Lance Armstrong in real Life

Lance Armstrong. The name alone carries weight.  The guy beats cancer, beats the Tour 7 times,..and he's still goin!  So when I heard he'd be in Aspen last night for a book signing of 'Comeback 2.0' I decided I oughta go check it out.

You know, I've heard a lot of things about Lance in my time. Being a pro athlete (in albeit a lesser sport) you tend to bump into other athletes quite a bit. To cross train for skiing I do a fair bit of mtb and cycling too and often hear things from within that industry.  And whenever the Tour de France or Tour of Cali rolls around, or a new book comes out...people tell u what they think about Lance.  Often you hear  what an inspiration and strength he's been to many...but sometimes what you hear isn't always good.  'How the hell do they know??' I ask myself. They BFF's or something?  As I stated in the Team Mapple post (Team Mapple), people talk...often when they have no idea what they are talking about....myself included.  Read on to see for yourself....

Maybe it adds to the Legend...to have this "love/hate" floating around.  Maybe people are quick to judge the famous, taking "sound bites" or mishaps out of context...almost thriving on that inner human drive to seek out controversy, or create it where there is none.  Or, perhaps, Lance has made mistakes in the past, screwed up, burned bridges....but who hasn't?  Whatever the reason for negativity, I know it only added to my drive to investigate further....

In light of the above, societies love for finding fault, and the misdirected firestorm in the media currently (News is nothing but Tiger cheating on his family, instead of the 3 suicide bombings today in Pakistan, Afghanistan & India) we decided to go check this dude out for ourselves.

So, yesterday Jenny and I drove the hour & 15 to Aspen, to have Mr Livestrong himself sign a book. Ridiculous, I know.

Get there, line is out the door...maybe 20 people. Park, walk up, discover line is out the door, 'round the back & into the alley. Maybe 200+ people!

AND, books are sold out!!  AND, he's only signin the new book!  Damn!  Somehow we bumped into a water ski pal, the famous Laura Patterson....if you've ever been thru Phoenix or Denver airport, you've seen their Bakeries...Paradise Bakery....unreal cookies!  Anyway,....I'm lazy and tired of typing, so I'll let Jenny take it from here - for the rest of the full story click link:  JLaw's Blog

Short version (for the lazy ppl like me):  Laura (paradise bakery lady and great skier friend) let us stand in line and talk. She ends up knowing Dude's (Lance's) caretaker in Aspen, Renee.  Get inside, Renee is there. She ends up
Givin us a book. We did the deal!  Super cool lady.

AND in the end, I don't really know anything more about Lance, the person, than I did before last night. It was a quick book signing, a few words, and that was it.... 

But you know what, I learned something about Lance the Legend just by simply being a part of it and witnessing the kindness that took place:  the Lance Armstrong Foundation, his movement, what it stands for, the environment it creates,  the people it attracts and what it has been able to accomplish are amazing.  Truly. And what Lance does personally, by getting his face out there, making himself known, standing up to World leaders and political barriers,.....it gives the people fighting for their life a voice.  I know just a slice of how hard and draining a road campaign can be for Lance, from my efforts with the Face To Face Tour. He is one of the worlds best athletes, a parent, an ambassador not only to his sport but to a disease that kills millions yearly and most importantly he takes the time to do these stupid little grassroots tricks like group rides, runs and book signings....probably the biggest piece of the puzzle, really. I mean, who has that much time in a day??  Not to compare but check out this equation for you math geeks:

Tiger Woods in person = $3,000,000 (appearance fee)
Lance Armstrong in person = $14 (price of Comeback 2.0)

This guy is a Hero.  He's grassroots. And he survived cancer.  He's Everyman.


For those that wanna speak their mind about Lance, this is America...keep on speaking ur mind. Just make sure you realize the impact he could have on you (or someone you love) now or in the future, before you cut him down for being human.
 




We're all human. We all make mistakes. But few of us are actually Legends.


We need Legends

Random classic excerpt from "DodgeBall":
Lance Armstrong: Hey, aren't you Peter La Fleur?
Peter La Fleur: Lance Armstrong!

Lance Armstrong: Ya, that's me. But I'm a big fan of yours 
Peter La Fleur: Really?

Lance Armstrong: Ya, I've been watching the dodgeball tournament on the ocho. ESPN 8. I just can't get enough of it. Good luck in the tournament. I'm really pulling for you against those jerks from Globo gym. I think you better hurry up or you're gonna be late.
Peter La Fleur: Uh, actually I decided to quit... Lance.

Lance Armstrong: Quit? You know, once I was thinking of quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and won the Tour de France 5 times in a row (or 7). But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying of that's keeping you from the finals?
Peter La Fleur: Right now it feels a little bit like... shame.

Lance Armstrong: Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. Well good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever.

Livestrong.Org

Lance on Cancer
Comeback 2.0



MB