Shamilton in the news !

Well i write Blogs and they get a few people reading , whilst he writes a book and upsets the " Applecart "! I doubt there are many cyclists , that follow Cycle Racing , that are unaware of the book " the secret race ....etc " ?

Over the years that i have been riding the routes of the Grand Tours and Pro World Tours i have met many of the participants both on the bike and at their team facilities . Cycle Racing allows " Jo Public " access to these Racers , part of the reason that makes the Sport so popular . Only at the Tour de France , do they make access more difficult for the Tifosi ( fans ) , and even then there are plenty of opportunities to get close and personal .

Recently Tyler has been in the limelight because of his appearance on TV , and now with the book being aggressively marketed . Several Interviews have been printed and no doubt this story will continue to be front page news until mid October when the USADA say they will present UCI with the report , that has been outstanding since Lance declined to commit further time to the Kangaroo Court , that the USADA call arbitration !

    Photo is of Oscar Sevilla , whilst with Phonak , playing " doctors ", served a suspension for Doping also !

Today i attempted to comment to the " scotsman ", but as yet the comment below has failed to register :

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/interview-tyler-hamilton-cyclist-1-2555924#


 " Tyler ,
we first met at the 1999 Paris-Nice on the Monday morning . I looked for you as a result of meeting one of your neighbours on the Saturday . It was a freezing cold day as the team sat outside the Team Camper !
You guys were joshing about and no doubt part of that , was because i was not dressed for the weather and i was about to set out to ride the route you Guys were about to race .  Warmed by your Drug Intake , you guys probably felt invincible . By midday , i was unable to drink a glass of brandy that i had bought in a bar in an effort to raise my Core Temperature after encountering freezing sleet and snow .
Countless occasions occured for us to meet over the following years , including the Giro , where you continued riding despite  broken bones . Last occasion we met , i recall  ,was at the 2004 Athens ITT training session where you passed me a drink from the riders fridge .

 That you were USING the whole time , demonstrates how easy it was to fool your father and friends , let alone the public ! Your book was offered , fREE , on Cyclingnews Forum by a contributor there but i don't need to read it to know how far you have fallen !

 You are reported to be selling memorabilia , some of the proceeds i gather will go to the " Paul Kimmage ( fagor photo )Defence Fund "! Perhaps the balance could go to the " Wounded Warrior Project " & " Help4Heroes ", these people are TRUE Heroes !

When Christophe Bassons of France and Filippo Simeoni of Italy report to the media that you have Publicly apologised , and they have accepted that Apology , then you will have reached bottom and can draw a line on the past !

Losing Haven and your former life , is a price TOO high for the trivia you gained by your resort to DRUGS ! Too many people followed your example and some have lost their lives by doing so . Hopefully the monies from your book will be used to support a " Foundation " which will HELP DISCOURAGE youngsters from setting out on the path , you chose to follow !

The ball is in your court ! Succeed in a new Career as an " Anti Doping Advocate " or spend the monies on yourself and a lifestyle ! "




RARELY do i suffer the frustration that is inflicted by these type of articles ! Repeated efforts to "post " this comment have failed . There is also a link to Facebook  , which does not appear to have been utilised  either ! What is the point of a newspaper offering their readers that registered , " ACCESS " and then not allowing that access ?


Earlier in the week i asked for HELP to add the " Chip In "
button  for the " PAUL KIMMAGE Defence Fund ".

Hoping this below will work this time :

PARALYMPIC HEROES

So often you see “ Sporting Stars “ described as “ Heroes “ ! Wrong description for most ! This of course is a personal observation and will be contrary to those of most people !

For me to think of an Athlete as a “ Hero “ requires that they have done something Heroic , riding your bike like Lance Armstrong , or playing Basketball like Michael Jordan , is not heroic . They are certainly “ Role Models “ and their careers and subsequent outside interests are worthy of note .

 “ Heroes “ are those who have “ Served their Nation in Harm’s Way , suffered adversity and fought back to Serve their Nation once again on the Sports Field “ ! During the next two months we will see many Athletes at the Tour de France and in the London Olympics described as “ heroes “ and when the London Paralympics open at the end of August , you will see these Athletes’ efforts  pale into insignificance !

On the Paralympic Podiums will be seen exceptional personalities with a variety of stories . But it will not be necessary to win a medal to be a winner , since each competitor will have fought for many years against adversity to reach the qualification standards imposed by the “ IPC “ !  For each competitor there will be years of dedication and heart breaking stories , of their struggle to rehabilitate after injury suffered in Serving their Nation in Harm’s Way , of rehabilitating after some medical condition , even of being born with physical infirmity . Whatever was the cause of their “ Physical Disability “ , they will have struggled to overcome these difficulties .

Some will have a mindset that will not even acknowledge that they are any different from you or I . In fact “ Heiko Kroeger “ , a great German Sailor , had to be convinced to step back from thrashing Able bodied Sailors , so as to help his Nation by joining their National Paralympic Team at the Sydney Paralympic Games ! In the story of the “ WE can , you can “ , Idea Argo Project , that utilised “ French Kiss “ to attempt to win the “ Americas Cup “ he said when asked to join this team “ My first thoughts were to say NO ! Because I never felt Disabled , I never  joined disabled sport and I was having enough success in “ non disabled sailing “!

Heiko was in the mid 2000’s , a member of the crew of “ French Kiss “ , solely crewed by “ Disabled Athletes “ and also in that crew was Lars Grael  , the Brazilian Gold medal Sailor , whose life was disrupted briefly by a Drunken Motor boat driver . Losing a leg this guy rebuilt his life and went back to beating his brother , who was dominating the Brazilian Sailing scene . Amazingly Lars  even won the South American Championship along the way .

The story of “ Idea Argo “ passed me by , as I am sure it did with most of you . I had no idea that an Italian Gold Medal Paralympian that I first met at Sydney 2000 Paralympics , was also a crew member . Pierangelo Vignati reminded me at the Giro d’Italia Team Time Trial in Piacenza that we had met in Sydney . Since then he has been very kind to me , not only entertaining me in his home , but helping me in a variety of other ways . Kindnesses that I feel I did not deserve , but that is the nature of this man and many others with “ Disability “!

Physically Challenged / Para Athletes tend to be people who excel at whatever they attempt , you can almost certainly expect they will make the effort to converse with you in English . Rarely do I find “ Disabled People “ that do not attempt to carry on a conversation in English , no matter their nationality . Says a lot for how lazy some of us able bodied people can be ?

Another team that I have had the good fortune to come across are the VorArlberg Wheelchair / Handbike Team . At St Johann in Tyrol each year there is the World Masters Cycling Championship , which is an event that even “ Para Cyclists “ attend . Some years back I met several Vorarlbergers , each of whom were members of the team that raced , relay style , the “ Race across America “! Yes , day after day , they rolled their Hand Bikes through 3000+ miles to achieve the nigh impossible . Currently that race is nearing it’s conclusion and in this year’s edition are 8 members of a team from “ Wounded Warrior Project “ . What these guys have suffered before becoming involved does not bear thinking about ! Since adding the links i have discovered there are in fact two teams , hard at work , creating " Inspiration "!

Go to these link for further details :

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/race-across-america.aspx

and

http://team4mil.org/trackers/wounded-warriors-tracker/

No doubt their efforts will inspire other teams to take on this challenge during future events !

That people are rarely aware of a person’s “ Disability “ is clarified by an incident I witnessed yesterday in Kramsach ! Seeing a tandem pass at speed in the opposite direction , I did a U turn and had to really chase hard over a couple of kilometres to get up to them . On a narrow street within the 40 kph zone we were close to the speed limit but two cars were not content to wait . The first a blue saloon decided that 50+kph was their “ right “,  and off they went past me and then the tandem into a right handed bend with little visibility of oncoming traffic !

The second , a grey Peugeot people mover “ MD 721..” decided to attempt to pass also, even though there was oncoming traffic , I slapped the front rhs mudguard panelwork when he was alongside me , causing him to brake and fall back , thus allowing the oncoming vehicle to pass unimpeded . As he then passed again ,he made a gesture such as “ there is the problem “ ! You know , the right hand opened , palm up , pointing to  some object ! Was he telling his wife , that the tandem was at fault for being in his way ? Or was he trying to say that the tandem was in his way and should not be on the road ?

Tyrol is honoured to have a number of “ Paralympic Stars ( could even be described as “ Heroes“ )“ in Cycling and also Skiing ! Roland Dornauer , is a blind Athlete and as such is the “ stoker” on a tandem and was out doing his Sunday training , at this point , 40+ km from home .  He later told me , when , after many kilometres I caught up with them , that he will not be at the London Paralympics . Tandems are slower going uphill but faster downhill but this team were really motoring and I had to call “ langsamer ( slower ) “ so as to enjoy a brief chat .

When next you see a “ Wheelchair Driver “ , perhaps you too will wonder what sport they pursue and their skillset  , maybe even reflect on the cause of their Disability ?

LAST DAYS

UNBELIEVABLE that people choose not to help others !

To date there appears to be little interest in helping me to give a "Conti 4000s clincher " to a "Para Athlete "! I realise that you can go out and buy an inner tube for peanuts but in sending out these items "snailpost" will still want me to dig into my pocket for the coin of the realm .

Repeating the requirements seems pointless , nevertheless :

You are helping another by posting in the comments box on www.tourdafrance.blogspot.com the "para athlete of your choice and their contact details . Once the total reached 35 followers there was a Tyre for them and an inner tube for you . Had the total gone to 60 followers then there would have been an additional tyre available and the proposer would have received an inner tube .

Simple really but i guess if you are reading this whilst the boss is out of the office finding the National Paralympic website of your country might take a little effort .

Had the project been successful i had hoped there would have been many new identities that people could follow as they prepared to compete in the LONDON 2012 PARALYMPIC . Many of these may already have served their country in "Harm's Way" and are now embarking on service once again !

Help4Heroes & Wounded Warrior Project are two of those charities that deserve your support and following some of their participants exploits would have been inspirational as well as worthwhile !

Could be my last post before i arrive in the Vendee for the TDF so will enjoy the thrill of finding that there are some out there that think of others !

 

 

 

Cynthia Banham

Coming up to the anniversary of the starting of this blog i was delighted to find an article about "Aussie Troops" whom like the US & UK media are rarely reported !

In the past year i have sought info on these courageous people who are starting their life once again after serving their country. Help4heroes and Wounded Warrior Project are orgs. i was aware of but regardless of whom i asked was unable to find a similar org. in Australia. Whilst there are ONLY 45 as reported by Cynthia's article i am sure there are many more that should be considered as part of this segment of the population and qualify for the assistance being offered.

Years ago i was fortunate to be involved with Legacy a truly inspiring organisation but felt there must be more dedicated orgs. to assist these service personnel. Legacy is a remarkable organisation and each year has a fund raiser when amongst other activities you are able to buy and wear "Pins" of a variety of sizes and colours although then they gave recognition to the size of your donation(keeping the sellers honest/upmanship? who can say) and as i went to and from work that week i sold off the tray and was invited to a committee lunch to recognise my efforts.

Not my place to comment on Government Policy but i will say that ALL the troops deserve recognition and those injured/disabled deserve better treatment than being ignored by those who should know better. Seeing that there are 4 of this number striving to serve their country once again as Paralympian Athletes backs some of the comments i have made in earlier blogs. To those i wish success, regardless of whether they medal they are role models to us all.

Yesterday i tried to add comment to Cynthia's article but when i tried today i find that comments are closed. WHY? In that article there is a link to the Economist article .I now add a further link for the comments related to the economist articleThere is a blog fatcyclist.com who this week received over 1000 comments and it was only about losing 10lbs, cynthia may not have time to read the comments but this is an important issue and the public pay taxes which should be put to use to improve the lot of these TAXPAYERS so that they are able to rejoin the community once again. Think what the 45million spent on the failed World Cup bid would have achieved if allocated to the facilities needed by these Returned Service Personnel

Would appreciate comments on this issue but also more info on any organisation in Australia raising funds to assist these Service personnel adjusting to their new way of life.

Christian Van de Velde

Looking at Twitter today i see that Chris V. is involved with a new charity www.savealimbride.org which has been supported in the past by George Hincapie.

About 1% of the population is born with limb deficiency so this is an important charity although it is based in the Baltimore area. With the Paralympic Games less than 2 years from now it is important for people to support any organisation which helps athletes to participate .

The World Road Champs are on in Melbourne currently and i recall when they were in Salzburg and shortly thereafter in a NZ road race Paul Crake became a statistic and now uses a wheelchair as primary transport. Alex a friend in Jenback was at his wedding last year so was able to tell me that Paul is adjusting to his new life style.

Too often we forget that Wootton Bassett "Repatriations" are only the visible tip of the casualities returning to the UK from work in "Harms Way", and Sport plays a growing part in the rehabilitation of these service personnel. Over the past year i have tried to encourage "Help4Heroes and Wounded Warrior Project" amongst others to take my "Relay idea" and see if they can get support for a "Team of Disabled/Adaptive Athletes " to ride the route of the Major Cycle Tours to publicize the need for more Sponsorship of "Para Athletes". At these events there are numerous journos looking for a story and "Free Publicity" goes begging whilst the people i speak to consign my idea to the "Too hard basket"!

Anyone who is able to help me get through to those who can assist please email me on skippi@ausi.com

M.Le President Nicolas Sarkozy

Yesterday i finished riding the route of the "Tour de France" for the 13th time in honour of "Handisport and it´s Athletes and those connected and sponsoring these Amazing Athletes!

Had i been a frenchman i am told that M. Chirac earlier and certainly yourself would have honoured me with the "Legion of Honor" for services to sport and Handisport in particular

I did not set out in 1998 from Dublin for any other reason than to help find "Sponsors" for the British Disabled Ski Team but France TV discovered and broadcast the story and turned it into "The Australian helping Paralympic Sport".

The media impact was huge and in 1999 i rode a larger programme starting with the "Paris-Nice" in march. Whilst in Paris i visited the "Assembly National" where i met Fabius Laurent amongst other dignatories at the computer exposition taking place at the time. On other occasions i have met him at the "TDF Village Depart ", one occasion was when the Arnold Schwartnegger circus was there to promote his new film.

Britain has an N.G.O. cazlled "Help for Heroes3 ,USA has "Wounded Warrior Project" & Australia has "Legacy " amongst others that i know of but i am unaware of a French Connection/ N.G.O.. With French personnel of the Army and Gendarmerie serving in Afganistan there is a need for a similar organisation to be created possibily under your "patronage".

Having spoken with Generals; Colonels, Commandants , Captains of the Army , Gendardermie , Sapeurs Pompiers i am aware that there have been service personnel Lost or Retired as a result of Service both overseas and in French Territories.Those who lose limbs are generally retired with support from the state but occasionally some continue in service. one of the aids in rebuilding their self esteem and lives is sport. Some of them go on to serve their country once again in a competive role in International competition.

2004 i was a volunteer at Athens Paralympic and met "Gerhard Schoeder" at the conclusion of a cocktail party at Deutscher house honouring his visit there. The question uppermost in his mind was why Germany/Deutschland was not winning Paralympic medals. I was able to tell him the story of Klaus Lungerhausen who won two silver para medals in Sydney 2000n but due to lack of training and sponsorship from government and private sources was unsuccessful at these games. He had brought his family for their holiday as he could not expect success through the lack of support and preparation. Throughout the intervening years he had continued training but lacked resources to lift the level to achieve the Gold Medals he sought.

When Paralympic Athletes receive external support they excell but when they have to rely entirely on their own resources they are limited in their time commitments and even then their family lose out.

M. President your task is to issue an EDICT that compells A.S.O.(society of Tour de France) to have Paralympic events on the course the Racers will use prior to their competition. This will allow the Tour Spectators , Media and Others to see Paralympians and Disabled Champions from Franch and other Countries in action. This will allow ALL to consider their abilities and encourage sponsors to come forward to fund their future competition prospects.

With Paralympians coming from other countries at their own expense there will be strong and entertaining competition such that the Media would wish to broadcast and will give France a strong boost in the estimation of the world sporting community. Seeing these athletes in action will inspire other "Disabled( house bound currently)" to take up sport thus broadening their horizons getting them back into the community and perhaps back to the workforce where they can contribute to society rather than having to rely on society.

There are many unfortunate to be at home through Accident or Health issues that can be inspired by participation in sport to rejoin society in a more active way.

ONLY YOUR EDICT can change the entrenched regime currently in place at A.S.O. passed from Jean Marie Leblanc to Chris Prudhomme. M.Prudhomme has made little progress from JM´s refusal to permit para athlets visibility; People remember the Ochoa brothers competing in the Kelme Team at the 2001 TDF but in Oct 2001 they were In an accident that Zavior survived with Cerebal Palsey and now competes for Espana as their champion when he is not the Paralympic and World Champion.

YOUR INTERVENTION for the 2011 Tour de FRANCE will ensure that the "Le Tour" becomes an even greater jewel in France´s Sporting Achievements.

With thanks for your help !!

below is an email/letter from "Elysee"

"

Monsieur,



Votre message est bien parvenu au Président de la République française qui m'a confié le soin de vous répondre.



Soyez assuré de l’attention portée par les pouvoirs publics au développement et à la médiatisation du sport paralympique.



Aussi a-t-il été pris connaissance de vos réflexions.



Avec ma considération distinguée.





Le Chef de Cabinet

Cédric GOUBET "



Probably a standard letter modified for the subject matter, Nicko doesn't read the blog but if Carla is reading then i am sorry i missed meeting you in Paris on the 25th, hope you take an interest in cycling so that "M. Laurent Thironet" has the pleasure to show you some cycling tips and his collection of Paralympic Medals.

CHRISTMASES PAST

With it being the festive season I have been giving Skype a bit of a thrashing. Amazing to be talking at a computer and making a connection with people unseen for years. Raking over memories brings to mind old friends not thought of in years and with that visual flashbacks to where you were in those days and the weather experienced; social occasions and participants; food eaten at home, restaurants, other peoples homes whilst visiting to enjoy their hospitality . Also visitors staying through the holiday period and how they were entertained and the experiences they enjoyed particularly their youngsters. Time marches on and one wonders what life changes are coming next and what preparations need to be made to meet the challenges posed.

Each day I continue to maintain fitness levels that could be higher, by either outside walking or inside with the row machine , weights, and skipping rope. Another day passes without snow which last year was on the doorstep in late November. Not really interested in driving to the forest to find forestry roads for ski touring which are a bit isolated when there is a piste nearby. Also it is necessary to get in a few days on the farm paddock practising technique before going to steeper climbs, regardless of fitness there will always be muscles that are overlooked as you exercise. You only have to change saddles to know how the body reacts to change. As mentioned before the rear end does not like to experience long periods when introduced to a new shape.





One Christmas comes to mind,1995, I dressed in my tuxedo and skied Kitzsteinhorn on Christmas day, the ski patroller that I met at the top of the first ski T bar was amazed. Lawrence had worked down under as a ski patroller so was happy to practice his English whenever I showed up at their lunch room. Each visit was accompanied with a sample of Schnaps donated for services rendered by him and the team. Other lift workers plied me with coffee and other refreshments in their huts or control rooms at the chairlifts on a daily basis so it was an opportunity to brighten their day. Lunch that day was in the restaurant and I joined some ski instructors who regularly ate there. Well the staff were used to seeing me in the self serve so it was an occasion to be in this area. Anyway whoever picked up the bill, thank you once again . Photos of the day are in my collection but how I upload them to the computer is beyond my current expertise.

Christmases in Sydney have been at a variety of locations with on one occasion my brother visiting from Melbourne with his family . A bit of a squeeze with the two youngsters camping in the lounge. They were thrilled as youngsters are to be on the road and after leaving Sydney they were going to Queensland to visit and thrill more people with their enthusiasm. A very hot day took the party onto the balcony for the sitdown smorgesboard , another new experience for them.

Another Christmas comes to mind when I was living in a house in Sydney at Artarmon,1979, last of the single days . The morning was a run with the “Hash House Harriers” which started cloudy but warmed up with a run through the Rocks and Downtown Sydney‘s deserted streets back to the rocks before travelling back over the coat hanger (bridge ) to share Christmas with friends.

Tragedy for others interrupted one Christmas with friends as we learned of the devastation brought to Darwin by Cyclone Tracy. My friends had connections there so the news was worrisome.

I was fortunate to be at a complete family gathering in 1993 when my parents had their last Christmas as a couple. The house was crowded as six offspring and their partners and children were on hand. It was a full sitdown table laden with the best on offer in the way of food and drink. A day to be cherished.

How different each occasion can be. Each of us will have different experiences this Christmas. There are people out there who will have had a good year and others that have packed their life with service to others and will be in rotten circumstances as partners, family or friends are no longer there to share the experience .






VOLUNTEERING their services, there is a class of citizen in every community that deserves recognition and praise. These unselfish , caring , unstoppable ,supporting and empowering individuals are heroes rarely recognised for leaving their families and friends to help others. There is rarely recognition for their contribution to society though a few are on the Queens list or on CNN/heroes to you all my thanks and heartfelt wishes for the festive season. Premier Mike Rann of Sth Australia tweeted his thanks today Christmas day , which prompts this late addition.

Reading the Timesonline yesterday I was amazed to read that the British government awarded itself £130m in bonuses but also saved £20m by cancelling troop training exercises. The minister/s and civil servicem personnel involved need to live and work in Wootton Bassett so that they can stand bareheaded in all weathers with the locals who honour the constant passing of returning service personnel. Whilst working in the comfort of whitehall these mongrels are neglecting the basics of human necessities , the right to survive unscathed the visit to harms way. This is not the 19th century when the British troops were in Afganistan or in the 1st WW trenches in France where they were treated as “cannon fodder”. These people are Professionals and in every other business are provided the tools and training to do their job.

Ask “Help 4 Heroes” how many in their care would have been saved had there been the basic training they seem to have been continually denied. Every service person in harm’s way works 24/7/365 to protect their colleagues and themselves. Recently I tweeted @thejointstaff to remind him not to tell people where he is going next as the recent story of “the hacked drones” emphasies the savvy of the opposition. Mr Gordon Brown whilst your recent visit to the troops was commendable, it was selfish as you are a high value target (each & every service person also) which means if there had been an incident others would have suffered also.

Each day I train on the rowing machine and I have to constantly remind myself of technique, service personnel are in that constant awareness zone 24/7/365.

Wishing them all whether Anzac , US or Nato members a Safe and festive period and a Safe return to their family , friends and civilization. To the family of the fallen the “RSL/Australia has a special saying “AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN , WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

God bless you all for your loss and sacrifice lets hope it was not in vain.


PEACE AND GOOD FELLOWSHIP TO ALL AS WE CELEBRATE THESE NEXT DAYS.