January 03, 2007
Comments Off

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

Congrats and a prediction
Hey Velo!
Can we get a shout-out for DannySummerhill? The kid’s stepped on two cross podiums since heading forEurope last month, and more can’t be far behind. I raced against him inthe Cat 4 class three seasons ago; the next year he won the Cat 3 statechamps; for the past two years he’s been national champ in his class, andnow he’s showing the Belgians what for.Write it down: Summerhill will be America’s first ‘cross world champion.
Philip Higgs
Boulder, ColoradoWe have to assume, Philip, that you mean elite world champ’, because good old Matt Kelly holds the distinction of being the first, wrapping up the junior title at the world’s in Poprad, Slovakia, in 1999, the same year Tim Johnson scored the bronze in the U-23’s race. Quite a weekend that was. – EditorWhy so venomous?
Dear Velo,
We don’t know, and may never know if Floyd Landis has used performanceenhancing drugs. But it is pretty sad to see so many people judgehim before the case is heard. What we do know is that the UCI leakedthe results to the press even before Landis had been notified, and thenrather than apologizing for that piece of unethical behavior, officialsfrom the UCI, WADA, and the TdF all judged and condemned Landis. He wasforced to respond in the media before he had seen even preliminary data.He has now demanded open and public hearings and offered a very credibleanalysis which casts on the entirety of the case against him. We know thatthe case against him would never succeed in an American court; in factin can’t even get past the Magna Carta, which requires that evidence bepresented before the judgment is reached!Those who are so anxious to pass judgment on another man ought to takea hard look at themselves and their own unacknowledged motives for theirquick and negative opinions.
Michael Hechmer
Westford, VermontEarly judgment is dangerous
Dear Editor,
In reading the letters of recent in response to VeloNews’ choiceof Floyd Landis as NorthAmerican Male Cyclist of the Year, I am compelled to offer the followingquote from noted 19th Century historian Herbert Spencer:

“There is a principle which is a bar against all information,which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a manin everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”

It seems to me this would validate that Mr. Pound, WADA, UCI and all ofthe naysayer are both contemptuous and ignorant. Congratulationson your choice of Floyd Landis for North American Cyclist of the Year.
Richard Schlickman
Hermosa Beach, CaliforniaIt’s not about the pros
VeloNews,
Let’s face the fact that whoever any publication picks as a person-of-the-year,somebody is going to object. Perhaps that is why Time magazinechose to pick everyone instead of someone. Call it chickening-outbut there is a reality in that decision. Bicycling is really aboutthe cyclist who is out there on the roads, trails, and even tracks notfor glory, not for fame, but just because it’s so darn much fun.Sample ten cyclists and you will probably come up with over thirty reasonsfor riding the bicycle.The professionals are fun to watch, and occasionally cheer on in personor by vicarious methods while watching our televisions or live updateson the web. However, they are not what bicycling is all about. Whenit comes to the day when bicycling is all about the professionals the sportwill be in decline, much as most of the other professional sports are today.Few adults actually participate in those sports anymore — theyspend their time watching the professionals on television. As yet,that has not happened to bicycling. Yes, there are those who wereinfatuated by Lance, and now seem totally uninterested in bicycling.They probably haven’t ridden a bike since they got the automobile learnerspermit, and never will again regardless of who is named “Cyclist of theYear.”For those concerned about how to explain Floyd to their kids, don’t.Just get them interested in bicycling and the joys of a lifetime sportthat can also be fitness and transportation rolled into a simple elegantmachine that blends humans and mechanical advantage into a seamless expressionof freedom.We love to watch the professionals, and even cheer on our personal andlocal favorites when they come to town. What these folks are is andinspiration to us to throw our legs over the bicycle and ride ourselves,and occasionally score a personal record. We don’t expect the professionalsto be perfect because we aren’t perfect either. We just share thelove of bicycling and that’s enough.
Linda & George Wells
Dover, New JerseyOkay, this is the last word on toys
Editor,
I too was struck that in certain parts of ‘the Republic of Boulder’the bicycle is referred to as a “toy.” (see Peter Chisholm’s letterin “Monday’sMailbag“). In most places outside of that and our greater republicthe bicycle is the difference between feeding one’s family and starvation,from street vendors to taxis to the transportation of goods.Purpose and definition is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. Andfor those of us with a few extra ‘toys’ in our garage going unused, don’tforget that they can be magically transformed into iron donkeys thru oneof the many fine bicycle recycling organizations around the country, includingp4p.org, wheels4life.organd bikesnotbombs.org.
Ed Kriege
Republic of Chicago

Wednesday’s Mailbag: Man of the year; Toys for a lifetime

by VeloNews.com

Categories : Mailbag

LATEST NEWS »

Rock And Roll - Marathon Series