It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life [School & Library Binding]

I noticed that some of the reviews talk about Lance's training regime's and his acheivements as an athlete. & having read this superbly written and very sensitive book, I can't help but feel that's missing the point. It is first and formost about his fight for life, & the people who helped him so much during his battle.

A particularly moving part is when Lance is feeling depressed & sorry for himself, and probably in need of a kick in the pants, and the hospital engineers a visit to the children's cancer ward, were Lance discovers kids younger than 10 who were optimistic and determined to beat this thing, and it became a real turning point for him.

I should imagine it is very inspiring for a cancer sufferer (of which I'm extremely thankful I'm not), and have lent the book to a friend, who was suffering, and said it had that effect on her.

Yes, inevitably, it has to touch on his background & childhood, & his fight for fitness, & ultimately his triumphs in the Tour, but I felt these were kept to a sensible minimum in order to get his real message across.

This disease is no respector of age, class, creed, money or power, it can & will strike at any time.

Frightening, but Armstrong's story shows that even those given little chance of survival, as he was (less than 20%), can & do recover.

And what a recovery. The ultimate athlete in the ultimate test of athletic ability.

As the title suggests, this book is not just about cycling, and it would be a terrible shame if only cycling fans, or for that matter sports fans were to read it. This is truly an inspirational read, not in a sacharine, all American hero way, but as the story of a man who went all the way to death's door with cancer and fought his way back not merely to life but to the summit of one of the world's toughest sports. Armstrong's story is told in a frank, engaging and totally engrossing way that at times makes painful reading but is equally hard to put down. The ultimately triumphant conclusion is not a fairytale cop-out, but shows how life can be transformed both despite, and because of, personal suffering. Armstrong tells of the struggle undergone by both him and his mother to reach the pinacle of sporting success, world champion at only 21, only for testicular cancer to threaten to end his life. Since he wrote the book you know he survived, but the miracle of how he went on to even greater professional heights is breathtaking - even more so in the context of his second Tour de France victory. No strong-arm tale of sporting toughness, the honest recollection of personal struggle, even once cancer was beaten brings tears to the eyes. This is simply a great read, anyone who follows sport, who has been touched by cancer should take a look. The positive message of determination and hope make it a captivating book.

It takes a lot to win a record seven consecutive titles in the worlds most grueling sport. Add to that an extra-ordinarily strong body, surviving cancer, and founding your own charity, Lance Armstrong should be a role model to every lazy, greedy, or even spoilt individual out there.

So why did I complete this book finding it hard to like him?

A lot of factors distanced me from Armstrong - someone whom I've always heard of, but wanted to know more about. I like inspiring books and was persuaded to purchase by the string of positive reviews, many going as far as suggesting it's "life changing" (a bit over-ambitious). I also had the plan of handing it over to my dads-friend who has Leukemia, and had to go through Chemo herself.

The 'bulk' of the book entails Armstrong's experiences with surviving cancer - how he dealt with it emotionally, the people who he met, and his thoughts along the journey. The start of the book is dedicated to his childhood and growing up as an insecure, yet energetic kid who competed in almost every sport available to him, and the growing relationship he had with his mother; something I really could relate to as a male.

However, what becomes obvious even half way through his book is that behind his broody face is a severely arrogant, temperamental, and for the most part self-indulgent individual; traits that although have helped him win an amazing haul of Trophies and titles, inevitably make him a very difficult person to get on with or please. I grew tired of how he treated is wife, Kik (an individual who like many others Lance met, supported him 100%), as if she were luggage upon his lazy 'golf' period (post treatment), only thinking of himself and not caring for what she did with her days, or how she felt when Lance decided to pack-up from Nice and go back to the U.S, ignoring her sadness at his unrationality. As a young rider, he taunted others at the Finish line and shouted profanities upon hills to put other riders off. He lost his patience with his agent, Bill, because he was 'fed up' with not getting license deals (despite Bill's companionship and hard work since Lance was a semi-pro). He was even rude to the Nurses that helped him through each step of his treatment, and would consistently give 'as good as he got', because he doesn't take flack. But if someone is not rude to you in the first place, what is the need to be aggressive towards them?

Some of these traits can be understood. We all have different personalities and ways of treating others and life itself - this can't be helped. Their is also the issue of "What Next" - how a Survivor copes with normal life post-treatment. Yet for the most part, I was given the impression that while Lance is a genuinely special person for his competitive attitude, it strongly conflicts with those around him. He admitted himself that he doesn't "like to be cornered, as I'll always fight my way out". This impatience and aggression, however, appears to have slowed down many aspects of his life, yet the only consolation is that over time he mellowed down slightly as he experienced the love of his own, new family.

But while it's easy to respect everything he's achieved in sport, the fact of the matter is that he's not only person in the world to have experienced emotional and physical trauma, or even testicular cancer. I wouldn't even be lying if some of his trauma was his own doing; he explains to the reader at the start of the novel about he was stubborn enough to ignore groin pains, dizzy heads, weakness, tiredness and even coughing up blood not because he was un-aware of the implications, but because his riding was too important to him. That, to me, just spells out stupidity for thinking more about an inanimate carbon-fibre frame rather than ones health.

No doubt I'll get some negative-votes as I've forgot to kiss Lance's surviving-buttocks, but what has made this an eye-opening and somewhat disappointing account is that I now realise what an eccentric individual he is, full of his own self-importance and impatience with others around him. Whereas many modest sporting stars, such as tennis player Roger Federer, or footballer Ryan Giggs, set examples through a exceptional attitudes towards not just their sport but their charisma, Lance felt from an early age that he could pull fingers at people whilst riding and get away with it, because he was "competitive". The reality is that he is not just sore loser, but a sore winner.