Comments on: You don’t have to dope to ride this bike

By: SueJ

SueJ — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:29:00 +0000

(and yea, as soon as it gets “pro,” no matter how you structure it, the ‘gotta win’ attitude is going to mean stretching the rules.)

By: SueJ

SueJ — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:28:00 +0000

I just wish the take-offs on the Dutch bikes would actually *have* the features (tho’ they’re getting closer). I love my enclosed chain (as in all the way, not “sort of most of it”), the inside hub and the drum brakes on my Gazelle.

By: NZ Dave

NZ Dave — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:18:00 +0000

Just an opposing view to previous posts. If the racers insist on “doing the drug thing” why not have a tour de ‘free for all’ where you may do what you please, you could even compete under the sponsership of your chosen drug company. Might even remove the users from the legitmate racing and end up like ameteur VS pro situations. just a thought.

By: Fritz

Fritz — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:40:00 +0000

Speaking of racing utilitarian bikes — that would be like NASCAR on bikes, right? It wouldn’t be long before people would stretch the rules as far as possible to get their commuter bikes and business casual clothing as race-ready as possible.

And there’s those goofy British tricycle races — do those count?

By: Mo

Mo — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 21:09:00 +0000

I didn’t take your title amiss, however it probably would be a good idea to start racing commuter/utilitarian bicycles. Racing gets people’s attention. Bicycle advocates in my town have run a few scavenger hunts pitting bikes against cars at midday–they’re always a rout for the autos. I’m thinking of events similar to the old porteur races, set up rules that exclude racing bikes, and require the competitors to dress in ‘business casual’ and they have to transport a briefcase and lunch.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:35:00 +0000

There are two ways I think of looking at the current problems in the TdF. One way is that the race is fundamentally flawed and basically everyone’s idea of cycle racing is that it is nothing more than a sport where everyone dopes and it’s like Russian roulette as to when the cheats eventually get caught. My point of view is that the stance the cycling authorities are taking in regards to the more complex checks to weed out the cheats is only a good thing. If Rasmussen and Vinokourov do get their deserved two year bans then basically it’s the end of their careers, and the length of the ban alone should act as a good deterrent to any more cheats in the sport.