While these Bonds, Ali, and many of the others featured in your article are great athletes, how many of them have had to overcome feats such as being told "you have about a 3% chance you are going to live"? Being taken to the brink of death and back can certainly change a person, and make them better. If you didn't see how many close calls Armstrong had to deal with in the 2003 Tour de France, you might want to watch the tapes again. I don't see Michael Jordan, or Barry Bonds, or Muhammed Ali take life into their hands on a daily basis, flying down hills in excess of 70 miles an hour, knowing that a few grains of sand can literally KILL you because your back wheel slips out from under you. Joseba Beloki for instance, or Fabio Casartelli. What makes him the greatest athlete? Who knows. There are many things that make him great. But to say bicycling is not athletic is a crock. I'd like to see you bike the Trek Across Maine, which starts at the New Hampshire Border in the White Mountains, and goes to Belfast. In 3 days. 180+ Miles. And not get on your bike, or do anything, BEFORE you start the ride. If you think there's no "hand-eye" coordination, Take your hands off the handlebars, and close your eyes simultaneously. Or maybe try looking behind you and not at the road for 5 minutes. Do you think you'd fall? Probably. You think you'd get hurt in that fall? Oh yeah. How about careening down a mountainside with 100 other cyclists wanting to get ahead of you? You have to know what is around you in order NOT to hurt yourself or your opponents. And you know what? It's NOT about the bike...It's so much more. Yeah, bicyclists might look peaceful on the road, but the only reason that we have to be peaceful is because cars are so much bigger than us, and we have so much more to be concerned about if we enfuriate a car driver... The only way that we can safely express ourselves is in print, or vocally. You try bicycling on a 6 lane highway, and see how YOU do...Or try cycling 100 miles in a day...
Good luck...and don't get hit!