after that last post...

You'd think that I lost my faith in cycling after my last entry, but NO! I was just a little angry as I have been watching all my taped coverage from 2001 to 2005 that OLN bestowed upon realizing that those days are over. That post is over, this is now. What's been on my mind though is I miss the days of EPO. You know, when you thought that everyone was on it but didn't want to actually know if they were and just marvelled at them flying up mountains seeming larger than life; you know, the 90's! [ed. note -we realize that EPO has been used before the 90's but this post is about the 90's, deal w/ it.]

I have a nearly to scale posterboard of Marco Pantani after his 1998 double in the Giro and the Tour. His ears are the normal "Elephantino" size too. I prefer them that way. It's one of my prized cycling treasures. It's been so long (in cycling years) that you forget how dynamic of a rider he was regardless of his future downfall. His destruction of Ullrich in the '98 Tour will still be one of my favorite Tour moments of all time. I loved seeing him fly while the bags under Jan's eyes grew as fast as the gap was. His victory salute took on a religious power not just in symbol but also in the epic nature of the stage win. At this point all you cared was that you witnessed a truly awesome display of climbing power as the Italian usurped the Kaiser's throne. There wasn't any thought that he was doping even after Festina exploded.

Speaking of Festina, go back to the '97 Tour and watch them take over w/ the sheer volume of stage wins. Neil Stephens rock the baby salute isn't as charming as it was then in light of the juice he was giving himself. I thought of cyclists as rock stars back then. I'd say that changed but I still get giddy as a schoolgirl when I'm around anyone associated w/ a team!

It is amusing to go back and watch races where someone is "really showing some form", or "producing the time trial of their life", and "doing some inspired climbing to stay w/ the final selection". 2002 is great to watch Raimundas Rumsas during his "inspired Tour"; you can't help but to yell out to Paul and Phil and let them know, "THAT'S BECAUSE HE WAS DOPING!!" He was still a hack; he never had any kind of class as a rider and that showed as his mechanics let him know by not tightening down his aero-bars for the final time-trial! The priceless images of him struggling against them as they continued to fall forward will not be forgotten.

Remember that there is always another to come along to replace the detectable...

I've lost the focus of this post, since I started it nearly 2 weeks ago, and I'm just finishing it now (4/30), but I'll revisit this heartwarming theme again as time permits. Thank you all for coming.

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com and Graham Watson.