Lance Ph'actor

I was at my local bike shop FasTrak in Santa Barbara and with owner, '88 Olympian, Tour de France mechanic & Lance buddy- Dave Lettieri about his recent twitpic with Lance in Los Angeles.

We were joking in disbelief how 300,000 people are following Lance Armstrong on twitter. Clearly the guy lives an interesting life, but to have a small metropolis following your every move (tweets), that's a lot of kool-aid.

Lettieri (2nd from left) & Armstrong

Back in 2004 I had the opportunity to witness cycling history. Watching with a million other cycling aficionados packed on the famed Alpe D'Huez to catch a glimpse of Armstrong time trialing his way to a record breaking 6th Tour de France win. At that moment Cycling reached its zenith in popularity. Tucked in the French alpine countryside, American flags and tourists ventured across the pond to see Armstrong ride a bike.

Fast forward 3 years, Armstrong is retired, TdF is in doping shambles, and popularity in cycling is far from front page news or back page for that matter. Even the most ardent of cycling fans saw their enthusiasm wane. Sure bike racing will always be captivating, but for the French, Armstrong is the Lex Luther of cycling, and having a supervillain in the plot always makes things interesting. To add insult to injury, there was no big name to pass the torch to. The entire cast of characters, the big names in cycling are gone. Floyd you ask? My next dog will be named Floyd, my current dog Freddy needs a friend.

Scroll to the present, cycling waters moved from tepid to piping. The best part of the cycling season is getting underway. Watching the Solvang TT, the Astana bus was 6 deep with folks wanting to grab a shot of LA warming up. It's 6am on Saturday morning, coffee brewing, cycling.tv streaming Milan-San Remo, as I watch riders endure a 189-mile stage on narrow streets and zip line descents. MSR, is a great 1 day race, and the LA phactor is adding a great sub plot to this classic.

The resurgence of buzz within the sport of cycling is undeniable, and for those that argue they have always been a fan, it's hard to argue a little more attention on this sport can be a bad thing. It might be as simple as having a bonfied cycling legend hitting the tarmac and the energy that follows gets the people excited again. 5 years later, I might have to plan my own comeback with a trip this July to Mt. Ventoux to witness a redoux of the Lance Phactor on the penultimate stage of TdF, any takers?

-Joe O.