The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

Re: VeloNew's history
Mr. Wilcockson,

Thank you for your decades of contribution to this beautiful sport. I had not realized until I read your history of VeloNews how far back I go with ICI.

Your publication has been a source of enjoyment for me since I first discovered it back in 1989 or 1990. I was at the Miami Beach leg of one of the Tour of Americas which you mention and watching that event was a big part of my falling in love with bicycle racing.

I also remember seeing in an early issue a small sidebar entitled something like "A Rider to Watch" with a picture of a very young Lance Armstrong with remarkably broad shoulders, having recently switched from triathlons.

For many years, VeloNews was my only source of racing news and, although there are other sources now, there are none I think come close in quality.

I hope we will continue to see your balanced and well-considered work in the years to come and that the new management loves your magazine as much as you clearly have.
David Neale-Lorello,
Rockville, Maryland

Mionske's talks worthwhile
Editor,

To all those clubs and groups who haven't contacted Bob Mionske about speaking to you: what are you waiting for? Winchester Wheelmen is a small cycling club in northern Virginia. Last November, half on a lark, we decided to contact Bob to speak with us, figuring we were too small to get a response. Well, that was not true.

Bob came and spoke with us on March 3, 2008. We had about 60 people in attendance and everyone enjoyed the talk greatly. There is generally a lack of understanding of bicycling and the law and Bob is helping to eliminate that situation through his talk and the sale of his book, Bicycling and the Law.

Bob's talk and book have helped us kick-start a child education program on bicycling safety and bike awareness in a private school. With education mandates (lack of "free time"), it will be more difficult to get this done in the public schools, but we're going to try.

Grassroots activity is how things get changed. Having Bob here has helped us re-define our mission as a club. All of those kids will one day be drivers and/or cyclists. It's a great place to start. I encourage your cycling club or group to have Bob speak to you.
Ken Tenney,
Winchester, Virginia

Cry me a river
Editor,

Just read the article about Bobby Julich and his views on the peleton and doping and feeling violated. I respect him as the most classy and stand-up riders out there but cry me a river for feeling violated.

What do you think all the fans feel like? What do you think I feel like when I watch last year's Tour with my seven year old daughters and tell them, "That's the Chicken Man. He is a respected rider in the Tour. That's the kind of rider I like. He'll show them all that the tour can be won by a climber."

And then you know what happened.

How do I explain that to them?

If it weren't for all these controls then there still would be (and might still be) riders doping.

You've made your peleton, now ride in it.
Joe McNamara,
St. Andrews, Ontario, Canada

The Van Impe test
Editor,

While I fully support the testing for drug use, interrupting someone who is preparing for a funeral, especially when it is your own child, is completely outrageous and unacceptable. The drug testers should be ashamed of interrupting Kevin Van Impe while he was making preparations. Obviously they have never had to deal with this kind of situation or they would know better.
Lucy Allen,
Greenville, South Carolina

More on Van Impe
Editor,

In reference to the article , I would first like to convey my deepest sympathy to Kevin Van Impe and his family for their loss.

I also have a few questions.

Who are these people that are sent out to collect these samples? Were these particular people just doing their job, totally detached from reality, or anti-doping zealots who are so relentless and blinded by their crusade to find dopers, that they have lost any sense of compassion or human decency?

Have other cyclists had similar experiences or is this an isolated case?

On a more general note, what do we know of any of these people sent out to collect samples. What are their credentials, qualifications, training or backgrounds? Are there uniform guidelines or standards by which these people are hired and trained?

Each time an athlete turns over a sample, they are literally putting their future in the hands of these people, and what do they, or we know about them?

Any answers would be appreciated.
Bruce MacKinnon,
Millerton, New York

Why not more T-A?
Editor,

I like your coverage, I read it every day. But why do you cover Paris-Nice in
great details and Tirreno-Adriatico not so good? These two races are equal, at the same
level and caliber.
Jarek Brzeski,
Aurora, Colorado

More perspective on the ASO/UCI spat
Editor,

Those who defend UCI and its stance certainly have a point. Ditto to the arguments in favor (and against) of the ProTour format.

But, I believe we must look into a broader perspective to really acknowledge the importance of the events currently run by ASO and its Spanish and Italian counterparts. It seems fair, in a limited context, that riders, teams and sponsors are the ones running the show in the higher ranks of cycling, and they are to an extent.

But this folklore was forged in a century-old tradition of Tours, Giros, Vueltas and classics. They all got immortalized by winning or making history somehow in those races. Races that are, at least in my opinion, much bigger, much more important, and therefore transcend the limited lifespan of profit-seeking riders, sponsors and teams. They transcend UCI, that´s for sure — talk is cheap. It is action that counts the most — and for no other reason now U.S. and a few other nations are investing heavily to establish some well-respected tours, aiming high and looking ahead of present time.

That is where the essence of cycling lies. Even if the status quo of competitive cycling gets a little messy and shaky with this crazy war on drugs and the fight between ASO and UCI, it's reasonable to believe that these rather small matters shall pass, just as other similar disturbances have come and gone in past times.

Competitive cycling is alive and kicking and hopefully will remain so, above all in the form of the much-respected Tours, Giros, Vueltas and classics. UCI should not try to take that respect out, but rather embrace it.
Alex Torres,
São Paulo, Brazil

Wants us to take sides ...
Editor,

I am extremely disappointed in your lack of a stand on the UCI/ASO issue.

You do offer some ongoing coverage of the debate, but as a major media outlet in the world of cycling you have an obligation to make your voice heard. The lack of position causes me to assume that you support the wildly arbitrary and, in my opinion, illegal capricious actions of ASO.

You will lose my readership if this is not addressed. A banner indicating your support on the front page with a link to letleviride.com — would be a good start at rectifying this problem. I look forward to seeing your voice added to the debate.
Allison Colbath,
Longmont Colorado

Says we are one-sided ...
Editor,

Cycling is in a mess and lacking in leadership.

The one-sided reporting of John Wilcockson is not what I look for in a magazine. UCI is
embarrassingly devoid of leadership. The pitiful state of cycling is primarily their responsibility as the international governing body and McQuaid needs to resign.

How about a bit more balanced reporting?
Regards,
Mikael Eliasson

Electric Dura-Ace? Not for this guy ...
Editor,

Am I the only one appalled that the greatest human powered device ever invented is being corrupted with motors and batteries, all in the name of what, quick shifting or lighter weight?

I understand lights for safety, but do we really need more re-chargeable batteries that will eventually go to the dump?

I seriously hope that any cyclist buying this technology ends up with a defective motor or dead battery a long ways from home!

Imagine trying to build a retro bike 20 years after this stuff comes out ... oh that's right, this motor-driven, battery-charged stuff will all be in the trash like all the other disposable consumer junk that is produced today.
Adam Hoyt,
Overland Park, Kansas

Bamboo bikes — are they truly green?
Editor,

Re: bamboo bikes.

Last time I checked, bamboo (or any other natural material) soaked in high-strength epoxy resin wasn’t exactly green. How are they going to address the health and environmental issues associated with using epoxy?

And what about all those imported dropouts, head tubes, bottom bracket shells?

Like the frog says, it ain’t easy being green.
Tom Stone
South Pasadena, California