"Are there no Bike Heroes left???"

This was a question posed to me this morning by my friend and teammate James Plummer.....after we both read about the drug confessions by 1996 Tour de France champion Bjarne Riis. Yesterday, it was the doping news of Zabel and Aldag. The day before......geezo.....I can't keep up with it all. Reminds me of the BL years....Before Lance.....the Festina drug affair and all of that. Drugs, Cheats, Dopes, Drugs, Cheats, Dopes. Check out any of the latest cycling news......and it's hard to pick out those heroes.

Last night, I had the opportunity to be a timekeeper at our local 40 kilometer Time Trial. We had 19 riders out there competing. These people work for a living - they come out after work and give it their all for those 24.8 miles. Are they breaking world records??? No. State records??? No. What they are doing is showing us what REAL cycling is all about......going out there, giving it your best shot, your best ride, pushing yourself that little bit further......legally......in a non-drug/doping/cheating fashion. It's REAL. We had one woman out there last night - Kim - who did the whole event on her 80s hardtail mountain bike. She's new to cycling and triathlons......but she wanted to give the 40k a shot. And she did - it took her 99 minutes and 24 seconds to complete the course. She was pooped at the end of the time trial and it looked like it took its toll.

To me, Kim is my new Bike Hero. She motivates me, inspires me, to get out there and ride. Just ride!!!