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.