It's Not About the Bike

If you know Lance Armstrong, it will not be difficult to guess what this little snippet will say. This is an attempt to push the readers of this post into reading his autobiography - I won't say review because I do not qualify to be a critic of books!

If you have not heard of Lance or read about him, let me tell you that his is a comeback story beyond the capacity of human imagination. It thrills you, just to think of a guy who came back from the doorstep of death to win seven consecutive editions of Tour De France, probably the most arduous bike (bicycle) race on the face of the earth. Just imagine, a race where 200 cyclists compete over 21 stages, covering 3500 Kilometers of roads in France in all kinds of terrains & weather conditions. And this guy won it for seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005, as if it was a piece of cake, huh!

And he did this after fighting off Testicular Cancer, which was already in the last stage at the time of diagnosis. Yet, he is not superhuman!

The book starts like any typical autobiography, with the events in Lance's childhood, the sources of all the anger he was filled with, him getting hooked on to Athletics, early achievements in triathlon (involves running, swimming and cycling), and eventually his decision to pursue only cycling. He then describes his entry in professional cycling and early failures - including one at Tour De France. Then comes the rude shock of being diagnosed with cancer and the way he narrates the events, you can actually feel the pain Lance and his family must have been subjected to. You can't help but get inspired by the way he goes through the treatment - cancer being the only disease where the treatment is more painful than the disease itself. And then there's the comeback, the process of getting fit to ride the bike, and then ride it for really long spells at a high cadence. There also comes a stage when he gives up cycling, after going through the frustration of failures in his first attempt at comeback to professional cycling, only to be pulled back into it by a friend who won't give up on him! He describes all this candidly, keeping the reader involved, using a language an average reader will be able to relate to. The book is so fluid in its content, you will want to read on till the last page once you pick it up!

What's noteworthy is Lance's introspection on going through the disease, where he says he learnt a lot from cancer and it changed him for good. He probably would not have achieved success @ the Tour had he not gone through cancer, as it changed both his physical as well as mental make-up. I think it takes some resolve to say that after you have virtually been through hell!

The book gives you an insight on the true value of life. It tells you life is not only for worrying about a 9 to 6 job, a housing loan, marriage, kids and their future and finally retirement! Of course, not all of us can go and compete in the Tour De France, but we can at least find out what matters as much to us!!