Its been 2 days since the election of 2012.  Barack Obama (CNN continues to say his name as one barackobama) almost like its one long name.  I have many friends who have asked me where I stand.  I suppose from some points I may be a little tough to read.  I dont talk politics with many people because my Dad told me many years ago that you cannot win.  I think my dad was right.  There is no way to win in politics because we are all different.  So I thought I would note what I am here.  So, here goes pretty much nothing.  At least you will know how confused I really am.

I am a white conservative male who believes:

Everyone should work for what they are given.  No free rides for anyone.  We can all be productive members of society unless we are in a coma.

All men are created equal.  A man should not be judged by the color of his skin but by his actions.  No one man is greater than the whole.

People who are down on their luck should be able to get help.....But that help should be limited.  Its not something you should depend on forever.   Think of it as a short term rental and not a permanent home....

I am a happily married man of 27 years.  I fully believe in the sanctity and Biblical Definition of marriage between a man and a woman....However, I am also not dumb enough to believe that there are people in this world that have different feelings and are made differently than I am.  So if 2 men or 2 women decide that they are meant for each other, then by all means we should allow that.  However, do me a favor and call it something other than marriage.  Call it a union, a joining, a partnership or a joyful occasion.  Don't call it marriage.  That word already has a definition.

For those of you who think God looks down on people who aren't like you and I...I love God and the God I know loved ALL men.  He also said all men are forgiven.  So stop reading YOUR interpretation of the Bible into politics.  If you dont know who God is, then I am sure he will take some time out when you get to the gates of heaven to introduce himself to you.

I believe that we have raped and destroyed this earth for too long and that the earth is trying to tell us to stop.  The weather is way different than it was when I was young.  The Super storms, hurricanes, Tornadoes  hail, wind, drought, floods etc. are signs we better start to fix this planet.  It may be too late to stop what has happened, but we can try to salvage what is left and maybe start to reverse.  I fully believe that if we do not, our grandkids will be living most days indoors.  If you don't believe the climate is changing, then you are either not paying attention or you are too stubborn to look.....

I believe that we have run up our national debt for the same reason we have run up our personal debt.  WE want everything NOW and have no patience to wait on it.  When I was young, my parents only bought 2 things on credit.  A car and a house.  Now almost everything is put on a credit card.   We have done the same thing with our countries finances.  We have ran up a silly amount of debt because we could not wait for things   We let the Government buy them for us on credit.  Some day soon, the debt will come due.  And we will be standing with our hands in our pockets wondering how we got in so far over our heads.

I think we need to be somewhat tolerant of other countries.    BUT BEAR IN MIND, most countries are not tolerant of us.  They hate us and all we stand for.  Therefore, I think we need to maintain our military to the standards we always have.  I hear folks say all the time that the cold war is over....Well the countries who hate us now are a lot scarier than the old Soviet Union.  At least they had some fear of us.

I voted for Mitt Romney on Tuesday.  I didnt like all he said nor did I think he was the best candidate out of the Republican side.  However, the economy and the debt were the things that scared me the most. I felt that Romney had a better idea of how to start eliminating some of that debt.  I also think he is a good man and a God Fearing man.  I do not think Barack Obama is a good man and I dont think anyone knows his core values.  I am not depressed or ready to jump off a building because my candidate did not win.  But I do think the country will get much worse before it gets better.  I just hope by the time my kids are my age, its back to being the country that was built on the values of our forefathers.....Sadly, I am not sure that can ever be.....

Last Post about Lance

So no one won the Tour de France from 1998 to 2005.  It wasn't even ran if you look at the record books 20 years from now.  No one entered it, rode it or even witnessed it according to the record books.  Lance Armstrong used to hold all of the records for those years but he was allegedly a Doper and Dopers cant be Tour de France winners.  Now I say allegedly because even though the case against Lance Armstrong is so overly airtight that Nike, Trek and Radio Shack have broken all ties with him, no one has ever found a test that shows he doped.....No one.  I never would have 100% believe that Lance doped until about 3 weeks ago when George Hincapie came out with his admission of guilt.  George was my all time favorite rider.  He was the guy who never got the attention but worked the hardest.  He was the offensive lineman who didnt get credited for making the all star quarterback look so good on the field.  He was the speechwriter that was in the background when the candidate is praised for being so eloquent.  He is the guy that was always in the eye of the storm but had that grin of determination on his face.  Lance would concentrate on the Tour.  George raced the Classics.  Lance got the accolades.  George received a pat on the back.  He raced 17 Tours and was on a winning team for many of those.  7 with Lance.  He kept quiet and did his job while Tyler, Frankie, Frankie's wife, Floyd and many others called foul on the Armstrong Empire.  He was the quintessential Lieutenant to Lance and kept a tight lip on things.....But finally he broke....and admitted that Yes he had doped too.  Then.......and only then did I know.......LA was fooling us all.   Lance is a Doper.  Thats hard for me to say or even fathom as reality....But I know its true now.

So what now?  Do I take all of this and process it to be anything other than it is?  Someone I thought to be a superior athlete is now a fraud?  A liar?  A charlatan?  A cheat????  Then I look around at what he did for others....People with Cancer.  People who were out of shape with no hope, no desire and no will power.  He transformed so many thousands of people through his Livestrong Foundation and just motivating them to get up off the couch and ride a bike.  He almost completely rejuvenated the cycling scene in North America. I was already a rider when Lance appeared but many folks I ride with were inspired by him.....Even other i know were inspired by the way he kicked Cancer's ass....Folks with no hope saw a reason to keep on fighting for life....."Hell if a guy can go on to win the Tour after having terminal cancer, then surely I can make it to go back to my family"......Yes he inspired SO MANY.  So was this whole thing a waste?

Today they announced that not only were all 7 tours being stripped but that Lance will have to give back his earnings for those tours.  This amounts to 2.5 million pounds which is substantial but if he had to pay it, I feel pretty sure he could cover it.  Most likely there will be suits and counter suits from the big corporations he represented that will cry foul and try to recoup money.  But for every dollar companies like Nike, Trek, Radio Shack, Nissan etc paid Lance, he brought them much more in return...He was the Golden Boy from 1998-2005.  Everything he touched turned to the proverbial Gold.  But more importantly, he was the Golden Boy for Cancer Survivors and their families.  The Good that Livestrong has done will never be erased in the minds or bodies of the people he helped see another day, or month, or even years.  Its easy for the pundits to crucify the man now that it seems the world was so enamored with they could not see being a cheater.  But instead of doing that, lets hope we can all remember that his foundation was the good thing that came out of all of this.

Last thing I will say is this:  Cycling is a dirty sport that must do many things to clean itself up.  I dont know if it can ever regain the purity of the sport it had in the early years of cycling.  The races and competition are so tough today I cant imagine being a competitive cyclist.  I believe that Lance was just leveling the playing field,  I think given his work ethic and attitude he would have kicked their asses for 7 or 8 years if they all were clean....We will never know because they cant pick a winner from 1998-2005.  Why?  because no one else was clean either.

WOW.  Been almost a year since I wrote anything in this post.  I am now the proud parent of a College Student.  Kyle entered USC (South Carolina) about 1 month ago.  We dont hear much from him but he seems to be enjoying himself immensely.  I suppose I was doing the same a few years back myself.  I changed jobs in December of last year.  I finally got away from the pain in the ass job I had and went back to filtration.  Its much more what I know how to do.  I still work the part time job at REI but its less and less hours.  Too busy traveling and all the other stuff.  Hannah is a Junior at Lake Norman and she is kind of happy being the only child for a while.  She has Kyle's old Honda and is pretty much self sufficient.  A good kid and no trouble at all.  I have been riding a lot this year but hardly any running. I am starting to think about getting back into running this fall/winter if my knees hold up.  We will see.  I am going on a backpack trip in October.  I went to Yosemite ofr a night or 2 in July with Kyle and Curtis.  It was a really special place.  We spent a week in CA and I love the whole state.  San Diego was great and San Francisco was even better.  Yosemite was the highlight for me but the boys liked the cities better.  I hope to get some pictures up soon of my trip but the blog just hasn't been a priority.  Maybe I will take more time in the near future.  We will see.

Adios  

Almost November...Finally Cool

So:  What have I been doing the last few months?  Well, I took a job at REI part time in September.  Its only 1 night per week if I am home plus weekends.  I usually have one weekend day off but during the sale the last 2 weeks, I have been working all they need me.  I work in the paddling/cycling area OR as they call it "ACTION SPORTS".  What a great company and what cool people.  I have enjoyed every minute there.  The training is very thorough and sometimes it gets intense.  But overall they do a great job presenting the company to you.  Yeah it cuts into my free time but it also is helping to pay down some debt.  Which at this point is well needed. I am still riding about 150 miles per week on weeks I am home from traveling and on weekdays I can ride.  So its still cycling season in my book.  Today is low 40's this morning.  Probably has hit 50 or more as I write this at noon.  Tuesday, my oldest son Kyle hit 18 years old.  A big milestone in any mans life.  He and I and one of his friends who also just turned 18 a few weeks back had a cigar on the porch in celebration of this achievement.  I hate cigars and I hate smoke but it was a once every so often thing I felt like I had to do.  He got an I-Phone 4S yesterday.  Its a great invention but almost too involved.  It scares me sometimes to see what they keep coming up with.  I never thought I would be so "Connected" to everything and everyone.  Things that are coming up for me include a backpack trip with the Venture Crew in mid November to Grayson Highlands.  We did this last year and it was a lot of fun.  They are not into hiking miles and miles but they are a fun group.  Hopefully we can see ponies and it wont be freezing cold all weekend.  Other than that, no real plans as I know my other job will keep me busy most weekends through Christmas.  I need to update this blog more but time is limited.  I should try to make at least one entry per week.  I need to have a record of some things I do.  Adios

Grayson Highlands with Scout Troop

This past weekend, the Scout Troop did a 3 day backpack trip to Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands.  Its an annual event that usually sees us picking and eating so many blueberries that we all get sick.  This year, the blueberries were less than plentiful.  In fact, they were basically non-existent.  I lead the longer trek in from Elk Garden which is west of the state park and we had another long trek that came in from the Backpackers lot along with 2 short treks.  We arrived at Elk Garden on Friday night about 7:30PM.  When we left Mooresville, the weather was warm and clear.  But as we were about 5 miles out from Elk, the rains came and they were pretty heavy.  The group sat in cars until the rain subsided a bit and by the time we put on rain gear and started waliking, the rain stopped.  We only had a mile walk to the meadow and set up camp.  It actually cleared quite nicely for about an hour after we set up.  We were outside talking and staring at some cows in the meadow when the rains came back.  I got in my tent and it rained heavily for 2-3 hours.  The rain falling on my tent kept me calm and soon I was sleeping fairly sound.

Saturday morning we got up, dried stuff off as much as possible then set out for the campsite for Saturday night.  I wanted to try out a new area I scoped out last November when I was with the Venture crew.  It was about 5 miles an we hiked it in less than 3 hours.  We got to the site and there were 2 guys packing up.  One of them pointed out a yellow jacket nest in the best flattest site in the camp.  We set up tents to dry but it was still very cool for August and not sunny at all.  BUT NO RAIN!!  Rather than sit around in camp all day, we loaded up some slack packs and headed off to make a 10 mile loop around the AT and back.  All day, the wind was whipping and it never got to 60 degrees.  It felt good but was cooler than I had hoped for.  We made our way down the Crest Trail to Scales and took a short break there.  We hooked up with the AT at Scales and hiked towards Wise Shelter.  There we ran into 2 guys who were hanging out with at least a gallon of whiskey.  I talked to one of them for a few minutes and learned he owned a bike shop in Charlotte.  They had a really cool dog who started hiking with us but went back somewhere on the AT.  We kept passing and getting passed by a group of Latter Day Saints from Mooresville.  About 3 o'clock we crested Massie Gap and the sun finally peaked out from the mist for a while.  Another hike up Rhododendron Gap and we were ready to pump water from the spring at Rhodo Gap.  We headed into camp about 5PM tired and hungry.  It was hard to really sit around camp as the wind never let up all evening.  Finally a Scout got a small fore started and we were glad to have the warmth.  Most of the group turned in around 10PM.

Sunday morning we rose early and headed out at 7:30AM for the 5 miles back to Elk Garden.  Like always, the sun shone brightly all day.  Who would have thunk it???   Back to the car for a 3 hour drive back to Mooresville.  A quick stop to get a REAL RC Cola at Sparta and we were back in Mooresville by 12:30PM.  Even though the weekend was cold and misty, it was a great weekend.  

Lance Armstrong and me

Well, yesterday was my 49th birthday.  I dont feel 49 but then again, What does 49 feel like?  I am older and I get tired easier.  I dont have the stamina riding I once did.  I dont get up and bound out of bed at 6AM as easy as I once did.  I cant run as far, ride as far or even drive as far.  But I still feel young.  So I guess the saying is true:  "You are only as old as you feel".

Some of my cycling and non-cycling friends have asked me recently if I believe Lance Armstrong doped.  This past week, a man I admire greatly, George Hincapie came out and said that Lance used EPO early in in his career and possibly as recently as his comeback 2 years ago.  Tyler Hamilton said it, Floyd Landis said it and so did Frankie Andreu.  All of these guys rode with Lance at some point in his career.  Frankie rode early on, Floyd and Tyler for a couple seasons.  But George was there for all seven TDF wins and every training session and almost all of his days in the saddle in events.  Big George is well-liked by everyone and is of the highest integrity.  Hearing that he had testified to the drug use by Lance basically leads me to believe that Lance was doping.  I followed Lance from his very early days as a teenager in Texas winning triathlons by miles over the pros.  I watched him win the world championships in the early 90's, watched and prayed for him when he was dying of cancer and cheered for him as he made his return to cycling.  Back in 98, I was training for the Assault on Mount Mitchell and had the opportunity to ride with Lance (well for about 500 feet in Blowing Rock).  He was training with 2 guys I didn't know but learned later it was Chris Carmichael and Bob Roll.  They rode past me on Highway 181 and spoke to me and asked me how far to the top.  I think I gasped out 3 miles and they blew right by me.  I knew it was Lance because I recognized the Cofidis Jersey and his awesome prowess on the bike.  I later read in his book that that week was his revelation and return to the competitive world.  In 2003, I had a better chance to meet George Hincapie.  I was in Greenville riding with a friend over Paris Mountain.  George was living there on the mountain with his family and was out riding a few intervals up Paris.  The guy I was riding with knew him a little and George slowed to chat with us. It was the highlight of my cycling day.  He was such an effortless climber, but also a great guy.  He was "just a guy out for a ride".  I tried to stick on his wheel as he started to take off.  I am proud to say he only beat me to the top by 20 seconds.  I was on the rivet as they say and I doubt George was pushing it too much.  I became a fan that day.  I put up a poster in my office that still stands.  I wanted him to win Paris-Roubaix so bad but the 2 years he was in his best form, he crashed out.  He also almost had the yellow jersey at the tour a few years back.  I wanted it for him more than I ever wanted it for Lance.  So, my respect for George is great.

So I guess as I sit here tonight thinking about the events of this last week in cycling, I am still numb over the realization that Lance Armstrong probably doped.  Lance is not a hero to me.  Very few people are a hero.  My Dad is a hero, Jesus is a hero and the people who protect us from harm are heroes in my book.  Professional athletes are not heroes and should never be called that.  They get paid to go out and perform.  But even though Lance was not a hero, he was someone I respected greatly.  He was(as someone called him) "A BADASS ON A BIKE".  I cant recall ANY athlete living or dead who I could watch for hours.  He was THE MAN.  So its sad that its come to this.

Now do I think he should be stripped of his 7 TDF titles?  ABSOLUTELY but only if he is proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. I feel like Lance thought he was just leveling the playing field.  Almost every cyclist from that era has been tested positive.  The list is long:  Hamilton, Landis, Andreu, Rasmussen, Pantani, Zabel, Riis, Ullrich, Millar, Hueras.....even the great Eddy Merckx was found using banned substance in the 70's.  (click here for more)  Landis was stripped of his title so why is Lance any better.  The difference was, Lance was never tested as positive....ever.  So in reality, even if everyone says he was a doper, no one has any proof beyond a shadow of a doubt.  As far as I know, unless Lance comes out and admits it (which I doubt he ever will), it will remain unproven.  But the fact that George admitted he doped and saw Lance dope means a great deal to me.  I am not ready to crucify him, but I have lost a lot of hope...

In reality, I always suspected there was cheating going on with Lance.. I didn't want to believe it nor do I  want to now.  I looked up to him as an athlete.  So the thought he may have cheated will never be an easy thing for me to digest.

None of this takes away from all of the wonderful things he has done for Cancer victims all over the world.  His support and influence has helped so many people deal with this horrible disease.  How many yellow bracelets have you seen out there?  I wore one for 5 years myself.  I still have so much respect for him as a person.  He used much influence to help others.  You cant take that away from him.

So what will Lance's legacy be now that so many people have testified against him?  I guess that remains to be seen.  I still think he may be one of the greatest athletes of our time.  Clean or dirty, no one could hold a candle to him.  It will be a sad day if it ever is proven that he doped.  I know I will not feel the same about him.  I am sure many others will feel like he let them down too.  Only time will tell if Lance will live out his legacy as a great cyclist.  There is no doubt he will live a legacy as a humanitarian.    

Where have I been?

Well thats a good question....  I have been here but not blogging.  I gave up on the blog per day thing.  It was just too dang hard to sit down and put something onto words that anyone would really are to read on a daily basis.  I didnt even read them so I guess no one else would either.  Since February I have been riding pretty consistently although I sold the Mount Mitchell ticket this year.  I tweaked my knee in early April and I just didnt have the time to train with travel and Eagle Scout stuff going on.  I still plan on doing Blood, Sweat and Gears in June but not much else on the ride planning schedule.  I did a backpack trip this past weekend to Panthertown up in Western NC.  First warm trip of the year for me.  We spent a night on the trail down near the junction and Saturday night in a campsite on the north side.  The weather nerds were calling for a 70% chance of showers and thunder all weekend but we got by with only a small sprinkle.  I did fall down a waterfall which could have been really bad.  Luckily I only got some bad rock rash on both knees and a shin.  Other than that it was a pretty good weekend.  The 2 pictures above are from the weekend.  The one with me partially hidden is minutes after the fall.  Note the blood all over the knees and shin.  Nice!!