2004-05-05 - Drugs It seems like every where I go in this sport we call cycling everything always ends up on the topic of drug use. Almost every cyclist I have ever looked up to I have heard at least some what reliable rumors of them using performance enhancing drugs, and in some cases out right boasting of use. I have very big dreams and goals and plan on going as far as I can in this sport, but I am not willing to sacrifice my health or my honor in order to do so. Granted I'm not at the top level yet and have never encountered a lack of improvement from one year to the next so maybe I don't yet understand the full appeal of cheating. But there always seems to be some area of conditioning or technique that could be improved, even for the top riders. Maybe there should be a split in the sport, just like in body building. We could have an open category and a natural category, at least then there would not be the fake image of a clean healthy sport. Or even very frequent random drug screens that are conducted by people who are stealthy enough so that those with "the special phone", you know the one that only rings when the drug screen people are in town signaling the need for a quick vacation, would not be able to sneak around it. I say this knowing full well that I am a serious girl when it comes to needles, in fact I'd probably pass out ever time they took blood to test. But it would surely be worth it to have a sport where everyone knew everyone was clean and could focus on who is really faster, not who has the best pharmacologist. No matter what the future holds for the sport of cycling I will always know that I am clean and I will always be way too damn stubborn to ever stop training smart and hard in order to continue to improve year after year after year.

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