The Cancer Survivor

I want to die at a hundred years old with an American flag on my back and the star of Texas on my helmet, after screaming down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 75 miles per hour. I want to cross one last finish line as my stud wife and my ten children applaud, and then I want to lie down in a field of those famous French sunflowers and gracefully expire, the perfect contradiction to my once anticipated poignant early demise. - Lance Armstrong in It's Not About the Bike

Rick Price, Ph.D in Cultural Geography, begins his review of Lance Armstrong's autobiography "Its Not About the Bike: My Journey back to Life" as :
Anyone who makes the long and difficult journey to the winner's podium at the Tour de France has a story to tell. A good writer can probably make it an interesting story, too. But to win the Tour de France after traveling to the brink of death, undergoing debilitating cancer treatments, and having your physique (and your psyche) reduced to a shadow of its former self is nothing less than astounding.

Auto-biographies of celebrities, especially sportsmen are always inspiring reads. But the Lance Armstrong story is the story of a journey from inauspicious beginnings through triumph, tragedy, transformation and transcendence. Written after his first Tour de France triumph in 1999, the book inspires awe. It gives you an insight into the story of a boy born to a seventeen year old high school girl who almost single handedly raised her son. Swimming at young age and later competing in triathlons at the age of sixteen, Lance Armstrong's VO2 max(a measure of ability of heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to rest of the body) reading was taken and it was discovered that it was the highest reading that had been recorded in that lab. A spotting by a cycling coach, training with the junior US National Team and subsequent trip to Moscow for the Junior World championships saw a permanent shift from triathlon to cycling.

In 1996 when Lance Armstrong was the World No 1 Cyclist, he was diagnosed with third stage testicular cancer which had metastasized to his brain and lungs. The book goes into those trying days when the doctors had given him very slim chances of survival. The Operations, the chemo, the road to recovery, the insecurities about cycling again, the mixed comeback, the decision to race in the Tour, the practice, the Tour and the victory! The first hand account of all this is what you get in the book.

On 31st May 06, Lance Armstrong was cleared of doping allegations that he had used performance enhancing drugs in the 1999 Tour de France. After six long years the "witch hunt" as Lance called it has finally ended with his name being cleared. Having won his record seventh Tour de France this year, Lance has retired from professional cycling and is devoting his time to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. LAF's mission is to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.

Details about the Book: Its Not about the Bike
Lance Armstrong Website
Lance Armstrong Foundation Website