Positively A Good Read

A couple of weeks ago, when my wife and I were traveling to California to meet up with some of her relatives, we got stuck in Minneapolis for a few extra hours. Northworst Airlines was doing their darndest to live up to their reputation. Our flight’s departure for San Francisco kept getting pushed back in half hour increments. At least we weren’t stuck on the tarmac, waiting. At least Caribou Coffee and Starbucks were nearby whenever we needed a coffee fix.

But waiting for a delayed flight to board (or to take off) is a pain, no matter whether it’s in the terminal or on the runway. What I could have used was a good book to while away the hours. I had my laptop, and the terminal had wireless, so I did manage to do some writing and research on a rather large project I’ve been pursuing in my spare time.

Positively False, the new book by Floyd Landis and Loren Mooney, arrived at our house while we were away. If only I’d had it in Minneapolis. It would have been an excellent way to while away the time. The book is well written, engaging and even if you didn’t know the main arc of the Floyd Landis story already, it draws you in quickly and keeps you reading. In short, it’s one of those books that’s a good summer read for traveling, a day at the beach, or a rainy day when thunder and lightning keep you from riding your bike.

The book is Floyd Landis’ story, from the time he was a youngster getting into riding bikes to the time he won the Tour to the aftermath that he’s had to deal with now for just a few weeks shy of a year now. It was written with the help of Loren Mooney, the executive editor of Bicycling Magazine. Mooney does a first-rate job of getting Floyd’s life story across in his own voice.

Reading the book feels very much like listening to Landis talk. You get the stories of his youth, growing up in a Mennonite family, and how he first came into mountain biking. You get to hear about how he moved to California, competed on the professional mountain bike circuit, and then how he crossed over to road racing. You get to hear about his days on Lance Armstrong’s team, and how he and the boss didn’t always see eye to eye.

He starts the book with (appropriately) a prologue telling the story of Stage 17. It’s an entertaining, behind-the-scenes account of the day he came back from the dead.

“I’m going to attack today,” I told Dave Zabriskie. “At the base of the first climb. Don’t know if you heard.”

From the first pages, Landis’ personality comes through. And perhaps no place better than at the beginning of Chapter 1, where he says:

I have nothing to hide.

As far as I’m concerned, people can know everything about me if they want: how much money I’ve made, when I’ve been a fool or felt regret or shed tears. I don’t care. There’s no reason to hold anything back. I don’t feel the need to be selective in order to create some image of a person who isn’t me. I’m me. That’s it.

This is the story of a straight-shooter. A person who calls it as he sees it and who is not afraid of the consequences. A person who’s willing to stand up and fight for what he believes is right. What you’ll find in the book are stories from the various stages of his career, and before his career, which will give you some insight into the person who is the 2006 Tour de France champion.

And you’ll see, from the inside, how the turmoil of the last year affected not only Landis, himself, but his family and friends, too. No doubt there’s plenty that hasn’t been told, but there’s enough to give you a real flavor for who Floyd Landis is and where he comes from (both literally and figuratively).

If you’re looking for dirt on other riders in the peloton, you’re not going to find much in this book. Lance Armstrong, where he’s discussed, comes across as a person who’s extraordinarily driven — perhaps obsessively so — to achieve his goals. And in describing Lance, Floyd draws some comparisons between the two. Landis, too, is capable of the same kind of focus that Armstrong used so well in his quest to win the Tour multiple times. And there’s no doubt that were it not for the interruption of the last year, Landis would have approached the 2007 Tour — where, by rights, he ought to be defending his title and going for a second win — with the same kind of intensity he did in years past.

As the book turns its attention to the doping scandal, Landis again gives us some insights into what went on behind the scenes. While some observers believe that the book might be a violation of the current gag order, which requires both sides to be silent about the case, I disagree. There is nothing contained within its pages that hasn’t already made its way into the public eye. What the book adds to our knowledge of the last year is not the events, themselves. That part of the story is pretty well known. What we find out are the discussions behind the scenes — mostly within the Landis camp, but also a few of the behind-the-scenes ploys of the USADA side.

Only the truly dedicated followers of Floyd’s story will find nothing new in these pages. For those who’ve followed the situation, but not followed it obsessively, these behind-the-scenes stories drive home the drama and the toll that the events of the last year have extracted from Landis and those closest to him.

The book closes with a chapter on the Wiki Defense written by Dr. Arnie Baker, and with an epilogue that discusses the hearings. Baker’s chapter gives a good summary of the presentation he’s made at numerous town hall meetings across the country.

And while various journalists have tried to portray the comments in the epilogue as some sort of admission that Landis was in on the phone call made by Will Geoghegan to Greg LeMond, a careful reading of the epilogue reveals nothing of the sort.

Landis may have been in the room when the phone call happened, but what he says about the call does not contradict his testimony during the hearings. Rather than go through that section in detail, interested readers can check out a previous post, Start At The Ending, which discusses the ending of the book.

There are always two sides to every story. Positively False tells the Floyd Landis story from a point of view not often seen in the mainstream media — Landis’ own. For anyone who’s been following the allegations of the last year, this book puts voice to a perspective that’s often been lacking in the press. And it fills in some more the details about events and turns in the case that have been reported elsewhere. It’s an easy read and well worth your time.