The Beacon Message Board

George

Despite many of the anti-Armstrong views posted on this website, it is interesting to read the views of individuals that have come to his defence: Roger Hammond http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/19910165 Whatever the truth, it's refreshing to see a bit of balance at this point. Even if Armstrong...

George

Neil H: thanks for the intervention. I do hope that everyone adding to this thread can continue to show a bit of respect for the other contributors, including those they disagree with. Neil C: Armstrong was undoubtedly the best of the drugged-up stage race riders of his era. However, there are two t...

George

Ed Moss wrote:There, that's better

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... _Armstrong

How poetic: starting the disqualification in 2008 means that he gets to keep his win in the 1994 Thrift Drug Classic.

George

Well done those people.

George

So the UCI isn't standing by Lance. I wonder what Lance will now have to say about the UCI. Lance hasn't previously been shy about hitting out at his 'enemies'.

George

You do wonder sometimes why people go on denying things when pretty much the whole world has stopped believing them. One (theoretical) explanation, of course, that pretty much the whole world has got it wrong. Another is that the person is delusional (I'm sure that's sometimes what is going on with ...

George

You're welcome, Steve. Even though the facts reported by R5 were pretty much what I'd already read, I felt that the documentary gave a real insight into the personalities. It's easy for us as observers to label the various protagonists 'goodies' or 'baddies', whereas in fact they're all complex peop...

George

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/former- ... ke-protest

George

As I was saying . . . . http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-did-nike-pay-dollar-500000-to-verbruggen-to-cover-up-armstrong-positive Interesting. This looks like it's possibly going beyond doping There are certainly stories circulating suggesting that he could face criminal charges, but I've yet ...

George

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make with that quotation, Neil. Most of what Jonker says is perfectly reasonable, but I don't see what bearing it has on earlier postings in this thread. No one here has suggested that Armstrong acted alone or that his team was any worse than various others....

George

And you've got to wonder: if you are presiding over a system that's designed to catch people, and when you do catch someone, they say "I've been doing this for years", what do you do? What is the obvious response that would surely occur to anyone who wanted to make their system work? Surely, it's to...

George

And yet riders did get caught. Neil, how many tests did Hincapie fail? None. How many tests did Vaughters fail? None. How many tests did Millar fail? None. How many tests did Basso fail? None. The list goes on and on. Even the ones who did fail tests now tell us that they'd been at it for years bef...

George

Les: 1) For much of Armstrong's career, there were no tests for most of the things he is accused of taking/doing (e.g. blood transfusions). So passing the tests is in many cases irrelevant. 2) It is very clear from the testimony of various confessed dopers and testing experts that the system was ver...

George

Rather naively I'd assumed it was because Heras et al were careless but, increasingly, I think we ain't seen anything yet. I'm only guessing, but I think Landis probably got careless. The conspiracy theory doesn't seem to stand up in his case, because Armstrong had retired; and Landis was in a desp...

George

Me too.

George

Armstrong's lawyers were still arguing on 10th October that USADA doesn't have jurisdiction. You're right, insofar as one of his people said that to the press again a few days ago, but in a legal sense they have accepted it, insofar as the ruling went against them some weeks ago and they didn't con...

George

CakeStop wrote:
George wrote:Les, all the parties involved accept that the rules allow USADA to do it.
Apart maybe for Armstrong and his legal team

They argued that in court and lost. I'm therefore assuming that they accept it too.

George

Les, all the parties involved accept that the rules allow USADA to do it.

And, as far as I and many others are concerned, it's a bloody good job they can, because it needs doing.

George

I retain an open mind as to whether the UCI was actively complicit (i.e. knew hard facts and suppressed them). However, like Pound, I find it hard to believe that people in high positions within the organisation weren't at least aware of the potential for abuse. When you hear what Hamilton says abou...

George

Sad thing is, he stills believes he didn't dope. Who still believes - the lawyer? I don't think he does. My impression has always been that lawyers like him don't really care about guilt or innocence; they perceive their function as being to try and get the client off and, if they fail in that, to ...

George

The speculation is that a portion of this bonus was owed to Ferrari and that the payment was related to that. Why would Lance owe his doctor a percentage of his of his earnings? If the money was fees for legitimate services rendered before Ferrari's ban, why didn't Lance pay him earlier? (Was he ha...

George

Someone once told me a story that makes me wonder about the impartiality of some commentators on matters of doping. But without evidence it's probably libellous, so I shan't repeat it in this forum!

George

I see Phil Liggett thinks along the same lines as i do and i notice Landis lost his case against the UCI. Will be interesting to see what the UCI decide to do. I for one hope they won't just take the word of riders who cut a deal. Neil, your faith and loyalty are admirable. But I fear the object of...

George

We do have to be a little bit careful, here, Phil. I for one have never read/heard anything that I would describe as evidence of the UCI's complicity. There is no such evidence in the USADA report, as far as I'm aware ... just a sort of frosty undertone, which perhaps hints at the private views of t...

George

I think it's fair to say that Verbruggen was at the very least injudicious in the strength of his defence of Armstrong. If everything at the UCI was completely whiter than white, the best he could truthfully have said in Armstrong's defence was "We have never seen a shred of evidence that Lance Arms...

George

...and now for the UCI's complicity. Hein Verbruggen to Algemeen Dagblad , 24/5/11: Ik herhaal het nog maar eens: Lance Armstrong heeft nooit doping gebruikt. Nooit, nooit, nooit. En dat zeg ik niet omdat ik zogenaamd een vriend van hem zou zijn, want dat is helemaal niet zo. Ik zeg het, omdat ik e...

George

How can a witness statement be one of the most compelling forms of evidence when it could just be a lie. Jesus i'd hate to appear in court knowing i could go down just because someone said i did something. Well, Neil, that's the way it is. Read a few criminal trial reports. Lots of people get sent ...

George

The USADA's case rests entirely on hearsay – witnesses claiming to have seen Armstrong doping before races. Laurence, I'm glad you quoted that line, because when I read that, I found it hard to suppress my annoyance enough to continue reading the article. It illustrates the crass stupidity of the a...

George

This article about sums it up. http://www.humanevents.com/2012/08/24/lance-armstrong-guilty-even-when-proven-innocent/ Oh, Neil, come on! A thousand pages of evidence against him; 26 sworn affidavits from witnesses; countless team-mates and rivals who tested positive and/or admitted to doping (yet ...

George

Some of Tyler Hamilton's autobiography is in the Times today. I managed to read a short excerpt, which suggested that it was (is?) Easy to beat drug testing. I'm tempted to buy the book. No, Greg, don't do it! I appreciate that there is a very strong temptation to find out how to beat the drug test...

George

"Complicity"!?

Are you making outrageous, unsubstantiated accusations against that liza ... nice man Pat McQuaid!? Or against that fine upstanding Dutchman Verbruggen!?

Shame on th ... er, on you, Phil!

George

Just rumours, Steve. Hincapie has it in for his old pal.

George

Its not a problem that I have ever come across, mainly due to the fact that I never follow courses. But its a bit poor if you cannot turn the function off isnt it? I have since found confirmation on Ride with GPS that you can't disable it. Also, I note that in that DC Thingummy review you posted th...

George

I fell out with the virtual training partner on my 605. He was a bit irritating at the best of times, and quite insufferable in victory. So I eliminated him. (If only the real world were equally straightforward!) Anyway, one of the first things I thought I'd do on my new 500 was send my old enemy's ...

George

I suggest a diet of chips and Coke.

George

Answer to previous question found, courtesy of a similarly confused buyer: "I have just purchased a 500 and it has arrived with two bike mounts included in the box. Because your previous answer to qusetions as to how many bike mounts are included in the box stated one, I purchased an additional moun...

George

Thanks, both. Alan, I completely accept your point: although I don't currently need reading glasses, I do find small figures harder to read 'at a glance' on a moving bike, and for that reason I used to do exactly as you describe on my 605, toggling between two screens, each with a different 'big' nu...

George

Alan, thanks for your advice. Although I hadn't read the DC Rainmaker reviews, I had read some others. I was attracted by the idea of the customisable screen on the 500; the way the 500's screen works is essentially the same as what I have been used to on my dead 605. However, that is really the onl...

George

Personally, I think that I would opt for updating it to a newer, faster version. Alan, I think you're right. I was impressed by the set-up you had at Phil's audax, and am inclined to go for something similar. Most of the time, I ride on familiar roads and use my Garmin simply to record/display stra...

George

Philip Whiteman wrote:£1.99 for a cut up Road Atlas. A lot cheaper.

Phil, it's probably hard for a randonneur to appreciate, but we athletes need our in-ride data.

George

Just had a message from the StaNav Repair Centre. My Garmin needs a new thumstick (which I had already concluded myself) and a "chipset rework to main board" (a rather vague-sounding operation for unknown purpose). Cost: £69.95, plus £14.95 to send it back to me. Not sure what to do for the best now...

George

gmac wrote:Chris Hudson also took part

I noticed that on Strava. Curiously, he rode 3km less than you.

George

Looks uncannily like the Little Mountain TT:

http://tinyurl.com/8glbxtg

George

Well up the finishing order, Steve!

George

Splendid achievement, Gary.

George

Great, especially Greg D.

George

I'm no more fond of Hamilton than of Armstrong. I never found him a very likeable character even before the S hit the F, and riders who dope when it's in their own direct financial interest, then say it's all wrong when that's in their own direct financial interest don't have very much moral credibi...

George

In that case, congratulations.

George

How do you judge your own performances in these events, Andy, given that they are all different? By your position in the field? Are fields broadly comparable? Is half way about par for the course for you, or does it represent an improvement?

George

Ed, have you thought about doing this for a living?

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RIP one Garmin 605?