In the summer of 1994, Miguel Indurain won his 4^th consecutive Tour de France. At the time, America was being introduced to a young upstart named Lance Armstrong. Just one year prior, at the age of 21, he had stunned the world winning the UCI Road World Championship in Norway. He collected the Thrift Drug Triple Crown of US Cycling. Very quickly, he was beginning to cause American sports media to consider a possible answer to the question, “Who will be the next Greg Lemonde?” Then, in 1994, he came in 2^nd place in the Clasica de San Sebastian. Meanwhile, a very young Floyd Landis had earned the honor of U.S. Junior National Champion (1993). In 1996, Lance surprised everyone by dropping out of the Tour de France on the 7^th stage.

I didn’t pay attention to any of this until October 1996. Almost exactly two years to the day my own husband (Bob) had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (a type of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes), I heard about this pro cyclist – Lance Armstrong – who was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The tumor had spread to his brain and lungs. Having watched my own husband slowly deteriorating under intensive chemotherapy treatments, I made it a point to pay very close attention to this young man’s career. I am certain that there were times when Lance had thoughts of giving up, to stop fighting both the disease and the treatments that were also taking him apart – piece by piece. But that pugnacious tenacity must have kicked in, and Lance had no choice but to fight it – and win.

The difference in age between Lance and my husband at each of their diagnoses was one year. At Lance’s diagnosis, Bob was still being seen every 6 months, having been declared “in remission” for about 18 months. He still seemed an empty shell of a person. The life (or love of) had gone, and he was bitterly trying to get on with it – in a very Mennonite fashion.

It was my secret hope that Lance Armstrong, this giant among giants, might offer a sort of inspiration for Bob to draw from. Amazingly, Lance’s treatment only went for 2 months when he was declared to be in remission. A year later, he was already training for racing with the U.S. Postal team. Armstrong then won the Tour de France in the summer of 1999, 2000, and again in 2001. No one could rival him.

Lance was also interested in recruiting the best to ride with him in the Tour de France. One of the cyclists recruited by Lance was Floyd Landis, the son of a Pennsylvania Mennonite. I could write a book about his life (if he’d let me). He rode on the U.S. Postal Service team in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 Tour de France races. All of these were won by Lance Armstrong. Floyd’s performance in the 2004 Tour was impressive enough to earn him a team leadership position with Phonak, and he officially parted company with Armstrong.

In 2005, Lance won his last Tour de France with Floyd Landis finishing 9^th. In 2006, Floyd Landis won the Tour of California and the prestigious Paris-Nice. The only rider to beat him in the mountains of Georgia was Tom Danielson. But in the summer of 2006, as the Floyd de Force took the maillot jaune during the 12^th, 13^th, 16^th and 20^th stages of the Tour de France, he failed a urine test – not once, but twice – when he insisted a backup sample be re-tested. Landis was suspended from professional cycling, and dismissed by the team. What followed was a series of unhappy events which led to appeals and arbitration, ultimately finalized in March 2008; Floyd Landis was banned from cycling also by the USADA, a 2 year judgment that retroactively began in January 2007.

The following is quoted from www.wikipedia.com in the Floyd Landis article:

“On April 14, 2009, the French newspaper L’Express reported information that had been obtained from hacking into the French national laboratory for doping detection. The information was sent to a Canadian counterpart lab from a computer registered to Arnie Baker, Landis’s ex-coach. On August 25, 2009, The New York Times reported, “No evidence has surfaced to connect Mr. Landis or Dr. Baker to the hacking, and each has denied any involvement.” However, on February 15, 2010, it became known that a French judge issued an arrest warrant for Landis on the hacking charge in late January.”

End Quote

Since then, Floyd Landis has finally admitted to doping. But it wasn’t enough to take responsibility for his own actions. He appears determined to take down others with him. There is an ongoing U.S. Justice Department investigation into the alleged doping practices of former teammates as well as Lance Armstrong, all named by Floyd Landis.

I believe that the hacking incident in late 2009 was never quite put to rest by officials in Europe, especially the UCI. The warrant was never served and evidence was never brought forth. At this point, the entire cycling world is mocked and humiliated, and Landis is acting in defiance of the direct authority of the UCI to make decisions.  And so in a latest move, the UCI has entered a lawsuit against Landis. There are two unfortunate facts that cannot be overlooked. Like many professional sporting organizations, the UCI is not completely innocent. Corruption is there, but there is little anyone can do about that. Secondly, a good man’s career has been permanently ruined – some wounds have no doubt been self-inflicted, but Floyd Landis could not cope with the truth of his indiscretion, and he has already paid the price. Perhaps he should just be left alone.

According the Google Maps, the one-way route is 57.7 miles if taken as follows:

Starting on March Road, Newburyport, MA, go east on March toward 2^nd St. Slight left onto Ferry Road. Continue on Ferry Road 1.9 miles to Beach Road. Turn right and head east to the shoreline. Ride on Beach Road as it curves along (2 miles). Stay on the right side of the split as it passes through Marsh State Park. Turn left on Cable Ave/North End Blvd (also Rt 1A). Cross a bridge to Hampton Beach State Park (on your right). Make a slight right to stay on route 1A (Ocean Blvd). About 10.5 miles are travelled on route 1A.

Rye Section note: This section was included to add necessary miles to the total length of the ride. If left out, the one way distance is 45.1 miles. It also avoids having riders travelling in opposite directions on the same stretch of road.

At Rye Beach, turn left on S Road (South Road). Stay on S Road 1.3 miles. Turn left on Woodland Road. Stay on Woodland Road 1.5 miles. Turn right on Atlantic Ave (route 111) and go west 0.7 mile. Turn right on Mill Road. At intersection with S Road, continue straight on W Road. Distance on Mill Road/W Road is 2.6 miles. Turn right on Washington Road and continue 1.4 miles. Turn right onto Central Road. Make a slight right at junction with Cable Road to continue on Central Road. Cross over S Road again. Distance on Central Road is 2.9 miles. Turn right onto Causeway Road. Bear right onto Old Locke Road/Central Road. Continue to Chapel Road and turn left. Follow Chapel Road for 0.3 mile to Willow Ave. Turn left and follow Willow Ave 0.3 mile to return to Ocean Blvd (route 1A).

Once back on Ocean Blvd continue north past Rye Harbor State Park to Odiorne Point State Park. Ocean Blvd curves back westward and becomes Pioneer Road (route 1A cont’d). Stay to the right on Pioneer Road to the traffic circle called “Foyes Corner”. Take first exit to Sagamore Ave (route 1A). About 0.5 mile north, turn right onto Wentworth Road (route 1B). This road passes through New Castle Island. Continue on Portsmouth Ave (route 1B). Distance on Wentworth/Portsmouth is 4.2 miles. Take slight right onto Marcy St (0.2 mile) and slight left onto Pleasant St (0.4 mile), followed by right on State St (0.2 mile) and slight left on Dutton Ave toward US-1 north. Cross Memorial Bridge on US-1 north and enter Maine (0.6 mile).

Once in Kittery, turn right onto Government St (0.2 mile). Turn left on Otis Ave briefly and right on Walker Street (0.1 mile). Turn left on Wentworth St (0.2 mile), then right on Whipple Road. Keep right to stay on Whipple Road for 1.1 mile. Bear left as road becomes Pepperrell Road (1.5 miles). Pepperrell Road continues to Tenney Hill Road for 0.3 mile. Continue north on state route 103 (Brave Boat Harbor Road) for 2.2 miles.

At Meadow Winds Farm, turn left on Payne Road (0.6 mile). At the end of Payne Road, turn right on Bartlett Road (1.1 mile). Bear right on Southside Road to cross a bridge (0.4 mile). Immediately across the bridge turn right onto Lindsay Rd (0.7 mile). Take right fork at York Hospital as Lindsay Road splits and turn right onto York Street. Follow York St for 2.6 miles and continue north when York St changes to Long Beach Ave (1.4 miles). Stay along coastline and turn right onto Nubble Road (1.3 miles). Continue on Broadway St for 0.5 mile to right on Willow Ave (briefly). Take a slight left and quick right onto Ocean Ave (0.3 mile). At end of Ocean, turn right onto Main Street (0.6 mile); continue on Shore Road (0.6 mile). After crossing another bridge, turn left onto Hutchins Blvd/River Road to Cape Neddick Park.

This and the fact that my family spends a lot of time on bicycles has prompted me to pause and reflect. It also makes me determined to defend the rights of cyclists to share our nation’s roadways with motorists in a safe, responsible manner.

My motivation starts with the understanding that all of us ought to be more aware when we drive or ride. Fatigue and/or lack of attention is one of the leading causes of accidents. Put down that cell phone, pull off the road when the little one in the back starts crying to the point of distraction. And put aside that casual thought “damn cyclist, slowing me down”. It starts with the understanding that the bicyclist and the motorist each have an equal right to being on the road. AND that the cyclist must obey ALL of the same laws that the motorist must obey. Protect yourself and others by being cautious and patient with the guy struggling to get up that hill.

Each state has its own advocacy groups dedicated to education and promotion of safe roadways. It would be nice if all of our so-called blue highways included a bicycle lane. In my own letters to legislators, I proposed using the shoulders of roads as bicycle lanes, fully paved but with the dual purpose of an emergency pull-off AND bicycle lane. Obviously this has not been entirely successful.

Until then, I will not preach rules of safety and responsibility. The League of American Bicyclists has its own “Share the Road” sheet. There are also links there for you to see what the law states, your rights, and how you too can speak out for those who are most vulnerable on our roadways. What that does not point out is that motorists MUST give cyclists a wide berth. Road conditions, wind, other factors, can often cause a bicycle to swerve several inches one way or another. If you are driving a car or truck, and you approach a bicyclist on the road, give him or her enough room. Do NOT pass until you have ADEQUATE room to pass. Cyclists do not deliberately stay on the road to make drivers of vehicles slow down. They do so because they are obeying the laws of the road, and driving as close to the edge as safety will permit.

If you are not convinced that bicycles are at a disadvantage, here is something that happened to my husband when cycling with our youngest son behind him (in a covered trailer). The location was Rt 4 that stretches from New Hampshire across to Maine at South Berwick and continues north for many miles. It is not a highway as we think of highways. But since Interstates are rare in Maine, Rt 4 is one of the major access routes, and motorists do tend to go way… too… fast. Not long after we moved here, my husband went on his bike with our son for a ride. Only about 1/2 mile from our home, a woman pulled up alongside him in her car, slowed to meet his speed and rolled down her window.

She began accusing him of being irresponsible, taking a child behind a bicycle on such a BUSY road. Of course, he was following EVERY safety precaution. Even our son, sitting inside the trailer, had a helmet on. So persistent was she that when my husband stopped, she stopped – right in the middle of the road. (Who was being irresponsible?) Yes, too often we see riders after twilight with little or no lighting, wearing dark, non-reflective clothing. Cyclists also get fatigued and forget to signal, or weave too much. It happens too often. So out of a regard for life, slow down, drive defensively, and everyone arrives home – safe.

For this year’s competition, there are 22 teams of 9 members each. The teams have a home country where they train, although individual members can come from all over the world. Four of this year’s teams are US-based: BMC Racing Team, Team Garmin-Cervelo, Team HTC-Highroad, and Team Radio Shack. Of the 10 American competitors, 4 are with Team Garmin-Cervelo, and there are 2 in each of the other teams. Racers range in age from 21 up to 39. No 40-year-olds this year.

The honors of the Tour de France ought to include an overall team award, in my opinion. But we will discuss this later. There are 4 jerseys that represent the individual honors based on cumulative standings. The top honor, the yellow jersey, goes to the person with the best cumulative time (overall) and shows who holds the current #1 spot on the overall leader board. The red polka dot jersey and the green jersey are points-based. During each day’s route, there are marked sections that offer points for “climb” and “sprint”. In each of these sections, points are awarded and the one with top points earn the right to wear these jerseys. It is generally thought that victory in the Tour de France favors the climbers over the sprinters, as it is an endurance test more than anything.

Philippe Gilbert of Belgium is one of this year’s “favorites” to win the whole thing. At this point, he is wearing the polka dot “mountain man” jersey and is 19th overall (33 seconds behind the leader). The yellow jersey is being worn by Thor Hushovd, who won it from Philippe on Day 2 when his team scored a decisive victory in the Team Time Trial. The green jersey is being held by Spaniard Jose Juaquin Rojas.

Gilbert and Hushovd on Day 4 (Gilbert's birthday)

There are two “headlines” so far that stand out for me. Both show how much professionalism and teamwork matter in this race. The first is the race on Day 3. As the racers get going, the bulk of them establish themselves in a crowd, called the “peloton”. There are advantages to being at the front of the peloton, and teams try to form a tight line to hold position among the columns of riders. Teammates can actually push each other forward with careful maneuvering. As the course widens and narrows, the overhead view of how the peloton adapts is quite fascinating. So as the peloton moved and flowed on the 4th of July, at some point near the end it was time for the teams in and near the front of the pack to make their move. Team HTC-Highroad suddenly veered to an open left side and surged forward in line. But it was too late. Team Garmin-Cervelo deftly surged ahead themselves, with Tyler Farrar at the head of the line. With his teammates helping protect him, Tyler Farrar won the day’s race. Apparently it was something the team had planned all along. Sitting up on his saddle, in front of the cameras, Tyler formed a “W” with his fingers. Here is why: