A worthy attempt by the author to promote cycling as "normal", and to exhort bike riders to behave in acceptable ways. Fine.

This quote " was long before we discovered that Armstrong was drugged to the gills and winning more by pharmaceutical fiat than by true talent" was over the top for me, and that's where he lost me a bit. The professional cycling establishment lost control over itself, and many of the recent two decade's top contenders are implicated in POD use in some fashion. So what? This cloud doesn't diminish the excitement of top competition in cycling, or in a larger context, sports - for it's entertainment value, at least.

Do we demand that big screen celebrities not have plastic surgery to enhance their appearance, else, their attraction to us is somehow morally diminished? Um...no.

I enjoy seeing road cyclists compete regardless of whether they're doped up or not. Matters little to me, and I'm not a cynic. I can simply accept what the top tier of professional entertainment/sport really is - sponsors paying to promote their products, television competing to sell sponsorship time, and athletes used (used up) to bring in the audience, consumers buying the promoted end products, and viewers/ticket holders trading their time and money to be entertained by the spectacle. It all works just fine, thank you very much.

I think I'll go ride my bike.