in 2004 when the Lance Armstrong mania was still in full force. It still could be considered a first class reference book; not the parts that examine the personality of the riders; except in a study of abnormal personality traits, or in a study of dissimulation; but the technical discussions of the race tactics still have pertinence. The book would also be a good companion to the old 2004 Tour de France films. <i>23 Days in July</i> is a good book even if the contents are dated and without much relevance, or of much interest anymore. A museum piece fit for mothballs. But these facts do not detract from John Wilcockson's writing ability or his competence in cycling reporting which is the first rate.velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-14503176435661351782014-08-11T14:23:00.004-06:002019-09-28T21:12:56.682-06:002014 Tour of Utah: Stage 6 DepartWell, it was a boisterous atmosphere at the Tour of Utah Stage Six Depart at Rice Eccles Stadium, there were cycling starved fanatics of all stripes, including families with children. I arrived late, planning to ride up to Big Mountain, but when I checked my bike the front wheel had an overnight flat, Murphy's law! But I didn't really miss anything, most of the riders were sequestered in their team buses, and the depart was thirty minutes late.
I did wander over to the BMC team bus and saw Cadel Evans. <a href="http://www.bmcracingteam.com/index.php?id=115&tx_ttnews[year]=2014&tx_ttnews[month]=08&tx_ttnews[day]=11&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2970&cHash=c0866ffa8ab6cac9d4df4c91a9b66efc">Cadel Evans</a> is the most gracious man I have ever seen. He immediately walked over to the youngest fan in the crowd and signed an autograph; the young man was smiling in genuine happiness; then he posed for photographs holding some of the fanatics young children. I tried to get a photograph, but my camera batteries failed at the most inopportune moment, so nothing exists in long term memory except thoughts of a very charismatic man who is also an outstanding ambassador of our sport.
Of course, I did take some photographs, but alas, most were so horrible that it would be pointless to print them.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tourofutah.com/">Tour of Utah</a> Tenth Year Edition.<br />
<br />
Photos from top:<br />
Enrique, a chess pal.<br />
Two DRAPAC Professional Cycling Team (Australia) riders. Adam Phelan (75) and team leader Jai Crawford (71) who were gracious enough to allow me to photograph them. Thanks, guys!! <br />
Rob Britton (Team Smartstop)<br />
Chris Horner<br />
A BMC rider<br />
Cadel Evans<br />
The National Anthem. <br />
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VppVLruh5COGLIQpg9ulUzdFCHjVmgCrdkBvXPgqT2UtofTILo5pdUzv8EH3nt3s4biMxOFIja2m4I7pdNpUDZ9mKWp9Uu90YOqV4XwGheNRgwdkAcb93vkelZ_aiDgytAhq-0JK_yM/s1600/100_0878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VppVLruh5COGLIQpg9ulUzdFCHjVmgCrdkBvXPgqT2UtofTILo5pdUzv8EH3nt3s4biMxOFIja2m4I7pdNpUDZ9mKWp9Uu90YOqV4XwGheNRgwdkAcb93vkelZ_aiDgytAhq-0JK_yM/s1600/100_0878.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enrique</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AdQoA8fRg4T6YbeANYfki8nL-dEGwUHTPP5YnokJZenZcUbItBb6HWJHYpn8Jame50wsR2jFvqaOL1ebLcXbeZTS9fbcY0ujzefh6rU1u5WHxnqloi4XRV6z1FEMs0iSpHC3JKFPZYU/s1600/100_0879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AdQoA8fRg4T6YbeANYfki8nL-dEGwUHTPP5YnokJZenZcUbItBb6HWJHYpn8Jame50wsR2jFvqaOL1ebLcXbeZTS9fbcY0ujzefh6rU1u5WHxnqloi4XRV6z1FEMs0iSpHC3JKFPZYU/s1600/100_0879.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam Phelan (75) and Jai Crawford (71) DRAPAC Professional Cycling Team</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirczgNdAMbrwhDcSEL2MlQeTBkm0kKFuT0uB6aWZyfm9qaJwwr2x3h0DsXTHr5Z60Df-bxuwMVja-2jF-rjwvH9I6K_p5OraWGhnc1iUVvBurhex9g-yKkVU8VUEltFHd19cMn2BTqWAE/s1600/100_0880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirczgNdAMbrwhDcSEL2MlQeTBkm0kKFuT0uB6aWZyfm9qaJwwr2x3h0DsXTHr5Z60Df-bxuwMVja-2jF-rjwvH9I6K_p5OraWGhnc1iUVvBurhex9g-yKkVU8VUEltFHd19cMn2BTqWAE/s1600/100_0880.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob Britton Team Smartstop</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTU969Agd9RIsFEYLKSE0kKeE7oq-gRuZs3MeOZoEmAutK7uK-byxNL6VhrF9_2OZSAXTlHkWfW1TIOPb8AfSHDlaH6uoEnRszRKHHdzwcuCIYe-zuWpiel73pTdMpxTESlswfROE5Sc/s1600/100_0881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTU969Agd9RIsFEYLKSE0kKeE7oq-gRuZs3MeOZoEmAutK7uK-byxNL6VhrF9_2OZSAXTlHkWfW1TIOPb8AfSHDlaH6uoEnRszRKHHdzwcuCIYe-zuWpiel73pTdMpxTESlswfROE5Sc/s1600/100_0881.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Horner Lampre</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF0XMOY02newyfVwASQugyALwAt-fDO7BP77Ma7luY0BXDJiMsSpeN9jGH4JA5ODCSQYYWonacFHTKO5pV5FEXFVcTxMjOpgq1o32RoWm8kz9tXYqO80e74cM53jc_dtlRj4D2R5s3fQ/s1600/100_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF0XMOY02newyfVwASQugyALwAt-fDO7BP77Ma7luY0BXDJiMsSpeN9jGH4JA5ODCSQYYWonacFHTKO5pV5FEXFVcTxMjOpgq1o32RoWm8kz9tXYqO80e74cM53jc_dtlRj4D2R5s3fQ/s1600/100_0882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BMC Rider and DS</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pmOWlJP9x2y3mtmFp1O0sKotklVuySeJMQGhTXhyphenhyphenHryAxcQW2ezwZkeOwk7qUkZUYSW-XBaMb7uqcYGk9oxGT5LbBEZKb1fnf0zGqRvSs7gzVrwSPMOcxgHH52Ct5IWOegC18-M0v1E/s1600/100_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pmOWlJP9x2y3mtmFp1O0sKotklVuySeJMQGhTXhyphenhyphenHryAxcQW2ezwZkeOwk7qUkZUYSW-XBaMb7uqcYGk9oxGT5LbBEZKb1fnf0zGqRvSs7gzVrwSPMOcxgHH52Ct5IWOegC18-M0v1E/s1600/100_0883.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cadel Evans BMC</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlLl2klvXE_zzuxTq2Pu8EOOGoo-uFiLY5AV1sOfRl76Up9YUOlPO97f90iWO1sr7BD1slfDPUEnrnEc30wsJDU5TR_OzsehHzQmDJVchSYLQjd3Al1uLPp9ljkQG0wuYADkniwecO8M/s1600/100_0885_cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlLl2klvXE_zzuxTq2Pu8EOOGoo-uFiLY5AV1sOfRl76Up9YUOlPO97f90iWO1sr7BD1slfDPUEnrnEc30wsJDU5TR_OzsehHzQmDJVchSYLQjd3Al1uLPp9ljkQG0wuYADkniwecO8M/s1600/100_0885_cropped.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pledge of allegiance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9CsONwl0xKDsVMGWNiSGPHyptV1c9b6s7EOrzV-GiHZbKOZxsdKzzC5iTSq7BkEg_E9CB9ZMwA_vdwc2cexciY7S1MewDZgz06SnmpnuKUaiSWTRF5fZ7CFo4jiT-t3Mf6f4K9uVwNU/s1600/Screenshot_2019-09-28-18-04-51-036-01-02-02.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="774" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9CsONwl0xKDsVMGWNiSGPHyptV1c9b6s7EOrzV-GiHZbKOZxsdKzzC5iTSq7BkEg_E9CB9ZMwA_vdwc2cexciY7S1MewDZgz06SnmpnuKUaiSWTRF5fZ7CFo4jiT-t3Mf6f4K9uVwNU/s400/Screenshot_2019-09-28-18-04-51-036-01-02-02.jpeg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Stage 6 Winner: <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/08/news/results-2014-tour-utah-stage-6_340526">Cadel Evans</a> 4:34:31
Tour of Utah Winner: Tom Danielsonvelovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015464885060832857.post-67649020568670703662014-08-02T13:06:00.001-06:002019-04-29T12:18:38.235-06:002014 Tour of Utah: PreviewThe 2014 <a href="http://www%2Ctourofutah.com/">Tour of Utah</a> will be a scenic spectacle; it is impossible to describe the breathtaking beauty of Utah's southern climes; you have to see it for yourself or see photographs; descriptions are inadequate and meaningless. Nevertheless: the climbs this year far exceed anything in the past; the race reminds me of six days of racing in the Alps or Pyrenees during the Tour de France! Tough hard <i>beyond category</i> climbs; long difficult climbs, and dizzying descents. Stage 6 of the Tour of Utah features a leg-breaking climb over Guardsman Pass, followed by a 14-mile descent down Big Cottonwood Canyon then a six-mile climb up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Oh! A friend of mine and me rode up to Big Cottonwood Canyon to Guardsman Pass one fine day, but we were turned back at the gate; the road was closed buried by four feet of snow! In May! Whew! We were forced to turn around and descend the fourteen miles; quickly you run out of pedals; you could spin at full speed frictionless and never gain an ounce of speed. Damn! The peloton screaming down that pass, especially near the base of the hill where some nasty hairpin turns are located fills me with dread and expectation. Of course, there is a short interval before you enter Little Cottonwood Canyon, a little flat section, to get you warmed up a bit before the torture starts again. Little Cottonwood Canyon is about the same length as L'Alpe d'Huez, about seven point five percent grade, no joke, even for the professional riders.<br />
<br />
There is no circuit stage in Salt Lake this year. <br />
<br />
There is a feminine addition this year. The women will field 12 teams, the women will ride a 2.2-mile circuit at Miller Motorsports Park on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, in Tooele, Utah. Admission is free to the public. I love the fact that women will be included this year. A circuit race is a start, but I hope that the girls will have a chance to compete on the road in the future; let's see how well the ladies climb!<br />
<br />
The men. Who are the favorites?<br />
<br />
<b>BMC</b><br />
Cadel Evans<br />
Brent Bookwalter<br />
<br />
Cadel Evans won the Tour de France! Brent Bookwalter has competed in several Tour of Utah races and will prove a dangerous lieutenant.<br />
<br />
<b>Cannondale </b><br />
Ivan Basso<br />
<br />
Ivan Basso is a world-class climber and a tough competitor. Good enough to be in the top ten in the general classification, if not win the entire race outright. <br />
<br />
<b>Garmin Sharp</b><br />
<br />
Thomas Danielson<br />
<br />
Defending champion. I am sure Mr. Danielson is a champion motivated to repeat his 2013 feat. And let's face it, Garmin Sharp looks to have the best team.<br />
<br />
<b>Lampere-Merida</b><br />
<br />
Christopher Horner<br />
<br />
Tough journeyman pro-tour rider. Christopher Horner has been known in the past to break away from the peloton, and succeed in not being reeled in by the peloton. Christopher Horner could provide an unpredictability factor and shake things up.<br />
<br />
<b>Trek Factory Racing</b><br />
<br />
Jens Voight.<br />
<br />
Another old-time journeyman pro-tour rider. Tough as nails and ready to win.<br />
<br />
<b>Jelly Belly </b><br />
<br />
Freddy Rodriquez<br />
<br />
"Fast" Freddy Rodriquez, more of a sprinter than a climber. Everybody loves "Fast" Freddy, including me. But he does seem a little out of place in this race.<br />
<br />
Then there are the unpredictable. Some of these team rosters show an amazingly large number of Colombian riders, and Colombian riders can climb like "angels of the mountains." I imagine that some of these Colombian riders will take stage wins, and don't be surprised if they finish high in the general classification.<br />
<br />
<b>Past Winners Missing in Action</b> <br />
<br />
Levi Leipheimer<br />
Francisco Mancebo Perez<br />
Jeff Louder (who by the way was introduced to the crowd at stage 6 depart. I did not see his name on the rider list, however. Sorry about that.)<br />
<br />
Anyway, come on out, you can see great scenery and great racing all at the same time! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />velovortmaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06282207009021242082noreply@blogger.com0