What Lance Can Teach All of Us

I've always liked watching professional bike racing. In 1990 I came across the Tour de Trump (later known as the Tour duPont) while channel surfing one weekend, and that led directly to my getting on a bike and riding. I've always followed the Tour de France, even when there weren't any notable American riders, and I'm paying a bit more attention this year because Lance Armstrong is riding again. I've followed his career for a very long time, beginning when he was still an amateur and rode in the first Thrift Drug Classic here in Pittsburgh in the early 1990's (remember that??)

I realize that Cancer is Lance's big cause, with the money and awareness he has raising through his "Livestrong" organization. That said, I think there are some lessons for those of us cycling with a disabled child:

Practice, train, prepare. Lance is known for his training and his preparation. You don't just hop on the bike and decide to ride le Tour. You have to work up to it. After his cancer treatment, during one of his first rides, Lance was passed by a grandmother on a bike (I wonder if she realizes just who she passed that day). Obviously he has gotten a lot better. He studies everything: himself, his bike, the course. You should do the same. Know your limits. Train to get better. Know your bike. Know how to fix it if something breaks while you're out with the kids. If you have a new route you want to take, ride it beforehand by yourself, so you know what to expect. Surprises and problems are magnified when you're with someone with a disability.

Have a goal. Don't quit until you achieve it. Lance has always been focused on just the Tour de France. Doing so helped everything fall into place. If you have a goal, it will keep you motivated, and give you a framework to plan around. Ideally you should establish the goal at the start of the season (say February or March) and plan to meet it by the end of the season in September or October. Since we got the tandem in 2003, our goal has always been to pedal at least 1000 miles per year. Unfortunately, ever since I switched jobs at the beginning of 2006, my work schedule makes this nearly impossible. We're still trying for it this year, but if we don't make it I may need to find a new goal.

Depend on others. From the doctors who helped him overcome cancer, to his trainers, coaches, mechanics, sponsors, and teammates, Lance would not be the living legend he is by himself.

Prepare to be amazed, and be amazing. No one thought Lance could come back from cancer and even compete, let alone win the Tour. No one thought he could come out of retirement and compete. And yet here he is, a self-proclaimed "old fart"... Your kids will amaze you, and you will amaze yourself also. When we first got our tandem, I expected our mileage would drop from our annual average of around 500 miles. I figured K.J. would have trouble because the tandem layout required him to pedal the entire tire. Previously, on the trailer bike, he always had the option of free-wheeling and letting me do all the work. As it turned out, that first year we had the tandem our mileage actually doubled to over 1000 miles per year.

Enjoy the cheers. They give you a reason to continue. Over the years we have gotten a lot of comments from folks when we have been out on the tandem. Everything from little kids saying "Whoa, that bike is tight!" (which I assume is a good thing...) to an elderly World War 2 veteran riding on the passenger side of a car that gave us a thumbs-up when we were both stopped at a stop sign. Things like that more than make up for the occasional jerk you run in to.

There's something to be said for being an "old fart"...