The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

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Thanks for the memories
Editor:
I, as well as many of my cycling friends, were saddened to hear the announcement about the disbanding of the Discovery Channel team. We know that all good things must come to an end, but I had hoped that it would be many years from now.

Whatever the reasons for the decision to disband the team, I want to thank Bill Stapleton, Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong and the rest of the team I have followed over the years for a great ride (no pun intended).

I have been cycling for more than 30 years, and I have been following the cycling scene and the progress of American cyclists in the Tour de France since the days of Greg LeMond and Team 7-Eleven. I only dreamed that one day an American team would stand atop the podium as the winner of the team classification. Discovery did that for me.

I have to thank George Hincapie and the early "Posties" from the mid-1990s for getting my wife seriously into cycling. George is her hero, no matter how much Lycra I wear. Thanks for the great moments.
Michael Drager
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Rose Bowl ride at risk
Hello VeloNews,
I am just writing to get some help on a new controversy about the RoseBowl ride in Pasadena.
 
The city is now considering a new ordinance that would effectively outlawthe ride in the city in order to get rid of what has grown into a traditionover the last 40 years.There have been several articles were written in the PasadenaStar News. The irony is that Pasadena has been recognized as oneof the country's most friendly cities for cyclists and has hosted a stage ofthe Tour of California.
 
It will be nice if your magazine will give some attention to this controversy.I think it will help the Peloton. and all the cyclists in this area.
Thank you,
William Paz
California

Money is poisoning the sport
Editor:
All scandals are born from one of two emotions- greed or lust. In cycling's embarrassment you need look no further than the money that has poured into the sport in the last 20 years. The more money that is involved in any endeavor, the more likely there will be those who choose to cheat. It is that simple.

As the appeal of cycling grew around the world, but especially in America, the stakes of the game rose and thus appeal of cheating became harder to resist. As long as the financial incentive remains in place there will be the problem of cheating. The financial incentive encourages team directors (think bonus for winning races) and doctors (think cash, no taxes) to help riders (think endorsement, bonus, salary) cheat.

The way to fix the problem? Either remove the financial rewards and cycling shrinks to a lower-tier sport or make the penalty for involvement so harsh that fewer would be willing to take the risk. Witness Discovery's inability to find a sponsor. Sponsors do not want to be connected with drugs. They will "punish" the market (of pros) in the form of not providing money for sponsorship. Less money will mean less cheating.

A bad thing for cycling? Perhaps, if you are in the biz, but perhaps not if you like clean racing.
Bryin Sills
Hagerstown, Maryland

What lies ahead?
Editor:
The thought of the most prolific cycling team in the world disbanding has left me with mixed emotions. If a team that has dominated cycling for 10 years cannot find a title sponsor, what will happen to the sport as it moves forward and more doping allegations surface? Will there be more teams disbanding and more races canceled?

I also wonder what will happen to American cycling and such events as the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and the new Tour of Missouri. Two of the three do not have title sponsors, and I wonder whether they will survive without a high-level American pro team.

I hope that Team Slipstream will be the new face in American cycling and the sport will heal. However, for today, I am disappointed and frustrated with the sport and the loss of the Discovery team. I will continue to ride and follow the sport. There are some great American riders and we need to give them our support. I will look forward to seeing them race on their new teams and hopefully in major American races.
Mike Kiefer
Woodstock, Georgia

Shut up and ride
Editor:
I have been a cycling fan and amateur racer for 22 years and a raging roadside supporter at the 2003 Tour de France. I started watching and riding at 15. I was drawn in by the breathtaking views of my heroes on faraway roads, suffering, taking risks riding a simple machine.

I remember when one of my favorites got busted. I didn't give up on the sport; I never thought about taking drugs just because my hero did; I just continued to watch and support a beautiful, historical sport.

If you give up on cycling now, we don't want you watching our sport. Go watch and support the “clean” sports that have even less testing and no consequences for the cheaters. I don't get tired of listening and reading about the criminals that get busted. The system isn't perfect, but at least it's heading in the right direction.

The governing bodies need to stick to their guns (and needles) and find the cheats. I believe there are clean riders, I see them suffering in the autobus and love it. The sport is still beautiful to me.

I picked up a sticker at a bike shop in Australia that reads, "Shut up and ride." Great advice.
Jonathan Fowler
Phuket, Thailand

Enjoying the sport from the saddle
Editor:
I've listened to all the hype about doping in cycling, and how it will kill the sport. Sure thing, all of this is sad, and probably a certain kind of cycling is fading away. I think that the sport's authorities are fully aware of the danger and are really trying to save the Titanic.

But today, I ended a bike tour here in Québec, along with 2,400 other enthusiasts. In seven days, we rode for almost 800 kilometers, in all sorts of conditions: sun, rain, cold or warm, all in fun (sometimes more grueling than others). On road bikes, men and women from 13 to 76 ( average 47) spent a part of their vacation (and of their budget) to share this cycling festivity. Today, on the last day, we started with a climb of 21km — hard work, but almost nobody had to abandon. We shared the proudness of doing it, the love of the sport, the beauty of the landscape.

I am almost 60; it was my sixth grand tour. I feel this kind of event may be the future of cycling.
André Brunelle
Boucherville, Québec, Canada

What’s the trickle-down effect?
Editor:
What is the impact of the doping scandals on those of us who pay our own way, buy our own wheelsets and stay up late wrenching on our own bikes the night before the big ride or race — the everyday, local cyclists?

With fewer teams being marketing and cycling having less of a marketing hold to promote the sport, will the price of bikes and bike gear and apparel go up? Will there be less of it available? Are bike shops surviving this mess? Will it be like when I started in this sport — the high-end, nicely equipped bikes were so freaking expensive the shops only ordered them when you paid up, as opposed to now where you can see them on the floor?

The pros are on their own. I want to know, what is the trickle-down effect?
Bill King
Jacksonville, Florida

At least cycling strives to expose, oust cheaters
Editor:
I have been involved in cycling both actively and as a fan for more than 20 years. Cheating in even simple forms has been around nearly as long as the sport itself.

While it may seem as though cycling is more heavily plagued than other sports, I feel certain that it is not. If other sports required testing in the same way that cycling does, no sport would be able to claim that it was clean. For example, suppose every NFL player was tested after every victory and that there were off-season, random testing? The major American sports are protected by powerful players unions to prevent just such testing from being possible.

I firmly believe that our sport is no more tainted than any other. May we continue to discover and oust those who would destroy both the sport and themselves. Even cheating at the pro levels does not diminish my love of being on the bike and feeling the exhilaration of exertion.
Mark Blue
Westminster, Maryland

An era is ending, but he’s still riding
Editor:
So Discovery has folded, and for a few hours I am saddened and even angry that this has happened. However, I was a cycling fan even before Greg LeMond won any titles. In fact my love for cycling came from watching the Olympics as a child and competing as a kid in the velodrome in Mexico City.

So although it is sad to see this era come to an end, my love for cycling remains undying and as strong as ever. We are going back to the dark ages of cycling, and I will be toeing the line along with two or three other participants in a remote race two hours away from any major city. And I will still be riding my bike, same as I always have for the past 32 years, and daydreaming of winning a stage at the Tour as I pedal as hard as I can.

I want to thank the folks at Tailwind Sports for it was quite a ride. Godspeed to the Disco boys.
Alex Sanchez
Fountain Hills, Arizona

Regarding the rant
Editor:
There is nobody, just absolutely nobody like Patrick O'Grady. The "Foaming Rant" is always great, and with professional cycling (for that matter, all of professional sports) in this muddy pit, the rant gives us one thing to look forward to.
Dave Albecker
Winchester, Virginia

Great website, rotten rants
Editor:
I really enjoy your website. The articles and race reports are excellent and your website earns my attention at least four to six times a day (you could say I'm hooked).

Freedom of speech is a key part of our nation’s fundamental freedoms and as such should be defended, but the sour tone of Mr. O'Grady’s work really does nothing constructive and only served to waste the 2.5 minutes it took me to read through it. I seriously considered never returning to this website but quickly realized that I couldn't do that anymore than a heroin addict can quit cold turkey.

That being said, I don't believe I will read any more of Mr. O'Grady's bitter rants. And no, I don't find them even remotely funny.
Dave Donnell
San Diego, California

Dark, but enjoyable
Editor:
Although dark, I very much enjoyed this article, “Friday's Foaming Rant: Playing keyboard in the cathouse.”
Casey Ryder
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Give him a ‘round’
Editor:
Maybe we'll all get lucky and someone will shoot the piano player!!!
James Lee
Palm Branch Gardens, Florida

And so it goes
Editor:
God bless you, Patrick O'Grady: Any use of Vonnegut to make a point has my support!
Paul Thomas
Greenville, South Carolina

Best rant ever
Editor:
For all the times I thought of punching O'Grady in the face, getting mad cause he never replied to my cartoon ideas or just bitchin’ cause I wanted his job, his Friday rant was the best ever.

Can I sing at the piano while O'Grady plays? Maybe a little Psychedelic Furs — "Love My Way."

Give the guy a bottle of Junior Johnson's new 80-proof, triple-distilled moonshine for that effort.
Peter Downey
Lake Mills, Wisconsin

Missing the point
Editor:
There's nothing false about anything Patrick O'Grady said in his latest column, but he misses the most important truth.

Sports is entertainment, and the Tour de France remains an enormously entertaining spectacle, in spite of, or perhaps enhanced by, whatever scandal might come its way.

I've been to the last eight Tours, and found neither this nor last year's event anything less than captivating, amazing and memorable in the best possible way. You can't take away the memory of watching Floyd Landis pass by on the Columbiere, way ahead of his chasers ... and then after the last rider passed by, racing back down to a bar to watch him ride into history as the greatest comeback ever. And sneaking through the barriers on the Champs-Elysees at the conclusion of the race, getting the shot of Floyd as he headed off the course towards the team bus. To hear days later that he was suspected of doping was shocking, but I still felt like I'd lived part of a dream for those 10 days in France.

And this year? I brought along my 14-year-old son and rode with him up the Port de Bales and Aubisque climbs, got into the Village at Pau where he got Virenque's autograph on a KOM jersey, and cheered Contador, Boonen and Evans (and many others) from a spot very close to the finish line we'd sneaked into after the race. Drama had played out all around us; Rasmussen being pulled from the 'Tour, and Astana's incredible debacle, which unfolded no more than half an hour after my son and I visited their encampment in Pau.

We were entertained by the spectacle, amazed at the courage of the riders, and always, everywhere, felt like we were part of something grand and special.

So what's my point? Simple. All the excessive, introspective whining penned by columnists and newscasters throughout the world will not kill off the Tour, not as long as there are people like myself and hundreds of thousands of others who read the stories and op-ed pieces and yet still find we can't take leave of it. It's addictive beyond all reason. And a great number of us refuse to feel guilty about that, no matter how many "sky is falling" pieces are written.
Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
Redwood City and Los Altos, California

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The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.