AOL FanHouse wakes up, sort of; Spring season begins with first race; Waiting to finish Floyd book; Rail-trail soon to open
*Sunday’s Floyd Fairness Fund reception in Ephrata caught the attention of the AOL FanHouse: http://www.aolsportsblog.com/2007/03/26/floyd-landis-appeals-drug-test-wants-you-to-pay-for-it/
The on-line publication on Monday snarked that Landis is asking people to pay for his defense. It seems to be shocking to FanHouse writer Michael David Smith that Landis is seeking donations.
Smith neglects to mention that the prosecution against Landis is being funded by you, me and everyone else who pays taxes. Most of the US Anti-doping Agency’s $13 million budget - $9 million - comes from federal taxes.
Smith also states the Sunday event was the first Landis’ fundraiser. It was the ninth townhall presentation. There have been at least three receptions where the presentation wasn’t given, including one Saturday in Ephrata.
Smith states Landis is only recognized as the Tour de France winner on Landis’ own website. Landis is the winner. The ruling from USADA would strip him of that title, not the other way around.
And, the uninformed Smith further snarks that Landis has little chance of succeding in clearing his name. He cites a quote, lifted from the Intelligencer Journal, in which Floyd said doesn’t expect to be racing anytime soon. Landis was simply acknowledging that the deck is stack against him.
*Only a few drops of rain fell on racers Saturday at the Strasburg Road Race, the first local race of the season.
There was a good turn out with scores of riders at the various start lines, despite a temperature of about 50 degrees, a cool breeze, mud on the ground and the constant threat of rain from above. The weather was still much better than the seven-inch snow-out the week before.
Despite rumors circulating in the crowd, Floyd Landis did not come to see his future brother-in-law, Manny Caliz win the first Cat. 5 race.
The results are posted at BikeReg.com: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/03/24-Strasburg-Road-Race.asp
Also, Michael Kirk has lots of photographs
available at http://mlkimages.smugmug.com/2007%20Sports/248104.
The next race is Saturday in Kirkwood. One Cat 5 race has already been closed, with 30 registered riders. A second Cat 5 race has been added. Registration is at: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=3858
* One of the nearly 300 people in the audience Sunday was one very closely following Floyd’s story: Loren Mooney, executive editor of Bicycling magazine.
Mooney is writing the book “Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won The Tour de France,” with Floyd. The book, due to go on sale in late June, is mostly about Landis’ upbringing and rise to prominence, but the last chapter will be about his fight against doping allegations. An epilogue will contain information about the May hearing, Mooney said.
Mooney, who lives in New York, said she wanted to see how the hometown crowd would embrace Floyd.
“You can hear about Floyd and his upbringing all you want, but until you see it, you can’t understand,” Mooney said of the event and her visit to Lancaster County.
Advance orders for the book are being taken on the Amazon.com website: http://www.amazon.com/Positively-False-Real-Story-France/dp/1416950230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2908329-4088762?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175007597&sr=8-1
* The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is sponsoring a 335-mile bicycle ride the week of June 23-30 to celebrate the opening of the Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. trail.
The trail is the linkage of the C&O canal towpath trail with the Great Allegheny Passage in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. The resulting trail - 20 years in the making - is the longest multi-purpose trail in the country.
More information and registration is at: http://www.railstotrails.org/wherewework/northeast/events/Sojourn/index.html
