Sometimes life is hard...The Secret Race Book review

Between an ill parent and a "spirited" teenager my life has been up and down.... stress, worry, sleepless nights and f'ing hot weather in San Diego I I cannot say the last 2 weeks have been peachy!  It's not all bad....I have had some great runs and some good times with friends and family.  My support network is great including lots of wine and sleeping pills and I value the people who help.  Even just a "hey how are you?" is all it takes....

I will say I have had some pent up energy to unleash in various workouts and that is kind of fun.  Although I usually feel all 45 years the next day when I have trained with my head or frustrations versus my plan - but well sanity needs to be in the mix,

I have been reading alot... odd since I am overwhelmed in many other ways, but reading is calming and is alone time.  I ripped through The Secret Race, this is Tyler Hamilton's book and is his story about the works of professional cycling and the doping surrounding the sport.  The book was co-written with Daniel Coyle who is a terrific writer, I read Tour de Force and loved it as well.    I like Tyler Hamilton and really believe his story and so appreciated his telling of the doping and how it unfolded, his internal battles and the guilt and the lies that followed.

If you are a cycling fan this is a must read...the insight into the pro-peloton and the European race scene is riveting.  The book is not about bashing or exposing Lance (although he definitely in the book due to his role both as Tyler's tea mate, his place in the pro-cycling world and his aggressive behaviour)  the bigger topic is his use of performance enhancing drugs and how they affected him both physically, physiologically and psychologically. Pro cycling is a brutal sport and doping at this time was necessary to win titles...so you doped and won or stayed clean and remained mediocre.   Telling is one of the winning times for an epic climb in the 2011 tour would have placed that same rider 41st in 2007.

As for Lance... I have read a lot and remained optimistic for a long time however I am not naive and am surely convinced he doped as much or more  as all the other top riders. He simply has more money and has been able to avert the consequences, until now that is.  What saddens me is the tactics he seems to have used and the will to ruin anyone who crossed him in anyway, 

Yes he is/was a phenomenal athlete and yes he raises millions,,,but I think he is ass!