By Monte Wehrkamp with Christopher Cudworth

Some stream of consciousness thoughts on running and riding are always being passed back and forth by my riding partner Monte Wehrkamp and I. This morning the following email showed up in my inbox, and it bears sharing with readers of We Run and Ride.

Interestingly, you must consider that, in the photo above, Usain Bolt appears to be wearing a Livestrong bracelet, the icon of Lance Armstrong’s personal brand. And Lance was recently banned from his sport.

And that sets the stage for the observations you’ll now be reading. From Monte:

http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=9.79

This was on ESPN last night. It’s the story of the 100 m event leading up to, during, then after the Seoul Olympics.

Engrossing to say the least.

It makes cycling pale in comparison. You have the head of USA Track colluding with the USOC to make sure we win medals, no positive tests – developing test work-around protocols. You have factions within the US track and field community deliberately spiking the drinks of competitors from other nations. You have the entire Canadian team under Canadian doping committee investigation, with full disclosure that the entire team was on a deliberate and supervised doping program (the official team motto: If you don’t take it, you won’t make it). You have the head of the IOC’s dope testing team quitting in disgust, revealing postive after positive that was sent up to officials, only to be ignored. You have Dick Pound, who was with the IOC at the time (prior to his WADA stint) confirming that tests mean nothing if those in charge refuse to take action.

Oh, and didja see the braces on more than a few teeth of track athletes at this year’s Olympics? I learned the human growth hormone makes the jaw grow, messes with the bottom teeth, and adults in their 20s and 30s need to get braces to fix their bite. So, given the grille work I saw recently, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is still present and accounted for.

Cycling has nothing on these guys. Absolutely nothing. If we believe either sport is clean today, we’re on dope. We are dopes.

I recently saw a chart of Bradley Wiggins’ hemocrit and new red blood cell growth levels over the previous three Tours (not showing the one he just won). Whoa. Look at these weird spikes. Right on the rest days. Indicative of EPO and transfusions, both. Sure, you might have a tiny surge of recovery after a rest day, but the spikes on the rest day were almost off the charts!

Doper. Cheater. And given his schedule and results in the early races leading up to, and then during both the TdF and the Olympics this year? Impossible. You cannot be on peak form for four straight months. Still a doper.

Usain Bolt? Seriously. You cannot be serious.

We may be the last two people on wheels or in running shoes that are not doping. I’m convinced of it, unless someone else can tell me different.