A friend of mine told me, "Oh, 'It's Not About the Bike' sucks. It focuses way too much on his cancer."
I thought to myself, "Great, I'm stuck with another boring memoir." I have finished reading "It's Not About the Bike," and am thinking about how wrong my friend was, and how wrong I was. It rocked!
I started out describing how Lance was basically a child prodigy in any long distance event, talked about how he got cancer, then ended with his triumphs in the Tours de France. In my opinion, that doesn't seem like overemphasis on his cancer at all. I hate to quote what one of the reviewers said, but his memoir is quite frank in most aspects. Lance didn't sugarcoat the bad times, and didn't brag about the good times. He did have his moments (the "private moment" moment), but overall, and I'm not using that term lightly, his memoir was a sincere and truthful one.
If I had to rate it, I would give it a 9.5. It was one of the few books that I've had to read for school that I read of my own accord, in my own house. In other words, I read "It's Not About the Bike" whenever I needed a break from all of my schoolwork. In addition to that, I never fell asleep while reading it. You see, whenever I read a book, I read it on the same yellow sofa in my kitchen. Every time. I guess you could say that I mark off one point out of ten, each time a book puts me to sleep. "It's not About the Bike" was engaging, and kept my mind always sharp and alert as I read it on my sleep-inducing yellow sofa. If you must know why I rated Lance Armstrong's memoir only 9.5 out of 10 instead of 10 out of 10, it is because of his "private moment" moment. When I think of "It's Not About the Bike," nothing specific really sticks out in my mind except for that.
"It's Not About the Bike" is a touching story that drew me in from page one. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about true perseverance.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Post A # 5
Vocab
Insinuated (242)- suggested or hinted in a sly manner
Undulating (243)- to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion
Appeals
"I can emphatically say I am not on drugs. I thought a rider with my history and my health situation wouldn't be such a surprise. I'm not a new rider." (246)
This sentence is an emotional appeal for two reasons. It seems a bit defensive, but it also shows Lance's anger towards the seemingly endless drug tests administered to him.
"When you open a gap, and your competitors don't respond, it tells you something. They're hurting. And when they're hurting, that's when you take them. (237)
This sentence is a factual (logical) appeal. I thought about this, and yes it's true. Usually in extremely competitive races, gaps like that do not go uncontested. In the first stage of the Alps, which was 132 kilometers, Lance proved to the rest of the peloton that he simply had greater endurance then they.
"We changed into the complimentary bathrobes [...] and had our private moment." (258)
This sentence has a loaded phrase. The loaded phrase is, "private moment". Nothing else is explained in that sentence, except for the fact that Lance and his wife changed into the hotel's complimentary bathrobes and drank champagne. The phrase, "private moment" leaves the sentence open-ended, which is horrible, and I hope I don't need to explain why. In my opinion, that sentence detracted from the point that he had just won the Tour de France.
Quote
"Odd as it sounds, I would rather have the title of cancer survivor than winner of the Tour, because of what it has done for me as a human being, a man, a husband, a son, and a father." (259)
This sentence is deep, and I'm not saying that lightly or in a joking manner. I cannot pretend to know the struggle that he or anyone else with cancer went through, but from this, I know that cancer taught him more than just perseverance on the bike.
Theme
In a person's life, one must think of their priorities.
When Lance divorced Kristen, he was saying to the world, subconsciously or consciously, "Kristen Armstrong is not a priority for me, and my son isn't so high on the list either." I don't know why or what exactly prompted him to do this, but to me his decision to do that will always be a black mark in my mind.
Insinuated (242)- suggested or hinted in a sly manner
Undulating (243)- to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion
Appeals
"I can emphatically say I am not on drugs. I thought a rider with my history and my health situation wouldn't be such a surprise. I'm not a new rider." (246)
This sentence is an emotional appeal for two reasons. It seems a bit defensive, but it also shows Lance's anger towards the seemingly endless drug tests administered to him.
"When you open a gap, and your competitors don't respond, it tells you something. They're hurting. And when they're hurting, that's when you take them. (237)
This sentence is a factual (logical) appeal. I thought about this, and yes it's true. Usually in extremely competitive races, gaps like that do not go uncontested. In the first stage of the Alps, which was 132 kilometers, Lance proved to the rest of the peloton that he simply had greater endurance then they.
"We changed into the complimentary bathrobes [...] and had our private moment." (258)
This sentence has a loaded phrase. The loaded phrase is, "private moment". Nothing else is explained in that sentence, except for the fact that Lance and his wife changed into the hotel's complimentary bathrobes and drank champagne. The phrase, "private moment" leaves the sentence open-ended, which is horrible, and I hope I don't need to explain why. In my opinion, that sentence detracted from the point that he had just won the Tour de France.
Quote
"Odd as it sounds, I would rather have the title of cancer survivor than winner of the Tour, because of what it has done for me as a human being, a man, a husband, a son, and a father." (259)
This sentence is deep, and I'm not saying that lightly or in a joking manner. I cannot pretend to know the struggle that he or anyone else with cancer went through, but from this, I know that cancer taught him more than just perseverance on the bike.
Theme
In a person's life, one must think of their priorities.
When Lance divorced Kristen, he was saying to the world, subconsciously or consciously, "Kristen Armstrong is not a priority for me, and my son isn't so high on the list either." I don't know why or what exactly prompted him to do this, but to me his decision to do that will always be a black mark in my mind.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Post B # 4
At this point in the memoir, things are looking up for Lance Armstrong. He has regained much of his pre-cancer biking strength, is married Kik (Kristen Armstrong), and as weird is this may seem, has in-vitro fertilized his child. I admire his hard work, and endless perseverance after his bout with cancer, but I am starting to ask myself, "Self, how is Lance Armstrong as a person?" He seems to boss Kik around a lot. For example, when he was getting back on the bike, he travelled to France to bike with some of his old friends. Kik didn't know French, so she took an extensive French course, only to later find that Lance was discouraged and wanted to return to the United States. Kik, however doesn't seem to mind, and Lance is there when she needs him (for example, he stood by her when she was in the hospital for the IVF).
The near end of the book talks about his triumphs in the courses of the Tour de France. Lance wins a tough 56 kilometer course by 58 seconds, granted that he started 6 minutes below the leader Tom Steels.
When Lance wins his first Tour de France, he comes across as a bit of an egoist. He radios to his support car, and says, "How do you like them f***in apples?" Even though that rhetorical question is not meant for a rider behind him, but it came across as unsportsmanlike to me. If I conquered cancer and won the Tour de France, I doubt that that would be the phrase that would pop into my head as I crossed the finish line.
The near end of the book talks about his triumphs in the courses of the Tour de France. Lance wins a tough 56 kilometer course by 58 seconds, granted that he started 6 minutes below the leader Tom Steels.
When Lance wins his first Tour de France, he comes across as a bit of an egoist. He radios to his support car, and says, "How do you like them f***in apples?" Even though that rhetorical question is not meant for a rider behind him, but it came across as unsportsmanlike to me. If I conquered cancer and won the Tour de France, I doubt that that would be the phrase that would pop into my head as I crossed the finish line.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Post A # 4
Vocab
Pretext (159)- the misleading appearance assumed with an intention
Brunt (177)- the main force or blow of something
Appeals
"'I'm pretty sure I'm done with that [biking],' I said. 'It's too hard on your body.'" (166)
This sentence is an emotional appeal, showing the struggle Lance went through after he had recovered from cancer. It is true, he beat cancer, but he beat it at the cost of becoming only a shadow of his former self. He doesn't think he can ever become as good of a biker that he was before his cancer incident.
"Things change, intentions get lost. You have another beer. You say another cuss word." (182)
This sentence is Lance talking about how when he was sick, he told himself that he would never do anything bad ever again, and would be the most clean-living guy ever if he survived the cancer. Now that he has survived, he starts to see that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, but you just gotta dismiss the little things, and think of the big picture.
"The next night was New Year's Eve, the last night of libations for her." (205)
The loaded word in this sentence is libations. Could it be that it stood out to me because we just learned it in Mrs. Burgess' English class? Possibly. The sentence is talking about how Lance's ex-wife Kik drank a lot on New Year's Eve, then swore not to drink anymore, which would later lead to a healthy baby.
Quote
"A few days later, Och went back to the States. He told everybody who would listen that I was going to win the Tour de France." (223)
Lance trained on a hill called the Madone, in Nice, France. It is an eight mile climb, that most riders only ride once a year. Lance rode it once a month. After months of training, he had just beaten the record for climbing it, which was 31:30. Lance got 30:47. The time right after he beat the record for the Madone was the first real time that he felt confident about his post-cancer biking skills.
Theme
"You can't make it through life on your own. Enlist the help of your friends, and listen to what they have to say." If it weren't for all of his friends, family, and biking coaches, Lance would have never thought of winning the Tour de France, and would have never raced again after his cancer.
Pretext (159)- the misleading appearance assumed with an intention
Brunt (177)- the main force or blow of something
Appeals
"'I'm pretty sure I'm done with that [biking],' I said. 'It's too hard on your body.'" (166)
This sentence is an emotional appeal, showing the struggle Lance went through after he had recovered from cancer. It is true, he beat cancer, but he beat it at the cost of becoming only a shadow of his former self. He doesn't think he can ever become as good of a biker that he was before his cancer incident.
"Things change, intentions get lost. You have another beer. You say another cuss word." (182)
This sentence is Lance talking about how when he was sick, he told himself that he would never do anything bad ever again, and would be the most clean-living guy ever if he survived the cancer. Now that he has survived, he starts to see that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, but you just gotta dismiss the little things, and think of the big picture.
"The next night was New Year's Eve, the last night of libations for her." (205)
The loaded word in this sentence is libations. Could it be that it stood out to me because we just learned it in Mrs. Burgess' English class? Possibly. The sentence is talking about how Lance's ex-wife Kik drank a lot on New Year's Eve, then swore not to drink anymore, which would later lead to a healthy baby.
Quote
"A few days later, Och went back to the States. He told everybody who would listen that I was going to win the Tour de France." (223)
Lance trained on a hill called the Madone, in Nice, France. It is an eight mile climb, that most riders only ride once a year. Lance rode it once a month. After months of training, he had just beaten the record for climbing it, which was 31:30. Lance got 30:47. The time right after he beat the record for the Madone was the first real time that he felt confident about his post-cancer biking skills.
Theme
"You can't make it through life on your own. Enlist the help of your friends, and listen to what they have to say." If it weren't for all of his friends, family, and biking coaches, Lance would have never thought of winning the Tour de France, and would have never raced again after his cancer.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Post B # 3
Lance goes to a hospital in Indiana, that can supposedly cure his cancer while still preserving his lungs. On page 105, Dr. Craig Nichols tells Lance's mother, "We don't want his lungs to be affected," while talking about how they are still going to abolish the cancer in his body. Most cancer treatments involve a chemical called bleomycin. If Lance took bleomycin, his lungs would be damaged to the point where he couldn't race anymore.
This will sound weird, but I compared his healing from cancer to the time I broke my ankle last winter. I know that my situation was nowhere near half as bad as his, but for some reason, I remembered it. The four weeks that I had to use crutches were the loneliest four weeks of my life. Everyone was supportive, and carried my stuff when I needed it, but I felt weak. I felt like my foot would sink into the ground every time I accidentally put it down. If felt sharp pains shoot up my leg every time I was bumped by someone. And then there were the idiots who would say, "Hey Daniel, would it hurt if I kicked your foot?" No, go ahead, I'm just using these crutches for fun! There were a few times in the last two weeks of my healing period (six weeks total) when I played for the whole soccer practice, then later found out that it was too much for my ankle to handle. Making decisions like those delayed my healing for two weeks.
Now imagine all of that, except it's not a broken ankle. It's cancer. The death threat is real, and if you overexert yourself, you may faint. Walking two miles feels like a marathon, and biking up a small 20 foot hill can make you pass out. The fear of the cancer turning back to take your life grips you most of your every day. That's what it was like for Lance. Cancer is hell.
This will sound weird, but I compared his healing from cancer to the time I broke my ankle last winter. I know that my situation was nowhere near half as bad as his, but for some reason, I remembered it. The four weeks that I had to use crutches were the loneliest four weeks of my life. Everyone was supportive, and carried my stuff when I needed it, but I felt weak. I felt like my foot would sink into the ground every time I accidentally put it down. If felt sharp pains shoot up my leg every time I was bumped by someone. And then there were the idiots who would say, "Hey Daniel, would it hurt if I kicked your foot?" No, go ahead, I'm just using these crutches for fun! There were a few times in the last two weeks of my healing period (six weeks total) when I played for the whole soccer practice, then later found out that it was too much for my ankle to handle. Making decisions like those delayed my healing for two weeks.
Now imagine all of that, except it's not a broken ankle. It's cancer. The death threat is real, and if you overexert yourself, you may faint. Walking two miles feels like a marathon, and biking up a small 20 foot hill can make you pass out. The fear of the cancer turning back to take your life grips you most of your every day. That's what it was like for Lance. Cancer is hell.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Post A #3
Vocab
Caustic (104)- capable of burning or destroying living tissue
Balked (124)- stopped or refused to go on
Appeals
"But the pathologist looked up from the microscope, surprised, and said, 'It's necrotic tissue'" (116)." The pathologist is talking about the 12 tumors they have just removed from Lance's brain. This sentence is a logical appeal, telling the reader that at this point, Lance's body has started to kill and reject the cancer cells that inhabit him.
"It was a woman in her 50s on a heavy moutain bike, and she went right by me. [...] She cruised, without even breathing hard, while I puffed and chugged on my high-performance bike, and she went right by me" (143). This sentence is an emotional appeal, allowing the reader to experiences Lance's feelings as this 50 some-year-old woman passes him by. He was (or should have been) at the peak of his bicycle riding years, and thinks his bicycle speed is improving. All of the sudden, this middle-aged woman rockets by him, and he thinks for the first time in his life, "I am in bad physical shape."
"You're a responder" (141). Dr. Craig Nichols tells Lance this, after his HCG levels continue to drop, which is a good thing if you are recovering from cancer. Responder is definitely the loaded word in this sentence. I know that the word responder is not meant to sound negative, but it does. Responder could mean bad or good, and in this case it means good. With all due respect, I don't think responder was the best word for this context.
Quote
"[...] if the illness returned it would probably happen in the next 12 months. But for this moment, at least for this brief and priceless moment, there wasn't a pysical trace of cancer left in my body" (155). When I read this passage, I could almost experience his joy and happiness. The whole cancer ordeal had taken 2 long years, and that moment was the first time in those two years that the cancer had completely disappeared.
Theme
Take every opportunity that is presented to you to help others as well as yourself. After Lance had healed from the cancer, he and his doctors thought and knew that he should use his experience to talk to other cancer patients. They wanted him to tell other patients his story, and tell them to hang in there just like he did. In addition to doing that, Lance also did some research about starting a cancer aid fund, (and later made Live Strong).
Caustic (104)- capable of burning or destroying living tissue
Balked (124)- stopped or refused to go on
Appeals
"But the pathologist looked up from the microscope, surprised, and said, 'It's necrotic tissue'" (116)." The pathologist is talking about the 12 tumors they have just removed from Lance's brain. This sentence is a logical appeal, telling the reader that at this point, Lance's body has started to kill and reject the cancer cells that inhabit him.
"It was a woman in her 50s on a heavy moutain bike, and she went right by me. [...] She cruised, without even breathing hard, while I puffed and chugged on my high-performance bike, and she went right by me" (143). This sentence is an emotional appeal, allowing the reader to experiences Lance's feelings as this 50 some-year-old woman passes him by. He was (or should have been) at the peak of his bicycle riding years, and thinks his bicycle speed is improving. All of the sudden, this middle-aged woman rockets by him, and he thinks for the first time in his life, "I am in bad physical shape."
"You're a responder" (141). Dr. Craig Nichols tells Lance this, after his HCG levels continue to drop, which is a good thing if you are recovering from cancer. Responder is definitely the loaded word in this sentence. I know that the word responder is not meant to sound negative, but it does. Responder could mean bad or good, and in this case it means good. With all due respect, I don't think responder was the best word for this context.
Quote
"[...] if the illness returned it would probably happen in the next 12 months. But for this moment, at least for this brief and priceless moment, there wasn't a pysical trace of cancer left in my body" (155). When I read this passage, I could almost experience his joy and happiness. The whole cancer ordeal had taken 2 long years, and that moment was the first time in those two years that the cancer had completely disappeared.
Theme
Take every opportunity that is presented to you to help others as well as yourself. After Lance had healed from the cancer, he and his doctors thought and knew that he should use his experience to talk to other cancer patients. They wanted him to tell other patients his story, and tell them to hang in there just like he did. In addition to doing that, Lance also did some research about starting a cancer aid fund, (and later made Live Strong).
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Post A # 2
Vocab
1. Catheter (78)- a flexible or rigid hollow tube employed to drain fluids from body cavities
2. Infarction (88)- an area of tissue in an organ that is dead or dying
Appeals
1. "Fabio had been a man. I was still trying to get there" (69). This passage is an emotional appeal. Lance is talking about the man Fabio Casartelli, a teammate of his. He had won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, and was killed when descending a hill in a 1995 race. At the time Fabio died, his son was just one month old. The reader is introduced to the danger in professional biking from this quote, and feels Lance's emotional hurt as he reads this passage.
2. "It's in your lungs, it's stage three, you have no insurance, now it's in your brain" (94). His cancer was spreading, and at it's worst, Lance was given a twenty percent chance of survival. This is a logical appeal, showing the fact that the cancer had spread into Lance's brain.
3. Decimate (95)- Lance talks about how cancer will decimate one's body whether they are 500 pounds or in the best possible physical condition in their life. He's living proof. The word decimate is very loaded. He could have used other words such as kill or cripple, but I think decimate is just the right word to describe his cancer.
Quote
"I won [the 1995 race where Fabio was killed] by a minute, and I didn't feel a moment's pain" (68). There are times when someone is racing, and it almost seems that a higher power is guiding them. For example, during the 1995 race, Lance started "sprinting" 25 miles before the finish, which is usually a pretty stupid thing to do. When he did this, however, he maintained an increasing gap between him and the others, until he won the race one minute ahead of everyone else. He said, "There is no doubt in my mind that there were two riders on that bike. One was Fabio."
Theme
One theme in this section of the text is, "Don't cut corners."
"It took years of racing to build up the mind and body and character (to win the Tour de France), until a rider had logged hundreds of races and thousands of miles of road" (69). When you work every day for years, and work hard for years without giving up, then and only then do you have a chance to be the best in your sport.
1. Catheter (78)- a flexible or rigid hollow tube employed to drain fluids from body cavities
2. Infarction (88)- an area of tissue in an organ that is dead or dying
Appeals
1. "Fabio had been a man. I was still trying to get there" (69). This passage is an emotional appeal. Lance is talking about the man Fabio Casartelli, a teammate of his. He had won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, and was killed when descending a hill in a 1995 race. At the time Fabio died, his son was just one month old. The reader is introduced to the danger in professional biking from this quote, and feels Lance's emotional hurt as he reads this passage.
2. "It's in your lungs, it's stage three, you have no insurance, now it's in your brain" (94). His cancer was spreading, and at it's worst, Lance was given a twenty percent chance of survival. This is a logical appeal, showing the fact that the cancer had spread into Lance's brain.
3. Decimate (95)- Lance talks about how cancer will decimate one's body whether they are 500 pounds or in the best possible physical condition in their life. He's living proof. The word decimate is very loaded. He could have used other words such as kill or cripple, but I think decimate is just the right word to describe his cancer.
Quote
"I won [the 1995 race where Fabio was killed] by a minute, and I didn't feel a moment's pain" (68). There are times when someone is racing, and it almost seems that a higher power is guiding them. For example, during the 1995 race, Lance started "sprinting" 25 miles before the finish, which is usually a pretty stupid thing to do. When he did this, however, he maintained an increasing gap between him and the others, until he won the race one minute ahead of everyone else. He said, "There is no doubt in my mind that there were two riders on that bike. One was Fabio."
Theme
One theme in this section of the text is, "Don't cut corners."
"It took years of racing to build up the mind and body and character (to win the Tour de France), until a rider had logged hundreds of races and thousands of miles of road" (69). When you work every day for years, and work hard for years without giving up, then and only then do you have a chance to be the best in your sport.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Post B # 2
I think that getting cancer is the worst thing that can happen to a person. No matter where it starts out, it will almost always spread to another place in one's body, and there is never a certainty whether you will live or die. Lance Armstrong got testicular cancer, which can be the best or worst type of cancer possible, depending on how one views it. When he finally went to the doctor, it had spread to his lungs, and he was given a 40-60 percent chance of survival. His body tolerated the chemo extremely well, and he continued to bike 6 hours per day during his cancer treatments.
Lance is no superman, however. As his cancer progresses, it is clear that he needs to sacrifice something, either riding a bike, having children, or walking. Any treatment strong enough to help him survive is way too poisonous to leave him the same as he was before he was admitted. I truly admire his perseverance and determination in picking up the bike after cancer. There was one thing he loved, and cancer almost took that away from him. He was determined to not get beaten by his foe, and ended up conquering it.
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