It’s Not About the Bike*
by Lance Armstrong
- On page 16 Lance says, “The past forms you, whether you like it or not.” In what ways did Lance’s past make him what he is today?
- Lance’s mother used to say, “Make every negative into a positive.” Describe Lance’s relationship with his mother and the impact she had on his life.
- What was Lance’s motivation to become a champion cyclist? (Money - drive - the bike - athleticism). Did his motivation change over time?
- After Fabio Casartelli’s death, Lance wrote on p. 68, “I had learned what it means to ride the Tour de France. It’s not about the bike. It’s a metaphor for life, not only the longest race in the world but also the most exalting and heartbreaking and potentially tragic.......The Tour is not just a bike race, not at all. It is a test. It tests you physically, it tests you mentally, and it even tests you morally.”
When described like this, do you agree that the Tour is a metaphor for life? Do you think that our successes and failures are as obvious or clear as they are in sports? - On page 95, Lance said, “What is stronger? Fear or hope?...” How would you respond to that?
- On page 99, Lance receives an email from “a military guy stationed in Asia. He was a fellow cancer patient,” and he wanted to share, “You don’t know it yet, but we’re the lucky ones.”
Do you agree or disagree? How can we become “the lucky ones” without having to get cancer? - On p. 114, Lance writes, “One thing you realize when you’re sick is that you aren’t the only person who needs support - sometimes you have to be the one who supports others. My friends shouldn’t always have to be the ones saying: “You’re going to make it.” Sometimes I had to be the one who reassured them, and said, “I’m going to make it. Don’t worry.”
What other responsibilities do you see Lance taking on as a patient? Do you think taking a pro-active approach to dealing with his disease made a difference? Would it make a difference for others dealing with similar illnesses? - On pages 143-144, Lance said that he never loved the bike before the cancer. It was his job. But now he not only loved the bike, he needed it.
How was Lance transformed by his experience? - On page 151, Steve Wolff said to Lance, “I think you were fated to get this type of illness. One, because you could overcome it, and two, because your potential as a human was so much greater than just being a cyclist.”
How would you describe Lance as a human being?
- On page 187, Lance questions, “How do you slip back into the ordinary world? That was the problem confronting me after cancer, and the old saying, that you should treat each day as if it might be your last, was no help at all. The truth is, it’s a nice sentiment, but in practice it doesn’t work. If I lived only the moment, I’d be a very amiable no-account with a perpetual three-day growth on my chin. Trust me, I tried it.”
How do we balance an appreciation of living with the responsibilities of our life? - Besides cancer, what were other challenges Lance had to face?
- On page 257, what was the meaning of the red apples that Lance’s teammates held up as they toasted his winning of the Tour de France?
- On page 267, Lance said, “We have unrealized capacities that sometimes only emerge in crisis.” “So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it’s meant to improve us.” Do you find this statement inspirational? Do you think most cancer patients would agree with Lance?
*Questions written by Mount Prospect Public Library Staff
Published 2000
